The goal of personal injury law is to have the person responsible for the accident fully compensate the accident victim for the injuries.  Although insurance companies are experienced in valuing personal injury claims, they know that you are unfamiliar with what your claim is really worth.  Under New Hampshire law, injured people are entitled to recover full, fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries.

There is no simplistic formula or mathematical calculation to determine the value of a personal injury claim.  Instead, the lawyer must make this determination based on years of experience in handling personal injury cases.  Generally, the value of your claim is based on two factors:  fault of the parties and the type of damages suffered.

Who’s At Fault?

The degree or amount of fault of each person involved in the accident factors into the value of your case.  Depending on the circumstances of the accident, we can assess whether the other person was completely at fault, mostly at fault or just a little at fault.  Insurance companies will try to reduce your recovery if you were partly at fault for the accident.  If fault is clear on the other person, that will prevent the insurance company from using that tactic to lower your recovery.

Types of Recoverable Damages

Looking at the types of damages suffered in an accident can help to understand the value of your claim.  Damage awards can include the following:

• Medical Expenses
• Future Medical Expenses (if any)
• Pain and Suffering
• Lost Wages
• Impairment of Earning Capacity
• Emotional Distress
• Loss of Future Enjoyment of Life

Above all, determining what a personal injury claim is worth only comes from years of experience.  This is an important reason to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Several attorneys filed suit against the State recently to try to obtain proper funding for our judicial system.  It is broken and I could not sit idly by and let it be gutted by excessive legislative budget cuts so I joined in as counsel.

Each year 230,000 court cases are filed in New Hampshire.

Certain types of court cases have specific time frames in which to act and those are set by the legislature.  For example, domestic violence cases and criminal cases require certain scheduling dates by law.  Thus, work on such cases means other cases must be delayed if judge time is lacking due to vacancies.  For instance, in 2009, there were 5,300 cases of domestic violence with hearings required between five or thirty days of filing, depending on the request.

Stalking cases were 1,470 in number, with the same time requirements.  9,600 landlord/tenant cases must be heard ten days from service of process.  Involuntary emergency admissions to the N.H. Hospital were filed 1,700 times last year and they must be heard within three days of hospitalization.

Families are also heavily affected by the lack of a judge to help decide their disputes.  7,200 juvenile cases, 10,000 new divorce or family petitions and 7,000 closed cases reopened for parenting or lack of child support issues were heard last year alone.

Judges cannot decide cases without someone processing them, scheduling them, getting orders out, and otherwise processing paperwork.  Each month thousands of orders have to go to the office of child support enforcement, various criminal law agencies, and to parties involved in marital and civil cases.

In the non-criminal area our State Constitution’s Bill of Rights (Part I, Article 14), says that everyone is entitled to a certain remedy for all injuries they may receive and that they are to obtain it “completely, and without any denial; promptly, and without delay.”

The purpose of that provision is to make civil remedies readily available and to guard against arbitrary denial of access to the courts.  It is an equal protection clause because, whether you are suing someone or being sued, you want to have your case resolved as soon as possible.

Last year there were $3.1 million of cuts out of a judicial branch budget of about $65 million, with another $2.2 million hit in May.  Concord District Court, which is a three-judge court, is now operating with one full-time judge.  Due to the reduction in personnel a form letter went out this summer canceling all civil trials.

Small claims cases were all cancelled in the Manchester District Court this summer for an indefinite period.

On July 22, Merrimack County Superior Court began closing to the public daily from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  As of June 30, it had nearly 500 case files with pieces of mail that had yet to be docketed in the court record, with some documents dating back to March.  Another 150 trial and hearing notices had not been sent out and more than 350 files contained court orders that had not been issued.

And Hillsborough County just announced:

HILLSBOROUGH SUPERIOR COURT CLERKS TO CLOSE OFFICES

TUESDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS

Staff shortages prompt move to focus on reduction of case backlog

CONCORD, October 1 – The clerk’s office in Nashua for Hillsborough County Superior Court North and Hillsborough County Superior Court South will close at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday beginning October 5 to allow uninterrupted time for processing cases and related materials.

Both clerk’s offices, which had been closed from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., will reopen at 8 a.m. daily, beginning Oct. 5 with implementation of the new Tuesday/Thursday afternoon closings.

After 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, no telephone or counter service will be available to lawyers, litigants or the public in the clerk’s office during those hours; the automated telephone system will be monitored so that emergency requests are addressed promptly. A “drop box” will be set up inside the courthouse at 30 Spring Street in Nashua for filing documents during the hours when the clerk’s office is closed.

As of today, the Merrimack County Superior Court, which had been closed down since last August on weekday afternoons to work on reducing the case backlog, will be open for a full day on Fridays. The clerk’s office in Concord remains closed to lawyers, litigants and the public Monday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. to allow for uninterrupted case processing.

Several other court locations statewide, faced with backlogs and staff shortages, also have limited public operating hours to allow uninterrupted time for employees to process cases.

Superior Court Chief Justice Robert J. Lynn said the schedule will be reviewed every 30 days to determine when the clerk’s office can return to routine office hours. Reductions in the court system budget have required administrators to maintain 71 full-time non-judicial vacancies, which means court locations have fewer employees on staff to carry out day to day clerical responsibilities.

These cutbacks affect all citizens who seek justice.  I will do all I can to fight for fair funding.  If you have a delay horror story, email me at info@nojustice.org

Budget cuts have left the entire court system in New Hampshire at a dangerous point that is hurting victims.  Because state budget cuts have eliminated judges and court staff, jury trials have been cancelled and cases take longer to move through the system.  For example, this means civil (non-criminal) cases by a patient harmed by medical malpractice or an accident victim seeking compensation won’t have a jury trial for more than a year.

The elimination of civil jury trials benefits insurance companies.  And it doubly impacts those people injured because they have to wait for their day in court – a year or two sometimes – and defendants, like insurance companies, are less inclined to offer reasonable settlements with no trial scheduled.  It is common for insurance companies to try and settle claims with the pressure of facing a jury trial.  Without facing a jury trial, insurance companies are in a position to make unreasonably “low” offers.

Justice is not being done when victims of an auto accident, a wrongful death, medical malpractice or employment discrimination are compelled to accept “low” settlement offers.  Insurance companies will take advantage of the cancellation of civil jury trials.

The Catholic Diocese of Savanna, Ga agreed to settle a sex abuse claim involving a former priest for $4.2 million.  The plaintiff, now a 40-year-old man, said he was molested by a priest starting when he was ten years old while a Catholic school student.  The plaintiff claimed that the Diocesan officials knew that the priest posed a danger to children but failed to take action.  Later, the priest was convicted for sexually abusing two boys.

Nationwide, the Catholic Church has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle these types of sexual abuse claims.  These types of claims are a reminder that a sexual abuse victim can hold institutions accountable if they were aware of a danger posed to children but failed to take action or ignored warning signs.

Victims of childhood sexual abuse often face long-term injuries.  The seriousness of childhood sexual abuse cannot be overstated because it can interfere with things like being able to work and develop relationships.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the abuse, there may be a claim against the perpetrator and anyone else who allowed the abuse to occur.  Claims may be filed against individuals, including, but not limited to:

• Clergy
• Teachers
• Scout Leaders
• Doctors
• Family Members
• Acquaintances

Claims against entities or organizations may include:

• Employers
• Schools
• Religious Organizations
• Charitable Groups
• Other Entities at Which the Abuse Occurs

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that documents related to clergy sexual abuse cases in that state must be released.  The release of the documents may answer questions about how church officials handled the allegations of sexual abuse against priests.

The conduct of many church officials has been attached as not having done enough to protect children from clergy abuse.  The release of the documents may shed some light on those allegations.  Hopefully, the release will in some way protect others from being victimized in the future.

There are different theories of law to hold different parties responsible for abuse.  Under New Hampshire law, the term in loco parentis refers to holding schools − primary and secondary schools – responsible for abuse of a student.

New Hampshire law imposes a duty of care upon primary and secondary schools to protect students.  This duty is based on the role of schools as parental proxies over minor students because minors are required to attend school and, therefore, are entrusted to their case.