Toms River New Jersey Personal Injury Blog

Detailing product recall classifications

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Personal Injury on Monday, July 15, 2019.

News of product recalls can easily send people in Toms River into a panic, particular when those recalls involve products such as food items or medications. The common school of thought is that if an item is being recalled, it is extremely dangerous and those that have used or consumed it are at risk of serious injury (or worse). Yet many may be surprised at just how common recalls can be (indeed, per information shared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 9199 products were recalled by that agency in 2017 alone). Understanding the details of a product recall might help people avoid suffering undue stress from it.

The FDA breaks down product recalls into three classifications according to their severity. These are:

Classification I: Products whose use or exposure to presents a reasonable possibility of serious adverse health consequences or death
Classification II: Products for which the probability of serious injury or death from their use or exposure is remote, but for which the possibility of users experiencing temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences is present
Classification III: Products whose use or exposure to is unlikely to result in any adverse health consequences

Detailing a survival action

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Personal Injury on Monday, July 1, 2019.

If you have a family member or friend in Tom's River who may have reason to initiate legal action against another, your advice to them would likely be to not wait to do so. After all, one never knows what tomorrow may bring, and if said family member or friend dies before bringing action, then the opportunity to do so would be lost. That is the opinion held by many who come to see us here at Rosenberg Kirby Cahill Stankowitz & Richardson. Like the, however, you may be surprised to learn that is not the case.

Section 2A.15-3 of New Jersey's state statutes says that any cause of action that your loved one may have had during their life survives their death. This allows you (if you are the executor or administrator of their estate) to bring action against the party that trespassed against them in their stead. If any injuries that resulted from the negligent action being argued in your lawsuit were the cause of your loved one's death, their estate can also be rewarded funds to cover the cost of their funeral and compensate them for their pain and suffering.

Pedestrian deaths on the rise in New Jersey

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Monday, June 10, 2019.

With the summer season about to get in full swing soon, people in New Jersey often want to spend more time outdoors and even enjoy the ability to walk rather than drive all of the time. Whether simply walking through an outdoor shopping area, along a boardwalk for enjoyment and exercise or something else, pedestrians should know that they have to be very careful when sharing the roads with motor vehicles.

According to records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of pedestrians killed in New Jersey in 2017 spiked dramatically over the prior year. In 2016, there were 163 pedestrian fatalities across the state. In 2017, 183 people on foot lost their lives in vehicle accidents. That number represents more than 29% of all vehicular fatalities in New Jersey in 2017. The 183 deaths in 2017 is also more than in any year for the prior decade.

Workers' comp. claim denied due to pre-existing condition?

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson on Thursday, May 30, 2019.

You're a butcher at the local WalMart. One day as you are carrying a loaded tray of meat back to the freezer, you slip down in a pool of coolant from a leaking refrigerator. When you fall, you are dismayed to learn it's your right knee that bore the brunt of the fall.

That's the knee with the ACL that took a direct hit in a high school football game tackle. It was surgically repaired more than 10 years ago, but this newest fall has significantly re-damaged your old injury. You try to file for workers' compensation but WalMart denies your claim, alleging you never told them of your pre-existing condition.

Family mourns loss of three at hands of underage drunk driver

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Monday, May 27, 2019.

For residents in New Jersey, the three-day Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be a time to honor and remember the lives of those who died while serving in the nation's military. Unfortunately for some people, it ends up becoming a marker of other tragedies and losses. This is likely to be the case for a family in New Jersey who lost three of its members in a single accident over this weekend this year.

Nine relatives were travelling together from New Jersey to Niagara Falls for the holiday weekend according to NJ.com. In their vehicle were four adults and five children between the ages of four and 14. When in an intersection along a stretch of Route 20A about 30 miles from Buffalo, the were abruptly hit by a drunk driver who failed to stop at the stop sign when coming from the other direction.

Why do people still text and drive?

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Friday, May 17, 2019.

In New Jersey, plenty of dangers exist on the roads. Distracted driving is an umbrella term for many of them, including one that has gotten quite a lot of press lately. This is texting while driving, an issue that some professionals are saying will one day surpass the dangers of driving under the influence.

Despite knowing that distracted driving is risky, CBS News claims that many people continue texting while driving despite the dangers. They also ask a critical question: why exactly do people still do it if they know it's dangerous?

Drowsy driving is linked with dangerous outcomes

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson on Friday, May 17, 2019.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), almost 800 people were killed in 2017 because of drowsy driving. Yet, many people still do not realize how dangerous drowsy driving can be.

Falling asleep at the wheel can obviously lead to accidents. However, driving while tired can be dangerous even if you do not fall asleep at the wheel. When you are tired, you may be less attentive to the road, you may have a slower reaction time and you may have a reduced ability to make good decisions. These are some of the same impairments you would have if you were driving drunk.

Hearing loss America’s most common workplace injury

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Workers' Compensation on Thursday, May 2, 2019.

Listen up, those of you who work in moderately loud work environments across New Jersey: You face an especially high risk of work-related hearing loss, and there are things you and your employer should be doing to protect your hearing. At Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson, we recognize that hearing loss has become a widely prevalent problem for America’s workforce, and we have helped many people whose hearing suffered as a result of their work environments pursue appropriate recourse.

According to USA Today, work-related hearing loss has become so common across the United States that it is now the most frequent work-related injury experienced by American employees. In fact, about 22 million American workers undergo exposure to dangerous noise levels every year, and this costs the nation about $242 million annually in hearing loss-related workers’ compensation costs.

Teen driver-involved crashes spike during “100 Deadliest Days”

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.

As a New Jersey motorist, you face certain seasonal dangers, and while snow, ice and inclement weather can make wintertime driving particularly difficult, there are also unique hazards you face when you drive in the summer. At Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson, we recognize that teenage driver-involved car crashes rise substantially during the time period known as summer’s “100 Deadliest Days,” and we have helped many people who suffered injuries in car wrecks involving teenage drivers and others seek recourse.

According to AAA, the “100 Deadliest Days” fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, which is a time when most students and teenagers are out of school for the summer and more likely to be on the roads. So, just how dangerous is it to be a motorist during summer’s 100 Deadliest Days?

New Jersey's pedestrian deaths spike

On behalf of Rosenberg, Kirby, Cahill, Stankowitz & Richardson posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Sunday, March 31, 2019.

Spring has arrived in New Jersey and this is a common time of year for many people to get outside and be more active. Those who may have joined gyms as part of their New Year's resolutions may find that walking or jogging outside can be a great complement to their exercise and health routines. Certainly, these activities can be good for a person's health and wellness but there are risks that people should be aware of as well.

One of the big risks that walkers, joggers or runners face is being hit by a car or other motor vehicle. In fact, pedestrian deaths in New Jersey spiked in 2017 to its highest level in at least a decade according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That year, a total of 183 pedestrians lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents. That year saw 20 more such deaths than the prior year when 163 people died, down from 170 in 2015.