Legal Question in Personal Injury in New Jersey
Rear-ended by government employee
About 6 mos. ago, I was rear-ended while pulling into my driveway by an employee of a local gov't dept. His insurance covered my deductible only. I went to the hospital, but xrays were negative. I had back, neck, shoulder and jaw pain. I saw my reg dr. and she sent me to physical therapy 3x/wk for 4 wks where my therapist diagnosed it to be my sacroiliac joint. My dr. did not approve additional therapy. I have a 35 min commute to work, and get about 10 min down the road and I am in pain. I have to get up from my desk and move around constantly throughout the day. I was running at the gym before the accident and can no longer run. There are days when I can barely walk when I wake up. Daily, it is a constant ache, many times a burning in my lower back and hip. I still have muscle spasms. I am miserable, depressed and angry most days. It has affected my family life also.Although my auto insurance covered 80% of medical, and my health insurance covered the remaining 20%, the deductibles and co-pays have to come out of my pocket. Do I have any options?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Rear-ended by government employee
Your problem is multifaceted. Medically, you may need to discuss alternative treatment options with you doctor since what your doing now doesn't seem to be alleviating your pain. Alternatively, you might want to find a new doctor.
From a legal perspective it is not possible to know the severity or extent of your injuries from you description. If the injuries and damages are severe enough you might consider litigation.
With regards to your out of pocket expenses, you might consider submitting proof of payment of your deductibles, co-pays and other out of pocket expenses to the insurance companies.
Re: Rear-ended by government employee
Your problem is multifaceted. Medically, you may need to discuss alternative treatment options with you doctor since what your doing now doesn't seem to be alleviating your pain. Alternatively, you might want to find a new doctor.
From a legal perspective it is not possible to know the severity or extent of your injuries from your description. If the injuries and damages are severe enough you might consider litigation.
With regards to your out of pocket expenses, you might consider submitting proof of payment of your deductibles, co-pays and other out of pocket expenses to the insurance companies.
Re: Rear-ended by government employee
Unfortunately the first two responses are from out of State attorneys who do not understand New Jersey Law. Treatment for an auto related accident is governed by the New Jersey PIP statutes. Under NJ law you cannot recover the co-pay or deductible, because we have "no-fault" for medical bills.
As far as making a cliam for anything else, personal injuries or economic losses, this is goverened by the NJ Tort Claims Act (TCA). The TCA requires a notice of claim to be filed within 90 days of the accident or the claim is barred, In certain extreme circumstances the Court will extend the claim period up to a year. This only applies to State and local entities, Federal entities have a whole different set of Rules.
Furthermore, claims for personal injuries under the TCA must be of a sufficient statutory magnitude to qualify for recovery. That subject is to complex to address in a simple posting, but I certainly can explain it to you if you wish.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss this in detail and your options. I hope this helps.
1-800-34 NJ LAW
Re: Rear-ended by government employee
You certainly do have options. If the defendant is a gornmental employee during the course of his employment, you need to overcome the treshold requirements of permanency. Iw ould need to see medical records to make that determination., In any event your co pay and ded. should be covered by them. Call me if you are interested in my representation.
800-310-4800
LL.M Trial Advocacy
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