Car Accidents
Dedicated personal injury lawyers who aggressively represent auto accident victims in Pennsauken, Cherry Hill, and throughout South Jersey.
South Jersey Car Accident Lawyers
In Pennsauken & Cherry Hill, South Jersey
At the South Jersey personal injury law firm of Petrillo & Goldberg, our dedicated attorneys have extensive experience connecting car accident victims with meaningful compensation for what they’ve been through. We understand the challenges that arise after a car accident and do everything we can to make sure the recovery process is as seamless and stress-free as possible.
Most of us drive on a regular basis but don’t put much thought into. For many, safe driving just comes naturally. However, that isn’t the case for all motorists. Some drivers don’t take this responsibility as seriously as they should, which puts everyone else on the road at risk. In fact, in 2024, more than 58,309 people who were hurt in a New Jersey car accident, and another 647 lost their lives. Most of these accidents were preventable, and those who were injured were put through unnecessary suffering and expense.
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New Jersey Car Accidents
On average, there are more than 250,000 car accidents in New Jersey each year. That’s a quarter million accidents. While accidents occur all over the state, certain counties see more accidents than others. According to the most recent data from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the following counties experienced the most motor vehicle accidents in 2024:
- Middlesex County: 28,422
- Bergen County: 27,696
- Essex County: 23,852
- Union County – 20,547
- Passaic County – 17,835
Of course, not all car accidents are the same; some are more serious than others. It stands to reason that accidents in more urban areas will, on average, involve lower speeds and, presumably, less serious injuries. Thus, when considering which are the most counties to drive, one should look to those counties with the highest number of accidents resulting in serious injury or death, which include:
- Atlantic County: 55 fatal accidents and 2,244 injury accidents
- Middlesex County: 54 fatal accidents and 6,595 injury accidents
- Mammouth County: 52 fatal accidents and 3,418 injury accidents
- Essex County: 49 fatal accidents and 5,666 injury accidents
- Burlington County: 45 fatal accidents and 2,599 injury accidents
TRUST
You can believe our clients.
“Petrillo & Goldberg are excellent. They really strive to get you what you deserve. I’ve had a wonderful experience with all the staff and cannot express how grateful I am for their services.”
Review by Norman Rentas
Causes of New Jersey Car Accidents
Driving in New Jersey can be stressful, as it is one of the smaller states with one of the biggest populations. New Jersey also has a number of major cities with major highways connecting them, and anyone traveling into New York City from the west or south drives through New Jersey. Many factors contribute to New Jersey car accidents; however, almost every accident boils down to one thing: driver error.
Drivers cause car accidents. With the very rare exception, car accidents are the result of a driver not doing something they should have done (or doing something they shouldn’t have done). Here are some of the most common causes of New Jersey car accidents.
Distracted Driving
It only takes a split second for a driver to miss a pedestrian crossing the road, a car pulling in front of them, or a traffic light changing from green to red. Thus, it isn’t surprising that Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of New Jersey car accidents. In large part, this is due to the prevalence of cell phones; talking on the phone and texting while driving are two of the most common types of distracted driving accidents. Other types of distractions include talking with passengers, grooming, eating, daydreaming, attending to children, and fiddling with the radio or GPS.
Drowsy Driving
Studies have shown that driving while tired has the same impact on a driver’s performance as does being legally intoxicated. If you’ve ever driven home from Atlantic City in the early morning hours, chances are you’ve witnessed drowsy driving. But it’s not just gamblers and partiers who engage in drowsy driving; hardworking people with two jobs, parents splitting their time between work and child care, and students may also find themselves dozing off while behind the wheel.
Impaired Driving
In 1906, New Jersey was the first state to make drunk driving illegal. Over a century later, approximately 120 people evey year are still killed in New Jersey DUI accidents, and thousands more are injured. While most accidents are preventable, every drunk driving accident could have been avoided had the drunk driver not gotten behind the wheel. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol affects a driver’s decision-making ability, reaction time, and ability to control their vehicle.
Agressive Driving
Aggressive driving is a broad term that refers to speeding, road rage, cutting in and out of lanes, brake-checking, turning without signaling and more. While aggressive drivers are on the road at all hours of the day, they tend to appear in high numbers when traffic is at its worst.
Poor Decision Making
Drivers don’t need to be distracted, drunk, or aggressive to cause an accident; sometimes, they just make bad decisions. While inexperienced drivers are responsible for the largest number of these accidents, any driver can make a bad decision that causes an accident.
Verbal Threshold
No-fault car insurance system.
In 1988 New Jersey established a no-fault car insurance system. Because of this system, drivers in the state may choose to give up their right to sue for damages in most cases after an accident in exchange for a lower insurance premium. This is called the verbal threshold option.
There is also the zero threshold option, which is a more expensive choice but allows the driver to recover non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, after an accident.
The verbal threshold can complicate recovery after a vehicle accident.
Some drivers are not aware of what the two options can mean when they purchase car insurance, and it may not be sufficiently explained. Although it saves money on annual insurance rates, it can be very expensive in the event of an accident.
A motorist who has chosen the verbal threshold option on their insurance would only be able to recover noneconomic damages after an accident if a permanent injury has occurred, such as:
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Significant scarring
- Displaced fractures
Demonstrating that a permanent injury has been sustained is sometimes difficult and requires professional, objective medical evidence. This is where the attorneys of Petrillo & Goldberg Law can help. In fact, most of our vehicle negligence claims involve this type of case.
Recovery
After a New Jersey car accident.
Every accident has a unique impact on a victim, disrupting their life and the lives of those they care about. A victim may spend days or weeks in the hospital, need surgery, or require lengthy course of physical therapy. If so, medical treatment alone could cost tens of thousands of dollars. And, unfortunately, some accident victims suffer from lifelong medical conditions and lingering pain that significantly limits the activities they can enjoy.
Damages Available Through a New Jersey Car Accident Claim
There are two main types of damages accident victims can obtain following a car accident: economic and non-economic. It is critical for victims to identify the full extent of their economic and non-economic damages to ensure a full and fair recovery. Otherwise, a victim may settle their case, only to learn that their damages award doesn’t adequately cover their future expenses, leaving them on the hook for a portion of their accident-related expenses.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include the out-of-pocket costs an accident victim must pay as a result of the accident. These damages also include any money that an accident victim would have earned if they were not injured in the accident. Some of the most common types of economic damages are:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation costs
- Medical equipment (wheelchairs, crutches, etc.)
- Transportation costs
- Loss of income
- Reduced ability to earn income in the future
Non-economic Damages
Non-economic damages include the less tangible expenses related to the emotional and psychological that the impact had on the victim’s life. For example, typical non-economic damages in a car accident case may include:
- Pain and suffering,
- Loss of quality of life,
- Loss of familial relationships, and
- Scarring and disfigurement.
Proving a Personal Injury Claim after a New Jersey Car Accident
Through a personal injury lawsuit, you can pursue a claim for financial compensation to ensure that you and your family are not left bearing the financial burden of the accident. To successfully bring a personal injury claim following a car accident, you must prove that the other driver was negligent. In this context, negligence takes on a specific legal meaning, which requires an accident victim to prove four elements:
- The other driver owed the victim a duty of care;
- The other driver violated the duty of care they owed to the victim;
- The other driver’s actions caused the victim’s injuries; and
- The victim suffered economic or non-economic damages as a result of the accident.
In some cases, accident victims can take a “shortcut” by relying on the fact that another driver violated the law. For example, if a drunk driver caused an accident and was cited for impaired driving, there may be a presumption that the drunk driver was negligent because they violated the law prohibiting drunk driving.
How Do New Jersey Courts Handle Accidents Involving Shared Fault?
New Jersey uses a system called “comparative negligence” when determining car accident compensation. A car accident victim is legally entitled to pursue a claim for compensation against any negligent driver, provided the accident victim’s percentage of fault was not greater than the other driver’s percentage of fault. Courts will reduce the victim’s total damages award by their own percentage of fault.
An Example of Comparative Fault
John and Meryl get into an accident after John runs a red light and crashes into the side of Meryl’s car as she’s traveling through an intersection. However, at the time, Meryl had entered the intersection without checking to see if it was clear because she was using her cell phone to text a friend. Meryl suffers a broken leg, misses a few weeks of work, and a jury determines her damages to be $120,000. The jury also found that Meryl was 20 percent at fault for the accident and John was 80 percent at fault. In this case, Meryl would be able to sue John because she was less at fault than John was. However, the court will reduce Meryl’s damages award from $120,000 to $96,000, representing a 20 percent reduction, due to her own fault.
A Team Approach
After a New Jersey car accident.
At Petrillo & Goldberg Law we have a unique, shared approach to every case. Our team works together, with each attorney handling one stage of service for our clients. For example, when our firm takes a case, a different attorney will handle one stage of service, such as pre-litigation development, deposition, or trial.
This gives each of our clients the advantage of the total pool of knowledge and years of experience of our attorneys as well as their individual talents and allows our lawyers to give each car accident case our full attention. Our team-based method is efficient and highly successful, and it sets our firm apart from the others.
A Trusted Personal Injury Firm
Attention to detail is important when dealing with a car accident case. There are considerations such as crash damage, claim investigation, ascertainment of insurance coverage, and proper medical evidence necessary to prove a verbal threshold claim.
Our team approach method is different from the way other practices do things and that is exactly how we like it. It was developed and perfected here by our own attorneys. That is why no one else does it like we do, and why we are one of the most trusted firms in New Jersey.
