At The Law Offices of Vincent J. Ciecka, we understand that legal matters can be complex, and you may have many questions about your case. To help, we’ve compiled answers to some of the most frequently asked questions from our clients.
This FAQ section provides general legal guidance, but every case is unique, and specific legal advice depends on your situation’s facts and applicable laws. Our attorneys have personally prepared these answers to help you better understand your rights and legal options.
If you have further questions or need personalized legal advice, feel free to call, email, fill out our contact form (to the right on desktop, below on mobile), or chat with us live. We are here to help!
When dealing with a personal injury case, it’s natural to have many questions—especially if this is your first experience navigating the legal system. The uncertainty can feel overwhelming, which is why we’ve compiled this FAQ section to provide clear answers to common concerns.
While these FAQs cover many important topics, every case is unique, and personalized legal guidance is essential. If you need specific answers about your situation, call us at (856) 665-5709 or click here to email us for a confidential consultation.
Some other torts also are not evaluated by whether the defendant’s conduct is reasonable. Instead, the law looks at the end result of that conduct to determine whether liability should be imposed. For example, the owner of a dog may be strictly liable if the dog bites you, regardless of whether the owner acted reasonably in controlling the dog, if you did not provoke the dog and you were not trespassing. Some environmental torts also fall under strict liability.
If someone has taken deliberate action that results in an injury, such conduct is evaluated as to its intent rather than its reasonableness. Such torts are intentional because the action or the injury was intended rather than the inadvertent result of carelessness or negligence. Common intentional torts are assault, battery and libel. Intentional torts often have a shorter statute of limitations than negligence or strict liability and many insurance policies will not cover intentional torts. An intentional tort may result in the award of punitive damages.
Persons who have been injured can sue for their pain, suffering, disability and the loss or limitation of the use of a body function. These are known as “non-economic damages”, as distinguished from “economic damages” such as lost wages and medical bills. A “threshold” is the level of injury that you must suffer in order to sue for non-economic damages, and acts as an immunity for all injuries that do not meet the threshold. Only some defendants are protected from liability by a threshold. The two thresholds most often encountered are the “Limitation on Lawsuit” threshold that may affect lawsuits arising from motor vehicle accidents and the “Public Entity” threshold that affects lawsuits against government bodies.
Liability means that someone has wrongfully acted in such a way that a Court or Jury will order that person to pay money damages to anyone injured by that person’s conduct. If a person is liable, they are at fault. There are varying degrees and percentages of liability. There can be many different parties that are found liable in a given case. If the person who is hurt is 50% or more liable, or at fault, for an accident, then they cannot recover. There is an exception to this for work related injuries and workers’ compensation cases. In workers comp cases it does not matter who is liable, or at fault, for the injury for the injured person to have a workers’ comp case. Many times there are potential “third party” cases in workers comp. For instance, a person who is working driving a company truck, and gets rear ended by another car. That person may have both a workers’ compensation case and a case against the car that hit them while they were working.
People are expected to act reasonably. If someone acts unreasonably, that person is negligent. If someone has acted negligently and has caused an injury, that person has committed a tort. Questionable conduct is usually evaluated by a jury to determine if it is unreasonable. There are some circumstances in which the New Jersey Legislature or the New Jersey Courts have determined that certain conduct is, or is not, unreasonable so that a jury does not have to make that determination. Negligence is the most common type of tort, and is distinguished from intentional torts and strict liability torts.
Sometimes the law will protect certain persons or organizations by making them not liable for their negligence. This protection is an “immunity”. Immunities are discussed elsewhere on this website. If you are injured by a person or organization that is immune, that person is exempt from liability to you.
Every tort claim, regardless of its basis, whether intentional, negligence, or strict liability, has two basic issues—liability and damages. Was the defendant liable for the damages you sustained, and, if so, what is the nature and extent of your damages? If you can prove liability and damages, our system of justice will award you compensation for your loss.
For more details on personal injury law, visit the ABA’s official website.
A tort is a kind of personal injury case that involves a wrongful act to a person or group of people. The result of the wrongful act can be injury to health, property, or reputation for which the injured party is entitled to compensation. Many torts result from negligence.
You have an interest in (1) your physical person, (2) your property, and (3) certain aspects of your human dignity, such as your reputation, that are recognized and protected by the law. An injury to any of these protected interests, caused under circumstances in which the law will impose liability, is a tort
Automobile accidents, the area in which most personal injury actions arise, provide a good example of how the tort system works. You have a negligence claim in a “fault” state if you are injured by a driver who failed to exercise reasonable care, because drivers have a duty to exercise reasonable care anytime they are on the road. When they breach that duty and your injury results, personal injury law says you can recoup your losses. (Note, though, that the system may be very different in states that have passed no-fault laws. Negligence reaches far beyond claims stemming from car accidents. It is the basis for liability in most personal injury lawsuits, including medical malpractice.
You certainly can have a very strong case, one which can provide you with compensation, not only for the expenses you have incurred in medical treatments, loss of wages. etc. but, also for your pain and suffering. In order to determine the strength of your potential case we must evaluate the accident or personal injury damages caused by a third party on a personal basis. No two cases are never the same. There are many mitigating circumstances and facts that differentiate once potential case from another. A case in point, two accident situations both rear end collisions, both sustained similar auto damages and both where at similar driving speeds. The difference, because of poor passenger’s seat head restraint design, the first injured victim on this rear end collision example suffered significant neck and spinal cord trauma, as compared to the secondary accident’s victim auto rear end collision example, which only suffered mild to moderate whiplash. Potentially, the first victim could receive exceptionally a much higher monetary recovery for damages than the second sample victim. The only and most assertive way to determine if you have a potential case is to provide us with the basic facts of your particular situation or accident, call us at your earliest convenience, at 1856 665-5709 or Toll free: 1866 665-5709.
Very similar to the previous answer of, Do I have a potential case?, cases are extremely individualistic and never are the same. A case’s worth is determined by many factors, one being the amount and levels of damages and injuries incurred by the victim, medical treatment incurred, the outcome of his/hers recovery and final medical prognosis, and perhaps one of the most important aspects in the monetary recovery or awards to the accident victim is the level of expertise and negotiating capabilities of your legal representative. As you can see, to determine exact monetary figures is a daunted task. We do have examples, out the thousands of cases we have successfully processed, that can give you an idea based on the specific case type and personal situation of the injured victim, the amounts that we were able to recover for them. If you would like to see these examples, please see the section ‘What my cse worth? on the menus.
Every State has its own timeframe when you can file an action or suit against a third party for personal injury sustained by you. New Jersey and Pennsylvania. for those parties over 18 years old provides a Statute of Limitations of two year from the date of the accident. For minors, the statute of limitations takes effect at the time of emancipation. There might be certain circumstances where provisions are given to circumvent the Statute of Limitations law. If you feel that your situation warrants a special evaluation or assessment, please call us at 856 665-5709 or if out of area, toll free at 1866 665-5709, to discuss them.
Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania provides injured victims with the ability to pursue an action for monetary recovery for damages, almost exclusively from the insurance companies providing coverage for the person(s), corporation that caused the damages, on a contingent basis. What this means, is that you don’t have to put up any monetary expenses from your pocket to pursue a case, rather those expenses are eventually absorbed or paid by the monetary recoveries yielded by the case. In our situation, most of our cases are handled with the following statement: We don’t get paid, if you don’t get paid. Please call us, (Toll Free 1866 665-5709) or click on the Questionnaire tab appearing on the footer menu if you have a potential situation where the filing of a legal action is warranted to recover monetary compensation for damages suffered by you and caused by a third party.
Certainly. Our case handlers are trained to carefully manage and get your medical bills paid through our computer assisted system. We deal directly with your health care providers and manage all aspects of your bills. If any medical bill collection activity is initiated against you, our pre-litigation department will handle and protect you against unwarranted collection actions. Rest assured that not only we will help organize your medical bills, but we will help you manage and pay time on a timely matter as your case progresses or at the end of the same.
As part of our client relations management program, you will be kept abreast of the status of your case on a continuous basis. Furthermore, our case handlers on a periodical timeline will contact you to obtain updates about your medical treatment and its progress. Our client relations management program also provides for our clients the ability to see a history of the contact activity between their case handler and themselves at any given time.
We understand that extracurricular time can be inconvenient, in particular to those that work, are not ambulatory or are exceedingly busy sustaining household responsibilities. Therefore, the answer to this question is No. In the event that we do need to communicate with you regarding matters to the case or vice versa, we rely on the following methods of secured communication; telephone, internet e-mail, voicemail, our own internal web based case handler/client communication system – (where constant communication and case updates between the client and the office are provided 24/7), client web based resource area – (where anything related to forms, communication pieces can be filled online or downloaded for later action), conventional US Postal Service mail, and lastly, if our client is not ambulatory , we do provide on site visits when required.
You certainly can. We can arrange a meeting with one of our attorneys and will do out absolute best to accommodate to your particular itinerary. We say this, because for the greater working hours timeframes our attorneys can be pre committed to other appointments, including, but not limited to court appointments, settlement conferences or meetings and most frequently meeting with other clients. It’s customary and for the most part more convenient to meet with our office manager, an alternative well preferred by many of our current and past clients.
No. Based on the information insurance agents and insurance carriers provide us, simply because an injured person pursues a claim does not mean that his or her insurance premium will be increased. It is when a person’s negligent or wrongful acts cause injury that his or her own insurance premiums are increased.
Don’t sign anything without consulting an attorney. Don’t attempt to negotiate with an insurance company (your own or the other party’s) without consulting an attorney. Don’t make any kind of statement, even one the insurance company rep or other party tells you is “off the record”, without consulting an attorney. Don’t downplay your injuries before you know the extent of them—it’s not always immediately apparent how serious your injuries are, and if you’ve said you were “fine” at the scene, that may come back to haunt you. The bottom line is that it’s best to get advice from an attorney before taking any kind of action outside of seeking medical attention.
It would be surprising to know that going to court is the last resort to resolve a case, although at times its necessary. Only a small percentage of cases are resolved in a court of law. Most cases are settled, either at the steps of the court or before a court date is set for a trial.
If allowed by your primary health care or attending physician we most certainly will make arrangements to come to you and discuss the basic facts of your personal injury situation. In addition. as an extended service is our policy to provide adequate transportation, if you so desire while recuperating, to visit our offices. If it was absolutely necessary to meet with you personally, for example, the signing of legal documents, etc. we would come to your home.
At The Law Offices of Vincent J. Ciecka, we highly specialize in Personal Injury cases, representing victims of car accidents, medical malpractice, workplace injuries, wrongful death, and more.
Beyond personal injury, our firm also provides legal representation in select other areas, including:
For a comprehensive list of our legal services, click here to explore our full areas of practice. If you have specific questions about your case, contact us today for a free consultation.
Its in your best interest to immediately contact a lawyer to protect your rights. Insurance adjustors protect only the rights of their employers, the Insurance Companies. In particular, don’t sign anything until you have been properly counseled by an attorney. At the Law Office of Vincent J. Ciecka, P.C., we have been protecting accident victims rights for over 30 years, with over 10,000 cases and millions in recoveries for our clients during that timeframe. Experience and a successful track record also is very important to be on your side. Our law offices can definitely provide you with that.
You should provide a lawyer with any documents that might be relevant to your case. Police reports, for example, contain eyewitness information and details about the conditions surrounding auto accidents, fires, and assaults. Copies of medical reports and bills from doctors and hospitals will help demonstrate the extent and nature of your injuries. Information about the insurer of the person who caused your injury is extremely helpful, as are any photographs you have of the accident scene, your property damage, and your injury. The more information you are able to give your lawyer, the easier it will be for him or her to determine if your claim will be successful. If you haven’t collected any documents at the time of your first meeting, however, don’t worry; your lawyer will be able to obtain them in his investigation of your claim.
There are many types of legal actions. If you get hurt, or suffered an injury, then you may have certain rights under the law depending on how you were hurt. People get hurt from other people, from animals, cars, trucks, from doctors, facilities and medical professionals, from products and recalls, and from being on the job and getting hurt.
Here are answers to questions about the different types of injuries a person can suffer.
A tort is a kind of personal injury case that involves a wrongful act to a person or group of people. The result of the wrongful act can be injury to health, property, or reputation for which the injured party is entitled to compensation. Many torts result from negligence.
You have an interest in (1) your physical person, (2) your property, and (3) certain aspects of your human dignity, such as your reputation, that are recognized and protected by the law. An injury to any of these protected interests, caused under circumstances in which the law will impose liability, is a tort
Malpractice occurs when a professional—such as a doctor, nurse, lawyer, accountant, or engineer—fails to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm or financial loss to a client or patient. While negligence in everyday situations (such as driving or property maintenance) can often be judged by common sense, malpractice cases typically require expert testimony. This is because juries are not expected to know the professional standards for medical procedures, legal decisions, or engineering practices. In most malpractice lawsuits, expert witnesses provide opinions on what the professional should have done under the circumstances. The jury then evaluates this expert guidance alongside the case facts to determine whether the professional acted unreasonably and is legally responsible for damages.
When someone has been injured by a commercial product, it is easier to look at the condition of the product as it was sold to determine what is wrong with it than to try to reconstruct where, in the design, manufacture or labeling of that product, the manufacturer acted negligently. This shift in focus from the reasonableness of the manufacturer’s actions to the condition of the product itself is known as products liability. In New Jersey, a product is defective if it is not fit, suitable or safe for its intended or foreseeable purpose. Ordinarily, an expert is needed to compare the product to industry standards and alternative available designs in order to help a jury to determine whether the product is defective.
If you are injured while working, you cannot sue your employer or co-employees. However, you can recover for some of your injuries through another New Jersey court system. This is the workers’ compensation system and is discussed elsewhere on this website. You are entitled to medical treatment for your work-related injuries, temporary disability benefits, and a money award to compensate you for the permanent loss of function that you sustain due to your injuries. Persons who are injured while at work can sue anyone who caused their injuries other than an employer or co-worker. Such a lawsuit is called a “third party action”.
A wrongful death case arises when an individual’s death is caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. These cases allow the deceased person’s surviving family members or estate to seek financial compensation for their losses, including medical expenses, funeral costs, lost income, and emotional suffering. Common causes of wrongful death include car accidents, medical malpractice, workplace injuries, defective products, and criminal acts. In Pennsylvania, a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed by the personal representative of the deceased’s estate, typically within two years of the death. An experienced wrongful death lawyer can help families navigate the legal process and fight for the justice and compensation they deserve.
Claims for injuries and damages resulting from motor vehicle accident cases can be made not only on behalf of drivers and passengers, but also on behalf of pedestrians, bicyclists, and people who are injured while working on or unloading vehicles—even a person who is partly at fault for the accident may have a valid claim. In addition—and to the surprise of many—the injured passenger’s automobile insurance company pays for their initial medical bills even though their automobile was not involved in the accident.
Discovery is a fact-finding process that allows the attorneys for each party to a lawsuit to learn about the other’s claims, defenses and evidence before a cases comes to trial. There are two reasons for this. The more that each side knows about the other side’s case, the better the case can be evaluated for settlement purposes. If the case does not settle, there will be no surprises and the trial will be fair. You are required to comply with legitimate discovery requests and the Court may dismiss your lawsuit if you fail to do so. If you anticipate a problem with providing discovery or if you feel that certain facts should be privileged from disclosure, advise your attorney as soon as possible.
Five types of discovery are routinely used. First, you will answer written questions called interrogatories. Second, you may have to submit to a deposition, in which the defense attorney asks you questions in a session that is transcribed by a stenographic reporter. Third, you may be required to produce relevant documents, such as tax returns to substantiate a lost wage claim, or items, such as defective products or x-ray films, for inspection by the defense attorneys. Fourth, you may be required to sign authorizations so that the defense attorneys can get your medical or employment records or other relevant documents that are kept by someone else. Fifth, you may have to submit to a medical examination by a doctor of the defendant’s own choosing.
In an effort to settle cases before trial, all personal injury cases are arbitrated in both the state and federal courts in New Jersey. An arbitration is an informal hearing in which an attorney chosen by the Court holds a hearing in a conference room setting, listens to you testify, and reads medical reports and other written information submitted on your behalf in lieu of testimony from live witnesses. The arbitrator then evaluates what a jury would award after a full trial. Each party to a lawsuit has thirty days to reject the award by payment of a fee to the Court. If all parties accept the arbitrator’s award, your case settles on that basis, but if any party rejects the award, it is listed for trial. In the New Jersey state courts, if a party rejects the award but does not do at least twenty percent better at trial, certain sanctions may be imposed.
Our experience with arbitrations in the New Jersey state courts has been disappointing. About 70% of the arbitration awards are rejected by the insurance companies for the defendants, who often offer the same amount of money to settle your case later, after they have earned interest on it. If you are a plaintiff, your presence and participation at the arbitration is required, however, in both the state and federal courts.
A different type of arbitration is used to resolve Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist claims (discussed elsewhere on this website). These arbitrations are generally held before three attorneys and are usually conducted at a lawyers’ office, and, under some circumstances, may be binding upon the parties.
A motion is an application to a court to order that something be done. During trial motions are made orally before the judge who is presiding over the case. Before trial, motions are made in writing on several weeks’ advance notice to the Court and to all other attorneys involved in the case.
A judgment is the Court’s resolution of a case, and is distinguished from a settlement, in which the parties resolve the case among themselves. Most judgments are based on a verdict returned by a jury after a trial. During a trial, the judge decides questions of law and the jury decides questions of fact. Juries apply the law, as instructed by the Judge, to resolve disputes over facts. Sometimes there is no significant dispute over the facts of a case, and a judge can decide whether the law permits the plaintiff to recover damages. Other times, there may be a significant dispute over the facts of the case, but, not withstanding that dispute, the defendant contends that an immunity applies or that a threshold has not been reached. The defendants may then make a motion asking that the Court resolve the case summarily, that is, without a trial.
Just as you must prove that the defendant acted wrongly in causing your injury, the defendant can claim that you also acted unreasonably in protecting yourself from the defendant’s wrongful act. If you slipped on something that the defendant should have cleaned up, for example, the defendant can argue that you should have seen what caused you to slip before you stepped on it. When a jury renders a verdict, it compares the wrongful act of the defendants with any alleged wrongful act on your part, and apportions the liability among all of the parties in terms of percentages of fault. The allocation of negligence to you, the plaintiff, is comparative negligence. The amount of money that the jury awards you for your injury is reduced by the percentage of liability that the jury allocates to you. For example, if the jury finds that your injuries are worth $10,000, but that you are 20% responsible for the happening of the accident, you recover only $8,000. If the jury finds that you are 51% or more responsible for your own injuries, you do not recover anything from the defendant under New Jersey law. If there is more than one defendant, the jury will also compare the wrongful acts of the defendants. Each defendant will ordinarily pay only the percentage of damages for which the jury finds it to be responsible, though there are some exceptions to this.
Yes. Some persons or companies may be held “strictly liable” for certain activities that harm others, even if they have not acted negligently or with wrongful intent. Under this theory, a person injured by a defective or unexpectedly dangerous product, for instance, may recover compensation from the maker or seller of the product without showing that the manufacturer or seller was actually negligent. Also, persons or companies engaged in using explosives, storing dangerous substances, or keeping dangerous animals can be strictly liable for harm caused to others as a result of such activities.
Yes. Some persons or companies may be held “strictly liable” for certain activities that harm others, even if they have not acted negligently or with wrongful intent. Under this theory, a person injured by a defective or unexpectedly dangerous product, for instance, may recover compensation from the maker or seller of the product without showing that the manufacturer or seller was actually negligent. Also, persons or companies engaged in using explosives, storing dangerous substances, or keeping dangerous animals can be strictly liable for harm caused to others as a result of such activities.