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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
An intersection crash can leave two drivers describing the same few seconds very differently. One remembers a green light; another says the turn had already begun. The important task is to connect those accounts to the signal, each vehicle’s movement and the evidence that remains available.
The Epstein Law Firm represents people injured in New Jersey intersection accidents. We examine what each road user was required to do and what the records show happened. Our broader car accident practice covers the insurance and injury claim; an intersection investigation focuses on the paths that brought the vehicles together.
You do not need to resolve the disagreement before contacting a lawyer. Start with the road names, direction of travel, approximate time and what you actually observed. Distinguishing a remembered fact from an assumption gives the investigation a more reliable starting point.
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A left turn across oncoming traffic raises different questions from a vehicle entering through a stop sign. Establish the lane each vehicle used, whether either was turning, and which signal or sign controlled that movement. A nearby light is not necessarily the signal that applied to every approach.
The following details help organize the first review:
Keep these observations separate from conclusions about fault. Saying where a vehicle appeared is more useful than guessing its exact speed. If you did not see the other driver’s light, say so; counsel can identify other ways to investigate that question.
New Jersey’s intersection right-of-way statute requires a driver turning left to yield to opposing traffic already in the intersection or close enough to present an immediate hazard. The statute also addresses when a driver who has yielded and properly signaled may complete the turn. The sequence matters; describing one vehicle as “the turning car” does not substitute for reviewing the circumstances.
The courts’ left-turn instruction explains that crossing the path of other traffic creates an increased risk and calls for care proportionate to that danger. Investigating that issue means looking at the available opening, visibility and the movements of approaching vehicles, not simply whether a turn indicator was on.
The Epstein Law Firm can compare the accounts with photographs, video and other available records. A dispute about a turn may require a closer reconstruction of the collision. The evidence should support the explanation offered, including any claim that the other vehicle approached unexpectedly or entered against a signal.
A green signal is important, but it does not provide an unconditional right to drive through an intersection regardless of an apparent hazard. New Jersey’s model instruction for a driver proceeding on green requires reasonable care and reasonable observations. What observations were reasonable depends on the circumstances; the instruction does not impose the same approach as facing a stop sign.
That distinction matters when an insurer argues that a driver could have avoided the collision. The question is what a reasonably careful driver could observe and do in the actual setting. It is not enough to point to the collision after the fact and assume that either driver necessarily had time to prevent it.
Preserve information about parked vehicles, construction, weather and sight-line obstructions if they affected what you could see. Take photographs only from a safe, lawful position. Later photographs can help illustrate the location, but identify their date so they are not mistaken for a record of conditions at the moment of impact.
Do not assume that a camera overlooking the intersection recorded the crash or that its footage will remain available. A device may serve a different purpose, face another direction or belong to a different agency or private owner. Identify its location and the relevant time window promptly.
For NJDOT’s own CCTV system, the department’s Traffic Camera Video Log FAQs state that recordings are retained for seven calendar days before being overwritten. Requests must be made within that period through the department’s Video Log Request Form. This is an evidence-preservation issue, separate from the deadline to file a lawsuit.
Gather the intersection or route, direction, date and approximate time before starting the request. NJDOT can deny a request, and this process does not promise that a particular crash was captured. Other cameras require identification of the appropriate owner. Counsel can help determine which records are worth pursuing without treating every visible camera as available proof.
Even when responsibility becomes clear, the claim still needs documentation of injury and loss. Obtain appropriate medical care and give providers an accurate account of the collision and symptoms. Keep treatment recommendations, bills and records of missed work. Do not infer a medical diagnosis from the vehicle’s damage or assume that a collision label establishes how serious an injury is.
Insurance questions also need their own review. New Jersey’s Standard Policy guidance distinguishes personal injury protection from liability coverage and explains the limited and unlimited lawsuit options. A dispute about fault does not, by itself, identify the policy responsible for a medical bill or establish eligibility for pain-and-suffering damages.
Bring the policy documents and insurer correspondence as well as the collision report. We can assess the investigation and coverage questions together while keeping their requirements distinct. A persuasive account of the signal sequence does not replace the medical evidence, and a serious injury does not alone establish the other driver’s negligence.
More than one driver’s conduct may be questioned. Under New Jersey’s comparative-negligence statute, an injured person’s negligence must not exceed that of the person or combined persons against whom recovery is sought. Recoverable damages are reduced by the injured person’s percentage of fault.
Ask what evidence supports any proposed allocation. An allegation that you failed to look, turned too soon or entered too late needs to be considered with the full sequence. Provide unfavorable documents as well as favorable ones; an unexplained gap can be harder to address later than a disputed fact discussed at the outset.
New Jersey’s general personal-injury filing period is two years from accrual, subject to exceptions under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. Claims involving public entities or employees can require earlier notice, generally within 90 days of accrual, as explained in the State’s tort-claim guidance. Have the responsible parties and applicable deadlines reviewed while the evidence investigation proceeds.
The Epstein Law Firm’s intersection practice includes claims involving seriously injured occupants and other road users. The firm’s reported motor-vehicle results include a $1.2 million settlement for an 11-year-old passenger with significant neurological injuries and a confidential settlement involving a child with spinal cord injuries and neurological impairments. Those descriptions establish motor-vehicle injury experience; they should not be read as identifying both matters as intersection crashes or predicting another client’s result.
A consultation gives you an opportunity to explain the collision, the injuries and the disagreement with the insurer. Bring the records you have and identify any approaching deadline or potentially available video. Contact The Epstein Law Firm to discuss the evidence and next steps for your New Jersey intersection accident claim.
Tell our team which direction you were traveling, what you saw at the intersection and how you were injured. Bring the available records and insurer correspondence so we can discuss the disputed traffic movements, coverage and next steps.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case depends on its own facts, evidence, and applicable law.
These excerpts describe experiences with the firm. They are not identified as cases in this practice area and do not predict another outcome.
“They took the time to explain everything clearly, making sure I understood my options and felt comfortable with each step of the process.”
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These answers provide general information. The traffic controls, collision evidence, applicable insurance and individual circumstances can change the analysis of a New Jersey intersection claim.
New Jersey’s general intersection rule says that when two vehicles enter at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. It also requires an approaching driver to yield to a vehicle that has already entered. These rules must be considered with any traffic signals, signs and directions that govern the particular approach; the right-side rule is not permission to disregard a red light.
Record the intersection layout and what controlled each vehicle’s movement. “We arrived together” may leave important questions unanswered, including when each vehicle entered and whether either was turning. A lawyer can evaluate the applicable instructions alongside the accounts and physical evidence instead of deciding responsibility from one general rule alone.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:4-90: Right of way at intersections; New Jersey Courts: Duty of Care Proceeding Through an Intersection With a Green Light.
Not automatically. New Jersey requires a left-turning driver to yield to opposing traffic in the intersection or close enough to present an immediate hazard. The courts also recognize that crossing another traffic path requires care proportionate to the increased danger. Whether the driver failed those duties depends on the circumstances, including the applicable signals and the other vehicle’s movement.
A turn signal does not alone establish that the turn was safe, and the fact that a driver turned does not eliminate the need to examine other conduct. Preserve video, witness information and photographs showing the approaches. The investigation should address when the turn began, what could be observed and how the vehicles reached the impact point.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:4-90: Right of way at intersections; New Jersey Courts: Model Civil Jury Charge 5.30C, Left-Hand Turn.
Yes, depending on the evidence. New Jersey’s model jury instruction explains that a driver proceeding on green still owes reasonable care and must make reasonable observations. A green light does not require the same observations as facing a stop sign, but it also does not excuse ignoring a danger that reasonable care would address.
This does not mean that every driver hit at an intersection shares responsibility. An allegation of fault needs to be connected to what the driver could reasonably perceive and do. If comparative negligence is established, New Jersey’s statute governs whether recovery is permitted and how damages are reduced. The inquiry should evaluate the actual setting, rather than assume that the ability to describe an avoidance maneuver afterward proves it was feasible before impact.
Sources: New Jersey Courts: Duty of Care Proceeding Through an Intersection With a Green Light; N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1: Comparative negligence and recovery.
The claim needs evidence beyond the competing statements where it is available. Witness observations, complete recordings and the scene layout may help assess each account. Identify which signal controlled each movement; a witness who saw a light on another approach may not have seen the signal facing your vehicle. Avoid filling that gap with an assumption.
Ask promptly about potentially relevant footage. NJDOT’s CCTV recordings have a short retention period, and a camera’s presence does not guarantee usable video. Preserve your own original files and the names of witnesses without coaching their accounts. The legal analysis then connects the supported sequence to the applicable traffic duties. A disagreement between drivers is a reason to investigate, not proof that either account must be accepted without review.
Sources: New Jersey Courts: Duty of Care Proceeding Through an Intersection With a Green Light; NJDOT: Traffic Camera Video Log Request FAQs.
NJDOT states that its CCTV recordings are retained for seven calendar days and then overwritten. A request for an event must be made within that period, including weekends and holidays, through its Video Log Request Form. This requirement concerns that department’s system; it does not establish how long a store, municipality or another agency keeps its recordings.
Identify the precise location, date, approximate time and direction of travel so the request concerns the relevant camera and interval. NJDOT may deny a request, and its system may not have captured the impact. Do not assume that a traffic camera is a red-light enforcement camera: the department separately describes the end of its former automated-enforcement pilot. Investigate what the particular device actually records.
Sources: NJDOT: Traffic Camera Video Log Request FAQs; NJDOT: Red Light Running Automated Enforcement FAQs.
Applicable personal injury protection, known as “PIP,” benefits can cover accident-related medical expenses without waiting for a finding that another driver caused the collision. PIP and a liability claim serve different purposes. A dispute over a turn or traffic light does not by itself determine which policy should handle treatment bills, and coverage remains subject to the applicable terms and limits.
Give your providers the relevant insurance information and retain bills, claim numbers and coverage correspondence. A health-insurance-primary selection may change the order of payment. Ask which insurer is responsible for the bill in question and why any payment was denied. Keep this issue separate from a proposed settlement for pain and suffering or vehicle damage, even though all arose from the same collision.
Sources: NJDOBI: Selecting Your Health Insurer for PIP Option; NJDOBI: Standard Auto Insurance Policy.
No. Evidence that a driver ran a red light addresses negligence and its connection to the collision, but a damages claim also needs supported injury and loss. When New Jersey’s limitation-on-lawsuit option applies, noneconomic recovery must meet the statutory injury threshold. Establishing fault does not by itself establish that threshold or determine a dollar amount.
Have the policy and medical evidence reviewed together. The statute lists qualifying categories such as displaced fractures and a qualifying permanent injury; pain alone does not answer the legal question. Conversely, the threshold is not a statement that all medical benefits or economic-loss claims are unavailable. Keep the insurer’s explanation, medical records and coverage-selection documents so the particular issue can be identified accurately.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8: Tort exemption and limitation on noneconomic loss; NJDOBI: Standard Policy and the Right to Sue; New Jersey Courts: Duty of Care at a Signal-Controlled Intersection.
New Jersey generally requires a personal-injury lawsuit within two years of accrual, subject to exceptions. A claim involving a public entity or employee can require a tort-claim notice much earlier, generally within 90 days of accrual. Those are different steps, and identifying the proper defendant and notice recipient matters.
Do not assume an intersection-related claim goes to the State simply because a public road is involved. Ownership, maintenance responsibility and the conduct being alleged require investigation. Give counsel the collision date, government vehicle information if applicable, and any notices already sent or received. An insurance discussion or a request for camera footage should not be treated as a substitute for having the applicable claim deadlines reviewed.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2: Actions for injury caused by wrongful act; New Jersey Treasury: Tort and Contract Claim Notices.
Ask which facts support that position and what conduct the insurer says was unreasonable. Having a green light still requires reasonable care, but the law evaluates observations and conduct in the actual circumstances. The mere fact that vehicles collided does not explain what you could see or how much time you had to react.
Provide the relevant recordings, witness details and information about sight lines. New Jersey’s insurance department describes internal review of disputed auto claims and assistance through its Insurance Ombudsman. An insurer’s proposed allocation of fault is not the same as a court determination, and unresolved factual disputes may require legal proceedings. Keep the written explanation and review options while independently protecting any deadline for your injury claim.
Sources: New Jersey Courts: Duty of Care Proceeding Through an Intersection With a Green Light; NJDOBI: Auto Comparative Negligence Settlement FAQs.
Bring the collision report or report number, photographs, recordings, witness contact details, insurance documents and correspondence, treatment records and bills, and information about missed work. Include a simple account of your direction, lane and intended movement. Mark uncertainties clearly, especially if you did not see the other vehicle until impact.
Tell the lawyer about any potentially available camera footage promptly and identify documents you do not yet have. A review can begin with an incomplete file; guessing missing facts makes it less reliable. Keep originals and copies of what you submit to insurers. These records help separate disputes about the collision sequence from questions about medical benefits, injury documentation and the losses for which payment is being sought.
Sources: NJDOBI: Auto Comparative Negligence Settlement FAQs; NJDOT: Traffic Camera Video Log Request FAQs; NJDOBI: Filing an Auto Damage Claim with Your Own Insurance Company.
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The Epstein Law Firm
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