WEST ORANGE, N.J., Aug. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey-based personal injury attorney Lawrence Minasian of Greenberg Minasian, LLC, has prevailed in the New Jersey Supreme Court in a case involving immunities afforded to public entities and police officers in performing their duties to render aid to car accident victims. The Court's decision settles the law in the State of New Jersey on how car accident victims are treated at crash sites by police in the State of New Jersey.
In this case, an intoxicated motor vehicle accident victim was left by police officers on a dark, rainy bridge in the middle of the night while he waited for a ride. Twenty minutes later, the victim was struck and killed by another car as he attempted to get off the bridge. The police officers argued that they were immune from liability as their decision to leave him on the bridge was discretionary. Mr. Minasian successfully argued before the Court that rendering assistance to stranded motor vehicle accident victims is a mandatory ministerial act. The Supreme Court agreed that if their duty was ministerial in nature, the officers are not entitled to immunity under the Tort Claims Act.
"The Supreme Court performed a thorough analysis of the Tort Claims Act, and its distinction between discretionary and ministerial duties of police officers," said Minasian. "They crafted an excellent opinion, consistent with the statute and prior case law, which clarifies when police officers are held to an ordinary negligence standard as opposed to being protected by the immunities enumerated in Title 59," he added.
Mr. Minasian is highly experienced in the field of Title 59 litigation involving personal injury claims against public entities. He has been practicing in this area since 1994. Most notably, Mr. Minasian and his partner, Mr. William Greenberg, obtained a record-breaking $17 million verdict against NJ Transit bus operations in 2014 (Baker v. NJ Transit), which is another Title 59 entity. Throughout his career, Minasian has represented hundreds of plaintiffs in personal injury cases, including wrongful death, motor vehicle, premises liability, worker’s compensation, social security disability and medical malpractice claims.
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