Report From Counsel - Winter 2002

Report From Counsel

WINTER 2002 ISSUE

NEW JERSEY'S AUTO INSURANCE LAWS HAVE CHANGED

You may not have the protection that you think you have.

A guide to making safe choices when purchasing<R>or renewing your auto insurance policy.

The State of New Jersey adopted the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act in 1998 to reduce the cost of automobile insurance by reducing the benefits available to persons who are injured in automobile accidents. This means less coverage to pay for medical treatment and less rights to recover monetary damages from careless drivers who cause accidents. Protect yourself. Please read this article.

Q. What choices do I have when I purchase or renew my auto insurance policy?

A. You are required to choose either the Standard Policy or the Basic Policy?

Q. What is the Basic Policy?

A. The Basic Policy provides minimal coverage and leaves you unprotected in several important areas:

* A Basic Policy provides you with only $5,000 of property damage liability coverage if someone makes a claim against you.

* A Basic Policy gives you only $15,000 of medical expense benefits (up to $250,000 for brain or spinal cord injury) if you or a resident family member is injured.

* The Basic Policy does not cover you if you injure someone else. However, you may choose coverage in the amount of $10,000 for injury to one or more persons in the same accident if someone makes a claim against you.

* The Basic Policy does not provide any uninsured motorist coverage to protect you and your family if the careless driver who causes the accident is uninsured or is insured under a Basic Policy with no bodily injury liability coverage.

Q. What if an injured party sues me for damages? If I choose the Basic Policy, will my insurance company hire an attorney to defend me?

A. If you choose a Basic Policy with no bodily injury liability coverage, your insurance company will not provide an attorney to defend you against a personal injury suit even if you are not at fault for the accident. You will have to hire your own lawyer to defend you at great expense. If you don't hire your own lawyer, you risk having a monetary judgment entered against you and the loss of your driver's license and vehicle registration.

Q. Should I purchase the Basic Policy?

A. NO. The Basic Policy does not provide adequate protection for your assets if you are sued. Nor does it give you adequate coverage for you or your family if you are injured by a careless driver. DO NOT ELECT THE BASIC POLICY.

Safe Choice

NEVER BUY BASIC.

Q. What is the Standard Policy?

A. The Standard Policy provides liability coverage if someone makes a claim against you with minimum limits for bodily injury of $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident if you or a resident member of your family is injured by a person who is uninsured or has no bodily injury liability coverage.

Safe Choice

CHOOSE THE STANDARD POLICY.

A Standard Policy provides the best insurance coverage to protect your assets if you are sued and to provide compensation to you and your family if you are injured.

Q. Does the Standard Policy provide coverage for medical expenses?

A. Yes. The Standard Policy provides medical expense benefits (PIP) coverage which includes medical expenses up to $250,000 per person per accident. You may elect to purchase less coverage in the amounts of $15/50/75/150,000; however, if you do, you may not have enough insurance to obtain all of the medical treatment you need or to pay for all of your medical bills.

Safe Choice

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURCHASE $250,000 OF PIP MEDICAL EXPENSE COVERAGE.

Q. Who decides what type of medical treatment and diagnostic testing I am to receive?

A. You will probably rely upon your treating doctor to make decisions about the nature of your injuries and treatment; however, some insurance companies may offer or require "pre-certification". This requires your doctor to request authorization from the insurance company before rendering any medical treatment or administering any diagnostic tests. We believe that the choice of treatment should be the responsibility of your doctor, not your insurance company.

Safe Choice

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU SELECT AN INSURANCE COMPANY THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE PRE-CERTIFICATION.

Q. If I am injured, can I make a claim or file a lawsuit against the careless driver who caused the accident?

A. It depends on your policy and the nature of your injuries. If you purchase a Standard Policy, you are required to elect a "tort option" that will determine if you have the right to make a claim. You must select either the "limitation on lawsuit option" or the "no limitation on lawsuit option". If you purchase a Basic Policy, you are assigned the "limitation on lawsuit option".

Q. What is the "limitation on lawsuit option"?

A. The lawsuit limitation option (also known as the verbal threshold) limits your legal rights to make a claim for monetary damages or to file a lawsuit against a careless driver unless you sustain one of the following types of injury.

Type 1 - Death

Type 2 - Dismemberment

Type 3 - Significant disfigurement or scarring

Type 4 - Displaced fractures

Type 5 - Loss of a fetus

Type 6 - Permanent injury (which occurs when a body part has not and will not heal to function normally with further treatment.)

Q. What is the "no limitation on lawsuit option"?

A. The no limitation option permits you to make a claim or to file a lawsuit against a careless driver for any and all personal injuries.

Safe Choice

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHOOSE THE "NO LIMITATION ON LAWSUIT OPTION".

Q. What happens if I do not purchase my automobile insurance?

A. New Jersey law requires the owner of every motor vehicle to purchase insurance. If you do not purchase insurance, you will be subject to civil and criminal penalties. In addition, if you are injured while operating an uninsured automobile, you will not be permitted to make a claim or file a lawsuit against the careless driver for economic or non-economic loss, even if you were not at fault for the accident.

Q. How can I protect myself and my family if we are sued?

A. A Standard Policy provides liability insurance with minimum limits of $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident if you or your family are sued. And you may purchase additional coverage to protect your assets.

Q. How can I protect myself and my family if we are injured by a careless driver who is uninsured or unidentified?

A. A Standard Policy automatically provides coverage for injuries caused by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver in the amount of $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident. You may purchase additional coverage up to the amount of your liability coverage.

Q. How can I protect myself and my family if we are injured by a careless driver who is insured but does not have adequate coverage?

A. The amount of your recovery from a careless driver may be limited by the amount of liability insurance purchased by that driver and by the owner of the vehicle. However, if you purchase a Standard Policy, you can purchase underinsured motorist coverage up to the amount of your liability coverage.

Q. How much coverage do you recommend?

A. Most people feel that the minimum limits of $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident are inadequate. Many people purchase additional coverage up to $100,000, $300,000 or $500,000, single limit.

Safe Choice

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURCHASE LIABILITY COVERAGE WITH SINGLE LIMITS OF AT LEAST $100,000 OR THE HIGHEST LIMITS THAT YOU CAN AFFORD UP TO $500,000. IN ADDITION, YOU SHOULD PURCHASE UNINSURED AND UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE WITH THE SAME LIMITS AS YOUR LIABILITY COVERAGE.

Q. Who benefits if I purchase a Basic Policy or a Standard Policy with the lawsuit limitation option?

A. The careless drivers who cause accidents will benefit because they may have no legal responsibility for your pain and suffering. The insurance companies who provide coverage for careless drivers will benefit because they may not have to pay any monetary damages for your injuries.

Q. Can I purchase other insurance protection in addition to automobile insurance?

A. Yes. You can purchase a personal catastrophe liability umbrella at a reasonable cost that will provide you with additional coverage of $1 million if a claim is made against you (or any resident family member) for injuries sustained by another person. In addition, some companies offer umbrella policies that include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $1 million.

Safe Choice

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURCHASE A PERSONAL CATASTROPHE LIABILITY UMBRELLA WITH LIMITS OF $1 MILLION.

If you or an organization you belong to like more information about New Jersey's new auto insurance law, call the Law Offices of Shabel and DeNittis, P.C. at 856-797-9951. Or e-mail your request to us through our web site: www.shabeldenittis.com http://www.shabeldenittis.com

You are faced with many choices when your purchase or renew your automobile insurance policy. The failure to purchase the correct coverage will affect both your ability to receive medical care if you are injured in an accident and your legal rights to receive monetary damages from the careless driver who caused the accident. We strongly recommend that you select the following coverages to properly protect yourself and your family.

WARNING: The Basic Policy provides no liability coverage if someone makes a claim against you and no uninsured motorist coverage if the careless driver who caused the accident has no insurance. If you are sued, you will not have any insurance to pay a judgment against you; your insurance company will not assign a lawyer to represent you; and you may lose your credit rating and your driver's license. NEVER BUY A BASIC POLICY.

If you or a loved one has been in a motor vehicle accident or have questions about your automobile insurance policy call the Law Offices of Shabel & DeNittis, P.C. at 856-866-0330 to find out about your legal rights.

AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CHECKLIST

Basic Policy--NO

Standard Policy--YES

Liability Coverage (A minimum of $100,000 or the highest limits that you can afford up to $500,000)--YES

Uninsured Motorist Coverage (A minimum of $100,000 or the highest limits that you can afford up to $500,000)--YES

Underinsured Motorist Coverage (A minimum of $100,000 or the highest limits that you can afford up to $500,000)--YES

PIP Medical Expense Benefits (less than $250,000)--NO

Pre-certification of Medical Treatment--NO

No Limitation on Lawsuit Option--YES

Limitation on Lawsuit Option-NO

LAWN MOWER FOOT INJURIES

The safety requirements for walk-behind lawn mowers are contained in Consumer Product Safety Commission 16 CFR Part 1205, "Safety Standard for Walk-Behind Power Lawn Mowers." Of the safety features that were incorporated into the design of mowers in the mid-nineteen eighties to comply with the standard, some are highly visible and familiar: the addition of a "dead man" control to the handle; the stoppage of the blade within control to the handle; the stoppage of the blade within three (3) seconds of releasing the handle; and the positioning of the manual starting control to within 24 inches of the handle. Mowers also have flexible trailing shield that is intended to protect the operator from debris thrown out by the blade.

What is less obvious is a change in the deck design intended to protect operators from injuries to their feet. Prior to the implementation of the present standards there were an estimated 77,000 injuries per year involving contact with a rotating blade. About half of these injuries involved contact of a foot with the blade. The current safety standard requires mowers to pass a shield foot-probe test in which a foot-probe is inserted under the mower at all locations within the defined operating control zone behind the mower. The test is performed with the mower set to its maximum cutting height. To pass the test the probe must not make contact with the blade. This requirement has necessitated a lengthening of the deck behind the blade. This design helps reduce the number of injuries caused to consumers use of lawn mowers.

The changes in product designs and safety features of lawn mowers, as well as other products, have been due, in large part, to the law of products liability. Product liability law enables consumers to bring lawsuits against manufacturers when a consumer is severely injured by a manufacturer's unsafe product. The law of product liability requires manufacturers to design products, as safe as technologically feasible, to protect consumers from hidden defects that are present in many of the products that are used by consumers everyday. The Consumer Product Safety Commission works hand and hand with private attorneys as a watchful eye of manufacturers to ensure that products in the market are as safe as possible.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a product please call the Law Offices of Shabel & DeNittis, P.C. at 856-797-9951 to learn about your legal rights.

CLIENT AWARENESS ALERT

More than 30,000 companies use telephone facsimile machines or computers to frequently send out unsolicited advertisements otherwise known as "Fax Attacks." Congressional Statement October 23, 1992. Many persons are outraged over the proliferation of intrusive, nuisance calls and faxes to their homes and businesses from these marketers. In 1991, to protect persons and businesses from being bombarded with unsolicited advertisements Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act makes it unlawful for any company or person to use any telephone facsimile machine, computer or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to another person's telephone facsimile machine. 47 USCA 227. Any violation of the Act entitles persons to a private right of action entitling them to minimum damages of $500. If you or your employer has received an unsolicited advertisement through a facsimile machine or have questions about the law call the Law Offices of Shabel & DeNittis, P.C. at 856-866-0330 to find out about your legal rights.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The firm has recently hired Legal Assistant Jessica Bianchi to assist with working with our clients. Jessica was an administrative assistant for a mid-sized company prior to obtaining employment with our office. Jessica is eager to assist our clients' needs and is a fine addition to our firm. We would like to welcome Jessica to our staff.