Summer, winter, spring or fall, one road hazard that can impact drivers all year long is sun glare. When you’re driving towards the rising sun in the morning or the setting sun in the afternoon, sun glare can suddenly blind a driver, and lead to an accident. Since sun glare impacts all drivers, whether they’re careful or distracted, who is at fault in this type of accident?

Sun glare can quickly turn an everyday driving situation into a real hazard. Some examples include:

• Pedestrians crossing the street in front of you, unaware that sun glare prevents you from seeing them
• Brake lights or turn signals that you don’t see
• Difficulty detecting road markings or signage
• Merging

Though drivers involved in accidents may blame sun glare, hoping that it will absolve them of liability, previous claims to this effect have been defeated in court, as it is neither unexpected for the sun to be present at sunrise and sunset nor is it impossible to prepare for or react to sun glare. Drivers faced with sun glare have numerous options, including:

• Equipping themselves with sunglasses with polarized lenses
• Using the visor that their vehicle is equipped with
• Holding their hand up in order to block the sun’s blinding rays
• Keeping windshields clean
• Using an alternate route
• Pulling over until the sun’s position has moved

There is an expectation that automobile drivers are prepared for a wide array of driving conditions, and sun glare is not an unexpected scenario.  There have been numerous personal injury lawsuits examining responsibility for injury and fatalities as a result of sun glare, with some cases ending in municipalities being found liable for positioning crosswalks in areas where sun glare has been a known problem and others holding drivers responsible because they should have anticipated the presence of sun glare. Drivers may argue that they are not responsible based on the “emergency doctrine,” which excuses failure to respond appropriately based on a sudden and unexpected circumstance requiring a speedy decision, but juries have generally disregarded this excuse, as the sun is neither unexpected nor an emergency.

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of an accident involving sun glare, you need an attorney who has the experience and knowledge to counter arguments seeking to absolve the responsible driver of blame. Contact us today to set up an appointment.

Maybe you’ve never had a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror in your car, but if you have that, other types of paraphernalia or décor, or even a device stuck onto your windshield, you could be courting a traffic violation in the state of New Jersey. That’s because of a license plate and windshield obstruction law that is increasingly being applied by the police.

According to an analysis of violation data conducted by the New Jersey judiciary, in calendar 2017 there were more than 111,000 motorists who were given tickets just for license plate infractions, and the overall number of tickets is up 8 percent since 2015.  The tickets have represented at least $21.5 million in fines over the last three years.

The license plate violations cite a number of offenses, including serious ones such as failure to display a front license plate or displaying a fictitious license plate, to more questionable offenses such as obstruction caused by a license plate holder – even one provided by the automobile dealer from whom a motorist purchased their car. Any license plate frame that obscures any part of the marking on a license plate, including the words “New Jersey” or “Garden State”, can be cause for a ticket. As for the windshield violations, the state’s law indicates that “any sign, poster, sticker or other non-transparent material upon the front windshield” or other front windows (other than state-issued decals such as inspection stickers) can be cause for a ticket. That includes cellphone or GPS holders and even EZ Pass devices, which the state provides with stickers so that they can easily be attached to the windshield.

Motorists have reported having been pulled over for having one of those pine tree-shaped air fresheners hanging from their rearview mirror, and the tickets are frequently issued instead of speeding tickets, as a sort of no-points warning to motorists so that they feel fortunate for not having gotten a heftier fine. The charge is generally about $47 with no points assessed and no report to your insurance company, a sum which is considered far preferable to speeding tickets that can range between $85 and $500 and which come with penalty points.

Though the tickets are meant to promote safety and eliminate blind spots, there are many who believe that they are being abused, in part because they are difficult to defend against. If you have been accused of a traffic violation that you would like to discuss with an experienced attorney, contact our office today.

There are few people who aren’t completely tied to their cell phones: we rely on these devices for communicating with loved ones and finding our way to unfamiliar places, for convenient shopping and for an efficient way to get work done. But as cell phones have put increased abilities in the palm of our hands, they have also demanded increased responsibility, especially for those who use the devices when they are behind the wheel. The state of New Jersey has some of the toughest laws in the country regarding texting and driving: not only is it illegal to text and drive, but you can be pulled over for doing it without having committed any other violation, and if you’re caught texting and driving you are subject to heavy fines.

New Jersey’s laws are designed to send a strong message to drivers not to text and drive, and there is good reason behind them. Drivers who text are not keeping their eyes on the road, and this can result in significant injury to other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Though you may think that you are still paying attention to what is happening on the road ahead of you, studies have shown that texting requires much more visual, manual and cognitive attention than people realize.

The state has made texting and driving what is known as a primary offense which means that no other violation needs to accompany it for it to result in a driver being pulled over. The state has imposed the following financial penalties and driving point penalties for texting and driving:

• First-time texting and driving offense – Between $200 and $400
• Second-time texting and driving offense – Between $400 and $600
• Subsequent texting and driving offenses – Fines between $600 and $800 as well as the assessment of three points on the driving record that can raise insurance rates and lead to the loss of driving privileges

It is also important to note that if a driver who has been texting while driving is found responsible for injuring another driver, passenger or pedestrian, they can be charged with an indictable crime or felony that carries between 6 and 18 months in jail and a $10,000 fine, and if a death results from the incident then the jail time increases to five to ten years and the fine to $150,000. They can also be held responsible in civil court for the losses they are responsible for.

Though you may be tempted to simply pay the fine after having been charged with texting and driving, it is important that you remember that this payment is an admission of guilt, and will therefore automatically lead to you being subject to the next level of penalty if your are charged again.  There are defenses that are available to those who are charged, and hiring an attorney to represent you may be worthwhile, especially if you believe that you were not in violation of the law. Our law firm can obtain a copy of your cell phone bill or cross examine the officer regarding why they believed you were texting: both strategies have proven successful. For more information on how we can help, contact us today to set up an appointment.

Medical malpractice can take many different forms, each of which can cause unimaginable pain and loss. Some types of medical malpractice get more attention than others, and we’ve all heard stories about physicians operating on the wrong patient or leaving surgical instruments inside patients’ bodies, but one of the most common instances of medical malpractice are those involving physicians who have either made an incorrect diagnosis or have missed a diagnosis entirely, leading to further illness and even death.

When a patient visits their physician, they do so with the expectation that they will go through a careful process that will determine what is wrong with them and what the proper course of treatment should be. Physicians use a technique known as differential diagnosis to narrow down the possible causes of a patient’s symptoms. When they do not follow this process or misinterpret the results that they see, it may represent medical malpractice, which is generally defined as a failure to provide the accepted standard of care. The most common diagnoses that are missed by physicians are:

• Cancer – Cancer is a disease that needs to be diagnosed quickly and accurately in order to allow treatment to be administered and prevent the disease from spreading. Missing the presence of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer are common, and can lead to death or a much more difficult course of treatment.
• Heart Attack or Heart Failure – People who are experiencing a heart attack usually go to hospital emergency rooms or to their physicians with symptoms including chest pain, numbness in their arms, or difficulty breathing. If medical professionals evaluate these symptoms as flu, panic attack or some other lesser malady, there is significant risk of death.
• Stroke – Strokes can present with a variety of different symptoms. Some patients are unable to speak, while others may seem confused or exhibit weakness or a lack of coordination. While some symptoms manifest very quickly and acutely, other types show symptoms over an extended period of time.
• Pulmonary Embolism – A pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot travels to the lungs through the bloodstream. Its symptoms are extremely similar to several benign conditions, including a chest cold, an asthma attack, bronchitis, and other respiratory infections. Failure to diagnose a pulmonary embolism in a timely fashion can result in death.

Proving that a physician or medical professional has been negligent requires more than just proving that a diagnosis was missed – physicians are allowed to make mistakes and are not expected to be perfect. However, if a physician was negligent, and did not provide treatment in a way that adheres to the generally accepted standard of care that another physician would reasonably have provided, then they can be held legally responsible for any injury or damage that their negligence caused. If you believe that you or someone you love has been injured as a result of a missed diagnosis and you’d like to know whether the error rises to the level of medical malpractice, we can help. Contact our office today to set up an appointment and learn more about your rights.

When you’re in somebody else’s home, the last thing you think about is getting hurt. Whether you’re invited for dinner, are a contractor doing a home repair, or even if your child has wandered into a neighbor’s back yard uninvited, injury is not on your mind. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, and when that happens and an injury occurs, you’re eventually faced with the question of legal and financial responsibility. Premises liability laws make homeowners responsible for the safety of people on their property, and if they’ve failed to pay attention to potential dangers mean you may have the right to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for the damages you’ve suffered.

When you’re a visitor to someone else’s property and you’re injured while you’re there, the question of legal responsibility is determined in part by which of three different categories you fall into. Those categories are:

• Guests without payment
• Business invitee
• Trespasser

Property owners owe the greatest duty of care to people who are visiting them as guests without payments, though business invitees are also owed a high level of care.  If you’re a trespasser who is injured, you generally have no right to hold the homeowner or property owner responsible for your damages, but invitees of all types do, as they are considered to be present at your express or implied invitation. That’s why homeowners are expected to maintain their property in a safe condition, addressing conditions that they know about as well as some of which they may not be aware or should be. So, if you’re on your neighbor’s back deck and you fall and hurt yourself on a loose plank, it’s a condition that they may not have known about, but they should have – and they can be held responsible for your injuries.

Premises owners have a requirement to not only keep their property safe so that people don’t get injured, but also to make sure that anybody who comes onto their property is aware of a danger that exists. That means that the loose plank on the deck not only needs to be fixed, but also requires a sign or some kind of barricade to prevent a person from stepping on it. A homeowner who has a vicious dog is not only expected to keep their dog away from visitors, but also to put up a warning that the dog bites, and a homeowner who has an “attractive nuisance” like a pool in their backyard is required to erect a fence to keep people from entering and potentially getting hurt. Without that level of warning, the chances of them being viewed as legally negligent are higher.

Filing a lawsuit against a homeowner can be emotionally challenging, especially if they are somebody that you know or have a relationship with. But without taking that step, you will be facing the financial, emotional and physical costs of your injury on your own. If you are uncertain as to your rights or the potential outcomes, contact our office to set up an appointment. We will pay close attention to the details and let you know your options.

We’ve all been there at one time or another. You’re driving down the highway and see a big rig truck looming in your rear view mirror, or may you’ve found yourself driving at 60 miles per hour next to an 18-wheeler. These big trucks tower above our cars and SUVs, and are incredibly intimidating: if they send a shiver of fear down your spine, there’s good reason. Their sheer size makes them both frightening and deadly: when it comes to a collision between a passenger car and a big rig, there’s little doubt as to which will get the worse end of the deal.

Being intimidated while sharing the road with a commercial truck is a world away from actually having been injured in an accident with one. Truck accidents kill many people every year, and seriously injure even more. There are many different reasons why truck accidents happen, ranging from poor maintenance of the vehicle to drivers being distracted. Sometimes drivers are inexperienced or not well trained to handle such a large, powerful vehicle.  If you’ve been injured in an accident with a commercial truck you need an experienced advocate to represent you, get to the bottom of what happened, and make sure that you get the justice you deserve.

The most important thing for you to do if you’ve been the victim of any type of accident is to get the medical attention you need as quickly as possible. There’s nothing as precious as your health and wellbeing, so get yourself to a medical professional after an accident, even if you don’t think you’ve been hurt. Many injuries don’t make themselves known until days or even months later, and you need to make sure that you’re seen by a professional who knows what to look for.

With reference to the truck driver and their company, it is important to remember that no matter how genuinely concerned they appear to be, they are looking out for their own best interest, and you need to do so too. Do not make any comment to them, whether about how you’re feeling, who was at fault, or anything else. Speak to the police and get a detailed police report, take photos and speak to witnesses who saw the accident happen, but do not sign a release or accept a settlement offer without first speaking to an attorney. Attorneys and insurance representatives working on behalf of the trucking company or driver have just one priority, and that’s to minimize the liability of their company. Speaking with their attorney on your own can lead to you losing your rights.

If you have been injured in an accident with a commercial truck you have a high likelihood of being able to get compensation for your medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and more, and having an experienced advocate working on your behalf will make the process much easier to navigate. Call our office today to set up a free consultation to discuss what happened. We’re here to help.

Relationships are hard, and disagreements are natural, but it isn’t normal for them to devolve to a point where one person fears the other. If you believe that you need protection from a domestic partner or spouse, your best bet is to get it legally through a restraining order.

In the state of New Jersey, there are two different types of restraining orders available through court order: temporary and final. Though a person who has a restraining order filed against them may feel that the legal order is being used against them, that is not its goal. The goal of a restraining order is to restore a sense of safety and security for the person who has requested it. In most cases, a temporary restraining order can be issued with little more proof than claims made by the victim. By contrast, in order to get a final restraining order, there’s a requirement of enough evidence to make the court believe it is “more likely than not” that the order is warranted. This is a lower standard than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” level of evidence required in a criminal case.

A temporary restraining order, or TRO, keeps the person it has been filed against from contacting or communicating with the person who filed the claim. Within ten days of it being issued there needs to be a hearing to determine whether it should be converted into a final restraining order, or FRO. At that hearing, which is held before a Superior Court Judge in the court’s Family Division, both sides are able to have an attorney represent them to argue for or against the order remaining in place.  The person who requested the restraining order generally provides all of the evidence that they can to prove that the abusive or harassing behavior has taken place. They can call witnesses and submit evidence ranging from text messages and voice mail messages to medical records or police reports.  The person who the restraining order is filed against can submit counter-evidence and witnesses and question any witnesses that the claimant offers to support their claim. The judge is able to ask questions as well and is the one to make the final decision.

In reaching their decision, the judge is tasked with considering three different elements of the evidence that’s presented:

• Did domestic violence occur as a precipitator to the TRO?
• Is there a history of domestic violence prior to the TRO?
• Is the claimant reasonable in fearing for their safety?

A decision that favors the claimant then leads to specific prohibitions and rulings as needed in the situation. This may include forbidding contact, issues of custody of children or personal property, financial situation, and even weapons possession rulings.  These rulings can be made, even if the person the order is entered against doesn’t show up in court, and remains permanent until it is specifically removed by either the court or the claimant.

If you need protection and don’t know where to turn, we can help. Contact us today to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

Medical malpractice can take many forms. It can be a doctor failing to correctly diagnose an illness, resulting in the condition worsening, or even leading to death. It can be a doctor, nurse, or even a pharmacist making a mistake with a prescription and leading to an adverse or tragic result. It can be a physician performing the wrong surgery, or an obstetrician failing to respond to a delivery appropriately and resulting in a birth injury. It can be any of these, and more. As different as medical malpractice cases can be, there are certain things that they all have in common. These are:

• A professional duty was owed to the patient
• There was a breach of the duty
• The breach of duty resulted in harm or damage

If you believe that you or someone you love has been the victim of medical malpractice in New Jersey, it is important that you know the rules and limitations about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in order to make sure that you get the compensation that you deserve. Here’s what you need to know:

Statute of Limitations

Statute of limitations is a legal term that refers to the amount of time that a victim has to file a claim against a defendant. In the state of New Jersey, medical malpractice claims must be filed within either two years of the date that the injury occurred, or from the date that you became reasonably aware that the injury or illness occurred. For example, a patient may have relied upon a physician’s misdiagnosis of a condition at the time of their appointment in January of 2017, then learned 9 months later in October that the diagnosis was incorrect. The statute of limitations would be two years after the October date, not the January date. Failure to file a medical malpractice claim within the two year window of opportunity precludes the patient’s ability to file a lawsuit.

Caps on Damages

Each state has its own rules regarding the compensation that a victim of medical malpractice is allowed to receive. In the state of New Jersey, there is no limit on compensatory damages. Compensatory damages include actual medical expenses resulting from the injury sustained. It also refers to other types of damages, including lost wages and pain and suffering. The only type of damages that the state of New Jersey caps for medical malpractice cases is punitive damages, which are assessed as a form of punishment against actions that are viewed as being particularly egregious. New Jersey limits the amount of punitive damages that a plaintiff is permitted to receive to either $350,000 or five times the amount of compensatory damages, whichever amount is higher.

Victims of medical malpractice are entitled to compensation for the wrongs that have been done to them and the harm that they suffered as a result of a healthcare practitioner or healthcare facility’s negligence. If you would like to know more about your rights, contact Wallace Law today to set up an appointment.

We tend to think of getting rear-ended as being a minor accident, but that is not at all true. Though hit from behind accidents often cause little damage to the cars involved, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that they account for more than 25% of the accidents on America’s highway. Of the 1.7 million rear-end accidents that occur each year, 17,000 result in fatalities and 500,000 result in injuries. Some of these injuries are extremely serious, with whiplash being the most commonly seen injury following a rear-end accident. Victims can also suffer head injuries and spinal trauma, leading to long recoveries, permanent disabilities, lost wages and chronic pain.

According to medical studies, automobile passengers are at their most physically vulnerable when their car is hit from behind, and the area that is most likely to be harmed is the neck and spine.  Even in accidents involving collisions occurring at a speed of less than ten miles per hour, painful and debilitating neck and spine injuries can occur. This is because when a rear-end accident takes place, the skull, which is normally balanced on the cervical spine, is thrown forward, putting strain on the spine and all of the supporting ligaments, muscles, tendons and structures in the spinal column. The most common injuries sustained in rear-end accidents include:

• Whiplash
• Head injuries
• Neck injuries
• Back injuries
• Injuries to the spinal cord
• Nerve damage
• Fractures
• Lacerations
• Internal bleeding

Many people walk away from a rear-end accident emotionally shaken but believing that they are physically unhurt, only to find themselves suffering later. It is important to be seen by a medical professional as soon after a rear-end accident as possible in order to make sure that you get an accurate diagnosis and the treatment you need. Doing so will also provide critical evidence in case you need to pursue a personal injury lawsuit in the future.

Rear-End Collisions Are Often A Result of Negligence

In most cases, a hit-from-behind accident is the result of negligence on the part of the driver behind you, or a vehicle that caused them to drive into yours. Most rear-end accidents are caused by a driver being distracted or texting, driving too closely behind (tailgating), being fatigued behind the wheel or driving recklessly.  When a rear-end accident results in an injury or fatality, the negligent driver can be held responsible for their medical expenses, lost wages, pain, and suffering, and more.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a rear-end collision or any other type of auto accident, you need personal injury representation by an attorney who is dedicated to making sure that your physical, mental and emotional needs are met and that you get the financial compensation you deserve. Contact us today to set up a convenient time for a consultation.