New Jersey personal injury lawyer Tara Breslow-Testa has experience in many categories of personal injury, which include:
ASSAULTS DUE TO INADEQUATE SECURITY: An assault is usually a criminal case, but there can be assaults on a property which was aided by inadequate security - say caught in a bar fight or a hockey riot or a mall brawl - and this is where assault branches into a personal injury tort.
BRAIN INJURY OR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI): Whether from a sports accident or automobile or other collision, a brain injury is a physical impact to the head that affects the brain, resulting in diminished consciousness, impaired cognitive ability, physical limitations or emotional problems. Brain injuries can have lifelong consequences and costs.
BURNS: From a spilled cup of coffee or the hot exhaust pipe on a motorcycle or being trapped in a hotel fire, burns come in First, Second and Third Degrees. They are scalding of the skin and body resulting in medical care and possible lifelong disfigurement - often with tremendous pain and suffering.
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas product released in fumes any time fuel is burned in furnaces, gas ranges, barbeque grills, fire places, cars and trucks. Breathing in this odorless gas can cause unconsciousness or death and is responsible for 20,000 emergency room visits, 4,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths per year in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
CHILDBIRTH COMPLICATIONS: There are several kinds of negligence in childbirth that can lead to personal injury lawsuits: Misuse of drugs, umbilical cord complications, premature childbirth, misuse of labor-inducing drugs, fetal distress due to prolonged delivery. Any one of these mistakes can result in devastating short and long-term effects, and extensive money damages.
DOG BITES: Dogs aren’t always man’s best friend, and the CDC reports there are more than four million cases of dog bite to Americans every year. The injuries can be extensive, and sometimes permanently disabling and disfiguring. Some states have “one bite” rules which protect dog owners who own dogs with no prior offenses. But New Jersey statute (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 4:19-16) states: “The owner of any dog in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.” Finding the dog owner, establishing negligence and determining damages is the job of Tara Breslow-Testa.
FEDERAL TORTS CLAIMS ACT (FTCA) CLAIMS: A fighter jet crashes into your house, or there is a road accident involving a government vehicle, or Federal Agents break into the wrong house and injure someone. The FTCA is a 1946 statute which allows private parties to sue the United States for personal injuries caused by persons acting on behalf of the United States.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: When a doctor or other medical professional is negligent in performing their duties and a person is injured, a medical malpractice suit is filed. Medical malpractice cases can become complicated, extended and expensive, but Tara Breslow-Testa has tried and won many of these cases and is prepared to listen to yours.
MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS: BICYCLES, CARS, MOTORCYCLES, TRUCKS: Whether it’s cars, trucks, motorcycle, bicycles or all of them together, personal injuries from vehicle accidents are the most common lawsuits filed. Look at the New Jersey Department of Transportation statistics for 2015 and you will understand why: There were 264,582 automobile accidents in all New Jersey counties: 60,415 of those crashes caused injury, and 547 were fatal. In this age of people not using smartphones intelligently, 1,668 crashes were attributable to handheld smartphones and 1,903 were attributed to hands-free smartphones.
SPINAL CORD INJURY: The clinical definition of spinal cord injuries from the CDC reads: “An acute traumatic lesion of the neural elements in the spinal canal, resulting in temporary or permanent sensory deficit, motor deficit, or bowel/bladder dysfunction.” These can result from any number of accidents, from skateboarding falls, to car crashes to extreme sports. The effects are devastating, as are the long-term costs.
SLIPPING AND FALLING: Also known as “premises liability claims,” this is the #1 cause of unintentional injuries in the United States, according to the CDC. They can happen on private or public property, from faulty steps to black ice to malfunctioning escalators. The injuries can be painful and severe, as can the medical and rehabilitation costs. Ms. Tara Breslow-Testa has seen it all and will help you with your premises liability claim.
WORK-RELATED INJURIES: There are endless varieties of work-related injuries, from turbulence on a passenger jet to jack-knifing a big rig. Doctors, attorneys, private companies and insurance companies all arm for battle. Put Ms. Breslow-Testa in your corner.
WORKER’S COMPENSATION CLAIMS: When you are disabled due to a workplace injury, New Jersey law allows you to receive only 70 per cent of your weekly income. There are circumstances where a third-party claim can be made to cover all your losses - let Ms. Breslow-Testa determine if your case meets the criteria for a third-party lawsuit.
WRONGFUL DEATH: The New Jersey Wrongful Death Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1) states: “When the death of a person is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default, such as would, if death had not ensued, have entitled the person injured to maintain an action for damages resulting from the injury, the person who would have been liable in damages for the injury if death had not ensued shall be liable in an action for damages, notwithstanding the death of the person injured and although the death was caused under circumstances amounting in law to a crime.”
The Wrongful Death Act allows surviving family member(s) to sue for damages for funeral and medical expenses, lost wages, mental and physical suffering, loss of consortium and other damages.