Plaintiffs Relying on the Doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitur Must Establish That Their Own Conduct Was Not the Cause of Their Injuries
By: Patrick J. Graham, Esq. Editor: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. Plaintiff, Gladys Bednarko, sued Defendant, Ben’s Bagel Barn after she was hit on the back of her right foot by Defendant’s front door that she alleged closed “too fast” behind her. Specifically, Plaintiff alleged that upon leaving Defendant’s store front, she pushed open the front […]
No Requirement to Provide Comparative Analysis of Injuries Suffered in Two Different Accidents When Plaintiff Did Not Plead Aggravation of Injuries
Plaintiff Jeffrey Wichot sued Defendant for emotional injuries suffered from a car kidnapping that occurred in 2012. Plaintiff had previously suffered a horrific injury as a young boy in 2002 which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. One of the issues in Wichot v. Allstate N.J. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. […]
Court Refuses to Apply Mode of Operation Doctrine to Landlord/Tenant Slip and Fall Case
Plaintiff Atef Kamel slipped and fell down steps in his apartment building’s stairwell while he was taking out his recycling. He claimed that his slip and fall was caused by a combination of an unknown, oily liquid on the floor and a broken light in the stairwell. The issue in Kamel v. Panyork Group, 2022 […]
Minority Statute of Limitations Tolling Held to Be Inapplicable to Suits Brought on Behalf of Minor Decedents or Their Estates
By: Angela Reading, Law Clerk Editor: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. On July 14, 2022, the New Jersey Appellate Division in Monk v. Kennedy Univ. Hosp., Inc., 2022 N.J. Super. LEXIS 101 (App. Div. July 14, 2022), issued a published decision, holding that the minority tolling provision in N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a), which allows minors to file medical […]
Appellate Division Rules That Plaintiff’s Medical Bills Incurred Due to Personal Injury Were Admissible at Trial Against Public Entity
Plaintiff Katesha Salmond appealed from a summary judgment order granted to a public entity bus company and its driver, dismissing her personal injury complaint. She was injured on a public bus and incurred substantial medical expenses for her injuries. One issue in the Salmond case, 2022 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1282 (App. Div. July 14, […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses to Extend the Rescue Doctrine to Include Rescue of Animal
By: Erika Vasant, Law ClerkEditor: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. In July of 2017, plaintiff Ann Samolyk injured herself when she jumped in a canal in an effort to save her neighbor defendant’s dog from drowning. In doing so, she alleged that she sustained neurological and cognitive injuries when rescuing the dog. The issue in the […]
New Jersey Appellate Division Rules that Injured Plaintiff May Sue His Insurance Carrier for Bad Faith Damages Due to Delay in Approving Medical Test and Surgery
Plaintiff Miguel Vera injured his right shoulder in a September 10, 2016 automobile accident. Thereafter, he submitted a personal injury protection (“PIP”) claim to his automobile insurance company, State Farm Indemnity Company (“State Farm”), to pay for his medical expenses incurred by his injuries suffered from his accident. In Vera v. State Farm Indem. Co., […]
Appellate Division Rules in Published Decision That Supreme Court’s COVID Omnibus Order Did Not Toll the Statute of Limitations
Previously, I reported on an unpublished decision, Sutton v. Babilonia, in which the issue was whether the Second Omnibus COVID 19 Order extended plaintiff’s statute of limitations. The Appellate Division ruled in that case that this order did not extend the statute of limitations but, rather, found that the time period of March 16, 2020 to […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Approves Increase in Jurisdictional Limits of Small Claims and Special Civil Part
New Jersey provides the opportunity for litigants to file a lawsuit in either Small Claims court or Special Civil Part of the Superior Court if those claims are under the jurisdictional limits of those courts. As of July 1, 2022, the jurisdictional limit for a civil matter to be brought in Small Claims court will […]
Residential Landowners Found Not Liable For Plaintiff’s Injuries Due To Trip And Fall On Raised Sidewalk In Driveway Area
In August, 2018, while walking on the sidewalk in front of defendants’ home, plaintiff Diane Conway tripped in the area of a raised concrete sidewalk slab. Plaintiff claimed that she tripped over a “filled in” concrete or cement between two uneven concrete slabs. The issue in Conway v. Serra, 2022 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 856(App. […]
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