This week NJ Supreme Court heard argument on a whether the NJ verbal threshold law bars a sole claim for emotional injuries…
Jan 11th, 2008 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, New Jersey Injury InformationThe NJ Appellate Division has already ruled against the Plaintiffs in this matter. Plaintiff and her mother were driving on an NJ road when the Defendant’s vehicle collided with their vehicle. The NJ car accident was the Defendant’s fault. Mother eventually died from her injuries. Mother did have pre-death pain and suffering for which her estate recovered on a survival claim. Daughter sued the Defendant because she has/is suffering from mental distress and injuries from watching her mother die. Daughter does not claim any physical bodily damage to her person from the NJ car accident. Daughter’s claim is only for mental injuries.
The question presented to the Court is whether the NJ verbal threshold-limited tort law excludes a claim which is brought just for only mental injuries and opposed to physical injuries. The NJ Appellate Division said that you must have a physical injury to your body in order to vault the NJ verbal threshold-limited tort bar on recovery.
I am not a medical doctor and I luckily have not suffered any mental injuries, but I can imagine that some mental injuries can be far worse and devastating to a person or a family then a broken bone in the body. The problem is that mental injuries are very difficult to prove. CAT Scans and MRIs of the head and brain do not always show cognitive and mental injuries.
Hopefully, the lawyers that are arguing this point of law present a compelling argument for the cause of the innocent injured NJ accident victim. Otherwise, we will have to go to the legislature to change the law for the better as we have in with the new NJ Wrongful Death law.
The author of this Blog, Philadelphia car accident lawyer, Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. of Saile & Saile LLP, Attorneys-at-Law focuses his practice on fighting for plaintiffs’ personal injury and car accident victim’s rights in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We handle all serious injury cases including, car accidents (both limited and full tort), wrongful death, slip & fall downs, construction accidents, Septa, NJ Transit, and other cases other cases. We are located just outside of Philadelphia in lower Bucks County. We also handle Philadelphia plaintiffs’ personal injury and car accident cases. Please visit our personal injury only website at www.pa-nj-injurylawyer.com for more injury information.
Mr. saile,
i do have somethin got say on this.
Mental injuries , mental aspects, such as aguish, depression, stress, anxiety, and fear, can and do result in physical ways other than a cat scan or brain damage, theres loss of weight/ gain of weight , fatigue, and an assortment of physical aliments that can result from psycological damages…
that being said, there is in no way one can seperate soley metal damamges form physical damages, if one can show there physical condition deteriotted from there mental state, … this is going to be in one part of my argumetnsd in my law suit i am forming against the state of nj.
now, it is a medical fact that psycological conmditrionsd do affect the phyiscal body negatively,,,, if the state cwants to sargue they do not, they will be wrong and in for more than an ear full from expert wittnesses.
what do you think about that mr. saile.
do you personaly belive the medical profession when they say a persons psycological condition can affect them physicvally?
i think that it is appearant that physical condition is affected, i should, i live it!
I do not disagree with you here Jim. The problem is that NJ Courts require a showing of positive objective medical testing in order to prove the physical injury. These tests include xray, MRI, CAT Scan, etc.
Ok, lets say a person is no negatively affectred by emotional distress that they take up smoking, and develope lung cancer. The cancer would show up on medical test.
I know that no court however, will ever put the cause and affect together in a scnerio like this.
I will have to thin on this more.
Jim there is a requirement called proximate cause.
For example, if you jump off a bridge because you were hurt in an accident, your estate cannot then recover for wrongful death because of the accident. There has to be a line drawn somewhere.
What if a person was abused mentally over a long period of time, and because of this abuse there mental state deteriorated, and the person committed suicide. LAETS SAY ALL THE ABUSE IS DOCUMENTED , CAN WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT BE FILED?
I feel that if i comitted suicide now, at this time, because my mental has has deteriorated, along with my physical state, because of the States clear and intentional action of not following the NJ Supreme Court Order of Jan 10, 2006, causeing me over 2 years of repression among other illnesses, the State and Court purposely not giving me a trial, time and time asttending Court,.. that MY ESTATE WOULD HAVE A WRONGFUL DEATH CASE AGAINST THE sTATE.
What the State has done in my case is clearly intentional and designed to cause me great stress, anxiety, depression, and fear.
It is psycological abuse for the State and the Court to have called me into Court 12 times over 28 months, especialy in a case where the NJ Supreme Court ordered the case to proceed to trial in Jan of 06, over 2 years ago.
I hace attended Court each time with an attorney, expecting a trial, only to be sent home because the State will not follow the Chun Order, rather wants to remain in contempt of the order.
My pyscological and physical condition has deteriorted as a result of this intentional abuse.
It is kinda like being held prisoner of war, where they captures hold a gun to your head, pull the trigger, and no bullet comes out, time and time again, over the course of years.
This is what the State has done to me and I can only hope that I will be allowed to give my arguments in several legal venues and seek and get justice for what the State has done to me.
I feel like I am beibng treated as a prisoner of war and not as a US Ciotizen with all the Constitutiional rights that i should have along with it.