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THE LIFE OF A CASE
Involvement in an Accident
Types of Cases We Handle
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TYPES OF VEHICLE CASES

Bosco and Mascolo, Esqs. LLP handle cases arising from all types of motor vehicle accidents:

  • pedestrian accidents,
  • car accidents,
  • truck accidents,
  • motorcycle accidents,
  • bicycle accidents,
  • bus accidents,
  • crane accidents,
  • any other type of vehicle accident case that you can think of

CONTINGENCY FEE

We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis.  This means our fee is paid at the end of the case when a verdict or settlement is in hand. No recovery; no fee.

EVALUATION OF A CASE

We invest time, effort, money, heart and soul into each of our cases.Therefore, we must evaluate each case before we accept it. We weigh our investment against our opinion of the value of a case. It is purely an economic decision. If, in our opinion, the value of the case does not justify the time, effort, money, heart and soul that we put into each case, we do not accept it. If your case is a real case with real injuries, we accept it and go after the defendant to make sure that you get fair and adequate compensation that brings the scales of justice back into balance.

Not everything is clear at the beginning of a case. Sometimes we accept a case to see whether it develops. Some do; some do not. Those that do not are given back to the client. Those that do develop are pursued with vigor.

The following factors are considered when we evaluate a vehicle accident case:

To win, a motor vehicle accident case a plaintiff must prove the following:

  1. the defendant was negligent [LIABILITY],
  2. the plaintiff was injured, [INJURIES]
  3. the accident caused the injuries [CAUSATION]
  4. the injuries are not minor but serious.[SERIOUSNESS OF INJURIES]

Although not necessary to win a motor vehicle accident case, one additional factor needs to be considered: Insurance Coverage [INSURANCE COVERAGE]. Why? Water cannot be squeezed from a stone.

Every motor vehicle accident case typically requires the plaintiff to prove each of these four elements to win.  Prove only three out of four and the entire case is lost.  For a defendant to win, all a defendant needs to do is to knock out one of these elements. That is why being a defendant is easier than being a plaintiff. A defendant can pick the battle to fight. A plaintiff does not have the luxury but must present evidence to prove each of the four elements.

LIABILITY

Negligence is one of the requirement of a case. Negligence is lack of ordinary care. It is a failure to use that degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would have used under the same circumstances. Negligence may arise from doing an act that a reasonably prudent person would not have done under the same circumstances, or, on the other hand, from failing to do an act that a reasonably prudent person would have done under the same circumstances. (New York Pattern Jury Instruction 2:10). Examples of negligence are a driver following too closely, driving too fast, failing to yield the right of way, not paying attention, etc.

The Plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant is negligent.

A jury assigns percentages of negligence. For instances, a jury may find that a defendant is 100% negligent or some lesser percentage. If a jury finds 0% against the Defendant, the case is over and the plaintiff loses. Note that in New Jersey the plaintiff loses if a jury assigns the plaintiff 51% or more of the negligence. In New York, the plaintiff still proceeds. However, in both New York and New Jersey, the plaintiff's share of the fault reduces the amount that plaintiff can recover. For instance, if the plaintiff is 25% at fault and is awarded $100,000, the plaintiff can only collect $75,000

INJURIES

CAUSATION

SERIOUSNESS OF THE INJURIES

INSURANCE COVERAGE

Everyone knows that Insurance is involved in motor vehicle accident cases.  It makes no economic sense for a lawyer to pursue a case lest there is insurance present.  Yet, during the trial of a case, the fact that a defendant has insurance is censored. Lawyers are not permitted to mention insurance to a jury. Jurors must render a verdict not knowing who is the Defendant's Insurance Company and the amount of insurance coverage. Insurance companies lobbied for this law. They are afraid that jurors would be more inclined to award compensation if they knew that insurance was involved and the amount of insurance.  Shhhh! the legal system says. Keep silent about insurance. The silence about insurance in the courtroom during a trial is what lawyers call a legal fiction. The legal system pretends and makes believe that insurance is irrelevant.

At the beginning of a case, the amount of Insurance Coverage is generally not known. From the Department of Motor Vehicles we can tell whether or not a Defendant has insurance, who is the Insurance Company and what is the Policy number but not the amount of coverage. Departments of Motor Vehicles typically do not require the filing with them of the amount of coverage.

The States of New York and New Jersey require owners of passenger cars to have minimum policy limits. The New Jersey minimum is $15,000/$30,000. The New York minimum is $25,000/$50,000.  The first number is the amount of insurance coverage available for any single person involved in an accident. The second number is the amount of insurance coverage available for everyone involved in an accident.

Insurance is like the mortgage on a house. It is the guarantee that at the end of a case there is money to compensate an injured plaintiff. The personal assets of a defendant sometimes disappear when a defendant has no insurance or too little insurance.  Water does not come from a stone. There is nothing worse than telling a serious injured client that a defendant has the minimum insurance. 

There is a way to protect yourself from Defendant who has too little or no insurance. Whenever you buy Insurance, you are sold what is called Uninsured and Underinsured motorist coverage.  This Insurance Coverage from your own company protects you in the event you are hurt in an accident by a Defendant who has too litttle or no insurance. It is cheap coverage. Buy as much as you can. This protects yourself and your family.

One last thing about motor vehicle insurance.  When the owner of a motor vehicle buys motor vehicle insurance, it comes with what is called Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance or No Fault Insurance. This pays the medical bills. There is a hierarchy of who pays what to those injured in a motor vehicle accident.  In New York, generally, the car in which you were in pays. In New Jersey, your household's vehicle is at the top of the hierarchy of payors.