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Knowledge, experience, and dedication have brought the lawyers of The Epstein Law Firm to the forefront of their profession. From personal injury to civil litigation, they have built a strong record of success in achieving justice for their clients.
Our practice is diverse and well-established. Recognizing that every case is unique, we always begin by listening to you.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. has been successfully representing clients throughout New Jersey since 1973
If a New Jersey public employee caused your injury—or you were hurt on government property—the ordinary personal injury rules may not be enough. Most negligence claims against state and local government entities are governed by the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.
The most immediate difference is a written notice of claim that usually must be filed within 90 days after the claim accrues. A claimant must also satisfy legal standards and damages rules that do not apply in the same way to claims against private people or businesses.
The notice is not a lawsuit, and an accident or police report is not necessarily a substitute. Identifying the correct government entity is therefore one of the first things to do. This overview addresses New Jersey state and local tort claims as of September 8, 2026. Federal, civil-rights, sexual-abuse, and other specialized claims may follow different rules.
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A claim involving a public employee or government property can differ from an ordinary personal injury case in three practical ways:
These rules can affect injuries caused by government vehicles, public transit workers, municipal employees, school employees, unsafe public buildings, broken public sidewalks, parks, and government-controlled parking areas.
The Tort Claims Act broadly covers the State of New Jersey, counties, municipalities, public agencies, public authorities, districts, and other public bodies. It also applies to employees of those entities.
The correct defendant is not always obvious. A road may belong to the State, a county, a municipality, or an independent authority. A public building may be occupied by one agency but maintained by another. A private contractor may handle snow removal, repairs, transportation, or security.
For example, New Jersey’s state tort-claim instructions distinguish among State highways, local and county roads, the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, and the Atlantic City Expressway. Each may require filing with a different entity.
Ownership is only the starting point. Control, maintenance duties, employee relationships, and contracts may also determine who should receive notice and who may be responsible. That investigation is especially important in public slip-and-fall claims.
Government ownership alone does not make the public entity responsible. Under New Jersey law, a claimant must show that the property was in a dangerous condition and that the condition caused the injury. The danger must also have created a reasonably foreseeable risk of that type of accident.
The claimant must then establish one of two things:
Constructive notice means the condition existed long enough, or was sufficiently obvious, that the entity reasonably should have discovered it.
There is another demanding requirement: the public entity’s response—or failure to respond—must have been palpably unreasonable. The New Jersey Courts’ Title 59 guide explains that this requires more than ordinary carelessness. In practical terms, the government’s conduct must have been plainly unacceptable under the circumstances.
Evidence about prior complaints, inspection practices, work orders, repair history, warning signs, and how long the hazard existed can become central to the case.
A public entity can be responsible for an employee’s negligent act when the employee was acting within the scope of the job, subject to the Tort Claims Act’s defenses and immunities. Examples may include a government driver causing a collision, a transit employee injuring a passenger, or a public worker creating an unsafe condition.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has confirmed in Anasia Maison v. NJ Transit Corporation and Kelvin Coats that NJ Transit and its bus drivers are subject to Tort Claims Act standards in passenger-injury cases. The precise duty still depends on the employee’s role and what happened.
Claims involving intentional misconduct or conduct outside an employee’s duties require a different analysis. The employee’s status does not eliminate the need to investigate notice requirements, available immunities, and whether the public entity can also be held responsible.
Because a late-notice motion is discretionary, it is safer to investigate and file the proper notice within 90 days whenever possible.
A notice should provide enough information for the government entity to investigate. The required information includes the claimant’s contact information, when and where the incident happened, the surrounding circumstances, a general description of the injuries and losses, and the public entities or employees involved if known.
The notice must also address the amount claimed and its basis to the extent that information is known. The statutory requirements are summarized in the New Jersey Appellate Division’s 2026 notice-of-claim opinion. A claimant does not have to wait until every medical issue is resolved, but the filing should be complete and accurate based on the available information.
A State of New Jersey claim can be submitted through the Division of Risk Management’s process. Claims against counties, towns, school boards, and independent authorities ordinarily must be filed directly with the appropriate entity. Serving the wrong agency can leave the intended defendant without valid notice.
Get appropriate medical attention and make sure your providers know how the injury occurred. Medical records created close to the incident can connect the accident to the symptoms and document how the condition develops.
Preserve the information that can disappear quickly:
Do not place yourself in traffic or another unsafe location to photograph a hazard. The State’s instructions specifically warn people not to risk injury while trying to photograph potholes or highway debris.
A successful claim may include documented financial losses such as medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, and other injury-related costs. The available damages depend on the facts, insurance or benefit payments, and the proof connecting each loss to the incident.
Pain-and-suffering damages face an additional threshold. Under N.J.S.A. 59:9-2, a claimant ordinarily must show permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent disfigurement, or dismemberment, along with medical-treatment expenses exceeding $3,600. New Jersey courts also require the permanent loss to be objective and substantial.
This restriction applies to noneconomic damages. It does not mean that every claim involving medical expenses or lost income is automatically barred.
Do not wait for the government entity or an insurance adjuster to identify the correct party for you. Record the exact location and the employee’s agency, vehicle number, uniform information, or other identifying details. Keep copies of every report and communication.
A New Jersey personal injury lawyer can investigate ownership and control, identify the required notice recipient, preserve evidence, and evaluate whether private contractors or other parties share responsibility. General information cannot determine how the Tort Claims Act applies to an individual accident.
The Epstein Law Firm represents injured people and families throughout New Jersey, including people hurt in public places. Its attorneys can investigate which government body controlled the location or employed the person involved, prepare the required notice, examine available maintenance and incident records, and assess the losses caused by the injury.
These cases can turn on decisions made during the first several weeks, particularly when more than one government agency or contractor may be involved. The firm offers free case evaluations and emphasizes personal attention and clear communication. Contact The Epstein Law Firm to discuss what happened and get a focused explanation of the next steps that may apply.
The Epstein Law Firm can review the evidence, insurance issues, and next steps that may matter in your personal injury claim.
These answers provide general information. The responsible entity, the type of claim, the claimant’s age, and the available evidence can change the legal analysis.
Yes—many of these organizations qualify as public entities under New Jersey law. The Act broadly covers the State, counties, municipalities, public agencies, public authorities, districts, and other public bodies. Public schools and transportation agencies can therefore fall within the Act, depending on the entity’s legal status.
The name used at the accident scene is not always conclusive. The New Jersey Supreme Court has applied the Act to NJ Transit and its bus drivers, while New Jersey appellate decisions regularly apply it to school boards and municipalities. Some regional or bi-state authorities may have additional requirements, so the entity’s legal identity should be confirmed before notice is filed.
Sources: Anasia Maison v. NJ Transit Corporation and Kelvin Coats; Estate of Micah Samuel Tennant Dunmore v. Pleasantville Board of Education; New Jersey Division of Risk Management Tort and Liability Information
No, not by itself. A police or incident report may document the event, but the Tort Claims Act requires a written claim containing specific information and filed with the appropriate public entity. A report prepared by an officer, school, transit agency, or facility does not necessarily present your demand for compensation.
In H.C. Equities, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that several letters did not satisfy the Act because they failed to communicate the required core claim information. New Jersey Courts also advises that there is no universal Judiciary form and that claimants should contact the relevant entity about its form. Relying only on an incident report is therefore risky.
Sources: H.C. Equities, LP v. County of Union; New Jersey Courts Civil and Law Division FAQs; New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion A-0979-24
File with the entity that controls the roadway. The State Division of Risk Management handles claims involving State highways and certain State agencies or employees. A condition on a municipal or county road should ordinarily be reported directly to the municipality or county.
Claims involving the Garden State Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike should be directed to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority rather than the State’s general claim portal. The South Jersey Transportation Authority separately handles Atlantic City Expressway claims. A crash report, road signs, milepost, and exact location may help identify the appropriate entity, but ownership and maintenance responsibility should still be verified.
Sources: New Jersey Division of Risk Management Notice and Instructions; Sheila Bryant v. County of Cumberland; New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion A-0979-24
Sending notice to the wrong agency can jeopardize the claim. New Jersey law ordinarily requires a local public entity to receive the claim directly, while a State claim must be filed with the Attorney General or the State department or agency involved in the alleged wrongful act.
Courts sometimes consider whether a claimant substantially complied, but general awareness of an accident is not automatically enough. If the 90-day period remains open, notice should be sent promptly to every reasonably implicated entity. If the period has expired, the claimant may need to seek judicial permission for late notice rather than assuming the first filing was effective.
Sources: H.C. Equities, LP v. County of Union; Sheila Bryant v. County of Cumberland; New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion A-0979-24
No. Waiting for a final diagnosis or prognosis can cause you to miss the 90-day notice period. New Jersey’s notice requirements call for a general description of the injury and loss as known at the time, including an estimate of prospective harm when that information is reasonably available.
The notice can explain that treatment, testing, or evaluation remains ongoing. Medical records, bills, and later reports can help document how the condition developed, but they do not extend the notice period merely because the diagnosis was incomplete. Filing timely, accurate information is usually safer than waiting until every medical consequence can be calculated.
Sources: New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion A-0979-24; New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion A-2679-23; New Jersey Division of Risk Management Notice and Instructions
Yes. New Jersey gives an injured minor special timing protection, but parents should not assume every related claim can wait. The child’s own claim may be tolled until adulthood, while a parent may have separate claims for expenses, emotional harm, or other losses with a different analysis.
The Appellate Division has recognized tolling in a case involving a minor’s claim and a parent’s closely related emotional-distress claim. That ruling does not mean every parental claim receives identical treatment. Prompt notice can still preserve evidence, allow an early investigation, and avoid a dispute over which person’s claim was tolled and for how long.
Sources: Estate of Micah Samuel Tennant Dunmore v. Pleasantville Board of Education; P.L. 2013, Chapter 103, Section 133; New Jersey Courts Title 59 Claims Quick Reference Guide
Yes, partial responsibility does not automatically prevent recovery in New Jersey. A claimant can ordinarily recover if their share of negligence is not greater than the combined negligence of the parties from whom damages are sought. The recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the claimant.
Fault arguments may focus on whether a hazard was visible, whether warnings were posted, or whether the claimant acted reasonably. Photographs, lighting conditions, witness statements, sight lines, and the claimant’s reason for being in the area can all matter. Comparative negligence is separate from the question of whether the government has an immunity or whether the public-property standard is satisfied.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 — Comparative Negligence; Anasia Maison v. NJ Transit Corporation and Kelvin Coats; New Jersey Courts Title 59 Claims Quick Reference Guide
A private contractor may be a separate potentially responsible party. Maintenance, construction, snow-removal, transportation, or security companies do not automatically become public entities merely because they perform government work. Contracts and work records may show whether the contractor created the danger or was responsible for correcting it.
A contractor may assert limited derivative immunity when it followed government plans or directions, but that protection is not automatic. The claim against the contractor and the claim against the public entity may also follow different procedural rules. The government’s 90-day notice requirement should still be addressed even when a private company appears to share responsibility.
Sources: New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion A-0743-20; New Jersey Division of Risk Management Notice and Instructions; H.C. Equities, LP v. County of Union
Usually not to the employee’s ordinary workers’ compensation claim. The New Jersey Division of Risk Management instructs State employees not to use the public tort-claim form for an accidental injury, occupational exposure, or illness arising out of State employment. Those matters are reported through the State’s work-injury process.
A separate personal injury claim may exist if someone outside the employer caused the accident. For example, a government employee injured by a private driver, defective product, or outside contractor may have a third-party claim in addition to workers’ compensation. The third party’s identity determines whether Tort Claims Act notice is also required.
Sources: New Jersey Division of Risk Management Notice and Instructions; New Jersey Division of Risk Management Tort and Liability Information; New Jersey Courts Decision on a Workers’ Compensation Third-Party Lien
You can explain when and where the incident happened, which employee or agency was involved, and what medical treatment you have received. Photographs, incident numbers, government correspondence, witness details, and any notice already submitted can help the firm conduct an initial review. The Epstein Law Firm states that its initial case evaluation is free.
New Jersey RPC 1.18 restricts a lawyer from using or revealing information acquired during a consultation with a prospective client, even when no attorney-client relationship follows, subject to the rule’s stated exceptions. Contacting the firm does not guarantee that it will accept the matter or that compensation will be recovered, but the consultation can clarify whether the Tort Claims Act may apply and what immediate steps should be considered.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm Contact Page; New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct, RPC 1.18; The Epstein Law Firm Personal Injury Practice
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