New Jersey Injury Lawyers BlogUnderstanding New Jersey’s Negligence Rule
Personal injury cases involve proving one party’s actions or lack of actions resulted in another party’s injuries. Not all accidents are black and white, however, and sometimes both parties share in the fault. How that affects the outcome of a personal injury case depends on the negligence rules in place.
Different jurisdictions observe different rules of negligence. Essentially, those rules are:
- Contributory negligence whereby the injured party is barred from recovering any damages if it can be shown they were even 1% at fault in the accident;
- Comparative negligence whereby the compensation that may be awarded is reduced by the injured party’s percentage of fault; and
- Modified comparative negligence whereby allowable compensation is capped based on the injured party’s percentage of fault.
New Jersey observes the modified comparative negligence rule. Under this rule, the State allows the injured party to recover damages provided their percentage of fault was 50% or less. The compensation is reduced by the exact percentage of their fault. If the injured party is 51% or more at fault for an accident, they would be barred from recovering any damages whatsoever.
For example, if the jury found that the injured party was entitled to recover $100,000 in damages, but that party was 25% at fault for his or her own injuries, they would be entitled to receive only $75,000. If their percentage of fault was determined to be 51% or higher, their recovery would be barred, and they would receive nothing.
Negligence rules serve to deter unsafe actions and reduce risks; promote fair compensation for physical, emotional, and financial injuries; allocate responsibility to hold parties responsible for their own actions; and set standard for acceptable social behavior.