New Jersey Multi-Vehicle Accident Attorneys

You may be eligible for compensation if you’re facing the consequences of a multi-vehicle accident. Multi-vehicle car accidents can result in severe injury, vehicle damage, mental trauma, and lost wages if your injuries make you unable to work.

Determining who is responsible for causing a multi-vehicle accident is complicated and generally requires a skilled attorney to investigate and resolve such cases. Oftentimes, more than one party is found responsible for the collision.

At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, we understand that multi-vehicle car accidents can have devastating implications on your and your family’s lives. We are passionate about advocating for our injured clients and have a strong track record of successfully recovering compensation. Call us today at (973) 364-8300 to schedule your free and confidential consultation with our New Jersey car accident attorneys.

Why Do I Need An Attorney?

You will likely first go through insurance companies when seeking compensation after a car accident. Insurance companies are incentivized to minimize your payment as much as possible and will likely do whatever possible to deny it altogether. A skilled car accident attorney will have the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct a thorough investigation into your case to prove that you were not at fault and that you suffered serious damages.

New Jersey is a “no-fault” state, which means that all insurance policies contain a certain amount of “personal injury protection” (PIP) insurance to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other bills. Unfortunately, PIP often does not sufficiently cover the cost of these bills, especially if your injuries are severe. If this is the case, you may need to either file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company or file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver. Filing a personal injury lawsuit allows you to pursue compensation for pain and suffering. An attorney will examine the facts of your case and help determine your best legal path.

You should avoid communication with the at-fault party, their lawyers, your insurance company, and the at-fault driver’s insurance company without a lawyer present. Any of these parties may try to manipulate you into admitting partial fault for the accident so that they can lower your compensation. While you will likely have to answer questions from these parties at some point during your case, your lawyer should be present to ensure that all questions are proper and that you understand what is being asked.

Why Should I Choose Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers?

Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers is a team of dedicated and accomplished trial lawyers who fight tirelessly for our clients. We are passionate about advocating for those who have suffered injuries in car accidents, and we have witnessed the impact that fair compensation can have on families struggling with the aftermath. After every case, we ask ourselves these questions:

• Did we provide justice?
• Did we obtain adequate compensation to meet your current and future needs?
• Are you and your family more secure now than when you came to us?

We strive to ensure that we can confidently answer “yes” to all of these questions after every case that we take on. Our commitment to justice and aggressive client advocacy has given us a great track record of achieving favorable settlements and verdicts. We have recovered more than $425 million for our clients, including dozens of million- and multi-million dollar car accident settlements. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, many car accident victims worry that hiring a lawyer to help with their claims will be too expensive. At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, we operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only collect payment if we win your case. We take a percentage of your overall settlement or verdict when we win. If we do not obtain a favorable outcome on your behalf, then you do not owe us any money.

We also offer a 100 percent free and confidential initial consultation. Call us today at (973) 364-8300 to schedule your consultation.

Types of Multi-Vehicle Car Accidents

 A multi-vehicle car accident is an accident in which more than two cars collide. Here are some common scenarios:

• A car is rear-ended and pushed forward into the car in front of it
• Two cars collide and come to a stop in the middle of the road, and another car or cars hit the stopped, crashed vehicles (this is sometimes referred to as a pileup); these accidents can involve dozens of vehicles and often result in severe injury and death
• A driver is pushed into another lane after being struck by another vehicle and collides with another car

Causes of Multiple-Vehicle Crashes

Multiple-vehicle crashes can happen anytime, but certain factors increase the likelihood of a multi-car pileup. These factors include:

• Inclement weather – Bad weather, especially snow, ice, and low visibility, is often a factor in multi-vehicle crashes. Drivers may not see a crash until it is too late, or in their effort to avoid crashed cars, they may swerve or brake on ice or snow, which can cause a driver to lose control.
• Speeding – Driving too fast is a driving factor in accidents of all types, and multi-car wrecks are no exception. Speeding reduces reaction time and makes it more difficult to slow down or merge to avoid hitting crashed vehicles.
• Not leaving adequate stopping distance – When several vehicles travel too closely together, and one car rear-ends another, it’s difficult for the following drivers to stop quickly enough if they do not leave enough space between them and the car in front of them.
• Rubbernecking refers to drivers stopping or slowing down to look at an accident scene. These drivers can become distracted and more likely to be involved in an accident, creating sudden traffic slowdowns that result in rear-end accidents.

Determining Liability in a Multi-Car Accident  

Because multiple parties are involved, it can be complicated to determine who is at fault for causing a multi-vehicle accident. For example, if two drivers acted negligently and caused an accident that injured a third driver, which of those two negligent drivers is responsible for compensating the third driver?

New Jersey law uses special rules called “modified joint and several liability” to assign liability in such cases. This means that if a party is determined to be less than 60 percent responsible for causing an accident, they are liable to pay the percentage of damages equal to their level of fault.

For example, if a person is determined to be 40 percent responsible for the accident, they would be responsible for 40 percent of the damages incurred by the not-at-fault party. If a party is deemed more than 60 percent responsible, they may be held responsible for all the car accident damages.

How Much Is My Case Worth?

The ultimate amount of compensation for which you are eligible depends on the unique circumstances of your accident. It also depends on the amount of insurance coverage for you and the at-fault party. If your personal injury protection insurance is insufficient to cover your expenses, you can file a claim with the insurance party of the at-fault driver to cover the rest of your medical bills, property damage, and lost wages.

You may also file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party or parties, which allows you to seek compensation for medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Insurance benefits generally do not provide for pain and suffering.

Since pain and suffering are subjective, assigning an exact dollar figure to these damages can be more difficult. Some courts use a formula to determine compensation for pain and suffering that multiplies the total cost of your medical bills by a number from one to five.

A “1” corresponds to a less severe injury, while a “5” indicates the most severe injury. If your total medical bills amounted to $20,000 and you broke both arms, this might be considered a “4”, meaning your compensation for pain and suffering could be $80,000.

To prove to the court that you deserve compensation for pain and suffering, we recommend keeping a journal in which you document how your injuries affect your life. Write down when you experience pain or cannot carry out daily tasks.

Contact a Multi-Vehicle Accident Attorney Today

If you have been involved in a multi-vehicle accident, you may be able to access compensation to help cover medical bills, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering. A skilled car accident attorney from Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers will comprehensively investigate your accident to help determine liability and explore all legal options to recover compensation for you.

At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, we have seen how devastating multi-vehicle car accidents can be for individuals and families. It is extremely difficult to recover from these traumatic car accidents’ physical, emotional, and financial consequences. We are here to support you and fight for you. Call us today at (973) 364-8300 to schedule your free consultation.