New Jersey personal injury law follows the law of comparative negligence so you are entitled to restitution even if you were partly responsible for the accident you were injured in.
New Jersey is a comparative negligence state and not a contributory negligence state. The concept of contributory negligence states that any contributory negligence bars all recovery. This means that if you were at all responsible for the accident then you would not be entitled to money damages.
The law case that contributory negligence was founded on was an old English case before the invention of the automobile. A man was injured when he drove his carriage at night over a large log left in the road negligently by the home owner living near the road.
The carriage rider initially won his court case but lost on appeal. The appeals court ruled that since the carriage driver’s light was not working at the time he was partly at fault for the accident which occurred in the nighttime.
If his light was working the carriage driver would have had it lighted and he would have been able to see the log and avoid it and thereby avoid the accident and his injury. He was not allowed to collect any money for his damages.
But contributory negligence was later determined to be a harsh verdict. Someone could only be one percent at fault for the accident and not entitled to any form of restitution. So the concept of comparative negligence evolved where even if someone is partly to blame for his injury, he can still successfully sue for damages.
If the case goes to trial, the jury determines the percent of fault on the part of person injured and adjusts the award accordingly. So if you have been hurt in an accident and are partly to blame, you will still be entitled to money damages.
Retaining a NJ injury lawyer for your case is an important decision. You must make sure you are comfortable with the attorney you retain. Performing research and interviewing a Neptune injury lawyer is a good idea.