Reckless driving is increasingly common on New Jersey roads, leading to numerous accidents involving distracted drivers. These incidents not only cause severe injuries but also tragically affect pedestrians and bicyclists. If you have been affected by such an accident, the experienced personal injury attorneys at Nagel Rice LLP are here to help ensure you receive the compensation necessary for your recovery.
At Nagel Rice LLP, our commitment to justice for innocent victims drives our practice. With over 30 years of successful legal experience and a track record of securing substantial settlements, our team offers both the compassionate support and aggressive representation needed to handle the complexities of reckless driving accidents effectively.
Common Types of Distracted Driving in New Jersey
From the earliest days of motorized vehicles, drivers had to deal with a certain amount of distraction — an argument in the back seat, a wasp on the dashboard, a broken windshield wiper. Today, however, the distractions are far more ubiquitous. Unfortunately, drivers are observed doing one or more of the following while driving on a regular basis:
- Texting
- Watching a video
- Reading a map or other material on a screen
- Talking with a handheld cell phone or smartphone
- Talking with hand gestures while on Bluetooth
- Adjusting music on the radio, iPod, CD, or other musical devices
- Eating or drinking
- Reaching for something in the back seat
- Turning around to discipline children in the back seat
- Grooming, including combing hair, applying make-up
Can You Sue for an Accident Caused by Distracted Driving in New Jersey?
Yes, in New Jersey, you can sue for accidents caused by distracted driving. At Nagel Rice LLP, we specialize in personal injury cases where negligence, such as distracted driving, leads to serious accidents. Our experienced attorneys are well-versed in New Jersey’s traffic laws and are committed to helping victims receive just compensation for their injuries, lost wages, and other damages.
Damages You Are Entitled To Receive if We Win Your Case
In New Jersey, a successful verdict or settlement in a distracted driving accident may provide the plaintiff with two types of damages: economic and non-economic.
Economic damages are based on actual quantifiable costs you have incurred or will incur due to your injuries. These include:
- Medical and rehabilitative bills
- Lost wages, current, and future
- Property damage
- Necessary long-term healthcare for disability
- Payment for household services you are no longer able to perform
Non-economic damages are determined by established legal standards and tables and are designed to compensate you for less tangible, but no less significant, losses, including:
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Physical impairment or disfigurement
- Loss of quality of life, including loss of consortium
In cases of distracted driving in which the driver’s behavior is considered particularly egregious by the court, Nagel Rice may also be able to obtain punitive damages for you. Punitive damages are conceived as a means to both punish the distracted driver for extreme negligence and to serve as a warning to others who might consider engaging in similarly dangerous actions.
What Happens if the Distracted Driving Accident Was Partly Your Fault?
In many car crashes, both parties bear partial blame for a collision. If, for example, a distracted driver crashes into your car while you’re 15 miles over the speed limit, both of you bear partial responsibility for the collision. Cases like this are handled differently in different states. In New Jersey, we have a system known as modified comparative negligence.
Modified Comparative Negligence in New Jersey
In our state, the court assesses comparative negligence in terms of percentages of responsibility. Assuming that the court assigns you 30 percent of responsibility for the crash. If you, as the injured party, are awarded $1,000,000 by the court, you will actually receive $700,000, the original award minus your 30 percent of the fault.
What complicates things a bit is that New Jersey is one of the states that uses a model of “modified” comparative negligence. This means that you, the plaintiff, can only receive a portion of the awarded damages if you are determined to bear 50 percent or less of the blame for the car crash. If the court determines that you bear more responsibility than the defendant (even just 51 percent), you will be unable to claim any damages at all. This is one of the reasons that it pays to have a highly capable personal injury attorney on your side. The experienced lawyers at Nagel Rice know exactly how to convince the court that you deserve fair compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial suffering, even if you have contributed in some measure to the car crash.
Contact Our New Jersey & New York Distracted Driving Attorneys
Whatever the nature of your injury in a distracted driver accident, you can trust Nagel Rice personal injury attorneys to put the pieces of your life back together. We will take care of all the complex legal and insurance matters while you concentrate on healing from your recent trauma. To get in touch with us please call or fill out a contact form on our website.
Nagel Rice LLP helps their clients with their distracted driving accident claims throughout New Jersey including Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, Passaic County, and Sussex County.