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Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
A child’s car accident claim involves more than today’s medical bill. Parents may be arranging treatment while trying to understand changes in schoolwork, daily activities and the help their child needs. The legal review should account for what is known now without guessing about recovery or overlooking needs that require further professional assessment.
The Epstein Law Firm represents families whose children have been injured in New Jersey motor vehicle accidents. Our car accident practice addresses the collision and insurance issues. A child’s case also requires attention to who can act for the child, how the injury is documented and the safeguards that apply to a proposed settlement.
Start by telling us what happened, what care your child has received and what the insurers have requested. You do not need a complete prognosis before asking about the claim. The purpose of an early review is to identify the evidence and decisions that should not be left unattended while treatment continues.
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Give your child’s healthcare professional an accurate account of the crash and any changes you have observed. Ask what follow-up is needed and which symptoms require urgent attention. A legal consultation cannot determine whether a child has a concussion or another injury, and a photograph of the vehicle does not answer that medical question.
For a diagnosed concussion, CDC’s school-return guidance explains that symptoms can affect attention, schoolwork and participation. Some symptoms may become apparent hours or days after the injury. The guidance recommends coordination between the healthcare provider and school, with support tailored to the student’s symptoms.
Keep the provider’s instructions and communications with teachers or the school nurse. Describe observed changes concretely: an assignment taking longer, a missed activity or a recommended rest break. Do not turn a difficult day into a prediction of permanent disability. The records should distinguish the child’s experience, professional findings and questions that remain unresolved.
A useful claim file brings together several kinds of information:
Keep original documents and tell counsel what you do not yet have. Relevant history, including earlier injuries or existing school supports, helps professionals understand what changed. It should not be omitted because it makes the story more complicated.
The Epstein Law Firm can review these records alongside the collision evidence and identify where additional medical or other expert assessment may be needed. A child’s future needs should be supported by the appropriate evidence. They should not be calculated from a generic injury label or another family’s settlement.
A car seat that looks intact may still need replacement. NHTSA recommends replacing car seats after a moderate or severe crash and following the manufacturer’s instructions. Its minor-crash exception requires every listed condition to be satisfied, including that no vehicle occupant was injured. Do not assume an injury-producing crash qualifies because the vehicle could be driven away.
Keep the seat’s model information, photographs and purchase or replacement documents if available. Ask counsel about preserving the original seat as potential evidence while obtaining a safe replacement; preserving it does not mean continuing to use it. A product or installation issue requires its own investigation and should not be assumed from the fact that a child was hurt.
A child’s interests need their own protection even when everyone involved is part of the same family. Under New Jersey Rule 4:26-2, a parent can ordinarily act as the child’s guardian ad litem in a negligence action through the required attorney filing, unless the court directs otherwise. That role means representing the child’s interests in the lawsuit; the filing must address the absence of a conflict between parent and child.
Tell counsel if a parent was driving, has a separate injury claim or is being blamed for the collision. These circumstances deserve review before deciding who represents the child. They do not automatically establish anyone’s fault. Where interests conflict, the court’s representation rules provide a way to protect the child rather than treating the family’s claims as interchangeable.
Paying for care and pursuing compensation from a responsible driver are related but different tasks. New Jersey’s Personal Injury Protection guidance explains how automobile medical coverage can interact with health coverage. Which policy applies to a particular child requires review of the household policies, vehicle and circumstances; the driver’s insurer is not necessarily the first payer for every bill.
Bring the declarations pages, coverage selections and denial letters. We can help identify the issues that need answers:
New Jersey’s standard-policy explanation distinguishes medical benefits from the policy’s right-to-sue options. A child’s age alone does not answer every coverage or threshold question. Keep treatment and claim records organized while those questions are resolved; do not assume that payment of one bill means the entire injury claim has been settled.
A settlement proposal should explain both the amount and what happens to the money. Rule 4:44-3 requires the judge to determine whether a minor’s settlement is fair and reasonable in its amount and terms. The court also examines the reasonable certainty of future payments when a structured settlement defers proceeds. Medical evidence supporting approval is governed by Rule 4:44-2.
Ask what the proposal assumes about recovery, additional treatment and lasting limitations. Ask how fees, expenses and any applicable reimbursement obligations affect the child’s net recovery. The payment arrangement and court order matter: the Judiciary’s model friendly-settlement judgment includes alternative provisions for protecting the proceeds. A parent should not assume that settlement money becomes an unrestricted household account.
New Jersey generally provides a two-year period for personal-injury actions, while its minor-tolling statute generally postpones that period until the injured child reaches 18. Read together, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 and 2A:14-21 explain that distinction; it is not a reason to delay investigating the crash.
Have counsel check the child’s claims, any parent’s separate claim and insurance requirements individually. Public-entity cases and other special circumstances need their own analysis. Recordings, witnesses and physical evidence can become unavailable even when a filing period has not expired.
Our reported results include a $1.2 million settlement for an eleven-year-old passenger who sustained a significant neurological injury, as well as a confidential settlement involving a child’s spinal cord and neurological injuries in a motor vehicle accident. Those matters illustrate relevant experience; they do not establish the value or outcome of another child’s case.
A conversation with our team can begin with the records already available and your unanswered questions. We can discuss how the crash evidence, insurance issues and medical assessment fit together, and what further information is needed before evaluating a resolution. Contact The Epstein Law Firm to discuss your child’s New Jersey car accident claim.
Tell our team how your child was hurt, what care has been provided and what questions remain. We can discuss the available records, the people involved and the next steps for protecting your child’s claim.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case depends on its own facts, evidence, and applicable law.
These excerpts describe experiences with the firm. They are not identified as cases in this practice area and do not predict another outcome.
“Working directly with April, I found her to be professional, responsive & honest about the process. It was a difficult journey that was made easier by her expertise & support. I highly recommend April and this law firm for anyone seeking representation.”
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“Ms. Gilmore was very attentive with my case and walked me through it with ease. We had lots of laughter and even tears at times because I felt she put everything into achieving the best possible outcome for my benefit. I was able to relax and depend on her knowledge and expertise of the law.”
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These answers provide general information. The child’s age, injuries, available evidence, insurance and other circumstances can change the legal and medical analysis.
A parent can ordinarily act for a minor in a New Jersey negligence action through the guardian-ad-litem procedure, subject to the court’s rules and any conflict of interest. Rule 4:26-2 requires an attorney filing addressing the relationship, the child’s age and status, the parent’s consent and the absence of a conflict. Being the parent does not remove the need to protect the child’s separate interests.
Tell the attorney about other family claims and who was driving. The appropriate representative must be identified before proceeding, and resolving the claim also requires attention to the court’s settlement safeguards. A parent’s willingness to accept an offer is not a substitute for that process.
Sources: New Jersey Court Rules 4:26-2 and 4:44; New Jersey Judiciary: Friendly Settlement Judgment.
Contact a healthcare professional about new or worsening symptoms; a child appearing well at the scene does not rule out a concussion. CDC explains that symptoms can emerge hours or days later and can look different according to age. Seek emergency care for danger signs such as repeated vomiting, a worsening headache that does not go away, seizures or difficulty waking.
Keep a dated record of what changed and the medical advice received. Do not diagnose the child yourself or ask a lawyer to decide whether symptoms are crash-related. Medical evaluation and follow-up help establish what care is appropriate; records of actual observations also give the claim review a more accurate timeline.
Sources: CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Concussion; CDC: Returning to School After a Concussion.
The applicable automobile and health coverage must be reviewed before identifying the payer. Personal Injury Protection, or PIP, can cover qualifying accident-related medical expenses, and some policyholders choose health insurance as the primary payer. The policy terms and the child’s circumstances matter; neither the child’s passenger status nor the other driver’s alleged fault answers every coverage question.
Provide household policy information, the vehicle’s insurance details and any billing or denial notices. Ask which claim procedures apply and what information is missing. Medical-benefit processing is separate from valuing a claim against a responsible driver, so a paid treatment bill should not be mistaken for a resolution of all injury-related losses.
Sources: New Jersey DOBI: PIP Options; New Jersey DOBI: Standard Automobile Insurance Policy.
No. The claim requires an assessment of responsibility, injuries and any applicable limitation on lawsuits. New Jersey’s automobile-insurance law distinguishes economic losses from noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering. Where the limitation-on-lawsuit provision applies, the statutory injury categories and proof requirements matter; being a child does not by itself establish that those requirements have been met.
Have counsel examine the relevant coverage and medical evidence together. A diagnosis, school absence or photograph may be relevant without settling the legal question on its own. The review should identify which rule applies to this child and what evidence supports the claim, rather than promising compensation based only on the type of collision.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8: Tort Exemption and Limitation; New Jersey DOBI: Standard Policy and Right-to-Sue Options.
For an ordinary personal-injury claim covered by these statutes, New Jersey’s two-year period generally begins when the injured child reaches 18 because of the minor-tolling rule. That is the interaction between N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 and 2A:14-21, not a statement that every claim arising from the accident shares the same deadline.
Ask an attorney to review the child’s claim, any parent’s separate claim and applicable insurance requirements promptly. Special defendants or causes of action can require additional analysis. Waiting also creates practical problems: video can disappear, witnesses may become difficult to locate and vehicles may be repaired. A longer filing period does not preserve the evidence needed to prove the case.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2: Personal-Injury Limitations; P.L. 2013, c.103, Section 2: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-21.
New Jersey’s minor-settlement procedure requires judicial review of whether the amount and terms are fair and reasonable. Rule 4:44-3 provides for a hearing before the court, and Rule 4:44-2 addresses the medical evidence supporting approval. A proposed structured settlement also receives scrutiny concerning the reasonable certainty of its future payments.
Before the hearing, discuss the proposed recovery, medical assessment, fees, expenses and payment arrangement with counsel. The judgment should make clear how the child’s proceeds will be protected. An agreement reached in negotiations is an important step, but the court’s review serves a separate purpose: assessing the proposed resolution for the child rather than simply recording the adults’ agreement.
Sources: New Jersey Court Rules 4:44-2 and 4:44-3; New Jersey Judiciary: Friendly Settlement Judgment.
Do not assume a child’s settlement proceeds are available for unrestricted spending. The court-approved arrangement and judgment control how the money is held and released. The Judiciary’s model judgment includes a county Surrogate’s Intermingled Trust Fund option under which withdrawals require the specified court process or the child’s attainment of majority; other approved arrangements can have different terms.
Ask counsel to explain the child’s net recovery, where it will be deposited and any restrictions before accepting the proposed arrangement. Keep the final judgment and account information. If an expense arises later, check the actual order and required procedure rather than treating the settlement as an ordinary parental bank account or assuming every payment schedule works the same way.
Sources: New Jersey Judiciary: Friendly Settlement Judgment, Deposit and Withdrawal Provisions; New Jersey Court Rules 4:44 and 4:48A.
A school-return plan should follow the child’s healthcare provider’s guidance and symptoms. CDC explains that many children return to school within one or two days of a concussion, sometimes while symptoms remain, with appropriate support. That general guidance does not decide when a particular child is ready or authorize a return to sports.
Ask the provider and school to coordinate any needed changes to workload, breaks or participation. Share new concerns and preserve written instructions and accommodation records. These records can help describe how the injury affects daily life without assuming that temporary difficulties mean permanent impairment. School needs and the injury claim should be assessed using the child’s actual progress, not a fixed recovery timetable.
Sources: CDC: Returning to School After a Concussion; CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Concussion.
It may need replacement despite looking intact. NHTSA recommends replacing car seats after moderate or severe crashes and following the manufacturer’s guidance. Its minor-crash exception requires all five conditions to be met, including no injury to any occupant, no airbag deployment and no visible seat damage. Appearance alone therefore does not establish that continued use is appropriate.
Preserve photographs and the seat’s identifying information, and ask counsel how to retain potential evidence without putting the child back in an unsafe seat. Obtain medical advice about the child’s condition separately. A seat’s appearance cannot rule out an injury, and a medical concern cannot be resolved by checking the seat alone.
Sources: NHTSA: Car Seat Use After a Crash; CDC: Signs and Symptoms of Concussion.
Start with the collision information, available treatment records, insurance correspondence and your questions. The Epstein Law Firm’s child-injury experience includes reported motor vehicle cases involving neurological injuries. Another child’s result does not predict this claim, so the useful starting point is what happened to your child and what information is available now.
Explain who was driving, whether other relatives were injured and what the insurers have asked the family to sign. Those family circumstances matter when assessing the absence of a conflict required by Rule 4:26-2. Also identify current treatment and school concerns. You do not need to assemble a perfect file before contacting the firm, but distinguishing documents you have from records still needed helps make the discussion focused and practical.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm: Verdicts and Settlements; The Epstein Law Firm: Contact; New Jersey Court Rule 4:26-2: Minor Representation.
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The Epstein Law Firm
The Epstein Law Firm