admin Many New Jersey drivers agreed to the verbal threshold unknowingly. The choice sits on a single line of your auto insurance declarations page, and it decides whether you can sue for pain and suffering after a crash that wasn’t your fault. Below are five points about how the limitation on lawsuit option works and why it matters, followed by law offices serving North Jersey, starting with The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone.
What should you understand about New Jersey’s verbal threshold?
1. What does the verbal threshold actually limit?
It limits your right to recover noneconomic damages, meaning compensation for pain, suffering, and lost quality of life. Under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a), a person bound by the limitation on lawsuit option can recover those damages only for one of six injury types: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury. The statute defines a permanent injury as a body part or organ that has not healed to function normally and will not heal with further treatment.
2. Who is bound by it?
If you never made a choice, you probably have it. Under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8.1, a standard policy defaults to the limitation on lawsuit option when no election is made, and the basic policy carries the threshold automatically. The election generally applies to resident relatives covered under your policy too, so a teenager injured as a passenger may be bound by a parent’s choice.
New Jersey’s deemer statute, N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.4, can also apply the threshold to out-of-state drivers whose insurers do business here.
3. How do you prove a permanent injury?
With objective medical proof and a sworn physician’s certification. The statute requires a licensed treating physician to certify under penalty of perjury that the injury meets a threshold category based on objective clinical evidence. That certification is generally due within 60 days after the defendant answers the complaint. Objective evidence means test results such as MRIs, CT scans, or EMG nerve studies, not just your description of pain.
In 2005, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided DiProspero v. Penn and Serrano v. Serrano. It held that plaintiffs do not also have to prove the injury had a serious impact on their life. Meeting one of the six categories is enough.
4. What does the threshold not limit?
It does not bar claims for economic losses beyond what Personal Injury Protection (PIP), your no-fault medical coverage, pays. Your medical bills may exceed your PIP limit, or you may lose more wages than PIP replaces. Either way, you can pursue those amounts from the at-fault driver regardless of the threshold.
A separate rule is harsher. Under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5, a person injured while driving their own uninsured vehicle cannot sue for either economic or noneconomic losses.
5. Can you switch to no limitation, and is it worth it?
Yes, you can change the election, typically at renewal, and the change applies to future crashes only. The no limitation on lawsuit option lets you sue for pain and suffering for any injury caused by another driver’s negligence, but it raises your premium. How much depends on your insurer, driving record, and location, so ask your agent for both quotes.
Which law offices serve drivers with questions about injury claims?
- The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone
- The Kugel Law Firm
- Brett M. Rosen
- Law Offices of Montell Figgins
- Alexander Law
The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone
The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, P.C. is a Jersey City firm where attorney Anthony Carbone has practiced for 35 years. The firm handles car accident and pedestrian injury claims, including cases where the verbal threshold shapes what an injured person can recover. It also defends criminal and DUI charges. Consultations are free and offered in English, Hindi, and Punjabi.
The Kugel Law Firm
A Newark firm that handles DWI and criminal defense.
Brett M. Rosen
An Englewood Cliffs attorney who handles criminal and DUI cases.
Law Offices of Montell Figgins
A Newark firm that handles a range of civil and criminal matters.
Alexander Law
An Edgewater office that handles criminal defense, DUI, and traffic matters.
Where does that leave you?
The verbal threshold is decided long before any crash, on a form most people never read. Check your declarations page now. For anyone already hurt, meeting the threshold depends on objective medical proof gathered early. If a crash in New Jersey left you injured, The Law Offices of Anthony Carbone can review whether your injury qualifies in a free consultation.
Attorney advertising. This article is general information and not legal advice.
