by Attorney | Jul 2, 2018 | Bad Faith
Scales of justice.
In October of 2012, Super Storm Sandy hit the State of New Jersey very hard causing billions of dollars in property damage along the state’s coast but also inland along its path. Homeowners seeking to repair and rebuild their homes found themselves however in disputes with their insurance companies over values and coverage for the storm damage. That experience with the state’s insurance companies has spurred new legislation attempting to address the “bad faith” of insurance companies. The insurance carriers are fighting back against the law.
Although New Jersey has a “common law” cause of action for “bad faith”, the burden of proof is very high because two requirements must be met, (1) the homeowner must prove that the insurance company was unreasonable in its delay or denial of a claim, AND (2) that the insurance company knew that it was acting unreasonably.
The bad faith standard set forth above was stated in a 1993 New Jersey Supreme Court case entitled Pickette v. Lloyd’s where the highest court in New Jersey held that an insurance carrier could defeat a bad faith claim by simply showing that the existence of coverage for a claim was “fairly debatable”. The “fairly debatable” standard gives insurance companies a lot of leeway in denying or reducing payment amounts. (more…)
by Attorney | Jun 23, 2018 | Accident Cases
School Bus Crash Only 1 of 3 other Fatal Crashes on Route 80 in Mt. Olive New Jersey.
On May 17, 2018, Paramus School Bus Driver Hudy Muldrow, 77, after being the 2nd of 3 bus drivers who missed a turn off to his destination attempted to correct his error and avoid a delay in getting to his destination by going across three lanes of traffic to get to an Official Vehicle U-Turn area in the middle median on Route 80 in Mt. Olive New Jersey.
The driving maneuver was described as crossing in an almost perpendicular to the lanes of traffic on Route 80 to reach an Official Vehicle U-Turn in the middle median.
The pictures of the Paramus School District School bus on its side in the center median with its upper passenger area separated from the buses chassis which was in the roadway make it possible to visualize the horrific crash.
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by Attorney | Feb 12, 2018 | Hernia Mesh
Hernia Mesh Photo
Hernia operations are fairly routine operations that repair the wall of the groin or stomach area. Hernias occur both in men and woman. In the 1980s, mesh devices began to be used to strengthen weakened or damaged tissue as part of a hernia repair. By 2000, mesh was used in almost 90 percent of hernia repair operations according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Mesh was decreased the time spent in surgery and in the recovery period. Some meshes however were defective and caused severe complications. (more…)
by Attorney | Jan 14, 2018 | Contagious Disease
Picture of Boys face with measles red spots
On January 2, 2018, an international traveler with a confirmed case of measles—a highly contagious disease—arrived in Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport and departed for Indianapolis from a domestic terminal. The woman, an Indiana University student who was traveling alone, was infectious on that day and may have traveled to other areas of the airport.
If you were at the airport between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m, you may have been exposed to measles, and if infected could develop symptoms as late as January 23. If you develop symptoms of measles, the Department of Health recommends that you call a health care provider before going to a medical office or emergency department. Special arrangements can be made for evaluation while also protecting other patients and medical staff from possible infection. (more…)
