New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

New Jersey’s dram shop liability laws are involved in a lawsuit involving a man who was served alcohol while he was intoxicated, ended up in a fight and suffered serious brain injuries.   

The lawsuit has been filed by Louis Vozza. In June 2008, his uncle Daniel Vozza drank alcohol at one establishment, the Harley’s Irish Pub, before moving on to another one, Straphanger Saloon where he continued to drink. Then, Vozza got into a fight with the owner of the Straphanger Saloon, who was also intoxicated. During the scuffle, the bar owner apparently grabbed Vozza’s shirt, causing the man to fall on the asphalt and strike his head. Vozza suffered a serious brain injury, which has since left him mentally incapacitated. He suffers from memory loss, among other problems.  The lawsuit names the two establishments, and claims that these two served alcohol to Vozza who was “visibly intoxicated.” The owner of Harley’s Irish Pub insists that Vozza was not drunk when he left the bar on the day of the fight.

Under New Jersey dram shop laws, a drinking establishment like a restaurant, pub, club or bar may be named in a civil action, if the establishment serves a visibly drunk patron who then goes out and injures someone.  Defining whether a patron was visibly intoxicated when the establishment served him more alcohol, can be tricky. Staff members are very likely to insist that the person did not seem drunk at the time.

Unfortunately, even with these laws in place, accidents and injuries from violations of these laws, continue to occur. An establishment’s failure to serve customers and conduct business ethically can leave an innocent person injured or even dead.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injured victims of auto and truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

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The death of a man in a car accident in 2006 on the New Jersey Turnpike focused attention on the guardrail that caused his fatal injuries. However, three years after the accident, there have been no changes made to the guardrail which continues to remain an injury risk.

In August 2006, 34-year-old Patrick Sweeney was riding a car on his way to Newark airport. On the Turnpike near route 80, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and it crashed into a guardrail. Sweeney sustained fatal injuries when the guardrail pierced the passenger side of the car.

His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the contractor involved in the road construction, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and others.   They have now settled their lawsuit for 9.7 million dollars.  Their attorney says that the guardrail was installed too close to the road, and on top of a high curb that increases the risk of injury. Three years after the fatal accident that killed Patrick Sweeney, there have been no changes made to the guardrail.

Many times, dangerous conditions for a driver are created not so much by the negligence of other motorists, as by the poor design of the highway. Highway design and construction is a complex process that must include safety of all users of the road. There could be any number of ways a highway design defect could increase the risk of accidents.

• Sharp curves
• Absence of guardrails
• Improperly installed guardrails
• Obstruction of motorist view
• Road surfaces that contribute to skidding, lack of adequate lighting, lack of warning signs.

Any one of these defects can lead to accidents.  In such cases, victims may be able to hold construction companies, contractors, agencies responsible for the highway or other local agencies, utility companies, and maintenance companies responsible for these injuries.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey wrongful death  lawyer representing injured victims of auto accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

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A Freehold man involved in a fatal car accident last year has been sentenced to five years in prison for fleeing the scene of the crash. Adam Grillon will also have his license suspended for one year.

On June 29th 2008, Grillon, the owner of a land was driving a car on route 79 with Angel Franyutti who worked for Grillon's landscaping company. The car veered across the center lane into the opposing lane, went over a curb and crashed into a utility pole, leaving the two men injured.  Two passersby stopped to help Grillon and Franyutti. After they helped Grillon get out of the wreck, they began to offer help to Franyutti. By the time police arrived at the scene, Franyutti was dead, and Grillon had fled the scene. The car was registered to Franyutti. At the time of the crash, he was a husband and father of three little boys, aged between three and thirteen. 

Over the next 16 hours, the Freehold Township police department launched a massive manhunt for Grillon, who surrendered later. In June, Grillon pleaded guilty to a second degree charge of leaving the scene of the fatal accident.

Grillon’s behavior has shattered a family, who were likely traumatized by his leaving his injured employee - and their loved one - in his car. 

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey car accident lawyer, representing victims of auto accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Ocean and Passaic Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

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On January 13^th, a new bill that seeks to establish a Task Force on Underage Drinking in Higher Education was introduced in the New Jersey Senate. If passed, the bill will set up a task force consisting of 20 members who will be responsible for recommendations for effective ways of combating underage drinking in colleges. These 20 members will be sourced from several New Jersey colleges as well as representative of alcohol retailers. The task force will include the chairman of New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and the director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, law enforcement agencies, college representatives as well as representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. All members will be appointed by Governor Jon Corzine.

Among other things, the task force will study practices in other states, relating to the kind of collaboration that exists between law enforcement, colleges and other groups to determine the best policies that are helping cub the problem of underage drinking. The legislature will then introduce these most effective policies to state colleges and universities, and put these into practice. There may be additional laws necessary to introduce new bills for the updating of college practices, so that they reflect more effective regulations.

Underage Drinking as a Leading Cause of Teen Car Accidents

Underage drinking continues to be a problem plaguing colleges and universities not just in New Jersey, but around the country. The problem has been brought in the spotlight even more acutely in recent months after a group of chancellors and presidents of colleges around the country launched the Amethyst Initiative. These chancellors and presidents were signatories to a petition calling for a debate on the minimum drinking age law. According to the Initiative, there is a need for informed debate on revising the minimum drinking age which is currently 21 years. The signatories insist that the debate is needed because the minimum age failed to cut down on underage drinking rates, and binge drinking continues to be a serious in colleges in US. More than a hundred presidents of colleges have signed to the petition, and it has fulfilled its purpose in that there has been strong debate on whether lowering the drinking age is really the way to combat the problem.

New Jersey Personal Injury Attorneys

New Jersey personal injury lawyers, a vast majority of college and university presidents, as well as parents had been strongly united in their conviction that lowering the age for drinking legally is not a solution to this complex problem. For instance, the signatories to the Amethyst Initiative have not specified owe they plan to tackle the problem of a lowered drinking age affecting high school students. The minimum age drinking law has been responsible for several lives saved in car accidents every year. Besides, there are other crimes associated with alcohol intake like assaults and rapes that have been kept under control precisely because only adults above the age of 21 can walk into a bar or a retailer and purchase alcoholic beverages. Lowering the age could open a Pandora's Box of new and even more complex problems that we may not be able to deal with.

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New Jersey car accidents have always been a problem and a local dealership is doing its part to improve motor vehicle safety. According to a Sunbeam article the Pointe Pontiac Buick GMC is offering scholarships to attendees of a driver safety class offered by the AARP at Merion Gardens Assisted Living June 10 and 11. A two day course is being offered which could help lower insurance rates and reduce penalty points on your driver’s license. The AARP requires a $10 cover fee for class materials but the owner of Pointe Pontiac Buick GMC is willing to pay the cost of the entire class. Larry Davis, owner of Pointe Pontiac-Buick-GMC says "We are committed to giving back to our community and this seemed like an ideal fit. We provide transportation and this course helps raise safety awareness which can only benefit our customers and neighbors." The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) does not require for you to be a member or senior citizen to attend classes or qualify for an insurance discount. This program is a great way to improve driving skills and could refresh a lot of driving techniques that may have been forgotten over the years.
 

New Jersey has very busy roads during the summer months especially in Monmouth County. As an attorney representing many motor vehicle accident clients throughout the New Jersey and the Monmouth County area, I ask you to be extra careful driving this summer because the roads will get busy as people travel towards the shore to beat the summer heat. According to AARP, the likelihood of attendees being involved in an auto accident or receiving a traffic ticket should decrease by 15 percent following the completion of the two sessions. Being a Monmouth County and New Jersey injury lawyer I would recommend completing some of these courses to help improve driving safety and to help reduce those outrageously over priced New Jersey auto insurance rates.

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