Negligence in New Jersey
Last checked Aug 15, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
Elements
1
Duty
The defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty of reasonable care in the circumstances.
2
Breach
The defendant failed to meet that standard, they did something a reasonably careful person would not, or failed to do something they would.
3
Causation
The breach was a factual and legal (proximate) cause of the harm. Foreseeability matters.
4
Damages
The plaintiff suffered actual harm, medical bills, lost wages, pain, property loss.
Burden of proof
Preponderance of the evidence, more likely than not.
A New Jersey fact pattern
A Paramus left-turn crash. New Jersey bars recovery if you are more at fault than the other driver. The two-year clock is N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. If this is a car crash, the insurance option on the policy (verbal threshold versus no-limitation) can block pain-and-suffering even when fault is clear. That is a coverage fight, not a substitute for the negligence elements.
Statute of limitations
2 years
N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2
Generally from the date of injury.
- Minority and incapacity may toll.
- Auto claims may also hit the verbal threshold or limitation-on-lawsuit option in the insurance policy. That is not the same as the two-year clock.