The Cassidy Law Firm Blog

One of the questions we get asked the most by potential clients is how much money a particular injury might be worth. It’s a good question to ask, but a somewhat difficult one to answer. Every person and every injury are different, and these differences play a big factor in determining how much an individual might be able to get if they file a lawsuit against the parties responsible for their injuries.

When Lack of Informed Consent Leads to Medical Malpractice

We rely on doctors and other medical professionals to provide us with quality care, as well as all the relevant information about treatments so that we can make choices about our care. In fact, state law requires doctors to obtain a patient's "informed consent" before performing a planned medical procedure such as surgery or special treatment for an illness. If a doctor fails to obtain this consent and the patient is injured as a result of the treatment, there may be grounds for a medical malpractice claim.

What is informed consent?

A doctor has a legal obligation to provide a patient will all the relevant information about a planned procedure or treatment. This information must be provided in plain language that the patient can understand and include a description of the procedure, risks and potential complications, alternative her treatment options, and the prognosis.

If you have been injured in an accident, you are probably drowning in solicitations from personal injury attorneys. They send you letters and ads, call you on the phone, and may even come to visit you.

Typically, if someone gets hurt because they are drunk on the job, they are not going to be able to get workers’ compensation to pay for their injuries. But a recent ruling from a New Jersey appeals court highlights an exception to the rule against covering injuries to people who are intoxicated.
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Why did Jared Kushner end litigation over a dispute with two New Jersey restaurants?

President-Elect Donald Trump has praised his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, saying that the 35-year-old businessman could play a role in trying to bring peace to the Middle East.

Whether or not that is possible, Kushner has brought some peace to Long Branch, New Jersey by agreeing to a settlement in a lawsuit brought by two local businesses. Kushner had been seeking to evict Stewart's Root Beer and Corner Café & Bistro from his Pier Village development but has now relented.

Developer Did Not Countersign Renewal Leases for the Restaurants

The lawsuit arose over a lease dispute between the two restaurants and the Kushner Companies, Kushner's development company. The restaurants had been leasing at Pier Village years, but their leases were both due for renewal in 2015, not long after the original developer of Pier Village sold the retail premises to Kushner's company and another company.

Last month the Star-Ledger published a story about a Bergen County woman who filed a lawsuit against her local ShopRite for injuries she allegedly suffered when she slipped and fell on a string bean while grocery shopping. The story was very straight-forward, but it was promoted in a manner that invited ridicule.

And ridicule people did. Nearly all the comments on the story either poke fun at the plaintiff, or suggest her suit is frivolous. This is a sad reflection of the state of public opinion of litigation, and an invitation for the news media to run more click-bait stories on cases that have strange or funny sounding facts.

When a part-time employee is injured, how should worker's comp benefits for future lost earnings be calculated?

A recent unpublished ruling in a New Jersey worker's compensation case helps clarify how benefits may be calculated for an employee working part-time when injured. The petitioner in the case, a part-time employee at Costco, was seeking workers compensation for a permanent partial disability. She asked that it be calculated based upon a "reconstructed" workweek.

What damages can you seek and whom can you hold liable in wrongful death lawsuit?

When an elderly driver drove her car into a Wendy's restaurant in Bayonne, New Jersey, killing a man inside, she was cited only for careless driving, a less severe charge than reckless driving. She received the maximum penalty, a $200 fine. The family of the victim filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her and has now settled for a much larger sum, $1.

Hoboken Train Crash Highlights Importance of Tort Law System & Class Actions

The horrific train crash that occurred in Hoboken last month was gut-wrenching to behold. So many of us have friends and family members that use that train line for their daily commute, that we couldn’t help but say glued to the live coverage. Thank goodness for text messages and social media, which allowed all of us to check in on loved ones right away!

While watching all of the action unfold, and getting updates from family and friends, it occurred to us that events like this are exactly why we do what we do.

When you go to law school you might have some vague idea that you want to use what you learn to help others, but exactly how that is going to work out is pretty fuzzy. Then you start to really get into your classes, and one of the first classes you take is Torts.

A pet owner has filed a Federal lawsuit in New Jersey against an animal shelter that euthanized her microchipped cat within hours after finding it.  

The woman was joined in her lawsuit by a Monmouth County SPCA officer. They claim the shelter euthanized close to 400 animals illegally in less than a year.

Why is there a surge in soccer injuries throughout the U.S.?

A research study based on 25 years of collected data demonstrates an unmistakable increase in injuries to this country's soccer players as evidenced by the number of such injuries treated in emergency rooms throughout the nation. The study shows that while there were 106 soccer injuries per 10,000 players in 1990, by 2013 that number had risen to 220 per 10,000 players. There is not yet enough information to formulate such statistics for 2014 forward, but the data already available attests to the fact that 3 million soccer players, aged 7 to 17, received ER treatment between 2000 and 2014.