What is New Jersey’s Statutes of Limitation?

With offices in Oakhurst, Howell, and Toms River, we provide professional legal representation for the entire New Jersey area.

Personal injury law covers a broad array of accidents. From slip and falls to medical malpractice to product liability to car accidents to wrongful death, there are numerous ways in which one can be injured in America. It is important to understand that there are specific time frames under New Jersey law within which an injured victim must file a lawsuit. If you do not file your personal injury lawsuit within the specified period, your claim for monetary compensation may be barred forever simply due to the passage of time.

Statute of Limitations

The purpose of a statute of limitations is twofold – to preserve evidence and for fairness to the parties involved. This is because the more time that passes, the higher the likelihood that evidence will be lost or witnesses’ memories will fade. Likewise, if a lawsuit can be brought at any time, defendants could be at a disadvantage because they may not have access to evidence due to the passage of time.

New Jersey Statutes of Limitation

New Jersey’s statute of limitations generally requires that personal injury lawsuits be brought within a certain time period, depending on the type of case. This includes:

• Personal injury lawsuits: Adults must file within two years of the date the injury occurred, while minors must file within two years of their 18th birthday;
• Medical malpractice claims: Adults must file within two years of the date the injury occurred, while minors must file within two years of their 18th birthday – except for birth-related injuries. If the injury occurred at birth, a minor must file before his or her 18th birthday if born before July, 2004. If the minor was born after July 2004, he or she must file by his or her 13th birthday;
• Wrongful death claims: Within two years of the death; any claims for pain and suffering must be brought within two years of the injury that caused the death;
• Product liability: Within two years of the date of occurrence;
• Assault and battery, false imprisonment, certain specified claims: Within two two years of the date of occurrence;
• Against a public entity (County, State, or Municipal): Adults must file within 90 days of the occurrence, while minors must file within 90 days of their 18th birthday;

Establishing Fault in a Personal Injury Case

Any personal injury lawsuit, no matter what the underlying accident, asks the essential question: Which party is at fault and, consequently, financially responsible for damages suffered? Which party is at-fault in a personal injury claim depends on the circumstances of the case. The large majority of personal injury cases arise because one or more parties’ negligent actions caused the accident and resulting injuries. Negligence, essentially, is behavior that falls below the standard of care that is expected of a reasonable person and causes another harm.

In order for a personal injury victim to succeed in a lawsuit, he or she must establish the following elements of negligence:

• Duty: The defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff;
• Breach: The defendant breached this duty by its action or inaction;
• Causation: The defendant’s breach was the actual and legal cause of the plaintiff’s injuries; and
• Damages: As a result of the injuries, the plaintiff suffered damages.

It is true that not all personal injury claims involve the theory of negligence; sometimes a plaintiff can establish fault by showing that the defendant’s conduct was intentional, proving negligence per se, or showing strict liability standard applies to the claim.

If you are considering filing a New Jersey personal injury claim, contact a knowledgeable and experienced attorney like Richard Schibell right away. Do not delay, as there are statutes of limitations that affect the timeframe in which a claim must be filed. Failure to to so can forever bar recovery simply by the passage of time.

 

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