What to Do After an Accident Injury in Bergen County? A Step-by-Step Guide

After an accident injury in Bergen County, your first steps should be to get a full medical evaluation to document your injuries and then understand the strict legal deadlines that apply to your situation. New Jersey law gives you a two-year window, known as the Statute of Limitations, to file a personal injury claim, but critical evidence can disappear much faster.

You are likely facing a flood of medical bills and calls from insurance adjusters while trying to recover. You might be worried about how to pay for treatment or what to say to the other party’s insurer.

The path to securing compensation for your medical care, lost income, and pain involves complex legal processes, like proving another party’s negligence and satisfying New Jersey’s insurance requirements. This is not a burden you should carry while you are healing. Our role is to handle these complexities for you.

For a clear understanding of your rights and options, call our experienced Bergen County personal injury lawyers team at Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi, P.C. at (201) 585-9111 for a no-obligation consultation.

Step 1: Documenting Your Injuries for Your Recovery and Your Claim

Your First Doctor’s Visit is Only the Beginning

Even if you went to the ER, a follow-up with a primary care physician or a specialist is necessary. An insurance company will look for any gaps in your medical treatment. They may argue that if you didn’t seek consistent care, your injuries must not be serious. Continuous medical records create an unbroken timeline of your recovery, a factual account that is difficult to dispute.

“I Have Health Insurance, So Why Am I Getting Bills?”

In New Jersey, your own auto insurance’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is the primary source for covering medical bills after a car accident, regardless of who was at fault. This system is designed to get your medical bills paid quickly, without waiting for a determination of fault.

PIP has limits. The minimum required coverage in New Jersey is $15,000, an amount that can be exhausted by a single hospital stay. Once you burn through this limit, your private health insurance may become the secondary payer, but you could be left with high deductibles and co-pays.

A personal injury claim seeks compensation from the at-fault party to cover these out-of-pocket costs and future medical needs your insurance won’t cover.

The Power of a Pain Journal: Your Personal Story of the Injury’s Impact

Medical records show diagnoses and treatment codes, but they don’t show how pain rewrites every aspect of your life. They don’t capture the struggle of daily living after an accident.

Keep a simple, daily log. Note your pain levels, medication side effects, sleepless nights, and the daily activities you can no longer do. This could be anything from walking your dog in one of Hackensack’s beautiful parks to carrying groceries up the stairs in your Fort Lee apartment. Or, for many in the diverse communities of Teaneck or Englewood, it might mean being unable to participate in family gatherings or community events that are central to your life.

This journal becomes your most powerful tool for demonstrating your “pain and suffering,” a specific category of damages you can claim. It provides a personal, human account of the true cost of your injury, translating your experience into a language the legal system understands and value.

Step 2: The Two Timelines That Begin After Your Accident

The Official Clock: New Jersey’s Statute of Limitations

New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2) gives you exactly two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. This is a strict, unforgiving deadline.

If you miss this deadline, the court will almost certainly refuse to hear your case, no matter how serious your injury or how clear the other party’s fault. Your right to seek compensation will be permanently lost.

The Government Exception

A distinction exists if your claim is against a government entity. This could be a town in Bergen County, a county-owned vehicle, or a public school. In these cases, you must file a formal “Notice of Tort Claim” within just 90 days of the accident.

The Unofficial Clock: The Disappearance of Evidence

While the legal deadline is two years, the window to gather strong evidence is much shorter.

• Surveillance Footage: Businesses in bustling areas like Palisades Park’s Broad Avenue or Teaneck’s Cedar Lane overwrite their security camera footage every few days or weeks. That video evidence of a driver running a red light could be gone forever.
• Vehicle Evidence: The at-fault party’s vehicle, which may hold key evidence in its “black box” data recorder or show the physical impact of the crash, could be repaired, sold, or even junked long before a lawsuit is ever filed.

An important step we take is to send “spoliation letters” immediately. These are formal legal notices that demand the at-fault party and their insurance company preserve all relevant evidence. This is a protective measure you cannot take on your own, and it is one of the first actions a knowledgeable attorney will perform to safeguard your case.

Step 3: The Insurance Adjuster’s Call: A Conversation with a Purpose

Soon after your accident, you will likely receive a call from the other party’s insurance adjuster. They may sound friendly, empathetic, and concerned for your health. It is important to understand that this is a business call, not a social one.

The adjuster’s primary role is to protect their company’s financial interests. Their incentive is to resolve your claim for the lowest possible amount, which often means minimizing or even denying it altogether. They are trained negotiators with a deep understanding of the claims process.

They will almost certainly ask you to provide a recorded statement about the accident. You are not legally obligated to do this, and we strongly advise against it. Anything you say—even a simple apology or an offhand comment about how you’re feeling—risks being taken out of context and used to argue that you were at fault, or that your injuries are not as severe as you claim.

The “Quick Settlement” Mirage

The adjuster might offer you a fast, seemingly easy settlement check. When you’re watching medical bills pile up and your savings dwindle, we know this feels like a lifeline.

Know that this initial offer is a calculated business decision. It is almost always a lowball amount that fails to account for the full, long-term costs of your injury. It won’t cover potential future surgeries, the need for ongoing physical therapy, or the impact of chronic pain on your ability to work and enjoy life. The adjuster is counting on your financial pressure to prompt a quick, inexpensive resolution for their company.

Once you accept a settlement and sign a release form, you give up your right to seek any further compensation for this injury, forever. If your condition worsens or you discover you need more extensive treatment down the road, you will have no further recourse.

What to Do Instead

Here’s a clear, simple strategy:

Don’t:

• Provide a recorded statement.
• Discuss the details of the accident or your injuries.
• Sign any documents or accept any checks without having them reviewed by an attorney.

Do: 

• Politely but firmly decline to discuss the matter. A simple, “I am not able to discuss this right now,” or “I will have my attorney contact you,” is sufficient.

Provide them with your lawyer’s contact information. This single action shifts all future communication to us. It signals to the insurance company that you are taking your rights seriously and that all further negotiations will be handled by a professional who understands the process. We handle the adjusters so you can focus on your health.

Step 4: How New Jersey Law Determines Fault in an Accident

Sometimes an accident isn’t just one person’s fault. New Jersey law acknowledges this reality through a “modified comparative negligence” rule.

In simple terms, this is a legal concept that allows you to recover financial compensation even if you were partially to blame for the accident. The law can be found in statute N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1. A court or jury will look at the total circumstances of the accident and assign a percentage of fault to each person involved.

You can recover damages as long as your share of the fault is 50% or less. Your final compensation award is then reduced by your percentage of fault. For instance, if you are awarded $100,000 in damages but are found to be 20% at fault, your recovery would be reduced by 20%, leaving you with $80,000. However, if you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you are barred from recovering any compensation at all.

Proving the Other Party’s Negligence

Because of the comparative negligence rule, insurance companies will work hard to shift as much blame as possible onto you. Our job is to build a case that fills in the full story and demonstrates the other party was primarily responsible for your injuries.

In Bergen County, this could mean proving a driver was texting while driving through a busy commercial area in Edgewater, or made an illegal turn at a congested intersection in Palisades Park. It requires a detailed investigation that goes far beyond the initial police report.

We use a wide range of evidence to build this case: detailed accident reconstruction analysis, witness statements, traffic and surveillance camera footage, and cell phone records. By piecing together this evidence, we present a clear and compelling picture of how the accident truly happened and counter the any attempts to unfairly assign blame.

FAQs for Bergen County Accident Injury Claims

Let Us Handle the Details So You Can Heal

The time after an injury is for recovery, not for deciphering insurance policies or legal statutes. Your energy should be focused on your physical and emotional wellbeing, not on fighting a battle against insurance companies. Let our firm take on that responsibility.

We will assemble the evidence, manage the deadlines, and handle all communications with the insurance companies and other parties. We will build your case with the care and attention it deserves, drawing on our experience serving the diverse communities of Bergen County.

Call Maggiano, DiGirolamo & Lizzi, P.C. today at (201) 585-9111 or contact us online to have a conversation about your situation. The consultation is free, and there is no obligation.