New Jersey car accident settlement calculator

New Jersey filing deadlines

Property: 'for any tortious injury to real or personal property... within six years'. Wrongful death: 'within 2 years after the death of the decedent' (no limit if death resulted from murder or manslaughter with conviction). Tort Claims Act: late notice possible with court leave within one year (59:8-9).

If you were partly at fault

New Jersey follows modified comparative negligence, 51% bar. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you recover nothing if you were more at fault than the other side (51% or more). At exactly 50% you still recover half.

• With $100,000 in damages and 30% of the fault, you would recover $70,000.
• With 55% of the fault, you would recover $0, because the rule bars your claim.

Plaintiff recovers if 50% or less at fault (compared with one defendant or all defendants combined); damages reduced by plaintiff's percentage.

Source: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1. Compare all states in the comparative negligence table.

Choice no-fault state

Your own personal injury protection pays your medical bills and lost wages first, with a required minimum of Standard policy: $15,000 minimum (up to $250,000 for certain injuries regardless of limit chosen); Basic policy: $15,000 (up to $250,000 for certain injuries). The threshold to claim pain and suffering from the at-fault driver: Choice. 'Limitation on Lawsuit' (verbal threshold, also built into the Basic policy): no pain and suffering suit unless loss of body part, significant disfigurement or scarring, displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent injury, or death. 'No Limitation' option keeps the full right to sue. Which rules apply depends on the option chosen on the policy.

Listed injuries: loss of body part; significant disfigurement or significant scarring; a displaced fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent injury; death.

Minimum car insurance in New Jersey

$35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident for injuries, $25,000 for property damage, effective January 1, 2026. Uninsured motorist coverage is required.

Many drivers carry only the minimum, so the bodily injury limit is often the most the at-fault driver's insurer will pay one person. Applies to the Standard policy. The Basic policy (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3.1) has $5,000 property damage liability, no bodily injury liability required ($10,000 optional), and no UM. DOBI 2026 guide: 'A minimum amount of Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage is required' for the Standard policy.

Damage caps

New Jersey does not cap pain and suffering in ordinary car accident cases. Punitive damages: Capped at the greater of 5 times compensatory damages or $350,000 (exceptions include LAD, CEPA, bias crime, and drunk driving cases).

Dog bite law

Strict liability statute. Victim must be in a public place or lawfully on private property (including the owner's property). Non-bite injuries fall under common law.

Source: N.J.S.A. 4:19-16. Estimate a claim with the dog bite calculator.