The multiplier method with New Jersey's actual rules applied: modified comparative, 51% bar, a 2-year filing window. Every statute cited and linked, every line of arithmetic shown.
Based on the multiplier method used by insurers and attorneys. This is an educational estimate, not legal advice. Every claim is different.
You recover if your negligence is not greater than the defendants' combined (≤50%), reduced by your share. (N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1)
2 years for personal injury (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2). The clock is jurisdictional. One day late and no court will hear the case.
Choice no-fault: PIP medical benefits default to $250,000 (electable down to $15k, but the $250k floor still applies to catastrophic injuries), and most drivers elect the cheaper 'limitation on lawsuit' (verbal) threshold, which bars pain-and-suffering claims unless the injury is death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury. (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4; 39:6A-8)
Minimum liability coverage: 35/70/25, meaning $35,000 per person, $70,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage (for policies issued or renewed on/after Jan 1, 2026; 25/50/25 applied 2023–2025). (N.J.S.A. 39:6B-1) Policy limits are the practical ceiling on most settlements, which is why identifying every available policy (including your own underinsured-motorist coverage) matters.
New Jersey's outcome turns on the checkbox on your declarations page, not on the crash itself. The 'limitation on lawsuit' election most drivers take for the discount forfeits pain-and-suffering recovery unless the injury fits a verbal-threshold category (displaced fracture and permanent injury being the workhorses), with a physician certification deadline attached. Find your election before valuing anything. (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8)
The same multiplier method used everywhere, so (medical bills + lost wages) × a 1.5–5× severity multiplier + property damage. Then New Jersey's fault rule is applied: You recover if your negligence is not greater than the defendants' combined (≤50%), reduced by your share. The calculator on this page runs exactly that math and prints every line.
2 years for personal injury (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2). Miss the deadline and the claim is barred permanently, no matter how strong it is. Claims against government entities often have much shorter notice requirements.
Choice no-fault: PIP medical benefits default to $250,000 (electable down to $15k, but the $250k floor still applies to catastrophic injuries), and most drivers elect the cheaper 'limitation on lawsuit' (verbal) threshold, which bars pain-and-suffering claims unless the injury is death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury.
Compensatory damages: No caps. Punitive damages: Greater of 5× compensatory or $350,000, with exceptions including drunk-driving convictions and bias crimes.