New Jersey personal injury law follows the law of comparative negligence so you are entitled to restitution even if you were partly responsible for the accident you were injured in.

In the day of contributory negligence you would not be entitled to restitution however. This concept says that anyone who is partly to blame for the accident cannot receive any money damages. But that has given way to the law of comparative negligence.

The law case that contributory negligence was founded on was an old English case before the invention of the automobile. A man was injured when he drove his carriage at night over a large log left in the road negligently by the home owner living near the road.

The man in the carriage at first won the case but it was overturned on appeal. The court on appeal ruled that the carriage driver was partly at fault because the lamp on his carriage was not working at the time.

The court reasoned that if the driver had repaired his light he would have had it turned on and he would have been able to see the log and avoid running over it, therefore he contributed to the accident and was not allowed to collect money damages.

Contributory negligence has long been determined to be a harsh concept. Under this theory, any amount of fault, even on percent could bar all recovery. Therefore, the law of comparative negligence evolved which allows a person to recover damages according to the percent of his or her negligence.

In a trial the jury will determine the percentage at fault of both parties and then adjust the verdict accordingly. Therefore, if you are injured in and accident that was due in part to your negligence, you can still sue and win money damages.

Hiring a New Jersey personal injury lawyer for your case is an important decision. You should make sure you are comfortable with the attorney you retain. Performing research and interviewing a Neptune injury lawyer is a good idea.

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