Car Accident Statistics While no one likes to imagine being in one, getting into car accidents is an occurrence that happens more frequently than one cares to think. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2016 alone, there were 6,296,000 car accidents reported to police in the United States. Of these 6,296,000 reported crashes, 37,461 people involved in said accidents died and 2,443,000 million more people suffered injuries. Given that the NHTSA estimates that approximately 10 million car accidents go unreported each year, the actual death and injury toll of car accidents is likely to be much higher than what is reported in statistics. One reason the injury toll is predicted to be much higher than what…

New Bill Overturns Haines v. Taft In an earlier blog, we told you about a New Jersey Supreme Court case, Haines v. Taft, which, unfortunately, limited the ability of many people to recover money for their medical expenses related to an auto accident. The Haines case was bad news for many people injured in auto accidents and, ever since that case was decided, personal injury lawyers such as the ones here at CourtLaw have been arguing successfully in court trying to limit, as much as possible, the negative effects of Haines.  Now, we’d like to share with you some good news!!! No, GREAT news!!!!! New Bill Results in Drastic Changes On August 15, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, signed a…

Overview of Neck Injuries Resulting from Car Crashes The muscles of the neck aid in several functions that are essential to our daily lives, such as movement of the head, shoulders, and spine. These muscles have some of the greatest levels of endurance of all the muscles in the human body. Unfortunately, the neck is also highly susceptible to injury in a motor vehicle collision. When the neck is met with the sudden and often violent force of a car accident, the result is stretching of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This can result in neck injuries in every degree of severity. While most neck injuries will resolve themselves with rest, others can require more aggressive treatment, such as steroid injections,…

Does it Matter? Yes, it matters.  Most people in the United States are required by law to maintain insurance on their vehicles. Why? The simple answer is that accidents happen and people get injured in those accidents. When they do, insurance helps cover these costs. You may have heard the term “no-fault insurance.” What does this mean? If there’s “no fault,” what do you have to go to court for? If I live in a state with mandatory car insurance, does it matter if it is a “no-fault state”?  As we will see below, the answer is yes. States With No-Fault Insurance Laws New Jersey is a “no-fault state.” No fault insurance coverage is also known as Personal Injury Protection or…

Most people in New Jersey cannot even imagine life without a car.  Two popular ride-sharing services, Uber and Lyft, have gotten some people to reconsider whether they really need a car.  In 2013, the average cost of owning a car in America, according to AAA, was about $9,000.00 .  Surely that number has gone up in the six years since. One college student reported saving a substantial amount of money by selling his car and using Uber all the time for his transportation needs.  According to a 2018 internet trends report by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, taking an Uber could be cheaper than owning a car in the cities of New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago. Uber and Lyft…