Most personal injury cases in New Jersey result from someone’s negligence. However, some acts go beyond everyday carelessness and are better classified as gross negligence.
Our lawyers can determine whether the defendant’s actions in your case were grossly negligent or worse. Negligence runs along a spectrum in NJ, with gross negligence being somewhere between a common lack of judgment and willful misconduct. In a claim for gross negligence, we would argue that the harm the defendant caused was foreseeable, and they should have known what they were doing could result in serious harm. However, our team will review the evidence to see if their conduct went beyond gross negligence to constitute actual malice. It is a fine line between the two, but victims of willful misconduct are often entitled to recover punitive damages along with the monetary compensation they deserve.
For a free case review from our New Jersey personal injury lawyers, call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111.
What is Considered Gross Negligence in New Jersey?
To understand the standard of gross negligence in New Jersey, we must differentiate it from ordinary negligence. Common negligence refers to a failure to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person of ordinary prudence would demonstrate in similar circumstances. It typically involves minor lapses in judgment, oversight, or careless mistakes. For instance, a driver momentarily taking their eyes off the road to check a text would likely be considered regular negligence.
Gross negligence takes this idea significantly further. It typically refers to a profound and reckless disregard for the safety and well-being of others, indicating not just an absence of reasonable care but a conscious and voluntary choice to ignore the potential consequences of one’s actions.
In Steinberg v. Sahara Sam’s Oasis, the Supreme Court of NJ defined gross negligence as an act or omission that is more than ordinary negligence but less than intentional or willful misconduct, which creates a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm to others from the lack of even slight care. Returning to the example above, a driver playing a game on their phone while driving through a densely populated area could be construed as grossly negligent behavior. The driver here demonstrates a blatant disregard for the lives and safety of others and should understand the potential harm that could result from such dangerous driving.
The definition of gross negligence is slightly broader in cases involving individuals working for public agencies or organizations engaged in government work. In most cases, public employees cannot be held directly liable for their negligence because of sovereign immunity. However, that immunity is qualified, meaning they can be held responsible when they are grossly negligent. Further, they are considered to have committed gross negligence if they act with willful, wanton, or reckless misconduct, according to N.J.S.A. § 2A:62A-9, potentially giving victims a chance to recover punitive damages in addition to their other losses.
What Damages Can I Recover for Gross Negligence in a New Jersey Personal Injury Lawsuit?
In most personal injury claims, victims can recover compensation for their monetary and non-monetary harms. These damages are known collectively as compensatory damages, as they are intended to place victims back into the position they were in before the accident or as much as possible. On the other hand, punitive damages are meant to punish defendants for misconduct that exceeds the bounds of ordinary negligence. Our personal injury attorneys in New Jersey can determine where the defendant’s conduct lies on the negligence spectrum. While gross negligence might not always be legally sufficient to recover punitive damages, the line between what is gross negligence and what is willful and wanton misconduct is fine.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages include your economic and non-economic damages, referred to as special and general damages in New Jersey.
Economic losses represent the monetary harm you suffered and spent out-of-pocket. Much of this will be in the form of medical expenses, such as hospital bills, ongoing treatment costs, medications, and anything else required for recovery. Financial losses also include any income you lost out on because you missed work. Other expenses, like property damage, travel costs, and childcare while attending appointments, can also be claimed as economic damages with receipts and other financial records.
Non-economic damages compensate victims for all the other harms they suffered from the accident. You likely know these damages as “pain and suffering.” Accidents caused by gross negligence are likely to result in physical pain during the accident and treatment, as well as emotional distress, often in the form of mental health conditions like PTSD.
These damages are recoverable whether the defendant was merely negligent or grossly negligent.
Punitive Damages
Punitive or “exemplary” damages are awarded in accidents involving aggravating circumstances to penalize defendants and deter others from acting similarly in the future. However, punitive damages are generally not awarded for gross negligence, but for “actual malice.” This refers to intentional wrongdoing accompanied by a willful and wanton disregard for others who that wrongdoing could foreseeably harm, according to § 2A:15-5.12(4)(a). This implies a certain level of awareness on the defendant’s part that they knew what they were doing was wrong and did it anyway.
For example, someone who is intoxicated and still decides to drive knows that it is illegal and can foreseeably cause a serious accident or death. A manufacturer knowingly putting a dangerous product on the market would also likely be liable for intentionally harming its customers.
To recover punitive damages, you must prove the defendant acted with malice with clear and convincing evidence. This is a higher standard than what is necessary to recover the damages above. Essentially, it means that there is very little doubt that the defendant acted in the way alleged, but it does not have to be beyond a reasonable doubt. Our team can determine if the defendant’s misconduct in your case is more than gross negligence but actual malice.
Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys in New Jersey for Help with Your Claim
Call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. at (201) 777-1111 for a free review of your case with our Paterson personal injury lawyers.