Howard P. Lesnik
Top rated Personal Injury attorney in Mountainside, New Jersey
My NJ Injury Lawyer Howard P. Lesnik, LLC
Practice areas: Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, DUI-DWI; view more
Licensed in New Jersey since: 2001
Education: Seton Hall University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2025 Disclosure:
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Please visit the Super Lawyers Selection Process for a detailed description of the Super Lawyers selection methodology.
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908-944-9650
Free Consultation My NJ Injury Lawyer Howard P. Lesnik, LLC
928 Mountain Ave2nd Floor
Mountainside, NJ 07092 Visit website
Details
Howard P. Lesnik is a seasoned legal counsel at My NJ Injury Lawyer Howard P. Lesnik, Esq., in Mountainside, New Jersey, with 23 years of experience. When advocating for an injured individual’s compensation or representing someone facing criminal charges, he defends his clients’ rights and fiercely seeks justice. Recognized as a certified trial attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court, he handles a variety of cases, such as:
- Criminal defense: Traffic offenses, drug offenses and DU/DWI
- Personal injury: Workers’ compensation, auto accidents, trucking crashes, burn injuries, dog bites and slip-and-fall mishaps
Mr. Lesnik completed his Bachelor of Arts in economics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1996. He acquired his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2000. He was licensed to practice law in New Jersey and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Upon graduating from law school, he worked as a judicial clerk for Judge Paul J. Vichness in the New Jersey Judiciary.
Committed to his legal community, Mr. Lesnik is associated with several prestigious organizations, including the New Jersey Association for Justice, the American Bar Association and the District XII Ethics Committee. He was awarded the 10 Best Client Satisfaction Award from the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys. Furthermore, he has achieved a perfect score of 5.0 on Martindale-Hubbell, earning the Silver Client Champion award. Additionally, he maintains a “Superb” rating on Avvo.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI, Workers' Compensation: ClaimantFocus areas
Animal Bites, Arrest & Arraignment, Assault, Assault & Battery, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Criminal Domestic Violence, Criminal Fraud, Criminal Law, DUI/DWI, Debt, Dram Shop Laws, Drug & Alcohol Violations, Expungement, Failure to Pay Child Support, False Accusations, Felony, Juvenile Delinquency, Misdemeanor, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Offenses, Murder, Overdrawn Bank Account, Parole, Personal Injury - Defense, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Probation, Prosecution, Sex Offenses, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Tax Evasion, Theft, Toxic Mold, Traffic Violations, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 60% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 20% Criminal Defense
- 10% Criminal Defense: DUI/DWI
- 10% Workers' Compensation: Claimant
First Admitted: 2001, New Jersey
Professional Webpage: https://mynjinjurylawyer.com/howard-p-lesnik-esq/
Bar/Professional Activity:
- State of New Jersey, 2000
- ACDL-NJ - Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers NJ - Trustee, 2024
- U.S. District Court of New Jersey, 2000
- New Jersey Association of Justice, Regular Member, 2024
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
- Thompson, Mark vs. Metts, Daniel. SSX-L-000272-22 - Dump Truck Crash into Motorcycle Settles for $625,000 - The driver of the truck admitted that he was responsible for causing the crash into my client’s motorcycle by attempting a left hand turn from a parking lot directly into my client. However, the insurance company for the truck tried to minimize my client’s injuries and made a lowball offer in an attempt to settle the case for cheap. Since the insurance company did not want to settle, I filed a lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court.ractured his jaw which required mandible surgery and the surgeon had to wire his jaw shut while he recovered from surgery. He also suffered fractures to his legs. The spine in my client’s neck and back suffered significant injuries and he required 14 epidural injections to his cervical and lumbar spine. Prior to trial, the defense attorneys for the dump truck requested that this case be arbitrated by a professional mediator. However, before arbitration, we were able to settle my client’s claim against the dump truck and its driver for $625,000.00. As a result, my client avoided the necessity and uncertainty of a trial and was able to be fully compensated for his injuries caused by a dump truck driver who sideswiped and totaled my client’s motorcycle., 2024
- New Jersey Turnpike Accident Settles for $312,500. Everton Forris vs. Donatelli Mickey, BUR-L- 1211-19. I represented a gentleman who had attended a family graduation party in New Jersey and was driving home to Maryland when he was rear-ended on the New Jersey Turnpike. My client was driving the speed limit in the middle lane of the turnpike when a taxi-cab driver behind my client in the left lane realized he was about to miss his exit and tried to cut over to the far right to make the exit. When the taxi-cab swerved to the right, his commercial vehicle rear-ended my client and caused a significant motor-vehicle crash. The time of the crash was 1:00 a.m. and the taxi-driver was late and speeding when he caused the crash. My client was transported from the crash on the turnpike via an ambulance in a C-Collar to a local hospital Emergency Room. As a result of the crash, my client suffered a severe injury to his left shoulder. He underwent an MRI of his shoulder and the findings disclosed a grade 2 SLAP tear. A grade 2 SLAP tear is characterized by a detachment of the superior labrum and the origin of the tendon of the long head of the biceps from the glenoid resulting in instability of the biceps-labral anchor. This was a serious injury and it required surgery. This case was assigned a trial date. Once the trial date was scheduled and the experts were lined up, the defense finally agreed to settle my client’s claim for $312,500.00., 2021
- Highway Accident Victim Awarded $375,000. My 60-year-old client was driving on the highway on a rainy Saturday morning with his family when a young driver attempted to pass his car. The other driver sped up to pass and lost control of his vehicle on the wet road and crashed into my client’s car. My client was seriously injured and taken straight to the hospital from the accident scene. As a result of the new accident, my client’s surgical hardware in his spine at the L5-S1 level in his spine was damaged. In addition, my client suffered new lumbar spine injuries at the L3-L4 and L4-L5 levels. My client was forced to undergo a third spinal surgery. The spine surgeon removed and repaired the surgical hardware from the previous surgery at L5-S1 and performed a lumbar decompression and fusion at L3-L4 and L4-L5., 2021
- $1,050,000 Settlement for Client Run Over by FedEx Delivery Truck - Howard P. Lesnik, Esq. represented a local high school head football coach who was run over by a FedEx Ground delivery truck while jogging in town. The head football coach was jogging on a sidewalk when a delivery driver pulled out of a driveway in front his path. However, the delivery driver was looking down at the address on the package for her next delivery right in front of my client and ran him over with her truck. My client watched in horror as he saw the delivery truck pull out of driveway right in his path without stopping. He could see the delivery driver’s head looking down at her packages as he fell to the ground beneath the truck. He was run over and crushed by the truck’s tire. Immediately rushed to the ER, he was diagnosed with a compound fracture of the left proximal radius to the left elbow area and an open book type pelvis fracture. Xray’s confirmed a collapsed lung, rib fractures and a fractured leg. He required 3 open reduction with internal fixation surgeries to elbow, leg and his pelvis. He required multiple skin grafts with a plastic surgeon. The deposition of the FedEx driver confirmed that she was late and was rushing to her next delivery and was not looking up when she pulled out of the driveway. She also admitted that FedEx paid her more if she delivered more packages.
- 1 million Dollar Settlement for Senior Attacked by Neighbor’s Dog in Rahway NJ - Jane Martin vs. Great Escapes, UNN-L-002564-20. On February 28, 2020, the life of Rahway, NJ resident Jane Martin was forever changed when she was attacked by her neighbor’s dog. King, a large rottweiler, escaped his owner’s yard when part of the fence separating the two properties collapsed, and attacked Martin, who was on her front porch. The dog bit and held her arm, dragging her down the steps and across her driveway toward the neighbor’s home, until a passerby intervened and forced the dog to release Martin by striking it with a stick. It was because of this effort to identify all the parties who bore liability for Jane Martin’s injuries that she was able to receive the appropriate compensation necessary to pay for her extensive medical costs and adapt to the permanent disability she suffered. Her neighbor’s homeowner insurance policy capped out at $300,000, which Martin received in December of 2020. However, in a settlement reached with Greatescapes and Pardo on June 7 of this year, they agreed to pay an additional $750,000, bringing the full value of Martin’s settlement to $1.025 million, of which she received the balance on June 20th, 2020., 2020
- Howard P. Lesnik, Esq. Reaches $750,000 Settlement for Dog Bite Severing Ear of College Student - Robertson v. Zanghi MON-L-3667-20 While visiting with a long-time high school friend in Jackson NJ during winter break from his sophomore year of college, Nicholas Robertson was attacked by the friend’s family Labrador mix dog. The dog pinned Nicholas to the floor, bit, and severed his left ear. Immediate medical attention brought Nicholas to the hospital for emergency surgery of the severely lacerated and severed ear. This first operation was followed by two additional surgeries over the course of the following year. The last surgery attempted to symmetrically match the deformed ear with the other ear by raising it. At the time of the settlement on June 22, 2022, Nicholas was scheduled for a fourth surgery for ear reconstruction, as the deformed ear is now smaller than the right ear. The Dec. 15, 2019 dog bite attack left Nicholas both physically and emotionally injured. To ameliorate the resulting post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and fear of dogs, Nicholas required psychotherapy for help. He continues to be self-conscious about the size difference in his ears, and frequently wears hats to hide the deformed ear. New Jersey has a strict dog bite statute. Animal owners are held liable for any pet that bites someone – no matter how docile the animal may present prior to a bite. Dog owners are held responsible for their dog’s actions and any injuries they inflict. Even if the dog has not shown any aggressive behavior previously, the dog owner is responsible for any and all injuries caused by the dog’s bite – whether the injured person was on public property or legally on private property when the attack occurred. No amount of an owner’s attempts to restrain the dog or warn others can diminish their liability. The owner is simply responsible for any and all injuries caused by his or her pet., 2022
- George Washington Bridge Truck Accident Settles for $145,000. Iscah Neptune Patrick vs. Walford, JB Hunt, Docket BER-L-000417-23. My 38-year-old client was driving to NYC during the evening rush hour in bumper traffic after the toll plaza in New Jersey when she was suddenly rammed by a tractor trailer trying to merge into her lane. The large JB Hunt truck hit the back wheel of my client’s car and dragged her vehicle until it came to a rest after the collision. The driver of the truck tried to blame my client for the accident, so we were forced to file a lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court. During the litigation, we hired a retired NJ police officer as an accident reconstruction expert. My expert reconstructed the crash and was able to demonstrate that the truck did not operate his large commercial vehicle properly and attempted to merge into traffic without checking his blind-spots. Additionally, when I took the deposition of the truck driver, he admitted that he did not see my client’s car prior to crashing into her vehicle and that he was behind my client’s car when he attempted to merge. As a result of the truck crash, my client suffered severe injuries to her left shoulder, left knee and back. An MRI of the left knee revealed a tear of the medial meniscus. An MRI of her left shoulder showed a rotator cuff tear for the right shoulder. The MRI of the lumbar spine in her back showed disc herniations and bulges., 2024
Videos:
- Helping accident victims & families recover the full value of their accident claim
- Some serious fractures require surgery to repair bones and ligaments that cannot heal properly. This surgery may require the surgical orthopedist to install stabilizing bars, nuts, screws and metal plates., Serious Injuries: Open Reduction Internal Fixation (ORIF) Surgery, Personal Injury, 2024
- The size and weight of tractor trailers barreling down highways create a dangerous risk of injuries – and fatalities – when they are involved in accidents. My Top 7 Causes of Truck Accidents include: 1. Truck Size and Cargo Weight 2. Truck Driver Fatigue 3. Illegal Drugs and Narcotics 4. Mechanical Failures 5. Road Rage 6. Poor Training 7. Truck Driver Distraction, Top 7 Causes of Truck Accidents, Personal Injury, Trucking, 2021
- The most common cause of a traumatic brain injury is from falling. And the most common cause of a hip fracture is from falling. If you are involved in a fall, report the incident to the property owner and take pictures of the location and your injuries., Top Ten Facts for Trip, Slip and Fall Cases, Personal Injury, 2023
- If you are caught gambling under 21 in a casino, not only can you be ejected from the casino, but you will be charged by the gaming commission with a criminal offense. Not only is it a criminal offense, but the prosecutor is not even allowed to plea-bargain these cases, and the penalties include a mandatory suspension of your drivers license, Underage Gambling in NJ, Criminal Law, Personal Injury, 2020
- My NJ Injury Lawyer Howard P. Lesnik featured on CBS news on Road Rage., Howard Lesnik Featured in Road Rage Video on CBS News, Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, Motor Vehicle Accident, Road Rage, 2021
- Nestor Gibbs from "The Boxing Voice" interview with Howard P. Lesnik, Esq. on arbitration in the Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury Case., Nestor Gibbs from "The Boxing Voice" interview with Howard P. Lesnik, Esq. on arbitration in the Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury Case, Personal Injury, Arbitration, 2021
- Howard Lesnik, Esq. files lawsuit for NJ Woman who is suing McDonald's for burns she suffered after hot tea spilled on her legs., Howard Lesnik, Esq. files lawsuit for NJ Woman who is suing McDonald's for burns she suffered after hot tea spilled on her legs, Personal Injury, Burn Injuries, 2024
Special Licenses/Certifications:
- Certified Criminal Trial Attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court, 2024
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Member of the District XII Ethics Committee, 2018-2024, 2024
Honors/Awards:
- American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys, 10 Best, Client Satisfaction
- Martindale Hubbell Client Champion, Martindale Hubbell Client Champion, https://www.martindale.com/attorney/howard-p-lesnik-esq-2758146/, 2024
- Better Business Bureau A+ accreditation since 2018 to present, Better Business Bureau, https://www.bbb.org/us/nj/mountainside/profile/personal-injury-lawyer/my-nj-injury-lawyer-howard-p-lesnik-esq-0221-90186256, 2024
- Super Lawyers, www.superlawyers.com, 2024
- The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is pleased to announce that attorney Howard P. Lesnik of Mountainside NJ has been certified as a member. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million-dollar verdicts, awards, and settlements. The organization was founded in 1993 and there are approximately3000 members located throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members. Forum membership acknowledges excellence in advocacy and provides members with a national network of experienced colleagues for professional referral and information exchange in major cases. Members must have acted as principal counsel in at least one case in which their client has received a verdict, award, or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more. Please see our website (below) for further details concerning membership qualifications., Million Dollar Advocate, https://www.milliondollaradvocates.com, 2023
Educational Background:
- Juris Doctor, Seton Hall University School of Law, 2000
- Bachelor of Arts, Economics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1996
White Papers:
- How can you quietly double-check the reputation of an attorney you’re thinking of hiring (without him or her even knowing it’s happening)? Thanks to the internet, attorneys are easily searchable on the web. You can google any attorney and immediately see if they’re website and google reviews. There are many other free attorney review websites, such as Yelp, Avvo, Martindale, Lawyers.com, and Findlaw.com. Also, many attorneys post their reviews and testimonials right on their website. Remember to make notes and ask for reviews after the meeting. Make your choice based on who you are the most comfortable with., Free Guide How to Choose an Attorney for your NJ Personal Injury Case, Personal Injury, 2018
- A guide to making safe choices when purchasing or renewing auto insurance, A guide to making safe choices when purchasing or renewing auto insurance, Personal Injury, Insurance, 2024
- A student's guide to automobile insurance., Automobile Insurance for New Drivers, Personal Injury, Insurance, 2024
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- The New Jersey Car Accident Guidebook provides an insider’s view of what you need to know about car accidents in New Jersey, what you need to do, and why. This Guidebook helps people who are injured in car crashes due to the negligence of another person to make sure they receive the medical treatment they need, their medical bills are paid, and they are compensated for any permanent injuries. The Guide provides independent, unbiased explanations that are critical in states like NJ where insurance companies are protected by state statute from fault and profit from poorly structured car insurance policies., Author, NJ Car Accident Guidebook, Howard P. Lesnik, Personal Injury, Insurance, 2023
- And why insurance companies and their agents don’t want you to be well informed.Don’t wait until it is too late to learn that a terrible car insurance policy can cost you dearly. Howard Lesnik’s Guide gives you what you know for:Protection from Uninsured Motorists Protection from Underinsured Motorists Protection from costly Medical Bills, Author, NJ Car Insurance Buyer's Guide, Howard P. Lesnik, Personal Injury, Insurance, 2022
Office location for Howard P. Lesnik
928 Mountain Ave
2nd Floor
Mountainside, NJ 07092
Phone: 908-944-9650
Selections
2 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2025
Certificates and credentials
New Jersey Board on Attorney Certification
Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Criminal Trial Attorney
Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Criminal Trial Attorney
