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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
Losing a family member in a crash is devastating on its own. When that crash involved an Uber or Lyft trip, families face a second burden alongside their grief: legal and insurance questions that do not arise in an ordinary car accident. Who may bring a claim? Which policy applies to a death? What does New Jersey law allow a family to recover?
This page explains, in plain terms, how a wrongful death claim after a rideshare accident works in New Jersey: the two claims the law provides, who may bring each one, who receives any recovery, the damages allowed and not allowed, the two-year deadline, and how the rideshare insurance tiers apply when a crash is fatal.
This information is general, not legal advice about a specific case, and it cannot answer what a particular claim is worth.
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New Jersey’s Wrongful Death Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 et seq., provides that when a death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect, or default that would have entitled the injured person to bring a damages claim if he or she had lived, the party who would have been liable for the injury remains liable in an action for damages despite the death. The claim therefore turns on the same basic question as any injury case: was someone negligent, and did that negligence cause the death?
In a fatal rideshare crash, the person who died may have been a rideshare passenger, the occupant of another vehicle, a pedestrian or cyclist, or the rideshare driver. The legal analysis starts with how the crash happened and who caused it, not with the fact that an app was involved. A driver who was distracted, speeding, impaired, or failed to yield can be responsible, as can another motorist who caused the collision.
What the app changes is the insurance picture and the evidence. Coverage depends on what the driver was doing in the app at the moment of the crash, and the trip record often becomes central proof of when the ride began and which coverage tier applies. Our New Jersey rideshare accident lawyer page addresses those rideshare-specific questions in detail.
New Jersey law separates the losses caused by a death into two distinct claims. Both may be brought, usually together, but each covers different losses and belongs to different people in the eyes of the law.
The wrongful death claim, under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 et seq., compensates surviving family members for their own losses resulting from the death — principally the pecuniary losses described below. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-2, the claim is brought in the name of an administrator ad prosequendum of the decedent — a representative appointed for the litigation — except where the decedent left a probated will, in which case the executor named in the will, or the administrator with the will annexed, brings the action.
The survival claim is different. Under the Survival Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, executors and administrators may bring an action for a wrong done to the person who died, and recover the damages the decedent would have recovered if he or she had lived. Where death resulted from another’s wrongful act, neglect, or default, that section also allows recovery of reasonable funeral and burial expenses in addition to damages that accrued during the decedent’s lifetime.
If a loved one survived for minutes, hours, or days after a crash, the losses that accrued in that interval — including conscious pain and suffering and medical expenses before death — belong to the survival claim rather than the wrongful death claim. If death was instantaneous, there may be little to recover on that part of the claim, and a lawyer should be candid about that.
Because the claim is brought by a representative, families naturally ask who receives the money if it succeeds. N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4 answers: the amount recovered is for the exclusive benefit of the persons entitled to take any intestate personal property of the decedent, in the proportions in which they are entitled to take it — with an express provision that a surviving spouse and surviving descendants are entitled to equal proportions for purposes of recovery under the Act.
Section 2A:31-4 also addresses dependency. If any of the persons entitled were dependent on the decedent at death, they take as though they were the sole persons entitled, in proportions determined by the court without a jury for a fair and equitable apportionment, considering factors such as their ages, condition, educational needs, financial condition, and other means of support.
This is one reason the early estate steps matter: identifying who qualifies, whether anyone was dependent on the person who died, and who should serve as administrator ad prosequendum or executor affects both how the case is filed and how any recovery is shared. A survival recovery, by contrast, is handled through the decedent’s estate.
New Jersey is candidly limited here, and families deserve a straight explanation. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-5, a jury may award damages it deems fair and just with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from the death, together with the hospital, medical, and funeral expenses incurred for the deceased, to the persons entitled under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4.
Pecuniary losses are financial losses measured in money. They commonly include the earnings and support the person would have provided, the value of services performed — such as childcare and household work — and, for a child who lost a parent, the value of the parent’s guidance and training insofar as the law values those losses as pecuniary losses. Proving them usually requires earnings and benefits records, evidence of the services provided, and often an economist’s analysis.
Grief itself is not compensable under the Act. The statute speaks in terms of pecuniary injuries, and New Jersey law does not award damages for a family’s sorrow or mental anguish, however real those losses are. A responsible lawyer will explain that limitation at the outset rather than promise compensation the statute does not provide.
Section 2A:31-5 expressly includes funeral expenses alongside hospital and medical expenses in a wrongful death action, and N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3 separately speaks of reasonable funeral and burial expenses in a survival action. Keep the funeral and burial invoices; those expenses are recovered once, as part of the overall case — not twice because two statutes mention them.
N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3 provides that every wrongful death action shall be commenced within two years after the death of the decedent, and not thereafter. The same section provides a narrow exception — if the death resulted from murder, aggravated manslaughter, or manslaughter for which the defendant has been convicted, found not guilty by reason of insanity, or adjudicated delinquent, the action may be brought at any time. Outside that exception, treat two years from the date of death as the deadline.
New Jersey’s general personal injury period points the same way: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 generally requires an action for injury to the person to be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, and the text of N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3 likewise speaks of commencing survival actions within two years after the decedent’s death, subject to the same criminal-conduct exception. A family should not try to sort out which clock controls on its own.
Two years sounds generous, but its early part is consumed by steps that cannot be skipped: appointing the proper representative, obtaining records, and identifying every responsible party and policy before suit is filed. Speaking with a lawyer early does not commit a family to filing suit; it protects that ability.
New Jersey’s Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, N.J.S.A. 39:5H-1 et seq., sets insurance tiers that apply to death claims as they do to injury claims. Under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c), whenever a driver is providing a prearranged ride, primary liability insurance of at least $1,500,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage must be maintained, together with UM/UIM coverage of at least $1,500,000. The same subsection requires medical payments benefits of at least $10,000 per person per incident, which by its terms apply only for the benefit of the rideshare driver.
The tier is lower before a trip is accepted. Under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b), when a driver is logged on and available but not providing a prearranged ride, required primary liability coverage is at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death or bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage, along with PIP and UM/UIM coverage as the statute specifies. When the app is off, the Act’s tiers do not apply and the driver’s personal policy is the coverage in play.
Two further protections in section 39:5H-10 matter in a fatal case. If the driver’s coverage has lapsed or falls short, the company’s insurance must provide the required coverage from the first dollar of a claim, with a duty to defend. And company coverage does not depend on the driver’s personal insurer first denying the claim. Which tier applied therefore turns on the driver’s app status at the moment of the crash — which is why the trip record is so important.
UM/UIM coverage deserves separate attention after a fatal crash. If the at-fault driver was someone other than the rideshare driver — a motorist who fled or carried only minimal limits — the $1,500,000 in UM/UIM coverage required during a prearranged ride may become a central source of recovery. Our page on uninsured and underinsured motorist accidents in New Jersey explains how that coverage works.
A family whose loved one was driving for a rideshare company when killed faces a different configuration again, involving the driver’s own coverage, UM/UIM protection, and the status of the trip. Our article on being injured while driving for rideshare in New Jersey addresses the driver’s perspective.
Fatal rideshare crashes are not always one driver’s fault. The rideshare driver may have been distracted or fatigued, another motorist may have run a light, and questions may also arise about a vehicle defect or a company’s own conduct. Identifying every responsible party matters because it affects both liability and the insurance available. Our article on liability in New Jersey rideshare accidents and who is really responsible works through that allocation.
New Jersey follows comparative negligence. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, contributory negligence does not bar recovery if the recovering person’s negligence was not greater than the defendant’s, or not greater than the combined negligence of all defendants, and damages are diminished by the recovering person’s percentage. In practical terms, fault can be shared and a claim is not defeated merely because the person who died bore some fault — but recovery is barred if that fault exceeds the defendants’ combined fault, and any award is reduced by the decedent’s percentage.
Geography can complicate matters too: a fatal crash in New Jersey may involve a driver insured in another state. Our article on what to do after a rideshare accident with an out-of-state driver in New Jersey addresses those cross-border issues, which should be identified early.
A wrongful death claim must be proved with evidence, and much of it is perishable or held by others. A prompt investigation typically seeks the rideshare trip record — the request, acceptance, route, and timestamps establishing app status and the applicable coverage tier — together with platform telematics, the police investigation file, scene photographs, and vehicle information, including event data recorder downloads where available.
Medical and official records matter too. Hospital records document the injuries and care given before death, supporting the survival component. The medical examiner’s findings and any autopsy records address cause of death and the nature of the injuries, alongside the death certificate and witness statements.
Speed matters for practical reasons. App data is held by companies, vehicles are salvaged, video is overwritten, and witnesses’ recollections fade. Early preservation by counsel — putting companies and insurers on notice to keep trip and vehicle data — is far more effective than reconstructing those materials months later. The evidence deadline is usually much sooner than the filing deadline.
The Epstein Law Firm can review the evidence, insurance issues, and next steps that may matter in your rideshare accidents claim.
For most families, the first step is a conversation. A lawyer reviews what is known, explains whether the facts suggest a wrongful death claim, a survival claim, or both, and identifies the estate steps needed so the claim is brought in the proper representative’s name. From there, the work is investigation, notice to insurers, preservation of app and vehicle evidence, and assembly of the earnings, services, and expense records a pecuniary-loss claim requires.
A few things a family can do, when able, help: keep the death certificate, police information, hospital bills, and funeral invoices together; save insurer communications rather than responding alone; avoid recorded statements or insurer releases before getting advice; and write down what the person who died contributed to the household, while those details are fresh.
The Epstein Law Firm, at 340 West Passaic Street in Rochelle Park, represents families across New Jersey, including Bergen County. It offers a free case evaluation and handles these cases on a contingency fee basis, described on the firm’s site as no fee unless we win. Call (201) 231-7847 to discuss what happened and what the next steps would be.
These pages cover the related rideshare questions in more depth:
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Selected case results obtained by The Epstein Law Firm include a $10 million settlement, obtained working as local counsel with a Baltimore firm, for a Maryland woman who lost both of her legs after being struck by an NJ Transit bus in Lakewood, New Jersey; a $13.585 million confidential settlement; and a $4.25 million confidential settlement in a wrongful death and survival action arising from a motor vehicle crash. Every case is different, and these results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other matter.
Below are answers to common questions about wrongful death claims after a fatal rideshare accident in New Jersey. This information is general and not legal advice — contact our office to discuss the specific facts of your family’s situation.
The claim is not filed by family members in their own names. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-2, a wrongful death action is brought in the name of an administrator ad prosequendum of the person who died, except where the decedent died testate and the will has been probated, in which case the executor named in the will, or the administrator with the will annexed, brings the action.
The underlying claim exists under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 when a death was caused by a wrongful act, neglect, or default that would have entitled the injured person to sue if he or she had lived.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:31-2, persons entitled to sue; N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1, when a wrongful death action lies
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3, every wrongful death action must be commenced within two years after the death of the decedent, and not thereafter. Families should treat two years from the date of death as the controlling deadline.
That section provides a narrow exception where the death resulted from murder, aggravated manslaughter, or manslaughter for which the defendant has been convicted, found not guilty by reason of insanity, or adjudicated delinquent, in which event the action may be brought at any time.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3, limitation of wrongful death actions; N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, personal injury limitations period
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-5, damages are those a jury deems fair and just with reference to the pecuniary injuries resulting from the death, together with hospital, medical, and funeral expenses incurred for the deceased. Pecuniary injuries typically include lost earnings and support, the value of household services and childcare, and the pecuniary value of a parent’s guidance.
Grief itself is not compensable under the Act, which is framed in pecuniary terms and does not award damages for a family’s sorrow. Losses the decedent suffered before death, such as conscious pain and suffering, belong instead to the separate survival claim.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:31-5, assessment of damages by jury; N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, survival actions
The wrongful death claim compensates surviving family members for their own pecuniary losses resulting from the death, under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 et seq. The survival claim, under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, belongs to the decedent’s estate: executors and administrators may recover the damages the decedent would have recovered if he or she had lived.
The survival claim covers damages that accrued during the decedent’s lifetime, such as medical expenses and conscious pain and suffering before death; section 2A:15-3 also allows reasonable funeral and burial expenses in addition. The two claims are usually pursued together, but they compensate different losses.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, actions which survive; N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1, when a wrongful death action lies
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4, the amount recovered is for the exclusive benefit of the persons entitled to take any intestate personal property of the decedent, in the proportions in which they are entitled to take it. Where there is a surviving spouse and one or more surviving descendants, they are entitled to equal proportions for purposes of recovery under the Act.
If any persons entitled were dependent on the decedent at death, they take as though they were the sole persons entitled, in proportions determined by the court without a jury for a fair and equitable apportionment, considering age, condition, educational needs, financial circumstances, and other means of support.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4, persons entitled to amount recovered; New Jersey Courts, Civil Practice Division
It depends on the driver’s app status at the moment of the crash. Under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c), while a driver is providing a prearranged ride, primary liability insurance of at least $1,500,000 must be maintained, together with UM/UIM coverage of at least $1,500,000.
The earlier logged-on period under section 39:5H-10(b) carries lower limits of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident, plus $25,000 for property damage. If the driver’s coverage has lapsed or is insufficient, the company’s insurance must provide the required coverage from the first dollar.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10, rideshare automobile insurance required; New Jersey rideshare accident lawyer page
If the driver was logged on and available but had not accepted a ride, the N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b) tier applies: at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death or bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage, along with the PIP and UM/UIM coverage that subsection specifies.
If the app was off, the section 39:5H-10 tiers do not apply, and the claim proceeds against the driver’s personal policy and any other responsible party’s coverage. Establishing the exact app status from platform records is therefore an early investigative task, including for families whose loved one was driving for a rideshare company at the time.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10, rideshare automobile insurance required; Uninsured and underinsured motorist accidents in New Jersey
More than one party can be pursued when more than one party’s negligence contributed to a fatal crash. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, contributory negligence does not bar recovery if the recovering person’s negligence was not greater than the defendant’s, or not greater than the combined negligence of all persons against whom recovery is sought.
Damages are diminished by the percentage of negligence attributable to the person recovering. Recovery is barred if the decedent’s fault is greater than the defendants’ combined fault, as our discussion of liability in New Jersey rideshare accidents explains.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, comparative negligence; New Jersey Courts, Civil Practice Division
The rideshare trip record is often the most important evidence, because its timestamps establish app status and which insurance tier applied. Police records, vehicle data, scene photographs, witness statements, and dashcam or surveillance video help establish how the crash happened and who was at fault.
Medical records, hospital bills, and the medical examiner’s findings address the injuries and cause of death, supporting both components of the case. Because app data is held by the company, vehicles are salvaged, and video is overwritten, counsel typically moves early to preserve these materials.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10, rideshare automobile insurance required; New Jersey Courts, Civil Practice Division
A case usually starts with a consultation in which a lawyer reviews what is known, explains whether the facts suggest a wrongful death claim, a survival claim, or both, and identifies the estate steps needed so the claim is brought in the proper representative’s name under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-2.
The Epstein Law Firm offers a free case evaluation and handles these matters on a contingency fee basis, described on the firm’s site as no fee unless we win. Its office is at 340 West Passaic Street, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662; the phone number is (201) 231-7847.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:31-2, persons entitled to sue or make claim; New Jersey rideshare accident lawyer page
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Related: NJ car accident attorneys · New Jersey 3-car accident kills 1, injures 4 · 2 suffer minor injuries in 3-car crash
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The Epstein Law Firm
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