Kenneth Vercammen (732) 572-0500

2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817

Ken is a NJ trial attorney who has published 130 articles in national and New Jersey publications on litigation topics. He was awarded the NJ State Bar Municipal Court Practitioner of the Year. He lectures for the Bar and handles litigation matters. He is Past Chair of the ABA Tort & Insurance Committee, GP on Personal Injury and lectured at the ABA Annual Meeting attended by 10,000 attorneys and professionals.

New clients email us evenings and weekends go to www.njlaws.com/ContactKenV.htm

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Preparation for Civil Trial after Arbitration or Mediation

Preparation for Civil Trial after Arbitration or Mediation

Kenneth Vercammen, Esq. handles Civil cases where the damages exceed $15,000. Under the NJ Court Rules, all Civil Cases are sent to Arbitration or Mediation. If the case cannot be settled at or shortly after Arbitration, you need to prepare for trial.
APPEAL OF ARBITRATOR'S DECISION

Either party if unhappy must pay $200.00 to appeal and have a trial. Usually insurance companies appeal to delay payment. Under Court Rule 4:21A-6 (1), a formal Trial De Novo must be filed within 30 days of the arbitration. If you are unsatisfied with the decision by the arbitrator, you must obtain a money order or prepare a check for $200.00 payable to Treasurer, State of New Jersey, Court Rule 4:21A-6. A trial week is scheduled 2-3 months after the Arbitration. Your doctors will usually require you to pay them up front for their testimony. They will often charge you up front between $2,500.00 and $4,000.00 for testimony. On the trial week, you will have to sit around at the courthouse for several days until a Judge becomes available.

Trial Notice

Our Trial Notice to clients states the following:

This is to advise you that the Superior Court has scheduled a trial in your case for:

Date: Time: Location:

You have answered interrogatories and we provided a copy of your answers to interrogatories for your personal folder. Please carefully review the answers to interrogatories on the day before the trial. You should be fully familiar with the information which was supplied by way of answers to interrogatories because many of the questions will involve the same information. If you cannot locate your copy of the answers to the interrogatories, please call my secretary and we will forward to you another copy.

We suggest you visit the accident site during the week prior to trial.

You must be present in court and prepared to proceed at that time. You should bring all of your papers in connection with your case to Court. Please call my secretary approximately 24 hours before this hearing to confirm that the court has not adjourned your hearing. If you or any witnesses will not be available during the initial trial week, please contact us immediately. Being unavailable means being out of state or some other unavailability. It would be helpful if you personally speak with any witnesses to immediately confirm that they would be available during the entire week of the trial. Do not leave the court and go home until instructed by Mr. Vercammen or a member of our staff.

P.S. To Doctors and Witnesses: The above is self-explanatory. If you will not be available during the week of the trial calendar call, please let us know. Please call my secretary and leave a telephone number where you may be reached during the day of trial. Unless we hear from you to the contrary, we will assume that you will be available on telephone call and we will call you as soon as the case is started. Please advise us as to your fee for testimony in the above court. In addition, if you have not testified in court in the past year, we will be willing to spend time with you, free of charge, to help you prepare for your testimony. Please call my office to set up a convenient time and location.

Letter to Doctors

Trial Testimony / Fee Inquiry

Dear Dr. ______________:

We thank you for providing medical records regarding my above client. We previously wrote to your office and advised that we represent your patient. If any amount of your bill is unpaid, kindly have your office immediately forward a copy of the unpaid portion to both my office and your patient.

This matter has been called in for trial on ______________ in the Superior Court of Middlesex County. Your patient may need you to testify as an expert on their behalf at the trial. Would you or your staff kindly provide the information requested on the enclosed sheet and fax back to our office. We need communicate it to your patient.

We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Very truly yours,

KENNETH A. VERCAMMEN

KAV/ Enc: Information Sheet, On-Call Subpoena, Courthouse Map

1) Fee to testify in Superior Court: ______________

Hourly: _______ Flat Rate: _______

2) Best days of the week and time for trial testimony: _________

3) Days of the week unavailable: ________________

4) Weeks during next month you will be out of state and not available:

_______________________________________________________

5) Can you please fax or mail us a copy of your resume?

6) Anything else important we should be made aware of: _________________________________________________________

Thank you for preparing a report on behalf of our client, NAME. This matter has been called in for trial on _____ at _______. Would you kindly have your secretary advise my office by fax or mail as to your fee for testimony and your availability that week, together with any weeks in which you will be unavailable.

We also request that if any amount of your bill is unpaid, that your office immediately fax to us a copy of the unpaid portion so that your office will be protected.

In accordance with New Jersey Rules of Court and to avoid inconvenience to you, we are providing you with an "on call" subpoena. I am also enclosing a copy of a map to the Court House.

We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

RULE 4:25-7(b) Pretrial Exchange of Witness names, Exhibits, Interrogatory reading, evidence, Problems and Trial Judge fact details

4:25-7. Attorney Conferences

(a) Prior to Pretrial. In cases that are to be pretried, the attorneys shall confer before the date assigned for the pretrial conference in order to reach agreement on as many matters as possible. (b) Exchange of Information. Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (d) of this rule, in cases that have not been pretried, attorneys shall confer and, seven days prior to the initial trial date, exchange the pretrial information as prescribed by Appendix XXIII to these rules. At trial and prior to opening statements, the parties shall submit to the court the following in writing: (1) copies of any Pretrial Information Exchange materials that have been exchanged pursuant to this rule, and any objections made thereto; and (2) stipulations reached on contested procedural, evidentiary, and substantive issues. In addition, in jury trials, the parties shall also exchange and submit (1) any proposed voir dire questions, (2) a list of proposed jury instructions pursuant to R. 1:8-7, with specific reference either to the Model Civil Jury Charges, if applicable, or to applicable legal authority, and (3) a proposed jury verdict form that includes all possible verdicts the jury may return. Failure to exchange and submit all the information required by this rule may result in sanctions as determined by the trial judge. (c) Continuing Obligation. Attorneys shall have the continuing obligation to report to the court any stipulations reached during the course of the trial. (d) Waiver of Exchange. The parties may, in writing, waive the requirement of the exchange of information as set forth in paragraph (b) of this rule, but such waiver shall not affect the obligation to provide that information to the court at the commencement of trial.

Conclusion If you have a civil case where the damages exceed $15,000, call Kenneth Vercammen & Associates 732-572-0500 for a Confidential Appointment




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Since 1985, KENNETH VERCAMMEN has worked as a personal injury attorney, working for injury victims and their families. By taking a hard-hitting, aggressive approach toward the insurance companies, KENNETH VERCAMMEN and our co-counsel have consistently obtained outstanding results for many injured clients over the years I am proud to have worked on cases in various capacities, small and large. While obviously prior results cannot guarantee the outcome of future cases, I can guarantee that you case will receive the same degree of dedication and hard work that went into each of these prior cases.

In direct contrast to the hard-hitting approach we take toward the insurance companies is the “soft” approach we take toward our clients. I am proud of my compassionate staff as I am of the outstanding financial results they have achieved. For many years, I have watched them treat our clients with patience, dignity and respect. I would have it no other way.

Many years ago, I attended a seminar sponsored by the American Bar Association on Law Practice Management. This was to help insure that each of our clients is always treated like a person -- not a file! We recognize that you are innocent victims and that you have placed your trust in us. Please understand that we understand what you are going through. Feel comforted that we are here to help you.

If you retain KENNETH VERCAMMEN to represent you, we will give you the same advice we give each of our clients -- concentrate on your life, you family and your health. We will take care of everything else. Leave all of the work and worry about your legal rights to us. Trust us. Believe in us. Have faith in us as your attorneys. Understand that we will always to do what we believe is best for you and your case. Helping you is our job. In fact, it is our only job -- guiding injury victims like you through one of the most difficult times of your lives, with care and concern -- while fighting aggressively to the limits of the law to obtain compensation and justice for each of you!

Print our Personal Injury Questionnaire on our Website, Fill it out and Fax back, so we can determine if we can help you obtain an injury settlement. We would welcome an opportunity to prove to you what we have proven to thousands of injured clients -- that you can feel comfortable and secure in the fact that KENNETH VERCAMMEN - Trial Attorney We Fight To Win.

When you have been injured in an accident or collision, you are worried about who is going to pay your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. The last thing you want is to be taken advantage of by an insurance company. If you don’t protect your rights, you may not be able to make a claim.

Insurance companies have attorneys and adjusters whose goal is to pay you as little as they can. You need a New Jersey personal injury lawyer to fight for you. I am dedicated to helping your recover as much money as possible under the law.

You need an attorney who will work hard to protect your rights, maximize your insurance settlement and minimize the hassles of dealing with the insurance companies. You need an experienced and aggressive New Jersey trial lawyer with PROVEN RESULTS who will fight for you. Having an experienced Oregon personal injury lawyer can make the difference between getting what you deserve and getting nothing.

Without the threat of a lawyer who is willing to go to trial and seek a big jury verdict, why would an insurance company pay you what your claim is really worth? Lawsuits can be expensive, and many people do not have the money to pursue their claim. In every case, I advance all costs associated with pursuing your case and I do not ask you for a penny until we recover from the other side.

I am an experienced aggressive trial lawyer and a 3rd degree Black Belt. I am not afraid to take your case to trial if that is what it takes to maximize the amount of money your recover for your personal injury. I offer one-on-one service, and I will not hand your case off to an inexperienced lawyer or a paralegal.

Reduce the stress of making a claim.

Personal injury accidents can turn your life upside down. Making a personal injury claim can be difficult and time consuming. Once I take your case, you can stop worrying about dealing with the insurance companies and focus on recovering from your injuries. I take care of all of the paperwork, phone calls, and negotiations, so you can get on with your life.

p.s. For those clients who are afraid or reluctant to go to Court, KENNETH VERCAMMEN also offers a special -- “For Settlement Only” -- program. This means that if we are unable to settle with the insurance company, we will not go any further -- unless you want us to. You have my personal assurance that there will be absolutely no pressure and no obligation.

We handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis.

This means:
YOU DON’T OWE ME A LEGAL FEE UNLESS I RECOVER MONEY FOR YOU.

Call our office to schedule a "confidential" appointment 732-572-0500

Kenneth A. Vercammen is the Managing Attorney at Kenneth Vercammen & Associates in Edison, NJ. He is a New Jersey trial attorney has devoted a substantial portion of his professional time to the preparation and trial of litigated matters. He has appears in Courts throughout New Jersey each week on personal injury matters, Criminal /Municipal Court trials, and contested Probate hearings.

Mr. Vercammen has published over 125 legal articles in national and New Jersey publications on criminal, elder law, probate and litigation topics. He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation issues for the American Bar Association, NJ ICLE, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published in noted publications included New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer. He is the Editor in Chief of the American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Committee Newsletter.

Admitted In NJ, NY, PA, US Supreme Court and Federal District Court.

Contact the Law Office of
Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C.
at 732-572-0500
for an appointment.

The Law Office cannot provide legal advice or answer legal questions over the phone or by email. Please call the Law office and schedule a confidential "in office" consultation.

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