Personal Injury Law in New Jersey
Were you hurt due to another’s negligence in New Jersey?
If so, it may have far-reaching consequences such as a loss of wages or extensive medical treatment. Personal injury law allows an injured person to get damages if the responsible person acted recklessly. A personal injury attorney in New Jersey can help navigate the lawsuit to make sure you receive all of the compensation you deserve.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury law in New Jersey relates to the legal process of getting compensation for an injury caused by someone else’s negligent behavior. These cases involve one party, the plaintiff, trying to seek financial compensation for expenses incurred and money lost as a result of the defendant’s reckless behavior. These cases involve both parties’ insurance companies and may even settle before proceeding to litigation.
Examples of Personal Injury Claims in New Jersey
Some personal injury claims are more common than others. However, almost any incident that ends with a physical or mental injury could qualify, depending on the circumstances.
A few of the most common personal injury claims are:
- Car Accidents
- Slip and Fall
- Dog Bites
- Medical Malpractice
- Workplace Accidents
- Burn Injuries
Most Common Injuries in New Jersey
In New Jersey, unintentional injuries are a leading cause of hospitalizations and emergency room visits. In 2020, nearly 4,800 deaths were attributed to unintentional injuries, including poisonings, falls, motor vehicle-related fatalities, suffocation, drowning, and fire-related injuries.
Falls have become the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in New Jersey, surpassing motor vehicle crashes. This shift is due to a decline in motor vehicle-related injuries and an increase in fall-related injuries.
Nationally, unintentional falls are the leading cause of injuries treated in emergency departments across all age groups, except for individuals aged 10-24 years, where being struck by or against something is more common.
Steps in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in New Jersey
Once you determine that you wish to proceed forward with a personal injury action in New Jersey A lawsuit starts when the plaintiff files a complaint with the court and serves it to the defendant. The complaint outlines your claim that the defendant’s negligent actions caused harm to your body or mental well-being. As the case progresses, you may go through various stages, such as depositions, medical evaluations, and document exchanges. This discovery process can take time, ultimately leading to either a settlement or a trial. If an acceptable pre-suit settlement offer is not made, all New Jersey lawsuits begin with the filing of a complaint. The defendant will then answer the complaint triggering either a settlement or the beginning of the discovery process. An arbitrator or neutral party will then prepare an award and if it is not accepted, you will then head to trial. With most personal injury cases, insurance companies and injured parties prefer settlement negotiations rather than going to court for a trial. You may wonder how much you should seek in your settlement and the factors that impact the final amount. The New Jersey Law Journal has compiled a list of the state’s top 20 settlements for 2019 and 2020. The largest top 20 settlement amount was a staggering $125 MILLION for a personal injury case. The smallest “top” settlement amounted to nearly $3.55 Million. Of course, these cases are the most extreme scenarios. Most personal injury cases settle outside of court or settle anywhere between $3,000 and $75,000 on average across the country. If the other party is insured, their insurance company will likely prefer to settle out of court to avoid the uncertainty of a jury’s decision. Settlements can be beneficial for both the injured party and the insurance company. For the injured party, settling means faster compensation. On the other hand, taking the case to court in carries the risk of not receiving any compensation at all. If your New Jersey personal injury lawsuit goes before a judge or jury, your legal team will be ready with a request for damages. In personal injury cases, there are three types of damage awards a court may order the defendant to pay to compensate you for the damage he or she inflicted. Special compensatory damages reimburse you for things such as lost income, medical bills, and insurance deductibles. You submit receipts proving these losses. General compensatory damages are often subjective and depend on the circumstances. If you are awarded special compensatory damages, you may also be entitled to general damages. For example, if your injury caused significant pain and suffering, you can ask the judge to order the defendant to compensate you for that emotional and physical distress. Punitive damages are the most rarely awarded and are up to the court. The judge or jury may determine that the defendant’s negligence was particularly heinous and the resulting injury to you was equally horrific. New Jersey has only implemented damage caps on punitive damages. They are capped at $350,000 or 5 times the compensatory damages, whichever is greater. An injured party has a limited timeframe to file a personal injury lawsuit, as dictated by state law under statutes of limitation. Typically, the clock begins either on the date of the injury or when the injury is discovered. The latter can be more complex, requiring proof of when the harm was first realized. In New Jersey, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases allows an injured individual two years to file a lawsuit against the responsible party. This two-year period starts on the date the injury occurred. We recommend you speak with a personal injury lawyer for this matter. Don’t wait too long and miss out on receiving the compensation you deserve for your injury. Pursue a personal injury claim in New Jersey against the responsible person if you are dealing with an injury caused by someone else. One of our experienced lawyers can help you navigate your personal injury claim. We can even help you connect with an attorney across New Jersey state lines. Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area! Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States. With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations. Do you have a different legal concern that requires the help of a lawyer? We have a network of attorneys for any area of the law you need in New Jersey.New Jersey Personal Injury Settlement
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