Tuesday, September 23, 2014

New Jersey Personal Injury Law: Contributory Negligence

Contributory negligence is a term often used in personal injury cases to indicate that the Plaintiff contributed to their injury through their own negligence. In New Jersey, contributory negligence does not exclude a Plaintiff from recovering damages from a negligent Defendant, so long as the Plaintiff’s negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person or persons against whom recovery is sought. However, any recovery will be reduced by the percentage sustained of negligence attributable to the Plaintiff. For instance, if a Plaintiff crossed a road in the middle, instead of at the designated crossing point, and did so without first looking, and a Defendant who was talking on his or her cell phone, hit them, causing injury, the Plaintiff might be found to be forty percent (40%) at fault and the Defendant sixty percent (60%). In this case, any judgment the Plaintiff would be entitled to, will be reduced by forty percent (40%).  If there is more than one Defendant, the Plaintiff’s negligence cannot equal more than the combined negligence of all of the Defendants.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.3, when contributory negligence is used as a defense to a personal injury suit in New Jersey, the jury must make the following as findings of fact:

(1). The amount of damages which would be recoverable by the injured party regardless of any consideration of negligence or fault, that is, the full value of the injured party's damages.

(2). The extent, in the form of a percentage, of each party's negligence or fault. The percentage of negligence or fault of each party shall be based on 100% and the total of all percentages of negligence or fault of all the parties to a suit shall be 100%.


If a party is determined to be sixty percent (60%) or more at fault, the Plaintiff may recover from them the entire amount of damages. Otherwise, he may only recover the percentage of damages attributable to that Defendant. 

For further details visit NJ Personal Injury Lawyer or wants an appointment contact New Jersey Product Liability Lawyer here: Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson, P.C. 320 Cedar Lane Teaneck, NJ 07666
Call us today! (201) 530-6272

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