New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer
A crash on the Garden State Parkway, a fall in a grocery store aisle, or a collision with a delivery truck on Route 35 can leave you with medical bills that arrive faster than any settlement offer. Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC is a law firm serving clients across Monmouth County, Ocean County, Middlesex County, and the rest of New Jersey, and its attorneys handle car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents, premises liability claims, construction accidents, and wrongful death cases. If you are looking for a New Jersey personal injury lawyer, the first things worth knowing are the two-year filing clock and the way New Jersey weighs fault between everyone involved.
Most injury cases are decided long before anyone sits in a courtroom. They turn on what the medical records say, how quickly evidence was preserved, and whether an insurance adjuster can persuade an injured person to accept a percentage of the blame. An attorney who handles these claims spends the early weeks locking down the facts: surveillance footage that gets overwritten, vehicle data, maintenance logs, witness names, and treatment records that connect the injury to the event.
How New Jersey Law Decides Who Pays and How Much
New Jersey follows a modified comparative negligence rule. You can recover compensation as long as your share of the fault is not greater than the fault of the defendant, or the combined fault of several defendants. If you are found 50 percent responsible or less, your award is reduced by your percentage. If a jury places you at 51 percent or more, you recover nothing. That cutoff is why insurers work so hard to shift blame onto injured people, and why a few percentage points can decide a case.
When more than one party contributed to an injury, a separate rule governs who writes the check. A defendant found 60 percent or more responsible can be made to pay the entire verdict and then pursue the others for their shares. A defendant found less than 60 percent responsible pays only its own percentage. In a multi-vehicle crash or a construction site accident with a general contractor, a property owner, and several subcontractors, how fault is divided among them directly affects whether full compensation is collectible.
The deadline to file is two years from the date of injury for most personal injury claims. A wrongful death claim also carries a two-year deadline, measured from the date of death, with a narrow exception where the death resulted from murder, aggravated manslaughter, or manslaughter. The clock can be paused while an injured person is legally disabled, or while a defendant’s absence from the state prevents service. New Jersey’s discovery rule can also delay the start of the period when an injured person could not reasonably have known of the injury or that someone else’s fault caused it. Those exceptions are narrow and fact-driven, and waiting to see whether one applies to you is a gamble.
Why Choose Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC for a New Jersey Injury Claim
Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC represents individuals, families, and business owners throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex Counties and across New Jersey. The firm’s attorneys are admitted in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia, and several have been recognized by Super Lawyers. Clients are told what is happening in their case in plain terms, and calls are returned.
Joshua Cittadino, a founding partner, brings experience in personal injury, construction litigation, real estate, employment matters, and business transactions. That mix matters in injury work, because many serious claims are not simple two-car collisions. A worker hurt on a job site may have claims that touch construction contracts and property ownership. A customer hurt in a restaurant raises lease and premises questions. Richard Sanvenero, the firm’s Managing Partner and a New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Matrimonial Attorney, leads the family law practice, and Mike Canarick, Of Counsel, practices tax and estate planning. When an injury produces a wrongful death claim, a divorce complication, or a question about how a settlement fits into an estate plan, the firm’s attorneys work together rather than sending you to a stranger.
The firm’s personal injury results include $400,000 recovered for personal injury clients in just three months. That outcome reflects what focused preparation and direct dealing with insurance companies can accomplish, though every claim depends on its own facts and no result guarantees another.
Types of Injury Claims We Handle Across New Jersey
- Car Accidents: Rear-end collisions on Route 18, merging crashes on the Parkway, and intersection collisions along Broad Street and Route 35 often involve disputed fault, which makes the comparative negligence rules central to the claim.
- Truck Accidents: Commercial vehicles on Route 9, Route 33, and the Turnpike bring in carriers, drivers, maintenance contractors, and cargo loaders as possible defendants, and the 60 percent joint liability rule can decide who ends up paying.
- Motorcycle Accidents: Riders along the shore routes in summer are exposed to left-turning drivers and inattentive motorists, and insurers frequently argue the rider was speeding or lane splitting to push fault past the 50 percent line.
- Pedestrian Accidents: Crosswalk and parking lot collisions in busy downtowns such as Red Bank, Asbury Park, and Long Branch can cause fractures and head injuries that develop long treatment histories.
- Slip and Fall and Premises Liability: Wet floors, icy walkways, broken stairs, and poor lighting at stores, restaurants, rental properties, and shore-area venues require proof the owner knew or should have known about the hazard.
- Construction Accidents: Falls, equipment failures, and scaffold collapses on active sites involve overlapping responsibility among owners, general contractors, and subcontractors, so identifying every responsible party early is critical.
- Wrongful Death: When a fatal accident takes a family member, the claim is brought under a separate statute with its own two-year deadline, and it often runs alongside estate administration.
What to Do in the Days After Someone Else’s Carelessness Hurts You
Get medical attention first, even if you feel mostly fine. Soft tissue, spinal, and head injuries often show their full effect days later, and a gap between the accident and your first appointment is something insurers use to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Follow the treatment plan you are given. Missed appointments get quoted back to you later.
Report the accident to the police so an official record exists, and keep the report number. For a fall at a store, restaurant, or rental building, ask that an incident report be written and request a copy. Photograph the scene, your injuries, vehicle damage, and anything that caused the fall before it is repaired, cleaned, or replaced. Write down the names of witnesses while they are still reachable.
Be careful with insurance companies. The other side’s adjuster may call within days and ask for a recorded statement. Anything you say about fault, pain levels, or prior injuries can be used to push your share of responsibility upward. You can decline to give a recorded statement and refer the adjuster to your attorney. Do not accept an early settlement offer before you know the full extent of your treatment, because signing a release ends the claim permanently.
Where your case is filed depends on where you live and where the accident happened. Injury lawsuits in the civil courts are heard in the Superior Court of New Jersey, and the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold, the Ocean County courthouses in Toms River, and the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick are the venues for our core service area. Claims against government entities carry their own notice requirements that arrive much sooner than the two-year deadline, so mention any public property or public employee involved the first time you speak with a lawyer. Keep every bill, pay stub, and record of missed work; they become the backbone of your damages.
What an Injury Attorney Actually Does While Your Claim Is Pending
A New Jersey personal injury attorney does far more than negotiate at the end. Early on, the work is evidentiary: sending preservation letters so a business does not discard video, obtaining the police report and any body camera or dash camera footage, and gathering your medical records and billing. In trucking cases, it can mean demanding driver logs, inspection records, and hiring files. In premises cases, it means finding out how long a hazard existed and what the owner’s cleaning or inspection routine really was.
Next comes building the damages picture. Medical bills are only one part. Lost income, reduced earning capacity, the cost of future care, and pain and suffering all have to be documented, often with treating physicians and other professionals who can explain a prognosis to an adjuster or a jury. The attorney also deals directly with the insurance companies, which means you are not the one fielding calls while you recover.
Negotiation is shaped by the real possibility of trial. Insurers value a claim differently when they believe the lawyer on the other side is prepared to try it. Throughout, an attorney tracks the fault percentages that determine your recovery and watches the filing deadline so the case is never in jeopardy.
Frequently Asked Questions About New Jersey Personal Injury Claims
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in New Jersey?
Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of the injury. Wrongful death claims generally must be filed within two years of the date of death. Limited exceptions can pause or delay that period, but they depend on specific facts and should not be assumed.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
You can still recover as long as your fault is 50 percent or less. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If you are found 51 percent or more at fault, you are barred from recovering damages.
What types of compensation can I seek?
Injury claims can include medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. The value depends on the seriousness of the injury, the treatment required, how long recovery takes, and whether the harm is permanent.
Do I need a lawyer if the other driver’s insurer has already made an offer?
An early offer is often made before the full extent of your injuries is known. Accepting it and signing a release closes the claim for good. Having an attorney review the offer against your records and likely future treatment is worthwhile before you sign anything.
What happens if more than one party caused my injury?
A defendant found 60 percent or more responsible can be required to pay the full verdict, while one found less than 60 percent pays only its own share. This is why identifying every responsible party matters, especially in trucking and construction cases.
What if I did not realize I was injured until weeks later?
New Jersey’s discovery rule can delay the start of the filing period until you knew, or reasonably should have known, about the injury and that another party’s fault caused it. Delayed symptoms are common, but you should still see a doctor promptly and speak with an attorney rather than relying on the rule.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?
Treatment generally should not wait for a settlement. Using your health coverage or other available benefits to get care is usually sensible, and your attorney can sort out reimbursement and liens when the claim resolves.
Can I bring a claim if I was hurt on someone’s property?
Yes, if the owner or occupier was careless in maintaining the property and you were injured as a result. These cases turn on proof that the owner knew, or reasonably should have known, about the dangerous condition and failed to fix or warn about it.
Can a family member bring a claim after a fatal accident?
A wrongful death action is brought on behalf of the deceased person’s survivors, and the deadline is generally two years from the date of death. These claims frequently overlap with estate administration, which our attorneys can coordinate.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury?
Often, yes. Smaller claims can still involve disputed fault, denied treatment, or low offers that do not reflect lasting symptoms. A consultation will tell you whether the claim justifies pursuing, and a lawyer can protect you from signing away rights for less than the claim is worth.
How long does an injury case take?
Timing depends on the injury, how long treatment lasts, and whether the defendant disputes fault. A claim usually should not settle until your condition has stabilized and the full extent of your damages is understood, so more serious injuries take longer.
Do I have to go to court?
Many claims resolve through negotiation or mediation without a trial. Your attorney prepares each case as though it may be tried, because that preparation is what produces fair settlement offers.
Serving Personal Injury Clients Across New Jersey
Our injury work reaches clients throughout New Jersey, with particular depth in the communities of Monmouth County. We represent injured people from Red Bank, Rumson, Middletown, Holmdel, Colts Neck, Tinton Falls, Shrewsbury, Freehold, Long Branch, and Asbury Park, and from the neighboring shore and inland towns that surround them. In Ocean County, we serve clients in Toms River and the communities around it, and in Middlesex County we represent people hurt in accidents across the county, from the New Brunswick area outward. We also take on injury cases elsewhere in the state, including those arising from crashes on the Parkway, the Turnpike, and the major state routes that carry traffic between the shore and the rest of New Jersey.
Speak With a New Jersey Personal Injury Attorney
The two-year clock begins on the day you were hurt, and the evidence that proves your claim starts disappearing almost as quickly. If you are searching for a New Jersey personal injury attorney, call Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC to schedule a consultation. We will review what happened, explain how fault and deadlines apply to your situation, and tell you plainly what the claim may be worth pursuing.