Written by: Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers
Last Updated : February 28, 2023New Jersey Catastrophic Injuries Lawyer
Determined representation when serious injuries change your life forever.
A sudden, severe injury can disrupt your life and change it forever. While it is always important to remain hopeful in the wake of an accident, the painful reality for too many victims is that their bodies and their lives will never be the same. At Brach Eichler Injury Lawyers, our personal injury attorneys take an aggressive approach to serious and catastrophic injury cases. We understand the scope of the loss our clients have suffered, and we know their losses will continue into the future. This horrific injustice motivates us to fight for the maximum possible compensation. When you are facing future medical costs, expenses from a lifetime of personal care, or the loss of quality of life from disfigurement or disability, you can trust our accomplished attorneys to work tirelessly for the results you need and deserve.
The law of serious injury in New Jersey auto accidents
The term “serious injury” is not just descriptive or subjective; it is the term describing a legal threshold related to your right to sue for full compensation in a New Jersey auto accident. An important portion of your recovery is compensation for non-economic losses, such as:
- Physical pain
- Mental suffering
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
Often called “pain and suffering,” these damages can be the lion’s share of your potential settlement or jury award. But unless you can prove by some objective metric that your auto accident injury is “serious,” you may be barred from filing a claim for pain and suffering damages.
Under New Jersey’s no-fault insurance law, policyholders can purchase a “limited right to sue” policy or an “unlimited right to sue” policy. If your policy limits your right to sue, you cannot file a claim for pain and suffering unless you sustained a “serious injury,” defined by these six categories:
- Death
- Loss of a limb
- Significant disfigurement/scarring
- Displaced bone fracture
- Loss of unborn child
- Permanent injury (meaning that a doctor has certified under penalty of perjury that “to a reasonable degree of medical probability” you have injured at least one “body part or organ” that will not heal to normal function, even with further medical treatment.)
Our knowledgeable attorneys understand what type of objective proof is necessary for you to pass the threshold of eligibility to claim pain and suffering damages. We work with medical experts to compile compelling evidence that secures your right to make a claim.