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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
West New York sits on the Palisades above the Hudson, and its geography writes its injury docket: the steep grades climbing from the riverfront to Boulevard East, the dense grid of Bergenline Avenue’s northern run and 60th Street retail, one of the highest population densities in the United States, and a commuting population that moves by bus, jitney, ferry, and on foot. The accidents follow the terrain: pedestrians struck on the avenues, passengers hurt in transit sudden stops, falls on the town’s stairs, sidewalks, and hillside steps, and crashes on the approaches to the Lincoln Tunnel and the Weehawken and Edgewater corridors.
The Epstein Law Firm represents injured people in West New York and across Hudson County, in Hudson County Superior Court in Jersey City. Our firm maintains a companion guide to the town at our West New York personal injury overview; this page is the full treatment: the cases we handle, how claims work, the 90-day government-claim deadline that decides so many Hudson County cases, and what to do after an accident. For a free consultation, call (201) 231-7847 — consultations are free, confidential, and available in Spanish for West New York families.
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New Jersey’s framework governs: negligence proven on the evidence; comparative fault under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1; PIP paying initial auto medical bills; the verbal threshold (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8) for pain-and-suffering recovery in auto cases; and a two-year deadline under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. Damages span medical expenses and future care, lost wages and earning capacity, pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment, and wrongful death damages in fatal cases.
The decisive overlay, as throughout Hudson County, is the Tort Claims Act. When the defendant is NJ Transit, the Town of West New York, Hudson County, or another public entity, a written notice of claim is due within 90 days (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8), and dangerous-condition claims against public property must meet the Act’s specific proof standards. With the town’s public stairways, municipal sidewalks, and transit density, the public-defendant question is asked at intake in every West New York case we open.
West New York’s slope is not scenery; it is a hazard profile. Sidewalks pitched at grades that ice early and drain poorly, public and private stairways connecting the levels, and retaining walls and railings of varying vintage produce fall patterns (and notice disputes) distinct from flat-town practice. Property-line questions (town sidewalk, county road, private stair) decide defendants, which is why our investigation fixes ownership and maintenance responsibility for the specific steps involved.
The town’s retail spine concentrates pedestrians, buses, delivery vehicles, and turning traffic in narrow rights-of-way. The crash patterns (crosswalk turns, doorings, double-park merges, bus-stop conflicts) mirror the corridor our Union City personal injury page describes for the avenue’s southern run, and the evidence environment is the same: dense municipal, transit, and storefront camera coverage with short retention cycles.
A large share of West New York works in Manhattan or along the waterfront, and its injuries include the commute itself: transit incidents, station and ferry-terminal falls, and crashes on the tunnel approaches. Claims follow the accident, wherever in the corridor it occurred, and our practice is built for the corridor rather than the town line. A West New York resident injured on a Manhattan-bound bus, at the ferry terminal, or on the tunnel approach has a New Jersey claim handled in New Jersey courts, and the corridor’s carriers and cameras are all within our ordinary preservation practice.
Pedestrian strikes in West New York produce fractures of the legs and pelvis, head injuries, and pavement-impact trauma; transit events produce the seated and standing passenger pattern of spinal and shoulder injuries; hillside falls produce wrist, hip, and vertebral injuries. The value of each is built the same way: immediate emergency care (Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen is the town’s hospital), consistent follow-up without gaps, and specific symptom documentation at every visit, because the permanency conclusions that drive both settlement value and the verbal-threshold analysis are drawn from those records. Our firm coordinates the legal side of that documentation from the first week, so the medical file answers the questions the claim will ask of it.
The town documents itself: municipal cameras on the corridors, multi-camera NJ Transit buses with event data, storefront and lobby systems on the avenues, doorbell cameras on the residential grid. All of it overwrites, most within weeks. Our investigation opens with preservation letters and public-records requests targeted to the block, bus, and building, and assembles the premises paper trail (complaints, inspections, repair histories) that notice-based claims require. Physical conditions are documented with measurements immediately, because hillside stairs get repaired, sidewalks get repoured, and the dangerous-condition case must be proven as of the accident date.
Witnesses complete the record. In West New York’s crowds there are always witnesses, and they scatter within the hour; names taken at the scene (or identified from the footage itself) are interviewed while the event is fresh. Statements from neutral bystanders, the bodega owner who keeps the corner camera, the fellow passenger who felt the same stop, routinely carry more weight with insurers and juries than any participant’s account, and securing them is investigation work that cannot be done retroactively.
Recoverable damages follow New Jersey’s categories: medical expenses past and future, lost wages and earning capacity, pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment, out-of-pocket losses, and wrongful death and survival damages in fatal cases. Valuation in this town turns on the coverage map (minimum-limits private policies at one end, commercial and municipal coverage at the other, and the UM/UIM layers our uninsured motorist page explains in between) and on Tort Claims compliance where a public defendant is involved. Wage claims for the town’s hourly workforce are built from complete pay records, including overtime and differentials, rather than base-rate estimates.
Children’s injuries deserve their own note in a town of families. A child’s claim is brought by a parent or guardian, settlements require court approval, and the limitations period for the child’s own claim is generally extended until adulthood — but evidence and Tort Claims practice do not wait, and the protective course is always the same: treat the claim as if every adult deadline applies, and let counsel confirm which ones actually do. School-route and park injuries, and bites from the neighborhood’s dogs, are the recurring child cases in this town, and they are handled with the same evidence-first discipline as every other file.
Because the Tort Claims notice and the evidence-retention cycles converge, the first ninety days decide more in a Hudson County case than the following year does. The sequence our office runs is deliberate:
After day ninety the case becomes a damages case: treatment, permanency, wage proof, and the demand. But it becomes that case on a liability record made in the first quarter, which is why West New York clients are urged, on this page and in our office, to make the call in the first week rather than the first season.
West New York cases settle or try in the Hudson County vicinage, and their course is predictable enough to plan around. After investigation and the Tort Claims notice (where required), the claim is presented with a demand package once the medical picture stabilizes; negotiations with the carriers follow. Filed cases move through discovery (depositions, medical examinations by the defense, expert exchanges) and are typically referred to a settlement conference or mediation before trial. Three West New York specifics shape outcomes. First, the video environment: preserved corridor, transit, or building footage reprices a case immediately, in either direction, and both sides know it. Second, lien resolution: health-plan, Medicare or Medicaid, and comp liens must be audited out of any settlement so the client’s net is known before approval, and our closing process produces that audit in writing. Third, minors’ settlements require court approval at a friendly hearing, with funds protected in trust — a safeguard our firm handles routinely for Hudson County families.
A note on timing: the two-year statute and the 90-day notice are the outer frame, but the working deadlines inside a case (treatment milestones, permanency evaluations, expert reports) are what actually determine value. Cases are worth the most when they are presented complete: liability proven on preserved evidence, injuries documented to permanency, and every coverage layer identified. That completeness, not speed of demand, is what our calendar is built to produce.
The Epstein Law Firm can review the evidence, insurance issues, and next steps that may matter in your personal injury claim.
The Epstein Law Firm has represented injured New Jersey clients for decades from our Rochelle Park office. Michael J. Epstein was selected to the New Jersey Super Lawyers Top 100 list for 2026 and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and TopVerdict ranked the firm’s results at the top of New Jersey lists, including the Number 1 Medical Malpractice Settlement in the state in 2024 and a Top 10 New Jersey Personal Injury Settlement that year. Read the PR Newswire release on the firm’s Top 20 U.S. medical malpractice settlement recognition, and see the firm’s post on Michael Epstein’s 2026 Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year recognition.
Our attorneys have recovered substantial verdicts and settlements for clients injured across New Jersey, including:
Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. What they do show is the level of preparation and persistence our firm brings to serious injury claims. Read more about our case results, or call (201) 231-7847 to talk about what your own claim may involve.
Client reviews describe the responsiveness and care our team aims to deliver in every case:
“Throughout the experience, I felt supported, well informed, and confident in the guidance I received. I truly appreciate your diligence, professionalism, and commitment to achieving a fair and favorable outcome. I would confidently recommend your firm to anyone seeking high-quality legal representation.” — Elisa, Google review
“Professional, knowledgeable, friendly; Michael Epstein is that and then some. Having been the victim of an accident that left a lasting injury, I turned to a friend to recommend an attorney. He did not hesitate to recommend Michael and his firm. Michael made me feel very comfortable through his friendly nature.” — Evaline, Google review
Read more from our clients on our Google reviews for the Rochelle Park office.
Tell The Epstein Law Firm what happened and get clear guidance about your injury claim and legal options.
Recognition applies to the named attorneys and selection years. See the linked profiles for details.
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Rating methodology
Below are answers to common questions about personal injury claims in West New York and Hudson County, New Jersey. This information is general and not legal advice — contact our office for guidance about your specific situation.
Our site also maintains a general West New York personal injury overview. This page is the detailed companion for people comparing lawyers and evaluating a claim: it works through the deadlines, evidence, and compensation analysis in full.
Both pages describe the same practice and the same firm. Whichever you read first, the consultation is free and the analysis of your specific accident is what matters.
Sources: New Jersey Courts – Civil Division overview; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 – two-year limitations period (New Jersey Legislature)
The Tort Claims Act deadline: a written notice of claim to NJ Transit within 90 days of the accident, under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8. The two-year suit period follows the Act’s procedures after notice.
Record the bus number, route, and time, and get the names of fellow passengers if you can. Onboard camera footage exists but is retained briefly; our preservation request goes out immediately.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 – 90-day notice of claim (New Jersey Legislature); New Jersey Courts – Civil Division overview
Liability follows ownership and maintenance responsibility for the stairway (town, county, or an abutting private owner), and public-entity claims must satisfy the Tort Claims Act’s dangerous-condition standards: substantial risk, notice, and a palpably unreasonable failure to act.
Photograph the stairway and the defect with a size reference, and report the fall promptly. Our investigation fixes ownership from public records before the notice deadline runs.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 – 90-day notice of claim (New Jersey Legislature); N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 – two-year limitations period (New Jersey Legislature)
Pedestrian claims run against the driver’s liability coverage, with PIP (yours or the vehicle’s) paying initial medical bills. Fault is comparative: drivers owe pedestrians heightened care in dense commercial corridors, and mid-block crossing does not end the analysis.
The corridor’s camera density is your ally if footage is preserved quickly. Witness names from the scene are the second pillar; crowds disperse fast.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 – comparative negligence (New Jersey Legislature); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance – consumer information
Commercial owners are generally responsible for abutting sidewalks; residential owners usually are not, absent their own negligent repair; municipal sidewalk claims follow the Tort Claims Act. The specific block’s ownership and history decide it.
Our investigation pulls title, prior complaints, and repair records for the location. Photograph the defect early; hillside sidewalks are repaired and repoured quickly.
Sources: New Jersey Courts – Civil Division overview; N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 – 90-day notice of claim (New Jersey Legislature)
Hudson County Superior Court in Jersey City. Venue follows the accident site and the defendants; West New York accidents are Hudson County cases.
Our firm tries cases in that vicinage regularly, and settlement conferences occur there as well. Most clients never need to travel beyond Jersey City for the litigation itself.
Your own uninsured motorist coverage is the primary route, with its prompt-reporting conditions for hit-and-run events. Household and employer policies may add layers, and other defendants (vehicle owner, employer) may carry coverage of their own.
Bring your auto policy to the consultation. In Hudson County’s traffic, the coverage map is frequently where the case is won.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1 – UM/UIM coverage requirement (New Jersey Legislature); New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance – consumer information
Yes. New Jersey’s modified comparative negligence rule allows recovery whenever your share of fault does not exceed the defendants’ combined share, reduced by your percentage.
Self-assessments of fault at the scene are unreliable and routinely wrong in the claimant’s disfavor. The evidence, not the first impression, allocates fault, and gathering it is our job.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 – comparative negligence (New Jersey Legislature); New Jersey Courts – Civil Division overview
Yes. West New York’s community is predominantly Spanish-speaking, and our office works with Spanish-speaking clients and families as a matter of routine, including interpretation for medical and legal proceedings where needed.
Language should never be the reason an injured person goes unrepresented. Call and ask for assistance in Spanish from the first conversation.
Sources: New Jersey Courts – Civil Division overview; New Jersey Courts – Rules of Court
Consultations at The Epstein Law Firm are free, and injury cases are handled on a contingency fee: no legal fee unless we recover compensation for you, at a percentage set by New Jersey court rules and explained in writing at the start.
The firm advances records, expert, and litigation costs. An injured worker or pedestrian in West New York pays nothing out of pocket to have a claim evaluated.
Sources: New Jersey Courts – Rules of Court (including contingency fee rules); New Jersey Courts – Civil Division overview
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340 West Passaic Street Rochelle Park, NJ 07662
Fax: 201-845-5973 201-231-7847
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560 Sylvan Avenue, Suite 1000-A Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 (By Appointment Only)
201-734-3763
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18-20 Lackawanna Plaza, Suite 200 Montclair, NJ 07042 (By Appointment Only)
973-381-8410
The Epstein Law Firm
The Epstein Law Firm