New Jersey Car Accident Attorneys

New Jersey gives you two years from the date of the car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit under N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2(a). Wrongful death claims also carry a two-year deadline. The critical exception is government claims: you must file a Notice of Tort Claim within just 90 days of the accident if a government vehicle or entity was involved — this is the shortest government claims deadline in the region and passes before most victims have finished initial medical treatment.

This is the single most important concept for NJ car accident victims. When you purchased auto insurance, you selected either the "limitation on lawsuit" (verbal threshold) or "no limitation on lawsuit" (zero threshold). If you chose the verbal threshold — the cheaper option most drivers select — you can only sue for pain and suffering if your injuries fall into one of six categories: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or permanent injury (proven by objective medical evidence and certified by a physician). The zero threshold preserves unrestricted rights to sue.

NJ requires every auto policy to include Personal Injury Protection (PIP). Standard PIP provides $250,000 in medical coverage, though basic policies can be as low as $15,000. After any crash, you file PIP with your own insurer regardless of fault. PIP covers medical expenses and lost wages but NOT pain and suffering or property damage. To recover pain and suffering, you must either meet the verbal threshold (six injury categories) or have selected the zero threshold. NJ requires minimum liability of $15,000/$30,000/$5,000 — the lowest in the region.

Yes, as long as your share of fault is 50% or less. New Jersey follows a modified comparative negligence system with a 51% bar under N.J. Stat. § 2A:15-5.1. If you are 50% or less at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage. At 51% or more, you recover nothing. Insurance companies aggressively argue fault in NJ — especially in lane-change crashes on the Turnpike and Parkway, intersection collisions, and rear-end crashes where they claim you stopped suddenly.

Yes — several important categories of car accident victims are exempt from the verbal threshold entirely and have unrestricted rights to sue for pain and suffering. These include: pedestrians hit by vehicles, bicyclists hit by vehicles, motorcyclists (not covered by PIP), passengers and permissive users not required to maintain PIP, out-of-state residents whose carriers don't do business in NJ, and victims of commercial vehicle accidents where the commercial vehicle is not covered by PIP. These exemptions are some of the most valuable long-tail targets for NJ car accident content.

NJ's no-fault system is among the most complex in the nation. The interplay between PIP coverage levels, the verbal threshold, threshold exemptions, the 51% fault bar, and the 90-day government notice deadline creates multiple points where uninformed claimants permanently lose their rights. Insurers are experts at leveraging the verbal threshold to deny pain and suffering claims. A NJ car accident attorney works on a contingency fee basis (you pay nothing unless they win) and can review your policy, obtain physician certification to pierce the verbal threshold, and maximize your recovery.