New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog

A New Name and Address: The Grossman Law Firm, LLC Moves to a new Freehold Office Location

Scott Grossman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:43:44 -0500

This week, I moved my injury law firm practice in Freehold to a brand new building, under a brand new name. So as of the 1^st of February, the Law Offices of Scott D. Grossman is now The Grossman Law Firm, LLC.

Monmouth County residents can locate us at our new office:

The Grossman Law Firm, LLC.

Pinho Professional Center,

57 Schanck Road, Suite C-13

Freehold

The telephone and fax numbers for the Freehold office remain the same.

Phone: 732-625-9494

Web: www.GrossmanJustice.com

Blog: www.NJinjuryBlog.com

Our Northern New Jersey office remains at its current address in Bergen County.

The new expanded premises are at a convenient location, and will help Freehold, Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell, Old Bridge, New Egypt and Jackson area residents, who need to consult with an experienced injury lawyer in Monmouth County.

Those of you who know me on a personal level, or have given me the honor of representing you over the years, know that my objective in starting my own personal injury law firm practice was to help victims of negligence fight for their rights. Over these years, I have noticed how shattered victims of accidents and serious injuries can be. When a person walks into my office, he or she has been through one of the most traumatic experiences imaginable. He or she has often been seriously injured because of someone else’s negligence, and has been off work for several days. Medical debt will soon pile up and he or she may soon find it hard to meet rent, mortgage payments, utility and grocery expenses.

For most of these people, it is the very first time they have been seriously injured. It is also the first time they have been unable to work and support their families. The strain of dealing with physical pain and financial expenses, and worry over a future that is so uncertain - these are some of the common characteristics I see in so many of the clients who walk in for a consultation at my office.

For me, being a personal injury lawyer in New Jersey is not just about helping these people navigate their way through the complexities of the NJ insurance law, and obtain the compensation they deserve for what is often a life altering experience. It’s also about helping them find the resources they need to move forward again.

While there may be nothing I can do to make injured clients or bereaved ones feel whole again, I am committed to doing all I can to put them back on the road to physical, financial and emotional recovery, all with a very personable hands-on approach. As I settle down at our new beautiful, state of the art, conveniently located Freehold office, it’s a commitment my staff and I will maintain.

New Rule Bans Truckers from Text Messaging While Driving

Scott Grossman — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:10:29 -0500

A new rule which goes into immediate effect, bans commercial truck drivers and bus drivers from sending and receiving text messages while driving. The new rule was announced by the Department of Transportation this week, and aims to cut down on the risk of accidents from truck drivers distracted by texting at the wheel.

The ban is a part of efforts by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to deal with the problem of distracted driving. . Secretary LaHood has taken up the issue with great enthusiasm, and has been responsible for a number of recent steps that aim to eliminate these risks.

As a Monmouth County truck accident lawyer, I find this new rule very encouraging and a great start to dealing with the problem of distracted driving. . But the fact is that there are other factors that need to be dealt with as far as truck safety is concerned. Truck drivers continue to be at risk from the use of computers that they use to receive instructions from their main offices. A trucker is prohibited from using these computers while the truck is in operation. However, use of these computers while the rig is in motion happens more often than we like to think about.

Last year, a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute measured the risk of accidents from text messaging by truck drivers, and found that the risk increased by up to 23 times. The Virginia Tech study also measured the effect of distraction from the computers in the cabs, and found that these increased the risk of an accident by up to 10 times. The Department of Transportation has said that it will take up the issue of the use of computers in commercial trucks very soon.

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County truck accident lawyer, representing injured victims of truck, tractor trailer and semi truck accidents in Freehold, Howell, Aberdeen, Marlboro and across Monmouth County and the state of New Jersey.

New Radiation Technologies Promise Cures, but Also Linked to Injuries

Scott Grossman — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:02:48 -0500

The New York Times has published an excellent report on the increasing frequency of radiation errors in many of New York’s hospitals, and the trail of debilitation, serious injuries or death that are often left behind. These increasing numbers of errors have come with the introduction of sophisticated complex machines that promise targeted cures using radiation therapy.

The New York Times profiles a few cases where individuals have been injured by excessive dosages of radiation, and later died from their injuries. In one of the cases profiled, the radiation was delivered to the wrong parts of the body, because of technical malfunctioning of the equipment, and the failure of the staff to catch the error in time.

Much of the problem, the NYT says, comes from the fact that these new machines come with few technical safeguards to prevent errors in radiation. As a New Jersey medical malpractice lawyer, I find it hard to understand how a complex linear accelerator, that can deliver intense targeted radiation to specific affected parts of the body, can be allowed to function when there is a malfunction that causes radiation to be delivered to other parts of the body too. Yet, that is exactly what happened with the linear accelerator in one of the cases profiled in the New York Times report. Warning messages in that case were not noticed by staff and technicians.

Hospitals and doctors have grown too reliant on these technologies that are still new. There has also been a failure in training staff to operate these machines properly.

For patients who have been injured by radiation errors, tracing their injuries to these errors can be hard. Often injuries don’t show up for months and years after the error has taken place. Even worse, the kinds of injuries that result from radiation errors are almost untreatable - there is little that can be done to repair the damage.

New Jersey Lawsuit Blames Taverns for Victim's Brain Injury

Scott Grossman — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:00:19 -0500

New Jersey’s dram shop liability laws are involved in a lawsuit involving a man who was served alcohol while he was intoxicated, ended up in a fight and suffered serious brain injuries.

The lawsuit has been filed by Louis Vozza. In June 2008, his uncle Daniel Vozza drank alcohol at one establishment, the Harley’s Irish Pub, before moving on to another one, Straphanger Saloon where he continued to drink. Then, Vozza got into a fight with the owner of the Straphanger Saloon, who was also intoxicated. During the scuffle, the bar owner apparently grabbed Vozza’s shirt, causing the man to fall on the asphalt and strike his head. Vozza suffered a serious brain injury, which has since left him mentally incapacitated. He suffers from memory loss, among other problems. The lawsuit names the two establishments, and claims that these two served alcohol to Vozza who was “visibly intoxicated.” The owner of Harley’s Irish Pub insists that Vozza was not drunk when he left the bar on the day of the fight.

Under New Jersey dram shop laws, a drinking establishment like a restaurant, pub, club or bar may be named in a civil action, if the establishment serves a visibly drunk patron who then goes out and injures someone. Defining whether a patron was visibly intoxicated when the establishment served him more alcohol, can be tricky. Staff members are very likely to insist that the person did not seem drunk at the time.

Unfortunately, even with these laws in place, accidents and injuries from violations of these laws, continue to occur. An establishment’s failure to serve customers and conduct business ethically can leave an innocent person injured or even dead.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injured victims of auto and truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

NJ Transit Settles with Family of Victim who was Dragged to Death

Scott Grossman — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:52:25 -0500

The family of a New Jersey man who was killed when he became trapped in the door of an NJ transit train and dragged to his death, has settled with the agency.

The family of John D’Agostino has settled its claim for $2.5 million. On November 21^st 2006, D’Agostino was getting off a train at a Bradley Beach station, when the train door closed shut on his shoulder and arm. The train began to pull out of the station. D’Agostino began to scream for help, but to no avail. The train gathered speed, dragging the 49-year-old man with it. D’Agostino was eventually dragged under the train, and killed.

In December 2007, a Federal Railroad Administration released its investigation report into the accident. The report said that a bypass switch had been engaged in the locomotive at the time. If it has been off, it would have likely prevented the train from moving with an open door.

The FRA also had severe criticism for the train’s conductor and assistant conductor. The two were not in their places at the time of the terrible accident, and failed to see D’Agostino trapped in the door and being dragged along. There have been other questions raised by the United Transportation Union Local 60 which represents conductors and assistant conductors, about whether the car doors were functioning properly at the time of accident. Investigations found no defects in the doors, edges, steps, or handholds.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey personal injury lawyer representing injured victims of auto and truck accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

FMCSA Continues to Work on Revising Hours of Service Rule

Scott Grossman — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:51:46 -0500

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration held a series of sessions to gather public input on the hours of service rules for truckers that are being revised. The fourth session was held Davenport, Iowa on the 25^thof January. The first 3 had been held in Arlington, Virginia; Dallas, Texas and El Segundo, California. The FMCSA had invited commercial truckers, trucking companies, owners, operators; truck safety groups, researchers and other people to discuss issues that impact truck safety. These issues include rest time, on duty time, sleeper berth use, loading and unloading times, and others.

Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reached an agreement with truck safety groups, the Teamsters union and others to revise the Hours of Service rule for truckers. The Bush Administration had set the rules at 11 consecutive hours. The rule had been soundly criticized by truck accident victims and New Jersey truck accident lawyers. The FMCSA promised that it will revise these rules within a period of 9 months. As part of its efforts to revise the rule, the FMCSA held these four public listening sessions to gather input from the public

Lowering the HOS rules is absolutely necessary, but on its own will not be able to tackle the problem of driver fatigue. The FMCSA has not paid any attention to the problem of sleep apnea, which is another contributor to driver fatigue. The NTSB has recognized the role of sleep apnea in trucker fatigue-related accidents, and has recommended mandatory sleep apnea sleeping for truck drivers. However, the FMCSA has failed to act on these recommendations.

Safer Cars Could Mean Fewer Accidents, Injuries

Scott Grossman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:18:21 -0500

Last month’s New England International Auto Show displayed a variety of advanced new auto safety features that don’t just minimize injuries in accidents, but also work to prevent crashes, and increase your chances of survival if you are involved in one. What’s more, many of these features are not restricted to high end luxury models, but are being introduced even in mid range and low range models.

For automakers, it makes sense to pump their vehicles with the most high-tech safety features. Surveys show that safety is one of the top most considerations for a car buyer. Even in a recession, car buyers are looking for more than seatbelts and airbags to keep them and their loved ones safe during an accident.

Newer cars are likely to come with some systems that I found have special potential in preventing accidents.

Lane departure warnings – these sound an alarm when you are beginning to veer off your lane
Stay in lane systems- these automatically inch the car back into the lane when you begin to veer off
Heads up displays - these allow you to see your speedometer and gas gauge readings on an upper level display, preventing the need to take your eyes off the road
Face recognition monitors - these monitor the position of your head while driving, and sound an alarm when you begin to nod off
Forward collision warnings - these systems sound warnings when you get too close to the vehicle or object in front of you
Active head restraints - these cushion the back of your head during an accident by protruding a few inches upward.

Of course more and more cars now come fitted with antilock brake systems (ABS) and electronic stability control systems. These are two of the most important collision prevention technologies you could have in your car. With automakers focusing extra hard on safety, I am confident that the nationwide decline in crash fatality rates will continue over the next few years

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County auto accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents in Freehold, Marlboro, Aberdeen, Howell, and across Monmouth County.

New Law Requires All Vehicle Occupants to Buckle up in New Jersey

Scott Grossman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:16:30 -0500

A new law will require all occupants of a vehicle in New Jersey to buckle up. As a New Jersey auto accident lawyer, I am pleased with the law which is the latest one in a series designed to protect New Jersey motorists in the event of accidents. However, it would have been even more encouraging if the law had been signed in with primary enforcement. Currently, the bill comes with secondary enforcement, which means that police must first stop the vehicle for another offense, before handing out a ticket for failure to buckle up.

Rear seat passengers are at a grave risk of injury not just to themselves, but also other passengers in the event of accidents. The impact of an accident can throw back seat passengers against the other occupants of the vehicle, causing them serious injuries, not to mention the injuries to the rear seat passenger themselves.

As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I would like to see buckling up become a habit for all motor vehicle occupants. You can’t overestimate the kind of protection being in a properly fitted seatbelt can offer during an accident. Along with airbags, seatbelts have been responsible for saving thousand of lives over the years. However, back seat passengers have traditionally had a much lower rate of buckling up than drivers or front seat passengers. This places them at a higher risk of injuries. Hopefully, this new law will help make buckling up in the backseat as common and widespread as wearing seatbelts in the front seat.

New Support Group for Victims of Distracted Driving Accidents

Scott Grossman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:15:00 -0500

A new group that aims to act as Mothers Against Drunk Driving does to support families of DUI crash victims, has just been launched in Washington. FocusDriven is meant to support families of persons killed in auto accidents involving a distracted driver. It’s part of the nationwide campaign against distracted driving, and it aims to a give a voice to victims of such crashes, who have not had enough attention paid to them till now.

The launch of the group was accompanied by new statistics by the National Safety Council that indicates that 28 percent of all accidents involve motorists distracted by their cell phones. Approximately 1.3 million accidents are caused by persons having a conversation on their cell phone behind the wheel, while 200,000 accidents are caused by text messaging drivers. Every year, these accidents kill more than 2,500 people. It’s the families of these victims that FocusDriven will give a voice to.

The group also plans to pressurize states that have failed to take the texting and talking on the cell phone issues, seriously enough. Several states this year are dealing with legislations relating to bans on text messaging and the use of handheld cell phones. They might face additional pressure from groups like FocusDriven when the time comes for a vote.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has expanded from being a victims support advocacy group to an influential voice for stronger laws against drunk driving, ignition interlock devices and other DUI issues. I hope FocusDriven can make the same contribution in the fight against distracted driving. Most importantly, the organization will be able to act as a mouthpiece for the silent victims of distracted driving crashes, allowing them to speak out strongly against inattentive driving.

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County auto accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents in Freehold, Marlboro, Aberdeen, Howell, and across Monmouth County.

New Jersey Receives Top Marks for Highway Safety Laws

Scott Grossman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:12:27 -0500

A highway safety group has awarded top marks to the state of New Jersey for its adoption of highway safety laws that can prevent injuries and minimize fatalities in accidents.

The group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released its 7^th Annual Road Map to State Highway Safety Laws report. The group reviewed 15 basic laws that will contribute to a reduction in fatalities and injuries in highway accidents. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were reviewed based on whether they have adopted all these laws.

States were awarded credits, and given a rating of green, yellow and red. Green signifies that the state has sufficient basic laws in place to prevent highway deaths and injuries, while yellow signifies that the state still has to make more progress, and a red rating denotes failure to adopt basic safety laws that continue to place citizens in danger.

New Jersey, I was very encouraged to note, received 13 credits, the highest among all states. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has some recommendations to further bring down fatality rates and injuries in the state. The group recommends nighttime restrictions and between 30 and 50 hours of supervised driving for GDL holders. It also recommends ignition interlock laws for all DUI offenders in order to minimize drunk driving accident fatalities in the state. The group recommends these devices for all offenders, including first time offenders.

As a Bergen County auto accident lawyer, I have been a strong supporter of ignition interlock laws because of their potential for preventing repeat drunk driving. Too many DUI offenders in New Jersey are able to get back behind the wheel in an intoxicated state, posing a serious danger to other motorists on the road. With an interlock device on all their vehicles, such motorists could be kept off the streets.

Pedestrian Risks from Distractions may be Higher Than We Know

Scott Grossman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:29:57 -0500

As a Monmouth County auto accident lawyer, I closely follow developments related to inattentive or distracted driving. The New York Times as part of its Driven to Distraction series has a new report focusing on dangers to pedestrians using cell phones while walking.

The New York Times report includes a survey that a research team at the Ohio State University conducted into the risks of distractions in pedestrians. The study found that in 2008, more than 1,000 pedestrians suffered injuries in accidents caused by text messaging or talking on the cell phone while walking. The survey found that young pedestrians were more likely to be injured because of such distractions, with 50 percent of injuries resulting in emergency room visits occurring in people under the age of 30. At least 25 percent of emergency room visits from cell phone use-related accidents were pedestrians between 16 and 20 years old. However, a quarter of the pedestrians who were injured were between 41 and 60 years. This means that it’s not just young pedestrians who are more likely to run into stationary objects, fall into potholes, trip over sidewalks or suffer other accidents because of distractions.

The Ohio State University study is believed to be the first serious one devoted to the risks from distracted driving for pedestrians. However, last year, a less formal study in Washington found that pedestrian inattentiveness while using a cell phone may be much more dramatic than we think. The Washington study involved observing students at a college campus square. A man in a clown costume rode a unicycle around the campus, while dozens of students walked about. The researchers found that just 25 percent of the students who were talking on a cell phone, noticed the clown. People walking in pairs were twice as likely to notice the clown, as students having a conversation on their cell phone.

This seems to indicate that merely having a conversation - as the students walking in pairs were doing - is not the main cause of inattentiveness. Talking on a cell phone likely produces mental images that are connected to the conversation the person is having, and these images likely inhibit the mind’s ability to process real life images.

Scott Grossman is a Monmouth County auto accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents in Freehold, Marlboro, Aberdeen, Howell, and across Monmouth County.

New Jersey Records a First: No New Year's Traffic Fatalities this Year

Scott Grossman — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:04:49 -0500

As a New Jersey auto accident lawyer, my days are busy meeting victims of auto and truck accidents in our state, and helping them find the help and resources they need moving forward. That’s why it’s very encouraging when I come across some good news on the New Jersey traffic safety scene. This New Year’s, the state recorded a potential first - the absence of a single traffic fatality over the New Year’s holiday period. State police believe this is probably the first fatality-free holiday on record, since record keeping began in 1996.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who were involved in accidents over the New Year holiday period. Many of these were the victims of drunk driving accidents caused by the intoxicated drivers who flood New Jersey’s streets every New Year’s eve. Unfortunately, the start of 2010 for many New Jerseyans coincides with one of the most traumatic times of their lives. Injuries and fatalities are common during this period, which is the most alcohol-heavy holiday of the year.

While state troopers increase patrolling efforts, there are always going to be more than a few drunk drivers and speeders. The high use of Twitter in New Jersey has also helped intoxicated motorists warn each other of upcoming sobriety checkpoints. Twitter allows you to post short messages that are meant to go out to those in your network. Every time a drunk motorist comes up on a sobriety checkpoint, he tweets about it or sends out a message to his friends, allowing them to take another route and avoid the checkpoint.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey auto accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Bergen Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

Owner Charged in New Jersey Dog Bite Attack

Scott Grossman — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:13:13 -0500

As a New Jersey dog bite lawyer, I have been following the case of a horrific dog bite attack on a little 3-year-old in Alloway in Salem County at the end of last month. The owner of the dog that was involved in the attack has now been charged.

The attack occurred when the little girl walked into a barn on Robert Taffet’s property. The girl fell down, and the Rhodesian Ridgeback allegedly lunged at her, ripping off one of her ears. The girl underwent a surgical procedure for reattachment. According to animal control officers in Alloway Township, Robert Taffet has been charged with owning a vicious dog. Taffet has a number of champion dogs that have won several local dog shows. They also seem to have dragged Taffet to court several times in relation to bite incidents in the past.

The Rhodesian Ridgeback can be a furious hunter, but can also be a gentle and obedient dog. These breeds may also not be at their best behavior with small children, mostly because they tend to knock kids over with their rough play. They can also become extremely unmanageable when they don’t have enough mental and physical exercise. They have a great amount of stamina and need to have long daily walks and lots of place to run. In the absence of physical exercise, they can display signs of destructive and aggressive behavior.

Any dog bite that involves a little innocent child who has no way of understanding why things happen the way they do, must be taken seriously.. It’s hard to understand how a pack of dogs that had been involved in four different attacks in the past, was still allowed to roam freely among people.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing victims of dog bite attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across New Jersey.

Automakers Add More Distractions to Automobiles

Scott Grossman — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:04:56 -0500

Even with New Jersey’s ban on text messaging in place, personal injury lawyers here continue to see several accidents every year caused by motorists texting at the wheel. Many of these accidents are fatal, and most result in serious injuries.

Yet, automakers seem not to have taken notice of these dangers and the severe risks that come with using a cell phone behind the wheel. Many of them are going ahead to introduce infotainment systems in their cars due to roll out this year. These systems include monitors that display everything from fuel levels and the name of the song being played, to restaurant reviews and even website pages. All of these will be available through monitors mounted on dashboards.

The outcry against distracted driving has never been stronger since our lives were invaded by cell phones, than right now. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood began 2010 promising stronger legislative action to ban text messaging while driving. Several states including Kansas and South Carolina are in line to pass their own bans on cell phone use while driving. New Jersey in fact, has a proposed rule that would disallow the use of GPS systems in a moving car. President Obama last year banned the use of cell phones by federal employees driving government-issued vehicles.

As we make more and more progress in reducing the accident risks from cell phone use, it is extremely frustrating to read about these new infotainment systems. Automakers insist that the more distracting functions that require concentration, like accessing a website, will be only allowed when the car is in park mode. However, reading restaurant reviews, 3-D maps - all of this will be allowed when the car is in motion. At a time when New Jersey auto accident lawyers have been joining hands with legislators and safety groups to reduce the risk from distracted driving, it’s hard to understand why automakers would amp their vehicles with all these distractions. It seems that greed has taken precedence over motorist safety here.

Most Dangerous Roads for Pedestrians in New Jersey

Scott Grossman — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:04:39 -0500

As a New Jersey pedestrian accident lawyer, I regularly monitor pedestrian and auto safety issues that affect our state. A new report by Tri-State Transportation Campaign outlines the most dangerous roads for pedestrians in New Jersey. Two of these wind though Ocean County, while one each winds through Monmouth County and Bergen County.

According to the analysis, the most dangerous roads in our state are

US 130 or the Burlington Pike in Burlington County with 9 fatalities in pedestrian accidents between 2006 and 2008
US 30 Atlantic County, US 1 Middlesex County, route 549 and US 9 in Ocean County and US 1 in Ocean County with 7 fatalities each
US 322 in Atlantic County and US 9 in Middlesex County with 6 fatalities each
Route 4 in Bergen County, McCarter highway SR 21 in Essex County, US 9 in Monmouth County, US 46 in Morris County, St Georges Avenue and SR28 in Essex County with 5 fatalities each
Route 1 and route 9 seem to be the most dangerous for pedestrians. Route 1 stretching across Middlesex County and Union County accounted for 14 fatalities in all between 2006 and 2008. Route 9 stretching across Ocean, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties saw 17 fatalities during the same period

The New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety is pointing to a number of factors responsible for the high pedestrian fatalities on some of these roads.

Lack of crosswalks for pedestrians
Poor design and planning that doesn’t include pedestrian amenities, and contributes to unsafe walking and crossing practices
Failure of motorists to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
Pedestrians walking under the influence of alcohol

The group hopes that the new administration will use the report to make decisions on pedestrian safety infrastructure.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey pedestrian accident lawyer representing injured victims of pedestrian accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Ocean, and Passaic Counties and in and around New Jersey.

Ocean County Most Dangerous for Motorists in New Jersey

Scott Grossman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:39:48 -0500

As a personal injury lawyer serving victims in Ocean County, I noted with dismay that the county has earned for itself the distinction of the most dangerous place for drivers in New Jersey. New Jersey state police has released its auto accident fatality data for 2009. Out of a total of 589 accident fatalities in New Jersey last year, 64 occurred in Ocean County.

Second place went to Burlington and Middlesex Counties with 48 fatalities each last year. As an Ocean County auto accident lawyer I can’t help but notice the wide gap in fatality numbers between Ocean County and the two counties that occupy second place on the list.

Other statistics from the report:

In Monmouth County, there were 34 fatalities in a total of 34 accidents.
Bergen County had a total 26 fatalities in a total of 25 accidents
In Passaic County, there were 27 fatalities in 24 auto accidents.
Monmouth and Passaic counties round out the top 10 counties by fatality counts with the others being Atlantic, Essex , Camden, Union and Cumberland Counties.
In Ocean County, Toms River is the deadliest with 10 fatalities followed by Jackson Township, with 9, Brick Township with 7, Lacey with 6 and Lakewood with 5.
In Monmouth county, fatalities were distributed evenly across townships.
In Bergen County, there were 2 fatalities in Palisades Park Boro, while other areas recorded one fatality each.
In Passaic County, there were two fatalities in West Milford Township, Paterson City and Passaic City with the remaining accounting for 1 fatality each.

Scott Grossman is an Ocean County auto accident lawyer representing injured victims of car crashes in Jackson, Lakewood and around Ocean County .

Girl Injured in Dog Bite Attack, Owner Runs off Leaving Victim to Fend for Herself

Scott Grossman — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:22:07 -0500

As a New Jersey dog bite lawyer serving dog bite victims in Monmouth and Bergen Counties, I track dog bite stories not just in the state of New Jersey but across the nation. This one particularly stuck out.

A 15-year-old high school student in Chicago had her hand severely mauled by a pit bull that was being walked by its owner. The victim Girthamarie Gary was walking to a library with her little sister when the two came across a woman walking her dog on a leash. As Girthamarie passed the dog, it attacked her hand. The attack lasted 5 minutes, and when it ended, the tip of Girthamarie’s ring finger was missing, and her little finger barely hanging by some fragments of tissue and bone.

What happened next was shocking to Girthamarie, but not so surprising to New Jersey dog bite lawyers who frequently see such instances of bad and irresponsible ownership. The dog owner simply grabbed her pooch, turned around and fled, leaving Girthamarie seriously injured on the sidewalk. The young girl has had a metal pin inserted though the length of her middle finger to help the tissue in the finger grow back. She has been forced to sit out school activities and sports because of her bandaged hand. The hand is numb most of the time, except when she bangs it against something causing severe pain.

After the attack, the alleged owner of the dog, Catina Jones was given a ticket for failure to have a city license for her dog. But, she denies that she was walking her dog during the alleged attack on Girthamarie.

Raising a pet dog is not a hobby to take lightly, but a serious responsibility. If you can’t afford the time or the resources to care for your pet - make sure that it gets its daily dose of exercise, socialize it and take care of all the licensing, vaccination and other formalities that come with raising a dog – I would advise you not to get a dog at all. Not only is it extreme cruelty to an animal which may act out in the absence of training and socializing, but it could also place you at liability when a Monmouth County dog bite lawyer names you in a claim arising from a dog bite.

Toddler Killed in Fatal Dog Bite

Scott Grossman — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:20:06 -0500

The Christmas holiday seems to have been a particularly painful time for a number of families dealing with serious dog bite attacks in New Jersey and around the country.

In Florida just a few days before Christmas, a 20-month-old boy was killed in an attack involving a Rottweiler. The boy, Dallas Walter, was at a birthday party in Pasco County. According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s office, the boy had dropped a cookie, and was just bending to pick it up when the Rottweiler attacked him.

The dog, which was not registered or even neutered, belonged to a distant relative. According to the dog’s owner, they just received the dog two months ago through a newspaper ad, and have no idea whether the dog has behavioral problems. Pasco County officials are now trying to get in touch with the dog’s original owner. The dog has since been euthanized.

According to Dallas’s father, the dog was meant to be chained in the backyard, but seemed to have gotten loose. Not surprisingly, he wants criminal charges filed against the owner.

It is an incredibly tragic time for the family of this little boy. I don’t know the exact circumstances of this attack, what kind of conditions the dog had been kept in, and how it was able to enter the home. However, Rottweilers tend to be often linked to dog bite attacks. It’s important to remember though that even the friendliest little Pomeranians can become ferocious if they have been chained with no food and little exercise. Most dog bite cases ultimately come down to irresponsible and negligent ownership, and unfortunately, it’s innocent victims who are left injured and traumatized.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing injured victims of dog bite attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across New Jersey.

Mother Kills Pit Bull after Dog Attacks Daughter

Scott Grossman — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:44:18 -0500

It’s not every day that New Jersey dog lawyers come across cases where a dog had to be killed by a victim in the middle of an attack. Something like that happened in Georgia last week. A 12-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull, and the attack only stopped when the girl’s mother grabbed a knife brick and killed the dog.

The victim Alexus Williams, had gone to a friend’s house to pick her up. When the door opened, the pit bulled lunged at her. Alexis’ mother rushed to help her. She and another person in the friend’s house tried to pull the pit bull off Alexus, but could not do so. Alexus’s mother then grabbed a nearby brick, and struck the dog on the head. She then grabbed a knife, and attacked the pit bull. The pill bull ultimately died.

Alexus has suffered severe facial injuries and bite wounds just about everywhere on her body. According to her mother, she has dog bite marks on her jaw, chest, arms and hips. What makes this sadder is that Alexus’ family is dealing with the fall out of a bad economy. They are already struggling financially, and finding the funds to get the kind of cosmetic surgery that Alexus need to regain her former appearance, is going to be hard. The owner of the dog has been cited for letting his dog free, but criminal charges have not yet been filed.

My heart goes out to Alexus and her family for whom this attack has come as a rude shock, and not even during the best of economic times. Alexus is likely already traumatized by the attack. For a 12-year-old girl, the worst thing can be the thought that she may have her face scarred from the bite marks. I hope that Alexus and her family talk to a dog bite lawyer in the area who can guide them about what to do next.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing injured victims of dog bite attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across New Jersey.

Five Children in South Jersey Injured in Dog Attack

Scott Grossman — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:06:59 -0500

For five children in Winslow, it was a less than Merry Christmas this year, as they recovered from serious injuries in a dog bite attack in their own home.

The attack occurred when the five children, including four siblings and another relative were playing outside the Quann home in Winslow. According to elder sibling Brandon Quann, who is14-years-old, the two bulldogs that had apparently escaped from the neighbor’s backyard, ran up to the children. The dogs were very aggressive, and the children ran inside the home. The dogs ran inside behind them. The animals began to attack the kids, and Brandon hit the dog with a shovel to get them off his siblings. He then tried to lead the dogs out of the house by running out himself. Although he was successful in getting the dogs out of the house, the animals then began to attack him.

The owner of the dogs finally arrived at the scene, and was able to control them. They have been euthanized. It turns out that it was the second attack involving the same dogs in less than a month. They had been involved in another attack on the 27th of November when they managed to break out of their yard, and attack a local man, who was trying to protect his grandchildren from them.

The victims here were between 9 and 12 years old. They suffered bites and scratches, and were treated in hospital. Brandon Quann suffered multiple wounds to his hands and legs, and required hospital treatment. The dog owner has been cited for failure to restrain the dogs.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing injured victims of dog bites in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.