Anatomy of New Jersey Personal

Injury Lawsuit

Personal injury can happen anytime and
anywhere. Personal injury can result from an
automobile crash, slip & fall in unsafe
conditions or other types of accidents. If you
are hurt, it can affect your job, your family, and
your ability to go about your daily life. If the
accident resulted from someone else's
negligence you may have a valid ground for
filing a personal injury lawsuit for appropriate
compensation.
1.What is Plaintiff and Defendant
A plaintiff is the party filing the complaint and the
defendant is the person being sued for damages
and compensation.
2.Jurisdiction of Lawsuit
Any personal injury lawsuit in New Jersey is filed in
Superior Court with exact division depending upon
the amount of claim sought. Any of involved party
(plaintiff and defendant) can file the case either in
the county of residence or the county of accident.
3.Statues of Limitations in New jersey
A personal injury lawsuit has to be filed within a
certain amount of time. This timeframe is called a
statute of limitation.








The time frames for different categories of personal injury cases are -
a. Personal Injury Lawsuits
i. Adults - within 2 years when the injury or accident occurred;
ii Minors - within 2 years of the person's 18th birthday.
b. Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
i. Adults - within 2 years of the time when the malpractice was
committed or came into notice;
Ii. Minors - within 2 years of the person's 18th birthday
]


Wrongful Death Claims:
i. Within 2 years of the decedent's death. Prerequisites for
lawsuits against Public Entities, County, State or Municipal
entities etc:
i. Adults - within 90 days of the occurrence;
ii.Minors - within 90 days of the person's 18th or 13th
birthday
e. New Jersey Product Liability Lawsuits:
i. Within 2 years of the date of incident or problem.









4. Procedure of filing lawsuit
The lawsuit will officially begin when the plaintiff files complaint
document. In the complaint document, the whole incident is
described including the reason of accident, injuries sustained and why
the plaintiff deserves compensation from the defendant.

5.Discovery
Discovery is the fact finding process wherein lawyers from both the
site collect facts, evidences, interrogatories and depositions.

6.Settlement Conference
A settlement conference is process of resolving a
lawsuit before trial. As trial is expensive and time
consuming affair, the two sides can work out their
differences and try to agree for an appropriate
solution. This can be done by involving a mediator
or arbitrator to reach an agreement.
7.Trial
A trial is the last part of the lawsuit. If the plaintiff
decides not to accept the settlement, the case will
go to trial where the jury or the judge will hear
the case and shall award the compensation or
damages after hearing both the parties.