Alpine, New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer

Alpine, New Jersey is an affluent borough in Bergen County, located 9 miles from Manhattan. With a median home price of $4.14 million, Alpine is considered to be one of Bergen County’s better neighborhoods. Alpine was home to an estimated 2,008 residents in 2009 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. According to Forbes, Alpine ranks first, along with Greenwich, Connecticut in “America’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes” for 2009. Alpine boasts idyllic rolling hills and multi-million dollar mansions home to notable current and former residents.

Bergen County is one of the last remaining communities in the nation where “blue laws” that prohibit Sunday shopping are still enforced. While Bergen County residents may purchase essentials such as food and gasoline, nearly all other retail stores are closed. The blue laws have been in effect in Bergen County since the 1950s, and they were designed to give residents one day of rest from the traffic jams, noise pollution and accidents that plague county roadways.

U.S. Route 9W, the Palisades Interstate Parkway and County Route 502 all pass through Alpine. Route 9W withstands the worst of the heavy, noisy and industrial traffic leaving New York’s Westchester County. Alpine residents can easily take advantage of the many cultural and employment opportunities of nearby New York City by utilizing a system of trains, buses and ferries providing transportation into New York City. Bergen County is home to the northern termini of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, and the county is also the eastern terminus of Interstate 80. The George Washington Bridge, connecting Fort Lee in Bergen County across the Hudson River to the Upper Manhattan section of New York City, is the world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration, twenty-six people were fatally injured in vehicle crashes in Bergen County during 2009. Eight fatalities occurred as the result of vehicle accidents involving alcohol-impaired drivers, and twelve pedestrians were killed as a result of vehicle accidents. When a severe personal injury or death occurs as a result of a Bergen County vehicle accident, the victim’s family also suffers, with emotional and economic burdens that may last for years afterward.

Alpine residents have their choice of Bergen County healthcare. Bergen County’s largest employer, the 775-bed teaching and research hospital Hackensack University Medical Center, is New Jersey’s largest health care provider with approximately 1,500 doctors on staff. In addition, the Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus is both the largest hospital with 1,070 beds and the largest licensed nursing home in New Jersey. Also serving Bergen County is the Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, which is a 361-bed acute care medical center.

The structure of New Jersey’s court system is among the most simple in the nation. The state has only the following  types of courts: Municipal courts, Tax Court, state Superior Court, which includes the trial courts, an Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court. The Alpine Municipal Court is located at 100 Church Street in Alpine. The Municipal courts in New Jersey are considered courts of limited jurisdiction, having responsibility for motor vehicle and parking tickets, minor criminal offenses and municipal ordinance offenses. There the municipal judges and staff handle traffic summons for state DMV violations as well as violation of Alpine ordinances up to the criminal level. Alpine utilizes the trial court in Bergen County, which is located at the Bergen County Justice Center, 10 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. Both criminal and civil cases are heard at the trial court level. Typical civil cases involve contracts, personal injury, automobile accidents, employment and discrimination cases.