New Jersey Personal Injury Settlement Calculator

How this estimate is calculated

The calculator adds your provable losses, estimates pain and suffering using a multiplier applied to your medical costs, and reduces the total by your share of fault. In New Jersey there is a gate before that: if you selected the limited right to sue and your injury does not meet the verbal threshold, pain and suffering is unavailable however large the medical bills are.

The reasoning behind the multiplier method, attorney fees and how gross settlements become net is covered in our full guide to settlement values.

The two tort options

Every New Jersey policyholder elects one of two options under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8:

• Unlimited right to sue — sometimes called the zero threshold. Costs more, preserves the full right to claim non-economic damages.
• Limited right to sue — the verbal threshold. Cheaper, and pain and suffering is available only if the injury falls into one of six statutory categories.

Medical bills and lost wages are recoverable either way, largely through your own PIP coverage. It is the non-economic element that the election governs, and in a serious claim that is usually the larger figure.

The six categories

Under the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act, a limited right to sue claimant may pursue pain and suffering only where the injury involves:

• death
• dismemberment
• significant disfigurement or significant scarring
• displaced fractures
• loss of a fetus
• a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement

New Jersey’s list is more specific than Pennsylvania’s “serious impairment” test, which cuts both ways. A displaced fracture qualifies plainly. A soft tissue injury that leaves lasting pain but no objective finding usually does not.

“Permanent” has a defined meaning here: a body part that has not healed to normal function and will not heal to normal function with further treatment.

The 60-day certification most people never hear about

Meeting the threshold is not enough on its own. A limited right to sue claimant must serve a physician’s certification within 60 days of the defendant’s answer, sworn under penalty of perjury and supported by objective clinical evidence — imaging or valid diagnostic testing, not the patient’s own account of their symptoms.

Miss that window and the non-economic claim can be dismissed even where the injury genuinely qualifies. It is a procedural trap rather than a substantive one, and it catches claimants whose lawyers move slowly.

Insurance rose in 2026

Since January 2026 a Standard policy must carry at least 35/70/25 — $35,000 per injured person, $70,000 per crash, $25,000 property damage — up from 25/50/25. Basic policies remain far lower.

Personal injury protection is mandatory and pays medical costs regardless of fault, with selectable limits. On a Standard policy, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required and tracks the liability limits, so most 2026 policies carry it at 35/70. Basic policies do not include it unless bought separately.

What this calculator cannot account for in New Jersey

• Public entity claims. Pain and suffering against a government body requires permanent loss of a bodily function or permanent disfigurement and medical treatment costs above $3,600, under N.J.S.A. 59:9-2(d).
• PIP and the collateral source rule. Medical expenses paid by PIP generally cannot be claimed again from the at-fault driver, which reduces the economic figure.
• Whether the certification was served in time. A valid claim can still fail on that 60-day deadline.
• Health plan and Medicaid liens. Both reduce what reaches you.

Treat the number above as a starting point for a conversation, not a valuation.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out which tort option I chose?

It is stated on your policy declarations page, usually as “limitation on lawsuit” or “no limitation on lawsuit”. Most drivers selected the cheaper limited option without registering what it meant.

What injuries meet New Jersey’s verbal threshold?

Death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, displaced fractures, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury proven by objective medical evidence.

What does “permanent” mean under the threshold?

A body part that has not healed to normal function and will not heal to normal function with further medical treatment, established by objective clinical evidence rather than by reported symptoms.

What do the new 35/70/25 minimums change?

They raise the ceiling on what a minimum-limits driver’s policy can pay from $25,000 to $35,000 per injured person for policies issued or renewed since January 2026.

What if a NJ Transit bus or city vehicle was involved?

The Tort Claims Act applies: notice within 90 days, and pain and suffering only where there is permanent loss of a bodily function or permanent disfigurement and treatment costs exceed $3,600.

Related

• New Jersey filing deadline checker — including the 90-day Tort Claims Act notice
• New Jersey injury claims overview
• How settlement values are calculated: the full guide