Understanding Personal Injury Law in New Jersey
From our personal injury law firm serving the Freehold & Toms River area
Personal injury is a legal term used to describe all bodily and emotional damage a person may suffer. In New Jersey, personal injury law is complex and confusing. Nevertheless, according to the Freehold area personal injury law firm of Villani & DeLuca, P.C., the basics are easy to decipher.
New Jersey law dictates that you have two years from the date of an accident to file a lawsuit for most personal injury claims, explains the injury law firm in Ocean County and Monmouth County of Villani & DeLuca, P.C. In addition, if your injuries result from the negligence of others, you are entitled to compensation for those injuries. However, you must prove the following several points in order to attain compensation:
- Did the defendant have a legal duty not to harm you?
- Was that legal duty breached?
- Was an injury caused as a result of that breach?
Once that is established, the next step is to determine the amount of compensation. Here, several factors are taken into consideration:
- The degree of pain and suffering
- The extent of the disability or impairment and loss of enjoyment of life
- Bills incurred to treat injuries, mental anguish, or disfigurement
- Loss of past wages and loss of potential future wages
Types of damages
In a personal injury case, you are awarded damages, or monetary compensation. According to the injury law firm in Ocean County of Villani & DeLuca, P.C., there are two main types of damages:
- Compensatory damages are awarded to directly compensate you for your losses. These typically include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, damaged property, and pain and suffering.
- Punitive damages, on the other hand, serve the purpose of punishing the offender and deterring him or her from taking the same line of action in the future.
Contact us
If you or a loved one suffered a personal injury or died due to an accident or to the negligence of someone else, schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys at the Toms River area injury law firm of Villani & DeLuca, P.C. by calling 732-475-4594 or contact us online. In addition to Toms River, we serve New Jersey clients in Freehold, and throughout Ocean County and Monmouth County.