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An auto accident can change your whole life in an instant. Most people are not prepared for the physical, financial and emotional impact that flows from a car accident. Often the first thoughts are about paying medical bills, losing income, and recovering from physical injuries.
That means after an accident, you must have capable, experienced, and trustworthy legal representation to recover the full amount you deserve. The New Jersey car accident lawyers at Injury Lawyers of NJ, LLC, Sheri Breen and Natalie Zammitti Shaw, are bold, creative masters of litigation who are dedicated to obtaining justice and the best possible recovery for clients throughout the State of NJ and the New York metro area. They apply more than 50 years of combined experience in helping injured victims and offer every client extraordinary personal attention throughout the entire process.
Our car accident lawyers have over five decades of combined experience securing compensation for auto injury victims through negotiated settlements and court trials. Every client benefits from the full breadth and depth of our lawyers’ experience, knowledge, and skill. We provide compassionate personal attention to each client, addressing every question and concern thoroughly, and communicating closely throughout the entire process. For injured auto accident victims, we offer a free initial consultation and handle cases on a contingent fee basis, which means you do not pay legal fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Auto accident attorneys Sheri Breen and Natalie Zammitti Shaw established Injury Lawyers of NJ after practicing personal injury law together for almost 25 years at another firm. Their combined negotiated settlements total more than $500 million. Sheri and Natalie formed their own boutique law firm to offer every client the full benefit of their exceptional combined personal injury practice capabilities.
Our accident attorneys’ uncommon depth of experience is not the only quality that sets our practice apart from other law firms in the same practice area. Sheri and Natalie are hardworking disruptors who are proud of taking a non-traditional approach to personal injury law. They achieve victory for clients through case-specific strategic legal theories and creative analysis that maximize the client’s financial recovery. Both lawyers are tenacious, tireless, and highly skilled negotiators and litigators, who do not hesitate to take a case to court when a trial is necessary to achieve justice for the client. Natalie is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a civil trial attorney, an achievement earned by only about 2.2% of all active attorneys in New Jersey and held by only approximately 30 women.
Dedication to providing each client with compassionate, personalized attention is a central tenet of the firm’s practice. Our car accident lawyers are extremely knowledgeable and very approachable. They connect with clients through straightforward, honest communication about the client’s concerns and about the legal aspects of the case, taking as much time as necessary to calm every worry and answer every question.
Educating and informing the client about the law and working together as a team to show the client their options is a fundamental part of the discussion, because it enables the client to make fully informed decisions. We firmly believe that building a meaningful connection with each client is the best way to provide the client with a positive experience and create a relationship of mutual trust and respect — both of which are vital values of the firm.
In the State of New Jersey, car accident laws in state statutes and court decisions govern legal liability in car accidents and determine the types of compensation an injured victim can recover from a person who is legally responsible for their injuries. Our car injury attorneys have decades of experience helping accident victims recover the compensation they deserve. By applying their extensive knowledge and finely honed legal, negotiation, and litigation skills, they compassionately protect the client’s legal rights and aggressively pursue the full amount of compensation available under the law.
If you suffer injuries in an auto accident, you should talk with an auto injury attorney at the earliest possible time after the accident. Your lawyer helps you understand how state laws affect your right to recover reimbursement and compensation for your losses and injuries. If you delay getting legal help or try to handle the compensation issues yourself, you may adversely affect the amount of your financial recovery.
Most often in a car accident case, an insurance company is responsible for paying compensation on behalf of a person who caused the accident. In some cases, multiple insurance companies are involved. Settlement of the legal claim occurs through negotiation with insurance representatives, who are trained professionals with the primary goal of denying or minimizing the claim. Your lawyer’s skill in conducting settlement negotiations and in and out of the courtroom is a significant factor in determining the amount of compensation you receive.
New Jersey has a two-year statute of limitations on recovering compensation for car accident injuries for adults, which places a time limit (deadline) on a victim’s legal right to make a claim against a potentially liable party. In most circumstances, if an injured victim does not file a legal action within two years of the date of the accident, the victim loses the right to seek compensation from an at-fault party. In other words: If you wait too long to pursue compensation for car accident injuries, the law will no longer allow you to make a claim.
New Jersey is a no-fault insurance state with specific laws establishing insurance policy choices that govern an injured victim’s options for getting compensation after an auto accident. State law requires every driver to have certain auto insurance policy coverages and amounts, but many drivers elect greater and broader protection than the state’s minimum requirements.
If you are injured in an accident, reimbursement for expenses and compensation for injuries depends on the terms of your own auto insurance policy, including the Personal Injury Protection / PIP provisions of your policy. Under PIP, your own insurance company pays reimbursement and compensation as provided in your insurance policy.
If another person may be legally responsible for your injuries, your ability to pursue a legal claim against the at-fault party is also determined by your insurance policy. If you selected the Unlimited Right to Sue option, you can proceed against a potentially liable party without meeting extensive requirements relating to your injuries or losses. However, if you chose the Limited Right to Sue option in your policy, you must show that you sustained a permanent injury via diagnostic testing in order to recover against an at-fault person.
Early on in discussions about a case, our car accident lawyers explain to the client in detail how the provisions of their own insurance policy affect their legal rights and ability to recover compensation from their own insurance company and from an insurance company for a person who may be legally liable for the client’s injuries and losses.
Injury Lawyers of NJ is committed to pursuing maximum compensation for our clients. Determining damages (financial recovery) in a car accident case involves calculating damages based on a wide-range losses, including both economic (financial) and non-economic (non-financial intangible) losses, such as:
Other accident-related expenses and losses may also be recoverable as part of damages under New Jersey law.
Calculating all the elements of compensation and documenting the losses with evidence is a complex undertaking. Our car accident attorneys know how to collect and analyze evidence of all the ways in which an accident impacts the victim’s well-being and quality of life. While there are no guarantees, proper determination of full compensation is one of the reasons that a victim with legal representation is likely to recover more damages than an injured person who does not seek legal counsel after an accident.
To build the best case for liability and compensation, our personal injury attorneys conduct an exhaustive investigation into all the circumstances relating to the accident and the nature and impact of the victim’s injuries, including their present and future medical condition. That information supports the lawyer’s position in settlement negotiations with the insurance representative for the at-fault person’s liability insurer.
Often insurance companies sway an insured to choose health as primary on their insurance policy with the promise of a lower premium. This decision greatly affects a case, since a health insurance company, depending on the policy, may have the right to assert a lien on settlement proceeds. An auto insurance policy's medical coverage does not have that right.
Our car accident lawyers developed their negotiation skills over decades of personal injury practice. Sheri and Natalie are both aggressive, relentless negotiators who do not back off or let up during insurance negotiations. They take a strategic approach and draw on their creativity to obtain the best possible settlement for a client.
In most auto accident cases (approximately 95%), victory comes through a negotiated settlement, rather than in a courtroom verdict. However — unlike many car accident attorneys who try not to take a case to trial — our lawyers never hesitate to try a case to verdict when court proceedings are necessary to secure the full compensation the client deserves.
The remarkable proven success of the negotiation and litigation skills of our car accident lawyers is one of the most notable distinctions that sets us apart from other car accident law firms. Our reputation for taking cases to trial is a significant benefit to clients — even during the negotiation stage of a claim. Insurance company representatives and adverse parties know that our attorneys will not hesitate to go to court for victory if they do not obtain justice for the client in the settlement negotiation process. That knowledge, often from previous dealings with the insurance companies and adjusters on a large scale, also allows them to maximize settlements for clients.
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in an auto accident, our lawyers offer a free initial consultation to discuss your case. We help clients throughout the State of New Jersey. Our lawyers are also licensed in the State of New York.
If you retain us to represent you, we take the case on a contingent fee basis. You do not pay us any legal fees unless we recover compensation for you. We welcome you to use the online contact form to schedule a no-cost consultation to discuss your case.
Injured due to someone else's negligence? Our experienced lawyers offer a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case.
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