Congratulations to Michael Taylor and Lucas Webster on their recent admission as members of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Gary Boguski, previously admitted as a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, served as their sponsor.
Check out Gary Boguski’s article on choosing the right attorney in South Jersey Biz magazine:
Determining the value of a personal injury claim is critical for both you and insurance companies. This amount varies based on the facts of your situation and the applicable law. With our experience representing accident victims, we make these determinations all the time. The following is generally how these determinations are made.
Normally, a party liable for an accident — and the party’s insurance company if there’s a policy covering the situation — pays an injured person for:
The insurance company adds up the total medical expenses related to the injury (referred to as “medical special damages” or simply “specials”). That is the base figure the insurance company uses to calculate how much to pay for pain, suffering and other nonmonetary losses (called “general” damages).
This figure is not a final amount. It’s only the number from which negotiations begin.
The most important factor affecting how much the insurance company is likely to pay is the extent to which each party is at fault. The damages formula provides a range of how much your injuries might be worth, but only after the issue of fault is considered can you get a good grasp of the actual compensation value of your claim.
This is not an exact science, but both you and the insurance company, objectively looking at the facts with unbiased eyes, should have a good idea of the degree of fault for both sides. The more at fault you were, the less the value of the claim, and vice versa for the insured.
New Jersey is considered a modified comparative negligence state. This is also known as the 51 percent rule. You may be eligible for compensation if you are less than 51 percent responsible for your injuries. If an agreement can’t be reached about who is at fault and to what extent, a civil court will examine the accident and come to that decision.
Once the damages are calculated and the degree of fault factored in, you have the financial value of your case.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and want to discuss your legal options, contact our office for a free consultation.
Divorcing parents have to focus on protecting their own interests as far as assets, debts and income. They must also factor in the interests of their children, and it’s normally in a child’s best interests to be part of the lives of both parents. We help parents put together custody agreements.
If children are involved, some divorces can degenerate to the point where children become pawns in the power game between divorcing spouses. If one spouse wants custody, then the other doesn’t want that to happen just as form of punishment for some real or imagined past deed. Just because a person was a bad spouse doesn’t mean he or she is a bad parent.
Though there are cases in which a child’s time with a parent genuinely needs to be limited, that’s not normally in the child’s best interests. Custody agreements should be worked out between the parents, which requires them to act like adults if they want to act in their children’s best interests.
The key elements of a successful custody agreement that serves a child’s interests are:
Working out a functional custody agreement can take flexibility and imagination, but mostly a desire to serve the best interests of the children. If you have any questions about child custody agreements, contact our office for a free consultation.
Depression, anxiety and feeling stressed can be caused by one’s job and work environment. Work-related depression is a disorder that is often overlooked in the workplace and may be mistaken for ordinary stress. It may become serious enough to impact your ability to work and you may qualify for workers’ compensation as a result.
A person with symptoms of work-related depression can possess any of the following:
New Jersey workers’ compensation law was originally created to compensate workers for physical injuries. Over time, psychiatric disabilities were recognized as potential work-related injuries or occupational illnesses as well.
To have a successful claim for depression, the injured worker needs to show:
It may be difficulty to show your mental condition is the clear result of your work environment and not your private life. What might clearly show a connection to work would be if an employee was involved in or a witness to a very traumatic or stressful event or series of events.
Easier cases to prove involve both physical injuries and a psychological condition. This might happen if an employee contracts a severe occupational illness or a serious injury that causes a permanent partial or total disability.
If you or a loved one is dealing with a serious case of work-related depression, get professional help and contact our office to discuss whether workers’ compensation may be an option for you.
Corrections officer sustained injuries to low back and as a result was forced to retire.
Motor vehicle accident caused brain injury and injuries to neck and back.
Verdict obtained for husband and wife when husband was struck from behind in motor vehicle accident that caused injuries to the husband’s back and shoulder.
Medical malpractice for failure to diagnose and control high blood pressure.
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