New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Law Offices of Scott D. Grossman : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

As a Monmouth County personal injury lawyer, I constantly meet people with debilitating traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, but as this report shows, these are not always caused by workplace related accidents or automobile accidents. It's the season for sledding, skiing and skating, and also the time for some extremely serious and life altering injuries, if you're not careful out there.

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimates that every year, these winter sports injuries send thousands of men, women and children to emergency rooms around the country. 

According to the CPSC's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, there were more than 6600 head injuries caused during snowboarding, 5700 caused during sledding, 5400 injuries caused during ice hockey and 3700 caused by skiing. A total of more than 1200 head injuries were caused by snowmobiles, toboggans, and snow tubing. Many of these head injuries were caused because the person wasn’t wearing a safety helmet, or because the helmet wasn’t sturdy enough to take the massive impact of a fall or collision. In any case, head injuries at their mildest can cause concussion, or disorientation, and at their most severe, can result in traumatic brain injuries with possibly long term effects. 

When it came to neck injuries on the ice, skiing was the number one risk with 1385 injuries occurring while navigating the slopes. Next was snowboarding with more than 1900 neck injuries, and hockey with more than 600 injuries. The rest of the injuries were caused by snowmobiles, sleds, skating and snow tubing. Most of these injuries are caused because of falls while playing, or colliding against another player or against a hard concrete surface. Spinal cord injuries can have debilitating consequences, at their very worst leaving patients in a quadriplegic state.

Although speed and the accompanying adrenalin rush is a big part of the winter sports experience, it's entirely possible for you to have safe fun on the slopes and ice.  The ASTM has a few precautions for safe sports this winter. Always wear helmets that have the ASTM stamp of approval, and wear protective body clothing that’s appropriate to the sport. Avoid getting too adventurous, and follow all posted signs carefully. Look for any warnings of dangerous curves or posts ahead.

Danger can lurk in the most unexpected places whether you're circling a rink, or racing down the slopes. So, take all precautions, and practice safe sports this winter!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

In New Jersey, as a general rule if you are injured while occupying or driving a motorcycle, moped, commercial vehicle, taxi cab, chauffeured rentals or bus you will not be able to seek PIP no-fault benefits for payment of your medical bills. That's right, if you have private health insurance your medical bills may be covered as long as your policy does not contain any specific exclusions for treatment you receive as a result of an accident while driving for example a motorcycle.  

While it appears counter intuitive, in New Jersey the individual at fault driver's insurance company in a motor vehicle accident is not responsible to pay for the injured's medical bills related to treatment for injuries sustained in the motor vehicle accident.  Instead, it is the injured person's own auto insurance, their resident relatives auto insurance or the owner of the vehicle's insurance company that would be responsible to pay for the medical bills through the PIP, personal injury protection benefits portion of the respective policy.  Unfortunately, this rule changes if you are injured in the above types of vehicles, since they have been deemed to have not  met the "automobile" requirement of the PIP No-fault type medical expense benefits and therefore you will usually be excluded from coverage.  

THAT'S RIGHT if you are injured while on a motorcycle or in a cab ride or on a bus or in a commercial vehicle, your medical bills will not be paid by available insurance.  Thus, it becomes even more important to make sure that you retain a personal injury attorney who is proficient in New Jersey motorcycle accident law, truck accident law or taxi related motor vehicle injury law.  This is because your attorney will seek compensation for your pain and suffering and for your outstanding medical bills from the at fault driver.  This area of law has become very complex and requires counsel that has extensive experience in representing persons injured in truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, taxi cab accidents and bus accidents.  This is particularly true in the case of victims of serious injuries because their mounting current and future medical debts with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injuries (SCI) could leave a family into life altering financial ruins. 

My clients are often times totally shocked when I explain to them the realty of the PIP laws in New Jersey.  They often ask how is this possible that I was riding in a taxi and the driver was in a major accident and his insurance company is not responsible for payment of my injury related medical bills? I tell them to thank the powerful insurance lobby who has done an amazing job blaming the "trial lawyers" like myself  for your exorbitant insurance rates while netting BILLIONS in record profits and shielding themselves by succeeding in having the New Jersey legislature pass laws exempting them from payment to their insured's or insured's immediate family member's medical providers where medical claims have become exempt from coverage.  

Representing clients throughout New Jersey including but not limited to Manalapan, Marlboro, Holmdel, Freehold, Millstone, Colts Neck, Howell, Old Bridge, Jackson, Red Bank, Hackensack, Saddle Brook, Paramus, Ridgewood, Teaneck, Demarest, Dumont, Pompton Plains, Glen Rock & Fairlawn the Law Offices of Scott D. Grossman, LLC brings extensive experience, individual attention and compassion for all of our clients.  Please visit our website for further information.       

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks