The pain and suffering caused by someone else’s negligence can physically, emotionally, and financially disrupt your life. The consequences can be severe and long-lasting, whether as a result of a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall, or a workplace injury.
Fortunately, New Jersey personal injury law gives you the right to seek full and fair compensation for your losses.
Let’s understand how working with an experienced personal injury attorney like Howard D. Popper can help you maximize the compensation you receive for your losses.
Understanding Personal Injury Law in New Jersey
As a practical matter, most personal injury claims are based on a legal theory of negligence, characterized by the at-fault party’s failure to use reasonable care. To succeed with a negligence claim, you must also show that the failure to use reasonable care caused an accident and that you suffered actual losses because of the accident. Common examples of personal injury claims include auto accident, slip and fall, medical malpractice, and dog bite lawsuits.
How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in New Jersey?
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, the statute of limitations for personal injury in NJ is two years from the date of the accident or the reasonable discovery of your injuries, whichever comes later. You must file legal action within that time period or risk permanently losing your right to recover.
Calculating Compensation: What Are Your Potential Damages?
A comprehensive claim includes more than just your immediate medical bills.
In New Jersey, as in other states, the potential compensation available in a personal injury claim can be categorized as follows:
Economic Damages (Tangible Financial Losses)
- Economic Damages (Tangible Financial Losses)
- Unreimbursed medical expenses, including past and future medical expenses for hospital care, rehabilitation, physical therapy, medication, surgical procedures, and other concerns
- Lost wages or income, including projected loss of salary or wages
- Loss of or damage to personal property
- Non-Economic Damages (Intangible Losses)
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship or consortium
Punitive damages may also be available in a personal injury lawsuit but are extremely rare, typically awarded only when the defendant’s conduct is determined by the jury to be egregious or wanton.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Your Recovery
Under New Jersey’s modified comparative negligence rule (N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1), you can still recover damages even if you’re partially at fault, as long as your share of fault is 50% or less. To determine the amount of your recovery, the jury will first calculate the full amount of your losses, as well as the extent of your liability, expressed as a percentage. The jury will then reduce your damage award by your percentage of fault.
For example, if the full amount of your losses is $1 million, but the jury finds you 40% responsible, your recovery will be reduced to $600,000. If, on the hand, the jury determines that you were 60% liable, you will not be entitled to any recovery.
Why Legal Representation Makes a Critical Difference
In most personal injury claims, you’ll be fighting with insurance companies to get full and fair compensation for your losses. Insurance companies are for-profit entities that place a priority on maximizing their return to shareholders. For that reason, they’ll typically use their resources to try to minimize or deny your claim, often engaging in delays and offering far less than you need to cover your losses.
An experienced personal injury lawyer like Howard D. Popper has a vested interest in getting as much compensation for you as possible. Mr. Popper can be your voice with insurance companies, helping protect you from the pressure tactics they commonly employ. He will know when it’s in your best interests to seek a negotiated settlement and when to take your claims to trial.
The Law Offices of Howard D. Popper can put together a comprehensive strategy to secure full and fair compensation, using accident reconstruction specialists, medical professionals, and other experts to prepare and present the most compelling arguments to the judge and jury.
Read Also: How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in New Jersey?
Contact the Law Offices of Howard D. Popper
At the Law Offices of Howard D. Popper, we can help protect your rights when you’ve been hurt in a motor vehicle accident or slip and fall. For a free initial consultation to discuss your options, contact our office online or call 973-659-4144 to set up an appointment. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, New Jersey.
We handle all personal injury claims, including product liability lawsuits, on a contingent-fee basis. You won’t pay any attorney fees unless we recover damages for your losses.