What Is Negligence?

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What Must You Show to Recover Compensation for a Personal Injury?

What Is Negligence?When the actions of another person cause you to suffer personal injury, you have a right to seek compensation (known as “damages”) for your losses. Though you can always bring a lawsuit for personal injuries intentionally inflicted by another person, most claims for compensation are based on a legal theory of negligence.

What Is Negligence?

To recover under a legal theory of negligence, you must prove three things in court:

  • The defendant (the person from whom you seek compensation) failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances;
  • The failure to act reasonably caused an event (usually an accident); and
  • You suffered actual or measurable losses as a result of the accident.

The Failure to Act Reasonably

Under negligence principles in New Jersey and across the country, every person in society is expected to use reasonable care in all their actions, including, for example, driving a motor vehicle, maintaining property, and designing and manufacturing consumer products. When a person fails to act accordingly, it is considered to a “breach of the standard [or ‘duty’] of care.”

Generally, there are no written laws or regulations that identify what is considered reasonable in a given situation. Ultimately, whether a person acted reasonably is determined by a jury, on a case-by-case basis. To ensure consistency in the administration of justice, however, courts give weight to prior decisions involving similar legal and factual issues.

Causation

To successfully show negligence, you must prove two types of causation:

  • Actual, or “but for,” cause—The accident would not have occurred “but for” the carelessness or negligence of the defendant; and
  • Proximate cause—The accident and/or the injuries sustained were “reasonably foreseeable” as a consequence of the breach of the standard of care.

Actual Damages

There are two general types of damages—compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages are intended to “compensate” the injured person for identifiable losses, whereas punitive damages focus on the behavior of the defendant and represent sanctions for socially unacceptable behavior. You cannot recover damages for losses that you did not incur or for which you are reimbursed—losses covered by insurance, for example.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 to set up an appointment.

Contributory and Comparative Negligence in New Jersey

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When You Share the Responsibility for Injuries You’ve Suffered

Contributory and Comparative Negligence in New JerseyIt’s not unusual, when you’ve suffered injury in an accident, that a court of law will conclude that you contributed, to some degree, to the events that led to your losses. What are your rights and responsibilities when you have some liability for your own injuries?

Contributory Negligence

Under the laws first established in England, and brought here in colonial times, the doctrine of contributory negligence applied when an injured person caused his or her losses, in whole or in part. Under the principle of contributory negligence, a person who caused his or her own injuries, in any way and to any degree, could not recover monetary damages from another person. In practice, the law came to be perceived as often unfair, allowing grossly negligent defendants to escape responsibility if they could show the slightest carelessness or negligence by the injured party.

Comparative Negligence

In response to those perceptions, New Jersey and all other states have replaced the doctrine of contributory negligence with the concept of comparative negligence. In a comparative negligence scheme, the court first makes a determination of the total amount of a plaintiff’s losses. The court then establishes the degree or extent to which the plaintiff contributed to his or her injuries. The total damage amount is then reduced by that percentage. For example, if a person sustained $100,000 in losses in a motor vehicle accident, but was deemed 25% responsible, the award will be reduced to $75,000.

The doctrine of comparative negligence has taken two forms—pure comparative negligence and modified comparative negligence. In a pure comparative negligence jurisdiction, the injured party will always receive something, even if he or she is primarily responsible for injuries suffered. In a modified comparative negligence state, such as New Jersey, the plaintiff must stay below a specific threshold of liability, typically 50%. If he or she exceeds that degree of responsibility, no damages are recoverable.

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges, including people who have sustained injuries in a slip and fall accident. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 to set up an appointment.

When There’s More than One Person Responsible for Your Injury

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Recovering Full and Fair Compensation for Your Losses

When There's More than One Person Responsible for Your InjuryWhen you have been hurt in an accident, one of the first steps toward recovering compensation for your injuries is determining who caused the accident. Often there are a number of factors that combine to bring about an accident or mishap, so there may be a number of parties with some potential liability. In fact, it’s not uncommon of an injured person to have engaged in some carelessness or negligence as well, partially contributing to the circumstances that caused the loss.

First of all, you can bring a legal claim against anyone who can be shown to have engaged in negligence, as defined by the law. Under the law as it has developed over centuries, negligence requires that you show three things:

  • That the defendant did not act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances
  • That the failure to act as a reasonable person caused the accident
  • That, as a result of the accident, you suffered actual losses

There’s no limit to the number of defendants that can be named in a lawsuit, but you’ll need to make the showing of negligence against each. As a general rule, the court will determine the degree of liability and allocate damages according. For example, if you suffer $100,000 in losses and there are two defendants—one deemed 60% liable and the other 40% liable—one will be required to pay you $60,000 and the other will be responsible for $40,000 in damages. In New Jersey, though, any defendant who is held to be 60% or more responsible is jointly and severally liable for all damages. That means that the injured party can recover all damages from that defendant and that party will need to seek reimbursement from other responsible parties.

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Send us an e-mail or call us at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 to set up an appointment.

Third Party Liability for Motor Vehicle Accidents

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Can Someone Other than the Driver Be Responsible?

Third Party Liability for Motor Vehicle AccidentsWhen you’ve been injured in a motor vehicle accident, the first place you typically look to recover for your losses is the at-fault driver. But what if that person is uninsured or underinsured? Are there other avenues that you can pursue, so that you can get full and fair compensation for your losses? There may be.

In any personal injury lawsuit based on negligence, you must show three things:

  • That another person failed to act reasonably under the circumstances
  • That the failure to behave reasonable caused an accident
  • That you suffered actual losses because of the accident

Accordingly, it may be possible to seek and recover damages from persons other than the driver of the other vehicle, provided you can demonstrate a breach of the duty of care and a causal link to your injuries. Here are some of the most common instances where third party liability may be established:

  • Respondeat superior—This legal doctrine allows you to seek damages from the employer of a person causing an accident, provided the employee was in the course of employment at the time
  • Vicarious liability—Under this principle, the owner of a car may have liability for an accident caused by someone who borrowed the vehicle, or a parent may have liability for an accident caused by a teenage driver
  • Dram shop or social host liability—If the other driver was intoxicated, you may have a claim against the individual or establishment that served the alcohol
  • Product liability—If the crash was caused by a dangerous or defective automotive design or part, you may be able to bring legal action against the designer, manufacturer, distributor or retailer
  • Danger or defective roadway—If there was loose gravel, water/ice on the road, or a pothole that caused the accident, you may be able to sue the municipality responsible for maintaining the road

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Send us an e-mail or call us at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 to set up an appointment.

Should You Accept a Settlement from Your Insurance Company?

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The Importance of Consulting an Attorney Immediately after an Automobile Accident

Settlement from Your Insurance CompanyWhen you’ve sustained an injury because of the carelessness or negligence of another motorist, it’s customary to contact your insurance provider to help cover your losses. In states like New Jersey, with its no-fault auto insurance laws, you are required to work directly through your own insurance provider. Don’t be surprised, either, if your insurer comes to you pretty quickly and offers you a certain amount of money to resolve your claim. They may tell you that they’ve thoroughly investigated the accident and determined that that’s the full amount of your coverage. In some instances, they may simply send you a check.

Before you sign anything, including the check, you want to consult with an attorney. Why? Because insurance companies are for-profit entities, and they make their money by minimizing the amount they pay for claims. Accordingly, they may offer you significantly less than your claim is worth (or than you’ll actually incur in losses). Once you’ve accepted the settlement, you may have waived the right to compensation for any further losses.

With an attorney, it works the other way around. Your attorney has a vested interest in maximizing your recovery, as he or she will typically receive a percentage of whatever you recover. Both the insurance company and your attorney will have a much better idea of the total potential losses than you will. The insurer, though, has no incentive to disclose to you that some of your injuries may take weeks or even months to heal, and can severely hamper your life in the interim. Your lawyer, though, will know what to expect and can make certain that any potential settlement takes into account all potential losses.

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we bring more than 14 years of experience individuals who have suffered any type of personal injury. To set up an appointment, contact our office at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 or send us an e-mail.

What Happens If You Were Partially Responsible for Your Injury?

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Understanding Comparative Negligence in New Jersey

wrongful actsWhen you’ve been hurt because of the careless or wrongful acts of another person, you have a right to seek monetary compensation for your losses. But what if you were also negligent or careless? Suppose another person is exceeding the speed limit in a car, but you fail to stop at a stop sign. If they had been traveling at an appropriate rate of speed, they would have been able to stop in time. If you hadn’t run the stop sign, the accident would not have occurred. Can you still seek damages for your losses?

Though it hasn’t always been the case, the good news is that you can still pursue compensation for injuries suffered in an accident, even if you helped cause the mishap. There are conditions, however. Here’s how it works.

Like all other states, New Jersey has replaced the common law doctrine of contributory negligence with comparative negligence. Under the principle of contributory negligence, any wrongdoing or carelessness on the part of an injured person prevented recovery for any injuries sustained. Unfortunately, in practice, the concept was often harshly applied, with grossly negligent defendants escaping liability by providing evidence of minimal carelessness by an injured person.

Under the comparative negligence approach, the court will determine the total amount of an injured person’s losses, and then reduce that by the degree to which the injured person was responsible. Two forms of comparative negligence have developed:

  • Pure comparative negligence, where the injured party always receives something, unless the jury finds him/her fully responsible
  • Modified comparative negligence, where the injured party only receives compensation if his or her negligence does not cross a certain threshold, typically 50%.

New Jersey is a modified comparative negligence state.

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we bring more than 14 years of experience individuals who have suffered any type of personal injury. To set up an appointment, contact our office at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 or send us an e-mail.

Understanding Negligence: Causation

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Understanding Negligence--CausationIn an earlier blog, we addressed the first element of a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence—the requirement that you demonstrate a breach of the duty to act as a reasonable person. In addition, you must show that the defendant’s failure to meet the required standard of care caused the accident that resulted in your injuries or losses. This blog addresses the element of causation.

Actual Cause

To succeed with a personal injury claim alleging negligence, you must first show that the defendant’s actions were the “actual cause” of your losses. Often referred to as “but for” causation, this element can usually be established or refuted by asking the simple question “would the accident have occurred in the absence of (but for) the defendant’s breach of the standard of care?” If the answer is yes, the defendant’s behavior is not the cause of the accident and the lawsuit will fail. If, however, the answer is no, you need to address the issue of proximate cause.

Proximate Cause

In many instances, there are a series of circumstances, typically happening sequentially, that result in accident and injury. The issue of proximate cause addresses how close (or proximate” the defendant’s breach of duty was to the actual injury or loss. The more remotely tied to the loss, the less likely there will be proximate cause.

In essence, proximate cause seeks to answer the question “was the injury or loss suffered reasonably foreseeable when the defendant engaged in the conduct that breached the duty of care?” Let’s look at an example. Suppose you are driving a car and sending and receiving text messages at the same time. Because you are distracted, you miss a stop sign or red light and slam into the side of another car. It’s reasonably foreseeable that driving while distracted could cause you to be in a motor vehicle accident, so there will likely be proximate cause for any injury to the other driver, passengers or damage to the other vehicle. However, if the car you hit was being driven by a heart surgeon, who was on his way to perform open-heart surgery and he is unable to perform the operation, there may not be proximate cause for any injury sustained by the heart patient and/or his family, as that type of result was not reasonably foreseeable.

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we bring more than 14 years of experience men and women in New Jersey who are involved in or contemplating filing for divorce. To set up an appointment, contact our office at 201-791-1333 or (201) 535-0323 or send us an e-mail.

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