A personal injury after a car accident can cause many issues for the injured party. Living in New Jersey means you need to know what it means to be living in a “no-fault” state. Since approximately 97% of all personal injury cases are settled before trial, you can never be armed with too much knowledge. And in order to be compensated and treated fairly after an accident, think about hiring a lawyer to help.

New Jersey is a “No-Fault” State

“No-fault” indicates that the personal injuries sustained in an accident must be paid through the injured party’s insurance company, regardless of fault. This means that if you are injured in an accident that’s not your fault, you must still pay for any medical bills you incur. On the other hand, being at fault won’t make you responsible for another person’s medical bills. Hiring a personal injury lawyer will help you to see what your options are at this point.

New Jersey’s Lawsuit Limitation

As you can probably guess, this leads to a lot of filed claims. For this reason, New Jersey has a lawsuit limitation in effect. As a result, this means a driver cannot file a personal injury claim unless a physician can certify that a patient sustained permanent injuries that cannot be cured through treatment. If you can prove this, you will be able to sue for damages and possibly the loss of future income because of a disability. A personal injury lawyer will be able to advise you of the best direction to take in this regard.

Tort Threshold Insurance Option

New Jersey drivers have the option to select the tort threshold option for their auto insurance to reduce their premium up to 50%. This option also restricts the driver from suing for personal injury even more than the lawsuit limitation, as it will state a minimum level of injury that can be sued for damages incurred. If this is the case, a personal injury attorney will be able to tell you if you have this provision and can advise you on what to do next.

Discussing Your Options

If you suffer a personal injury after a car accident, you need to know all of your options, including when you have the right to sue. Contact attorney Leon Matchin for a free consultation by calling 732-887-2479 or emailing him at [email protected].