Jersey City Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one was severely injured during a car accident, slip and fall, an intentional act of violence, or another type of accident, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim in Jersey City, New Jersey. An injury claim can give your family justice in the form of financial compensation for your losses and bills.

At Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, our Jersey City personal injury lawyers are passionate about helping accident victims learn their rights and protect them throughout the legal process. Request a free consultation with our lawyers today to learn more about how we can help you.

Why Choose Us?

  • We are trial lawyers. Although most personal injury cases in New Jersey successfully settle outside of court, the reputation of our New Jersey trial lawyers for achieving results at trial can motivate insurance companies to offer better settlements.
  • Our attorneys have been trusted legal representatives and aggressive litigators in New Jersey for more than 50 years. In that time, we have obtained outstanding results for past clients through our knowledge of the law and our tenacity in the courtroom.
  • We provide affordable legal services. Our Jersey City personal injury lawyers offer free initial consultations at no obligation to hire us. If we do provide legal services, we don’t charge anything in attorney’s fees unless we recover financial compensation on your behalf.

Meet Personal Injury Attorney Kathleen M. Reilly

Attorney Kathleen M. Reilly

For nearly four decades, attorney Kathleen M. Reilly has handled personal injury claims in the state of New Jersey. As an experienced accident lawyer in Jersey City, Ms. Reilly is known for her straightforward communication, commitment to her clients, and attention to details. She works diligently to secure the best possible outcome for injury victims who suffered harm through no fault of their own.

Clients trust Ms. Reilly to thoroughly investigate the cause of their injury, call upon expert witnesses, gather evidence, negotiate with insurance companies, and build the strongest case possible on their behalf. She has been able to secure numerous favorable verdicts and settlements on her clients’ behalf, including a $6 million verdict in a construction accident case.

Case Results — Personal Injury

We’re proud to have secured countless favorable settlements and verdicts on behalf of injury victims. Some notable case results we’ve achieved include:

  • $6,000,000 secured after a victim fell at a construction site due to a lack of OSHA-required fall protection
  • $6,000,000 secured in a wrongful death case involving a trash truck
  • $1,500,000 secured after a woman was struck by a hand truck pushed by a delivery person, ultimately resulting in spinal stabilization surgery
  • $1,350,000 secured after a ride share accident resulting in lumbar surgery
  • $650,000 secured after a rear-end collision resulting in spinal stabilization surgery

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

“Extremely proactive and helpful, they did a fantastic job helping me with an injury settlement and made it as hassle-free as possible as a client. Would absolutely recommend.”

– Mark S.

Personal Injury Guide

Do You Need a Jersey City Personal Injury Lawyer?

Unless you have a background in personal injury law, you may be at a disadvantage if you handle your case unrepresented. Insurance companies use many different tactics to take advantage of clients and reduce their payouts, including devaluing claims and wrongfully denying benefits. With a personal injury attorney by your side, you can prevent these tactics to maximize your financial recovery.

A personal injury lawyer can investigate your accident, preserve and collect evidence, build a strong claim against one or more defendants, hire qualified experts, take care of confusing paperwork, and handle other legal processes in the pursuit of the best possible results on your behalf. Hiring an attorney removes the legal burden from your shoulders and allows you to focus your full attention on healing.

What is a Personal Injury Claim? Do You Have a Case?

A personal injury claim falls under the umbrella of the civil justice system. While the criminal justice system punishes a person for a crime, the civil justice system seeks to make an accident victim whole again by holding the wrongdoer financially accountable (liable). A victim is made whole again through financial compensation for his or her related losses; by being restored to the economic state he or she would have been in had the accident not occurred.

Almost all personal injury claims are founded on the legal doctrine of negligence. A person or party is negligent if they are careless, and this causes someone else an injury or another type of damage. With some exceptions, such as in a strict liability lawsuit, you or your attorney must prove that the defendant was negligent before you can hold the party legally accountable for your injuries and losses.

Proving negligence requires evidence that the defendant owed you a duty of care (an obligation to act in a reasonable manner), breached or violated this duty of care through a careless or reckless act, and caused your injury. You will also need evidence that you suffered compensable losses or damages in the accident. An attorney can help you prove your case with the required amount of evidence using special legal resources, experts and personnel.

How is Negligence Proven in a Personal Injury Claim?

If you have been injured in an accident, you need to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. To do this, you must prove that the other party was negligent. This is why it is crucial to have a lawyer who will investigate the facts of your accident. 

Investigating your claim pre-suit is incredibly important, as it allows your lawyer to determine all potentially responsible parties. This helps to ensure that the people responsible for your injuries are identified early on. 

After a thorough investigation, if a settlement cannot be reached, you will need to prove negligence at trial. 

In New Jersey, you can’t assume someone is negligent just because they caused a car accident. You have to show that they were negligent and that it caused your injuries. This can be a difficult thing to do in court. Jury instructions for negligence and ordinary care defines negligence as “a failure to act in a way that a reasonable person would have acted in the same situation. This may be doing something that a reasonable person would not have done, or not doing something that a reasonable person would have done.”

To show negligence, you must provide evidence of the four following elements:

  1. The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care.
  2. The duty was breached by the defendant.
  3. You were injured, which was caused by the breach.
  4. You experienced damages as a result of the injury. 

The New Jersey Supreme Court explained that if someone can foresee injury to a possible plaintiff, they should be held responsible by imposing a duty of care on them.

How Can a Jersey City Personal Injury Attorney Help? 

If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you may be wondering how a personal injury attorney can help you. An experienced personal injury lawyer can make all the difference when it comes to getting the compensation you deserve. Here are three ways a personal injury attorney can help you:

  • A personal injury attorney will investigate your claim and gather evidence: After you’ve been injured, act quickly. An experienced personal injury attorney will immediately investigate your claim and gather evidence to support your case. This may include talking to witnesses, reviewing medical records, and more.
  • A personal injury attorney will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf: Dealing with insurance companies can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you’re already dealing with a serious injury. Fortunately, a personal injury attorney will handle all communication with the insurance company for you. This includes submitting claims, gathering evidence, negotiating settlements, and more.
  • A personal injury attorney will take your case to trial if necessary: If the insurance company is unwilling to offer a fair settlement, your attorney will not hesitate to take your case to trial. A personal injury trial can be lengthy and complex, but an experienced attorney will know how to build a strong case and fight for the best possible outcome.

What Damages Are Available in a Personal Injury Case?

In a New Jersey personal injury claim, you may be entitled to compensation. This compensation typically comes in the form of economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages are those that can be easily calculated based on the financial losses you experienced as a result of your injury. The most common types of economic damages are medical expenses and lost wages.

Non-economic damages compensate you for less tangible injuries, such as emotional pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of companionship.

In rare cases, punitive damages may be available as well. Punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant and ensure that they don’t engage in similar behavior in the future. This type of compensation is awarded when the defendant’s act or failure to act was done with malice or accompanied by wanton and willful disregard of individuals who may be harmed by the act or failure to act.

Areas We Serve

We serve all regions of Jersey City, NJ, including:

Bergen-Lafayette, The Beacon, Bergen Hill, Communipaw, The Junction, The Heights, Central Avenue, Historic Downtown, Hamilton Park, Harsimus Cove, Van Vorst Park, The Village, The Waterfront, Exchange Place, Harborside Financial Center, Newport, Paulus Hook, Powerhouse Arts District, Greenville, Curries Woods, Port Liberté, Journal Square, Five Corners, India Square, Marion, McGinley Square, West Side, Hackensack River Waterfront, Croxton, Droyers Point, Lincoln Park.

personal injury attorney in Jersey City

 

Common Types of Personal Injury Claims

A personal injury claim can arise out of many different types of preventable accidents and incidents in New Jersey, including:

We accept a wide range of accident cases at our Jersey City plaintiff’s injury law firm. Find out if we can accept your case during a free review.

What is the Cost of Hiring a Jersey City Personal Injury Attorney?

Personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency fee basis. This means that the attorney does not get paid unless they obtain monetary compensation through a settlement or a favorable verdict for the plaintiff. The lawyer is then paid from the settlement, usually between 33 and 40 percent of the award.

For example, if an attorney has a contingency fee agreement with a client in which the lawyer will receive 33 1/3% of any recovery, and the client receives a $90,000 settlement from the defendant, then the attorney will receive $30,000 as their fee. The client would get to keep the remaining $60,000 of the settlement. 

Notably, some personal injury attorneys require their clients to pay the costs associated with pursuing the claim. These costs can include court filing fees, deposition expenses, expert witness fees, and other out-of-pocket costs. The client is sometimes responsible for these costs regardless of whether they win or lose the case. 

Some personal injury lawyers may agree to advance these costs on behalf of their clients and be reimbursed for them out of any eventual recovery. However, many attorneys require their clients to pay these costs as they are incurred. If you are considering hiring a personal injury attorney, ask about how they handle costs and expenses before you sign a contingency fee agreement.

What to Look for in a Personal Injury Lawyer

Finding the right personal injury lawyer can be complicated, but there are certain factors you should always consider. 

  • Experience. The first quality you should look for in a personal injury lawyer is experience. You want to find someone who has been handling cases like yours for years and knows the ins and outs of the legal system. Always make sure the experience is relevant. Hiring someone who has decades of experience as a criminal defense attorney won’t do you much good in a personal injury case.
  • Aggressive. Your Jersey City personal injury lawyer should be someone who is not afraid to go up against big insurance companies and fight for the compensation you deserve.
  • Successful. Finally, you want to find a personal injury lawyer with a proven success track record. This means looking at case outcomes and client testimonials to get an idea of what kind of results you can expect if you choose to work with this attorney. 

Personal Injury FAQs

It is normal to have many questions and concerns for your attorney after suffering a serious personal injury in an accident. At Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, we can answer your specific questions during a free case review in Jersey City. In the meantime, we hope these frequently asked questions are helpful:

Who is Liable for a Personal Injury?

The answer to this question depends on who or what caused your injury. This party may be a driver, a product manufacturer, a landowner, a business, the government or a combination of parties, according to your case.

What is the Statute of Limitations to File a Personal Injury Claim in New Jersey?

A statute of limitations is an important law to know, as missing it could bar you from financial recovery. This is New Jersey’s deadline on bringing a personal injury cause of action. With some exceptions, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of your accident or injury discovery.

How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take?

Every personal injury case in New Jersey is unique. Some are resolved in a matter of months, while others take a few years to finish. Factors that may affect your timeline are how long it takes you to heal from your injuries, how complicated your case is, how much your case is worth, and whether it reaches a settlement or has to go to trial.

Learn more about your individual case by requesting a consultation with one of our experienced Jersey City personal injury lawyers. We will listen to your story, carefully analyze your case and let you know if it has merit. Then, we will answer your family’s questions and concerns to provide some peace of mind during this difficult time.

What Should You Do After Suffering a Personal Injury Accident?

It can be incredibly traumatizing for you or a loved one to experience a serious accident. We’ve put together these steps to follow in the aftermath of a personal injury accident, so you can receive the help you need.

  • Seek medical assistance as quickly as possible
  • Document the scene of the accident, if it is safe to do so
  • Note the contact information of any witnesses
  • Report your accident to the relevant authorities
  • Document your recollections of the event as soon as possible, in as much detail as you remember
  • Contact a Jersey City personal injury attorney

Should You Accept an Initial Settlement Offer?

It can be tempting to accept the available money offered by an insurance company in the aftermath of an accident. Particularly as medical bills pile up or you accrue ongoing expenses, it may seem like an easy decision to accept the initial offer. However, if you elect to accept the initial settlement offer after suffering a personal injury in New Jersey, you forego the right to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party in the future. Even if your injuries are later proven to be more serious than they initially seemed, you will not be able to take legal action.

It is always in your best interests to speak to an experienced Jersey City personal injury attorney before accepting or rejecting a settlement offer. They will be able to provide you with an estimate of what they think your case is worth and advise you of your legal options, so you can pursue the most favorable course of action to secure fair compensation. An initial consultation with one of our attorneys comes at no cost and does not obligate you to use our legal services.

Jersey City Personal Injury Lawyer

Contact Our Jersey City Personal Injury Lawyers Today

At Brady Reilly & Cardoso, LLC, we care about your family and your future. Our personal injury attorneys in Jersey City will work diligently to customize your legal strategy and aggressively litigate your case for the best possible outcome. Please contact us today to start your case with a free initial consultation. Call (201) 997-0030 to speak to an attorney now. We speak Spanish and Portuguese, and can arrange for translators for other languages as needed.