When someone is injured in a car accident here in Essex County, they have a right to pursue compensation for the treatment of their injuries, lost wages and some of the other effects of the accident. This is done with a personal injury claim against a negligent driver and his or her auto insurance company.
A recent news report on NorthJersey.com, however, points to some problems that New Jersey residents have when it comes to collecting financial damages that are awarded after a car accident. The article addresses issues that come up when people are injured in accidents caused by taxicabs, which are often underinsured.
New Jersey law only requires cab drivers to carry a minimum of $35,000 in liability coverage, although certain municipalities can require more. For example, Ridgewood County requires cab companies that operate within its limits to carry much higher coverage.
This is little help to one 20-year-old woman who was run over by a cab–and then backed over again–in Paterson in 2010. She won a $785,000 judgment for her injuries but she does not believe she will ever be able to collect much of it because the taxicab company did not have a large enough insurance policy.
In some cases, attorneys can attempt to get the personal assets of a cab driver or cab company to make up part of the difference, but this is not generally effective because they tend to have few assets or assets that are difficult to obtain.
Victims of car accidents can rack up tremendous medical bills, not to mention the effects of missing out on income during recovery. It is important that car accident victims are not unfairly burdened with the financial impact of the crash. However, this can be a very complicated area of law and victims often need to work with advocates in order to have the best chances of securing an appropriate amount of compensation.
Source: NorthJersey.com, “Victims of taxicab crashes in N.J. struggle to collect insurance payouts,” John Petrick, Nov. 14, 2012
- Our law firm helps victims of car accidents in Essex County and the surrounding areas of New Jersey seek compensation for their injuries. More information about this area of our practice is posted on our New Jersey Personal Injury and Wrongful Death page.
