Two Vehicle Car Accident in New Jersey

[KevinNJ789]

My nephew was involved in a car accident two weeks ago in the state of New Jersey. He was a passenger in a friend's truck. The friend was driving. Another car was exiting from a main highway and never saw their truck and hit them directly. The truck flipped over once or maybe twice. He and his friend are very lucky to be alive as they were both wearing seatbelts. My nephew side still hurts, he had swelling in his arms and legs, his kidney was bruised and he has much anxiety and is currently under medication for the anxiety. He was able to return to landscaping work after missing a few days, but I really am not sure how productive he is at work.

The police report came back after almost two weeks and stated the truck flipped over because of cracked asphalt. He was told by various sources that he may have a case against the Township and may be able to collect for pain and suffering. I would imagine he would not wish to pursue any legal action unless he was fairly confident he stood an excellent chance of being awarded some type of monetary damages. I know there are websites or agencies that offer free legal advice in the state of New Jersey but not sure best avenue to seek out such advice.

Would very much appreciate feedback. Please let me know any details that I may be excluding in order to offer some type of opinion.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[ecmst12]

Your nephew is entitled to make a claim for pain and suffering regardless, since he was a passenger and so an innocent victim. He (or his parents, if he's a minor) needs to consult with a lawyer; there are multiple parties he can potentially collect from which makes his case potentially complicated.

 

[justalayman]

I suspect you read more into the report than was there. While the cracked asphalt may have been a contributing factor, make no mistake, the truck flipped because they were hit by the other car. I suspect the report said something more like your nephews vehicle was pushed sideways and rolled after the tires caught on a crack in the asphalt.

Not only was the crack no more than a contributing factor with the other vehicle being the causation, you will likely find the city has immunity here unless you can show the crack was so large that it alone was a safety hazard and the city was aware of the crack and the city failed to make necessary repairs.

Be aware there are generally some very short time periods to take action against a government entity and it has already been a couple weeks. Your nephew needs to speak with an attorney ASAP so as to not lose any opportunity he may have to recover anything from the township, if there is anyhthing available.

 

[ecmst12]

Nephew can potentially recover from both drivers, regardless of any (unlikely) liability on the part of the township.

 

[justalayman]

Nephew can potentially recover from both drivers, regardless of any (unlikely) liability on the part of the township.

Absolutely agree. It just sounded like op was most interested in seeing the nephew go after the municipality.

 

[HighwayMan]

The police report came back after almost two weeks and stated the truck flipped over because of cracked asphalt.

All things considered it seems doubtful that there was a formal accident investigation done - those are usually reserved for accidents where someone is very seriously injured or killed.. The conclusion you refer to in the police accident report is dubious at best.