Despite the common causes of personal injuries in New Jersey, each claim differs, so it can be difficult to tell how long your lawsuit might take. Our attorneys have decades of collective experience in various injury claims and can provide a solid estimate of your case’s timeframe.
Numerous factors, large and small, can impact how long your injury lawsuit takes to conclude successfully. Depending on how your injuries occurred and the amount of compensation you need to cover your damages, the case could settle in a matter of months or need a few years to prepare for a trial. For instance, if the insurance company cooperates, a claim for minor car accident injuries will likely settle not too long after the accident. However, if the evidence does not definitively prove liability or the defendant’s attorney delays discovery, more time will likely be needed to build a successful lawsuit.
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 today for a free case review with our New Jersey personal injury attorneys.
How Long Do Personal Injury Lawsuits Typically Take in New Jersey?
As you might expect, there is no one-size-fits-all regarding how long a personal injury lawsuit will take in New Jersey. Most injury lawsuits indeed follow the same procedures and customs, but within this system, cases can be resolved in a few months or could drag on for several years. Fortunately, our personal injury attorneys in NJ can help estimate how long your case might take after thoroughly reviewing it. Several factors will impact the trajectory of an injury claim, but our team’s extensive experience can focus on which ones can slow or speed up your case.
The type of personal injury you suffered can majorly dictate the course your case takes. For instance, medical malpractice claims often take longer than car accident cases. Many healthcare professionals, including the hospital that employs them, could be liable for malpractice injury claims, while many car accident claims are against a single negligent driver. Of course, a car accident claim will likely take longer if a manufacturing defect caused the accident since we must prove where the defect occurred. The more people you name in your lawsuit, the longer it will likely take.
While many lawsuits end in a settlement agreement, those agreements must be negotiated between the parties. If the case includes several defendants, we will usually need to negotiate with each one’s attorney, who will likely try to place the blame on the others or even you. The key to settling your case is having evidence that definitively shows liability and the damages you sustained. If a defendant tries to drag a lawsuit out, we will be ready to schedule a trial to have the court settle the matter.
Is There a Deadline for Filing a Personal Injury Claim in New Jersey?
There is no set deadline for an injury lawsuit to be completed once it is filed. However, the statute of limitations under N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2(a) places a strict two-year deadline for when most personal injury claims must be filed. If your lawsuit is filed after the window closes, your paths to compensation will be closed off.
That said, a few exceptions are carved out that might make your case take longer, but at least it will have a chance. For example, we can argue for additional filing time under the “discovery” rule if you only recently became aware of your damages. However, these situations are rare, usually occurring in malpractice cases where the cause of the damages might be too complex for the victim to understand right away.
A claim will naturally take longer if the defendant cannot be found. If the person who injured you does not reside in New Jersey or purposefully fled the state so that you could not serve your lawsuit, § 2A:14-22(a) can extend the filing period in your case.
The filing deadline can also be confusing when child injury victims are involved. Generally, § 2A:14-21 gives children two years from their 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. However, medical malpractice claims for childbirth injuries need to be filed before the child turns 13.
What Factors Could Make a Lawsuit Take Longer in New Jersey?
A few more critical factors besides those discussed above can impact the length of your case.
For instance, when the “comparative negligence” defense is asserted, injury claims usually take longer to negotiate. According to § 2A:15-5.1, defendants will not be held liable for damages attributed to the victim’s negligence. Further, a plaintiff will recover nothing if their negligence is greater than a defendant’s. As such, a lawsuit can get bogged down if the other side has even a minor reason to fight it. Our team will usually work with expert witnesses in these close cases, which might extend them, but it is ultimately worth it to recover the full damages.
A lawsuit will also likely take longer if evidence is hard to come by or in the defendant’s possession. Perhaps the defendant’s dashcam recorded your car accident and clearly shows them running a red light. The negligent driver might be reluctant to hand over such compelling evidence. Fortunately, it is not their choice as they will be compelled to turn over the evidence during the “discovery” phase of your claim. If they refuse to turn over relevant evidence, we can file a motion requesting the court to order them to submit the evidence.
Serious injuries can also extend a lawsuit since we will typically need more time to assess your damages fully. For example, the full range of your future medical damages might not be known until more medical evidence is collected. We will also need evidence of your “pain and suffering,” which will show how your accident impacted your life overall.
Call Our Personal Injury Lawyers in New Jersey Today for Help Filing Your Lawsuit
For your free case assessment with our Union City, NJ personal injury attorneys, call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 today.