Newark Child Injury Attorney

Newark parents understand that their children may get bumps and bruises at home, on the playground, and at school. Sometimes, however, Newark children suffer far more serious injuries in preventable accidents, like motor vehicle crashes on I-78, building fires in Vailsburg, stray bullets from shootings in the Central Ward, and dangerous falls in Newark city parks. Those injuries can disrupt or destroy a child’s–and a family’s–life, and cause lasting physical, emotional, and financial pain.

Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, in Newark represents children who have suffered serious, preventable injuries in legal actions seeking compensation for damages sustained. Contact us to speak with a skilled, compassionate child injury lawyer who can help you confront the tragedy of a child suffering a serious injury because of someone else’s wrongful actions.

How Newark Child Injuries Happen

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that unintentional injuries cut short the lives of more than 9,000 children every year across the United States, and that millions more children seek care for injuries in hospital emergency rooms. Newark is no stranger to those sorts of tragedies.

Children in the city routinely suffer injuries in:

  • Motor vehicle accidents, including crashes of cars, trucks, NJ Transit buses, and school buses, in which passengers sustain injuries.
  • Pedestrian and bicycle accidents, in which motor vehicles collide with children crossing, walking along, or riding on the street;
  • Train accidents in which children suffer injuries as passengers on NJ Transit trains or when walking or riding near train tracks;
  • Fires in Newark houses and apartment buildings that burn children who cannot escape the flames;
  • Shootings in which children get caught in the crossfire in city streets and parks, or sustain gunshot wounds in their homes or schools from a stray bullet;
  • Falls from windows, fire escapes, bridges, walls, and playground equipment;
  • Toxic exposures to dangerous chemicals, building materials, and other environmental hazards, such as lead paint dust;
  • Physical and sexual abuse by an adult or older child;
  • Animal attacks, especially dog bites;
  • Malpractice by a medical professional in treating a child, leading to serious health complications; and
  • Playing sports and engaging in other recreation activities in Newark parks, at home, and on athletic fields.

Obviously, this is not a complete list. Children can sustain injuries in Newark in a virtually limitless array of tragic, preventable circumstances. No matter how a child gets injured, the compassionate, determined child injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, in Newark know how to find the causes, identify the at-fault parties, and pursue maximum compensation.

Newark Child Injuries That We Can Help With

The many types of preventable accidents and incidents in Newark result in an equally wide range of injuries. After nearly five decades of representing child injury victims and their families, the team at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, has experience securing compensation for a long list of injuries and illnesses, from the most common to the exceedingly rare, including:

Brain Injuries

Brain injuries can take a heavy toll on Newark children and their families.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen when a violent blow or jolt, or a penetrating injury–like a gunshot wound, directly or indirectly causes damage to a child’s brain. TBIs frequently happen in motor vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents, in shootings, from playing contact sports, and when children fall from heights. In the worst cases, a TBI can cause a permanent loss of consciousness.  Even less severe TBIs, however, including concussions, disrupt brain function and lead to a range of debilitating cognitive, motor, and emotional impairments.

Children can also suffer brain injuries in the absence of a violent blow, jolt, or penetrating injury. These non-traumatic forms of brain injury commonly happen in cases of drownings, toxic exposures (such as to lead paint dust), complications during childbirth, or illness that causes swelling in the brain. Although these injuries happen through different mechanisms than TBIs, the effects of these brain injuries are no less severe or debilitating.

Any injury to a child’s developing brain can lead to a lifetime of struggles for which child victims and their families may qualify to pursue compensation. CONTACT A Newark child injury attorney today to discuss your case.

Disease and Chronic Illness

Newark’s aging buildings and infrastructure can pose risks to children’s health. Children exposed to toxic materials in single-family homes, apartment buildings, and schools, or to unsanitary conditions caused by infestations of insects or vermin, can develop a host of illnesses, including asthma, cancers, and viral disease. These health conditions cause acute problems requiring expensive ongoing medical care and also have lasting impacts on children’s overall wellbeing, potentially limiting their opportunities, their lifespans, and their abilities to thrive and learn.

People sometimes tend to overlook these forms of child injuries when thinking about seeking compensation through the legal process, but not the team at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP. We believe in holding landlords and others financially responsible for careless or reckless actions that cause long-term health problems for Newark’s children.

Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord transmits messages between the brain and the body. An injury that disrupts those messages commonly leads to a loss of sensation and function (paralysis) in the body below the site of the injury. A child who suffers a spinal cord injury faces a potential lifetime of challenges and expenses. The child may, for example, rely on a wheelchair for independence and may lose the ability to have children.

Motor vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle accidents, falls, and gunshot wounds constitute common contributors to spinal cord injuries in children. No matter the cause, however, the team at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP,  understands the medical and practical implications of a spinal cord injury, and can assist children and their families in securing the funds they need now and in the future.

Burns

Newark Child Injury Accident LawyersAny severe burn can cause agonizing pain and infection, and may require weeks or months of extensive treatment at a burn center. For a child victim, burns also bring a potential lifetime of physical and emotional struggle resulting from living with burn scarring and disfigurement.

In Newark, children suffer burns in building fires, from exposure to scalding-hot water flowing from aging or poorly-maintained pipes, and from contact with dangerous, caustic chemicals, such as drain cleaners. Nearly all accidents and incidents that lead to children suffering severe burns are preventable. At Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, we fight hard to make sure children and their families who have suffered the tragedy of severe burns receive compensation from the at-fault parties.

Harm Resulting From Abuse and Neglect

Newark children suffer serious harm when adults they should trust instead cause emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, or fail to prevent others from committing similar acts. Many survivors of childhood abuse carry the emotional scars with them long after physical wounds heal, often struggling with addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and other mental health challenges. At Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, we fight to hold individual adults and the institutions that harbored them (such as churches or youth organizations) accountable for inflicting harm to children.

Other Serious, Traumatic Physical Injuries

Children in Newark also suffer a host of other injuries that will usually heal in time and with proper care, but can still cause serious pain and disruption in their and their families’ lives. In any kind of accident or incident from a car crash to a fall on the playground to an encounter with a vicious dog, children can sustain broken bones, orthopedic injuries, lacerations, and abrasions.

All may require immediate medical attention, can keep the children out of school and their parents out of work, and have the potential to cause extreme pain and emotional trauma. The Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, team in Newark provides victims of these injuries just as much attention and effort as any other clients we represent.

How We Can Help With Your Child’s Injury

The lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, understand the trauma that children, parents, and families face when a child suffers a serious injury because of someone else’s wrongful actions. We’re here to help. Through hard work and determined advocacy on behalf of our clients, we aim to secure maximum compensation to help them pay for medical care, time off at work, and other costs of healing and returning to living their lives.

Every case we handle has unique circumstances that we must take into account in planning a strategy to obtain payment for our clients. The steps we take on our clients’ behalf can vary, but may include:

  • Investigating a child’s injury to learn how it happened and who should face legal and financial accountability for it;
  • Planning a legal strategy tailored to meet our clients’ current and future needs;
  • Communicating with our clients and their families to ensure they get their questions answered and that they understand how we propose to help them;
  • Preparing demands for compensation that we file in court or submit to insurance companies;
  • Negotiating favorable settlements, whenever possible, with defense lawyers and insurance companies representing the party or parties at fault for a child’s injury;
  • Litigating in Newark-area courts on behalf of our clients, which may include taking a case to trial in front of a judge and jury if that’s what it takes to get our clients’ maximum compensation.

As we said, we can never guarantee how our clients’ cases will turn out. We can, however, promise to put the full weight of our skill, knowledge, and experience behind every claim for compensation we pursue for a client and to leave no stone unturned in our quest to see justice done for our injured client.

Your Skilled, Experienced Child Injury Lawyers in Newark

We all know that children get hurt from time to time. Hopefully, they heal and move forward in their lives without difficulty. However, if an injury takes a heavier toll, then children and their families should pursue compensation from the at-fault parties.

For decades, Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, in Newark has represented injured children and their families in legal actions aiming to secure that compensation.

If your child suffered an injury caused by the negligence of another party, then you and your child may have a claim for financial compensation. To learn more about your rights, contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, for a free case evaluation.

Common Questions Regarding Newark Child Injury Cases

At Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, our team frequently fields questions from parents whose children have suffered severe injuries. Parents often want to know what rights they have to seek compensation and how to navigate the sometimes complicated situations that arise when insurance companies, defense lawyers, and investigators want to speak with them about their child’s injuries.

Below, you can find answers to some common questions they ask us. For answers to your more detailed questions about an injury your child has suffered in Newark, contact the Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, team today.

How do I know if I can sue someone for the injury my child suffered?

It’s natural for parents to wonder whether their child’s injury calls for taking legal action. After all, children get hurt all the time while playing or by not paying attention. A child injury isn’t always someone else’s fault, but sometimes, it is. How do you tell the difference? We can answer that in two ways: as lawyers and as parents.Jacoby & Meyers multi million dollar advocates forum Award

First, we’ll provide the lawyers’ answer. In general, you have the right to sue anyone whose unreasonably dangerous decisions or actions directly led to your child getting hurt.

Specifically, lawyers identify individuals, companies, organizations, or others you may have the ability to sue by asking the following questions:

  • Did someone owe your child a duty of care not to put your child in harm’s way?
  • Did that party breach the duty of care by making decisions or taking actions that unreasonably put your child in danger?
  • Did your child get hurt because of those dangerous decisions or actions?
  • Did you and your child suffer damages, such as financial losses or physical and emotional pain?

If the answer to each of these questions is yes, then a lawyer would say you likely have the right to sue for your child’s injury.

Now, we’ll provide the parents’ answer. As a parent, you likely have an instinct for what seems like an ordinary childhood injury and what doesn’t. Most of the time, you can trust your gut. If your child got badly hurt, and it seems to you, as a parent, that someone really could have, and should have, taken reasonable steps that would have avoided your child’s injury, then chances are you have the legal right to sue for damages.

Talk to the team at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, in Newark today to learn more about your rights.

Can I sue a government entity, like a public school or NJ Transit, for my child’s injuries?

Yes, assuming that the decisions and actions of an employee of that entity meets the criteria listed above. A public entity, like a school or transit authority, can have legal liability for causing personal injuries in the same general way that a private person or entity can.

Be aware, however, that the New Jersey Tort Claims Act places special requirements and limitations on suing a government entity in the Garden State. We don’t have enough room here to describe all the details of the law, but one of its provisions bears special mention.

Normally, to sue a public entity, like a school district or transit authority, you must act quickly. In most cases, the NJ Tort Claims Act gives you just 90 days after suffering an injury to give notice to the public entity of your potential claim for damages and just two years from the injury to commence a lawsuit.

Because your child is a minor, the law may allow your child to wait to file a claim until after turning age 18. However, depending upon your child’s current age, it may not serve your child’s best interests to wait that long. For that reason, we strongly urge any parent of a child who sustained injuries caused by the actions of a public employee or entity in Newark to speak with a member of the Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, team right away.

What damages can I receive for my child’s injuries?

New Jersey law generally permits victims of personal injuries to sue for two types of compensatory damages: economic and non-economic. The law sometimes also permits victims to sue for punitive damages.

Economic damages consist of the financial losses that you and your child have suffered and will suffer in the future because of your child’s injury.

Economic damages typically include:

  • Medical expenses;
  • Other injury-related expenses;
  • Wages you did not earn when you took time off from work to care for your child;
  • Wages your child did not earn, if your child works, because of an injury; and
  • Income you or your child likely will not earn in the future because of an injury.

Non-economic damages constitute all other ways that a child’s injury caused harm to the child and the family, such as:

  • Physical pain and suffering;
  • Emotional anguish;
  • Loss of enjoyment of life;
  • Impaired ability to participate in activities or hobbies; and
  • The challenges of living with scarring, disfigurement, or disability.

Punitive damages serve the purpose of punishing and deterring future instances of extreme or outrageous conduct that caused a child’s injury. Courts award punitive damages in the limited set of cases in which the harmful conduct reflected a flagrant or intentional disregard for a child’s safety or wellbeing. New Jersey law caps punitive damages at five times the total amount of compensatory (economic and non-economic) damages or $350,000, whichever is greater.

Keep in mind that no one can guarantee that you will receive all (or any) of the types of compensation above. That is why it is always important to select a skilled, experienced Newark child injury attorney to represent your child. The team at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, has represented child injury victims for decades and has secured multiple million-plus dollar settlements and judgments on their behalf.

How long does it take to get money in a lawsuit for a child injury?

It varies.

New Jersey law sets a deadline – known as a statute of limitations – on starting a lawsuit for damages arising out of your child’s injury in Newark. In most cases, that deadline is two years from the date of injury. However, as we described in the answer above, that deadline can vary based on who owes you money for your child’s injury. That’s why it protects your rights to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after your child suffers an injury in Newark.

However, once you begin a lawsuit, the law generally does not set a hard deadline on when it must end.

The timeline for a Newark child injury case can depend on a wide array of factors, like:

  • How much time your child’s attorney needs to investigate the injury and to collect evidence;
  • How much time your child’s doctor needs before giving a prognosis for your child’s physical recovery and future medical needs;
  • How many parties may owe damages to your child; and
  • How hard the parties who you sue fight against your child’s injury claim.

You usually do not have much control over these factors, but you do control when you speak with an attorney about your child’s injury for the first time. As we said, the sooner you do that, the better off you and your child will fare going forward.

What is my child’s injury case worth?

To answer that question, a skilled lawyer needs to dig into the facts and circumstances of your child’s case. Every claim for damages differs.

The amount of money your child may have a right to receive, and how much your child can reasonably expect to get, will depend on:

  • The type and extent of your child’s injuries. As a general rule, the worse the injuries, the higher the damages you and your child can seek from the at-fault parties.
  • The strength of your case and the skill of your lawyer. A claim for damages arising from a child’s injury in Newark can only achieve maximum damages if the evidence supports the claim, and if a lawyer has the know-how to use that evidence to full effect.
  • Who owes damages, and how much money they have available. As a practical matter, the value of a child’s injury claim depends in part on the financial resources available to pay it. The more insurance coverage that an at-fault party carries, or the more assets that party has, the better the chances of a Newark child injury claim achieving a favorable financial outcome.

To learn more about the potential value of your child’s injury claim, contact the caring attorneys at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, today.

I am an adult now, but I was sexually abused as a child by my priest/pastor in Newark. Can I still sue?

It’s possible, but you may need to act immediately to preserve your rights.

Under a New Jersey law currently in effect, any survivor of childhood sexual assault in New Jersey has at least until December 1, 2021, to file a lawsuit for damages against the perpetrator and any other person or institution (including a church, youth organization, or sports league) at fault for enabling the abuse. This window of opportunity allows you to file a claim even if your rights would otherwise have expired under a statute of limitations.

After that cut-off date, however, some survivors will lose their right to sue for damages forever. Others may have additional time, depending on when the abuse occurred.

We invite you to contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, in Newark right away to learn more about your rights as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse in Newark.

What does it cost to retain Jacoby &Meyers, LLP, for a child injury case in Newark?

It costs nothing to speak for the first time with an experienced, compassionate, child injury lawyer at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, in Newark. We offer free, confidential, no-obligation consultations to anyone who thinks they might have a child injury case or who just wants to learn more about their child’s rights after an injury.

It also costs nothing to hire us and put us to work on your child’s behalf. In virtually all child injury cases that we take in Newark, we work on a contingent fee basis, which means our fee consists of a percentage of any money that we recover for you and your child. We do not charge you money up-front. We do not bill you by the hour, and we only get paid if you get paid.

Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, represents child injury clients on a contingent fee basis because we know how much strain a child injury can put on a family. We want to make it as affordable as possible for our clients to get the legal advice and representation they need.

Never let financial concerns keep you from contacting Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, about your child’s injury in Newark. We’re here for you.

An insurance company has offered me a settlement in my child’s case. What should I do?

Do not say yes, and do not sign anything. Instead, contact an experienced Newark child injury lawyer at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, today for a case consultation.

Any settlement money offer that an insurance company makes to you directly for your child’s injury will almost always come up far short of the amount of money your child needs to cover the full cost of the injuries involved. In most cases, letting an experienced attorney negotiate with the insurance company on your child’s behalf will get you substantially more money than the insurance company has offered you.

At the very least, you have nothing to lose by speaking with an experienced attorney, for free, about your rights before you decide whether to accept a settlement offer.

Andrew Finkelstein Jacoby & Meyers LLP

Newark Child Injury Lawyer, Andrew Finkelstein

About Jacoby & Meyers, LLP

For nearly five decades, Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, has been the go-to law firm for Newark residents and workers who suffered personal injuries because of someone else’s unreasonably dangerous conduct. Since our founding in 1972, fighting to secure compensation for injured children and their families has constituted a major focus of our law practice.

As parents ourselves, we understand the agony that families endure when a child gets seriously hurt in an accident or incident in Newark. Our mission, in every case, is to seek justice by obtaining the maximum compensation available from the at-fault parties and their insurance companies. Of course, we know that money cannot heal a child’s injury or take away a family’s pain. It can, however, offer the support that child injury victims need to recover their physical and emotional health and to live fulfilling lives.

Over the decades, our team has secured tens of millions of dollars for our clients through settlements, judgments, and jury verdicts.

Our recent results in cases involving children who suffered serious and fatal injuries include:

These results do not mean that we will always obtain similar outcomes for other clients in child injury cases. These results do, however, give our clients peace of mind knowing that Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, is a team of lawyers that can see justice served for child injury victims in even the most difficult and emotionally trying cases.

Call Our Newark Child Injury Attorneys Today

No child, parent, or family should ever have to suffer the trauma of a child suffering a serious, preventable injury because of someone else’s wrongful actions. If it does happen, however, then the child victims and their loved ones deserve to have a compassionate, determined lawyer by their side at every step of the process of seeking compensation from the at-fault parties.

If your child suffered injuries in a preventable accident or incident in Newark, then contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, today online or by phone at (973) 643-2707 for a free, confidential, no-obligation case evaluation.

Newark Office

550 Broad Street suite 608
Newark NJ 07102
973-643-2707