If you or a family member suffered

a serious injury due to the negligence of someone else, it makes sense to

turn to a law firm for a free consultation about damages claims in

negligence litigation

It does not matter whether the police report states that you are at fault because it is based on what you stated to the police after the accident, when you were in complete shock. Even the best police officers are only human and often make mistakes just like the rest of us.

Our law firm will conduct an investigation, including but not limited, visiting the site where the accident occurred, to defend your rights.

Our personal injury practice offers comprehensive client service to people who need help with their damages claims. That means that you can count on our law firm not only for advice and representation on your legal position, but also for assistance with problems like insurance coverage, loss of income, medical benefits, life insurance, or workers' compensation.

We are committed to helping you recover as much as possible from all available sources. Defendants in personal injury litigation might include individuals, corporations, insurance companies, municipalities, government agencies, or anyone else whose negligence might have played a role in your accident.

We represent people on the full range of serious injury claims, from fractures and severe soft tissue trauma to permanent or disabling injuries involving the brain or spinal cord. We also represent families in New Jersey wrongful death litigation.

Should you try to fight a ticket even

if you know you broke the law? 

My advise is a resounding yes. Anyone who receives a traffic violation ticket should consult with an attorney. Law Offices of Yelena Perchuk, Esq. offers free consultations, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain just by calling.

If you receive a speeding ticket for exceeding the speed limit up to and including 14 miles over the speed limit, that ticket carries 2 points. A speeding ticket where you exceed the limit by 15 or more up to and including 29 miles per hour, carries 4 points.

If you exceed the speed limit by 30 or more miles per hour, that violation carries 5 points and Municipal Court Judges are inclined to suspend your license for a period of time for driving at that rate of speed.

If you have NEVER received a traffic ticket that carries points then your attorney will be pleased to inform you that there is a 2 point insurance exemption that you may utilize. Meaning, your insurance carrier will not raise your rates for this one and only time.

Most insurance companies will charge anywhere from $100 to $200 per point each year for three years so a four point speeding ticket could cost you $2400.00 over the next three years in automobile insurance increases (4 x $200 x 3 years).

The NJ MVC will reach into your pocket if you receive 6 or more points. You can enroll in a driver improvement course and have 3 points removed from your driving record. This may save you some money with the MVC but not with your insurance carrier. Your insurance carrier will not deduct those 3 points.

You can also take a defensive driving course and have 2 points removed from your driving record and a whopping 5% reduction in your insurance premium. There is a catch though. You are making a pact with the MVC in exchange for this reduction. If you should receive a ticket within a certain time period after taking the course then you are subject to being suspended.

New Jersey Municipal Courts permit plea bargaining on all offenses except Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Drug Cases.

In many instances, a Municipal Court prosecutor will downgrade a 2 point speeding ticket to a 0 point ticket (N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2 - Unsafe Driving) without the necessity of being represented by counsel. This assumes that there are no extraordinary circumstances surrounding the speeding ticket that you received (no accident, no injuries, no problematic conversations between you and the police officer who issued the ticket and you have a good to fair driving record).

The New Jersey Legislature recognized that many good drivers make mistakes. They provided for those mistakes by creating a statute, specifically N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2 Unsafe Driving. There are no points associated with that statute, however, the statute can only be used two times within a five year period. Should you plead guilty to N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2 Unsafe Driving a third time within five years, MVC will assess 4 points against you. Unlike the 2 point speeding ticket, a 4 or 5 point speeding ticket is not usually reduced to the 0 point statute - Unsafe Driving unless your are represented by an attorney. The reason is quite simplistic. Law Offices of Yelena Perchuk, Esq. would be willing to take a speeding ticket case to trial regardless of the method used to track your speed (i.e., radar, pace, etc.). The trial can be very lengthy. Law Offices of Yelena Perchuk, Esq. can cross-examine the police officer and highlight the deficiencies in the State's case. You alone cannot. The prosecutor, when faced with a lengthy trial and large number of cases, may be inclined to reduce the speeding ticket to unsafe driving.

Recent legislation permits automobile insurance companies to double your insurance premiums if you accumulate 5 or more points. Therefore, the best advice that I can offer if your are pulled over is to be quiet, respectful and polite but most of all speak to Law Offices of Yelena Perchuk, Esq. because we specialize in the defense of traffic tickets.

Internet bullying and defamation are not protected by the First Amendment, whether bullies admit it or not

Cyber bullying and internet defamation destroy lives, relationships, and professional careers, thereby causing depression, suicide, homicide, divorces, firing from an existing job and a truly slim chance of finding another.

The unfortunate truth is that the more despicable the lie on the internet, the more believable it sounds to the readers. 

Ironically, while the truth is often boring, lies and misrepresentations are entertaining and fascinating.

The believability comes from the individual’s toxic belief that: 1. Why would someone lie so obviously? 2. I wouldn’t lie, so why would they? 3. If this company or individual would lie, they would be prosecuted, but since they’re still in business, they must have some truth to them and legitimate sources.

There are laws that protect from cyber bullying and internet defamation. To mention a few: we may sue for unfair business practices, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violation of contract provisions, including but not limited to confidentiality clauses, interference with current and future success and wages, and loss of actual wages.

The Law Offices of Yelena Perchuk, Esq. has the resources to help identify companies and individuals who are posting the defamatory material and the actual location of the bully.

Yelena Perchuk, Esq. serves on the Internet Law committee of the Bergen County Bar Association.

Divorce is one of the most complicated matters because it involves your heart

I often receive questions like "Can my spouse and I use the same attorney for our divorce or family law matter?" The ugly truth is that if the spouses are ready to get divorced, but are so agreeable that they are willing to use the same attorney, why would they even want to get divorced in the first place?

In a family and matrimonial matters, you and your spouse may use the same attorney if this lawyer is serving as your joint neutral mediator. Otherwise, it is a conflict of interest and it is impermissible. Should both parties elect to have representation, then each party must receive independent advice from separate counsel.

Also, private mediation is a process that requires both parties to willingly attend. However, if you proceed through the court system and are unable to resolve your case at certain intervals, the court mandates that you and your spouse attend certain court mandated mediation sessions, depending on your specific issues. Custody and parenting time mediation occurs with a court mediator if you have not settled your custody and visitation issues shortly after filing your initial Complaint and Answer / Counterclaim documents. Economic mediation is also court mandated if you have not yet resolved your case after the Early Settlement Panel program. Mediation provides a confidential and secure environment where you can state your positions and receive non-binding recommendations.

The second most common question is about the cost of divorce. I always instruct my clients that the cost of your divorce case is usually proportionate to the number of issues you have in your matter and the degree of complexity of those issues.

My advice is to not make matters more complicated than they already are and try to work out more of the issues outside the law firms. For instance, two parties with no children may have fewer issues and incur less costs than parties with children. My objective is to work with you toward reaching an amicable resolution to your divorce because I recognize that this will be most beneficial to you and your family in the long term, both from a financial standpoint and from an emotional and psychological perspective. If you and your spouse’s attorneys can communicate effectively and efficiently, exchange financial documents that are required without any game-playing, and can negotiate in good faith, it will be easier to reach a reasonable agreement which will result in lower costs to both you and your spouse.

Luckily for the NJ consumers,

when it comes to the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act,

no violation is too small

The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, commonly known as CFA, is one of the strongest consumer statutes in the United States. It provides a right to sue for consumers who have sustained an ascertainable loss because a business is cutting corners or misrepresenting the facts at the time of sale. 

There are multiple regulations relating to the sale and repair of automobiles, sale of any products, sale of the vacation packages, construction projects, and even contracts with dating services. If the case is brought to a successful result under the CFA, the court is required to triple the amount of any ascertainable loss sustained by the plaintiff and award the mandatory payment of attorney’s fees. The attorney fees are paid by defendant. Consequently, the consumer has everything to gain without fear of incurring attorney’s fees!

The CFA also provides for injunctive relief. For instance, if a consumer were alleging that a certain pricing method or a standard course of conduct by an automobile dealership is ongoing, the court could enter an order prohibiting the dealership from acting this way. If used correctly by a knowledgeable attorney, the CFA and the option of injunctive relief are a very powerful tool designed in favor of consumers.

The Law Offices of Yelena Perchuk, Esq. has handled many types of consumer fraud cases.