NJ court rules against NJ verbal threshold – limited tort accident victim.
Nov 17th, 2008 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Common Injuries from Car Accidents, New Jersey Injury InformationIn a decision last week, an NJ court ruled that the statute of limitations in a NJ personal injury case, as a result of a NJ car accident, will not be extended by the “Discovery Rule” in an NJ verbal threshold – limited tort injury case.
In a typical New Jersey car accident – NJ personal injury case, a Plaintiff has two (2) years to bring a lawsuit against the person or entity that negligently caused the Plaintiff’s injuries. The Discovery Rule, which is recognized in many states, permits people to extend the two-year statute of limitations if the injury could not have been discovered (for whatever reason) within the two-year post-accident period.
The NJ verbal threshold – limited tort law requires that a NJ physician certify (NJ Certificate of Permanency) the permanency of the injuries of a car accident victim.
The Plaintiff in this case attempted to extend the statute of limitations because he claimed that he was not certain that his injuries were permanent in the two-year period following the NJ car accident. The NJ Appellate Division did not agree with the Plaintiff and stated that the Plaintiff knew or should have known whether or not the injuries were permanent.
This case raises an interesting question. Because NJ car accident law requires a “permanent” type of injury in order to recover under the NJ limited tort – verbal threshold law, what happens if permanency, under medical standards or guidelines cannot be determined in this two year post-accident period? I think the courts should look at this issue on a case-by-case basis. What do you think?
well, what attorney wouldnt have sworn medical experts to trstify to the highest degree of permanancy of the injurys,…BY 2 YEARS,
NJ DOESNT HAVE PAIN AND SUFFERING?
IF YOU ARE IN LETS SAY ICU BREATHING TUBE FOR 2 YEARS BECAUSE OF A CAR ACCIDENT, I THINK SOME SORT OF SWORN STATEMENT FROM THE DOCTORS CAN BE MADE BY THE 2 YEAR TIME LIMIT,
JUST MORE INCOMPETANBT ATTORNEYS THAT DONT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS THE REASON THIS QUESTION EVEN CAME UP
Jim,
You are missing the point. What if the case involves a type of injury whereby permanency can not be readily determined within two years?
i know, i thought about that last night. like in the case where a person is in a coma for more than 2 years, …. how are the doctors going to know the extent of the permanency injuries until the person wakes up from the coma, if ever.
but can not the doctors still write something that would be accpeted by the court?
are yo0u really telling me that if a person goes into a coma from a nj car accident, and is in the coma for 3 years, they lose the ability to file a law suit simply because the doctors can not evaluate the permanency injuries?
if what you are sying is true, it is so wrong, …… are you sure there is no legal way around it?
i do think, i re reading what you wrote, that the court did make an evaluation based on that particular case, .. and did not put it forth for all cases,….
certainly the appealate division could not have said a plantiff knew of the permananmcy of the injuries if they were in a coma.
take my moms case for example….
every bone in both legs were shattered, smashed, or broken, both femars, tibias, fibias, knees, ankles, any other bone in legs, plus right arm, wrist, and hand, ….some bones couldnt be fixed, replacement bones were put in,
like a replacement femar to connect to a replacement knee for one example recently, ……initially 10 days in icu breathing tube, flat on back for 14 weeks now, 800,000 dollars in medical to this point in time, body is weak, she will have to learn to walk again, and will be crippled for rest of life, …walker probably, …..so much metal plates in hand,and legs, … for a 70 year old woman that was in good health and still working, driving to work, enjoying life, going out, to have to now endure this pain, , ….all her enjoyments will be gone forever, she will now need to be taken care of the rest of her life. what is the value of this case?
and yes, within 2 years of the accident, the doctors should be able to make permanancy injury claims in testimony, …… plus the pain and suffering she is going through right now, let alone for the rest of her life.
it is good my mom was able to hire, through my brother, a top national personal injury attorney, right away, ….
the accident occured in maryland, but as both the priest that caused the accident, and my mom, both resided in nj at the time of the accident, and both within the jurisdiction, if you will, of the diocese of trenton, the 4 county area, that includes monouth county, and upon the lawyers reseasrch that monmout county is one of the highest counties in the us as to jury awards, we will file in monmouth county. According to my research, the judge in the case will have to abide my maryland law, and if he has any questions, he must ask the maryland supreme court for help, .. and that the jury instructions would be written to conform with maryland law. one of the key elements in this is the collateral source rule in maryland, which is long standing and unwaivable, .. that all medical goes to the injured party, regardless of medicare or other health insurances,…. the other is that a car to car accident in maryland has no limit on what can be awarded, and the third is that pain and suffering awards should be awarded, and the 4th is that any mention of insurance is grounds for a mistrial….
in other words, when a jury hears what happened to these 3 wonderful women, embarking on a weeks vacation, one dead, one severely injured, one catostophically injured, …. they will come out with a huge verdict award for my mom.
now, the catholic church does not want out there that a huge jury award was made in nj for a car accident caused by a priest, so they should setlle , ….. but a jury would come up with 15 million, when they hear and see the extent of the injuries, …… so i am thinking , that the church may not negotiate in good faith, which could mean adding on a good faith law suit.
i understand allstate insurance company recently got hitr with a “good faith” law suit and lost it to the tune of 40 million.
as the diocese of trenton was self insured, any bad faith will be on them….
i truly am thinking the value of the case is 5 million, considering the medical is over 800k only after 14 weeks so far, that is sure to go up over 2-3 million over my moms lifetime, … and the severe pain and suffering.
i understand accidents happen all the time, ….. but in this case, it is my mother who is suffering greatly, …. and a just settlement would be about 15 million.
just to make the case clear,…. a nj catholic priest/monk, performin g duties of both at st john neumans parish in mt laurel nj, and at the adjacent monastary, operating a vehicle /employed, by the diocese of trenton, under bishop smith, … took a diocese car, with diocese insurance, down to maryland for his monthly “business” trip, as he has been doing for more than a decade, to perform sacrements there. on this trip he performed a wedding on satuday night. accounts of witneeses have him over worked, and up all night the night after the weeding….. regardless of why he caused the accident, he did, … and the body was quickly flown to africa for burial,…. the cars were quickly crushed, ….
eyewitneeses and the state police invesitgation concur with each other, … the priest went through 2 stops sings on a cvrossroad to the main rt13 highway, ..he was headed into the town of pocomoke, …. the first stop sign was at an accessroads, hew blew threw it, the 2nd was at the highway itself crossing overt, he blew threw it at greater than 50m ph, never stoopped, never slowed down ,,…. it doesnt really matter why, he did it, period, …. negligence is clear here, …. my mom and her 2 friends were going south on rt 13, onto north coarloina outter banks, for their annual vacation they have been doing together for several years, …. all of a sudden , bamm, hit by a car traveling in the excess of 50 or 60 mph, …. the priests car flipped over and landed a long ways away, in flames, he died instantly, …. my mom;’s friend in a passenger seat where the car was hit died instantlyt, my mom’s other friend was thrown 50 freet from the car and suffered many back bone and neck bonme in jurys, …. the engine in my moms buick went through the compartment, thus, my moms injuries detailed in the post above, ….. i am thinking he musta been going 100 mph to cause this damage, …. it was a severe accident, …
no one has come forawrd to say how much the priest had to drink the night before after the wedding, but accounts claim he was up all night, ….
the pocomoke resucue quad and fire departmant, although admitting accidents do occur reguaraliy at this area, they said they nev er seen anything like this before in their lives….
after the fires were put out, 25 feet high flames coming out of both cars, …. my mom was helicoptered to a hospital, where they could not do anything for her, she was about to die,….. they then helicoptered her agai to the r cowley trauma center at the university of maryland in baltimore, about 4 hours car drive away, .. where thery saved her life, and saved her kegs from being amputated, …. it is known as the number one truama center in the united states, ….
all that being said , … now you understand what happened
I guess maybe, I do not understand what limited tort, or verbal thresh hold means, …. i know i dont. maybe you can explain it to me and the readers in simple terms?
common sense would tell me limited tort, means insurance, and not going after the entity insuring, but i fear i am wrong, because i simply do not know.
in my mom’s case, it will be 2 years on august 31st , 2010, …a little over 5 months from now.
I would like to know is the “”NJ Certificate of Permanency”, Is AN ACTUAL OFFICIAL CERTIFICATE, … or can they go be the doctors 10,000 pagers of reports in her case?
our attorney is from 1000 miles away , west, …. so i just again sent him a copy of this article, to make sure he had a heads up, .. not that he doesnt, …. but its just communication, you know, …
at one point, it was thought even thopugh the case was being brought in nj, because both parties live or operate here, … that we would use maryland law, because that is where the accident occured.
not sure what the coorelation to nj and marylsand law is on this areticle either.
i believe we filed the law suit in 2008, …. sometime in october or november of 2008,…….. the accident occured on august 31st 2008.
according to this , we have about 5 months, to get the mass amounts of doctors to sign “NJ Certificate of Permanency”
right?
here we some of my mom’s injuries, …. keeping in mind 100% of liabnilty is clear and on the respondants/defendants
broken femurs, ,,, one totally gone, brokje through skin gone shattered and shattered knee at same time, …. both tibias and fibulas, .– held togetrher by metal that will never come out, .. ankles, foot deformed, .. femure is now titanium rod, …. thigh muscle also gone , never come back, …. broken wrists and hands —- metal holding both together, brokern bacvk and ribs, ….. nerve damage from fire and trauma to hands and feet, … constant pain, .. teeth jared loose, dental work jared loose, .. buring on fire in a car, … psycological distress that will last forever, ……physical pain that will last forever, …….. 4 HOURS OF RESESSATATION AT FIRST HOSPITAL HELICOPTERED TO, … then helicopted to shock trauma in baltimore after some life saving stabilizing, ….2 weeks in icu, …. 6 months in hospitals, … came home to hospuital bed, ….. nereded 100% help to slide from bed to bedside comode at home,….. and 100% help to do everything, …… now over 18 months after the accident, ….. can not get out of the house with wheelchair and someone helping, …. can not do the basic simple things in life without having someone there, .. is a shut in, … cant go out shopping, drive away in a car, …. work, … nothing, in pain, …… when she came home, it was about 7 weeks of in home physical therapy 3 days a week, … then 7 months of 3 days a week physical therapy at the hospital, … where it took me and her rfriend to get her there with great dificulty, ,…..sliding from a wheelchair to a car seat when your legs are glass , isnt really a normal physical process, …..were improvements made yes, …. are the “NJ Permanency injuries high, yes they are, ….. remember, she was working full time up to the day before the accident for years, … at a store, stocking sheleves, seeting up displays, helping customers, climbing ladders, in good physical condition, ……… and has had her life be turned into shut in status, constant pain, both physical and psycological, . who needs help in many areas, …… needs comode next to bed, …. and everything that goes with everything,…… unless you had suffered these particular injuries, , or witnessed the vresults like i have, .. it is not easy to understand, … especially because of the amount of money we must seek, … ….. and we must seek it, because medicare and the other insurances will need checks cut to them under federal law, before anyone gets anything, ……..we are not suing on behalf of medicare, …. but that is certainly a financial aspect of the case that needs to be understood and taken seriously, ……so here we sit, …..
my mopm sits in a wheelchair all day now, ….. in the kitchen, and calls me to get her things, ….. and do things in the house, inside and outside, ….
her life has been reduced to this, ….. from a full time worker, who enjoyed travel and vacatyions, and going out, constantly, with friends and family, … to being a shut in, in constant pain, …. who’s injuries are so severe, she will never recover,….
the medical injuries i listed are just some, not all, ……. but basically , if every bone in both you legs, every single one, . is broken, shattered, or gone, …… and you were on death, .. …… then you would feel what my mom is feeling, …..
c ases like this, and i hate to put out numbers, could go in nj over 20 million, …. its not common, because cases like this just dont happen, …. people with this amounts of injuries usually die, ….. dont live to suffer,…
so,.. here we sit, …..
please understand, …. i am only looking at the law, to understand it, …. to protect our interests in the case, .. on the back burner, ….. it is semi pro active on my part, …
i am sure our attorney is and will continue to do a great job, …. and not be influeced from the political pressure being exerted by the respondants/defendants, .. in the case.
jim
I KNOW MY COMMENT 6 WAS ON HERE, AND THEN IT WAS TAKEN OFF, …. I THOUGHT IT WAS PUBLISHED.
anyway,
i do not understand limited tort verbal thresh hold, at this point, ….
do we really need “certificates” , …. isnt the 20,000 pages of doctors reports enough to move forward?