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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
A crash can leave you trying to arrange medical care, replace a damaged vehicle, notify insurers, and explain missed work—all while you are in pain. If another driver may have caused the collision, New Jersey law may provide several paths for addressing your losses, but the process begins with identifying the applicable insurance coverage and preserving reliable evidence.
The Epstein Law Firm, P.A. helps injured people investigate car crashes and handle insurance claims. For information about other injury matters, visit the firm’s broader Garfield NJ personal injury practice.
Injured in a Garfield NJ crash? Call (201) 231-7847 or request a free case evaluation.
The Epstein Law Firm
Car accident legal help
The Epstein Law Firm can review your car accident claim and explain the evidence, deadlines, and next steps that may apply.
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New Jersey uses a no-fault auto insurance system. Personal Injury Protection, commonly called PIP, generally pays covered medical expenses without first deciding who caused the crash. Depending on the policy, PIP may also provide benefits for lost income, essential services, or other economic losses.
The policy’s coverage limits, deductibles, medical-provider requirements, and coordination with health insurance can significantly affect how treatment is paid. If the policyholder selected health insurance as primary for auto injuries, the health plan generally pays first and PIP becomes secondary. Medicare and Medicaid cannot be selected as the primary health insurer under this option.
PIP does not decide who was responsible for the collision. A separate liability claim may be brought against a driver or another party whose negligence caused the crash. That claim can address losses not paid through PIP, such as unreimbursed income loss, reduced earning capacity, future care, property damage, and qualifying pain and suffering.
The right to recover noneconomic damages may depend on the injured person’s policy and legal status. Someone subject to New Jersey’s limitation-on-lawsuit option generally must establish death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury supported by objective medical evidence. The threshold is fact-specific and does not apply identically to every person involved in a crash.
Questions about PIP, health insurance, or the other driver’s coverage? Call (201) 231-7847 to discuss which policies may apply.
The other driver is often the central party in a car accident claim, but responsibility may extend beyond that person. Depending on the evidence, potentially responsible parties may include:
None of these parties is automatically liable. Contracts, ownership records, electronic data, employment information, vehicle inspections, and other evidence may be needed to determine who controlled the vehicle or condition that caused the crash.
An injured person does not need to collect every possible record before contacting a lawyer. The most useful items to preserve or identify are usually:
A lawyer may seek additional material, such as nearby surveillance video, vehicle-event data, phone records when legally obtainable, commercial driving records, or expert analysis. Because footage and electronic information can be lost or overwritten, an early investigation may be important.
Car crashes can cause head injuries, neck and back injuries, fractures, joint damage, internal injuries, and other physical harm. Symptoms do not always appear immediately. The CDC notes that some concussion symptoms may develop hours or days after a head injury.
Seek emergency assistance for serious or worsening symptoms. CDC danger signs after a possible brain injury include a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, unusual behavior, increasing confusion, slurred speech, weakness, unequal pupils, or difficulty waking. Online information cannot diagnose an injury or replace advice from a qualified medical professional.
Available compensation depends on the injuries, policy selections, responsibility for the crash, and supporting evidence. Potential benefits or damages may include:
Policy limits can restrict the amount available. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may provide another source of recovery when the responsible driver has no insurance or insufficient coverage, but the policy’s terms and notice requirements must be reviewed carefully.
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, many New Jersey personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the claim accrues. Different rules may apply depending on the injured person, defendant, and type of claim.
A claim against a public entity or public employee may require a formal notice of claim within 90 days. A court has limited authority to permit some late notices within one year when statutory requirements are satisfied, but relief is not automatic. Insurance policies can also require prompt notice, so a claim should be reviewed well before the lawsuit deadline.
A car accident lawyer can investigate how the collision occurred, determine which insurance policies may apply, and assess whether another person, business, or public entity may be responsible. The firm may obtain reports, preserve video and vehicle evidence, interview witnesses, review medical documentation, calculate financial losses, and consult qualified experts when necessary.
The lawyer can also communicate with insurers, respond to coverage disputes, prepare required filings, negotiate a resolution, and pursue litigation when appropriate. The Epstein Law Firm states that it has represented clients throughout New Jersey since 1973 and that its attorneys have more than 100 years of collective experience. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Learn more about the firm’s New Jersey motor-vehicle accident practice.
Let The Epstein Law Firm review the crash, available insurance, and next steps. Call (201) 231-7847 or contact the firm online.
If a collision has left you facing medical treatment, missed work, insurance questions, or an uncertain recovery, The Epstein Law Firm can review what happened and explain the options that may apply. A consultation does not obligate you to proceed with a claim.
Call (201) 231-7847 or contact The Epstein Law Firm online for a free case evaluation with a Garfield NJ car accident lawyer.
The Epstein Law Firm can review the evidence, insurance issues, and next steps that may matter in your car accident claim.
These answers provide general information about New Jersey car accident claims. The facts, available evidence, insurance policies, and identities of the parties can change the legal analysis.
Get to safety, request medical assistance, and report the collision to police. Exchange identifying and insurance information, photograph the scene if it is safe, and obtain the names of witnesses. Do not delay emergency treatment to investigate the crash yourself.
Notify your insurer promptly and describe the facts accurately without guessing. New Jersey requires police notification when a crash causes injury, death, or more than $500 in property damage to any one person. If police do not file a report, an MVC report may be required within 10 days.
Sources: Garfield Police Department crash-report guidance; N.J.S.A. 39:4-130—immediate notice and written crash reports; New Jersey Driver Manual—reporting crashes.
Request the report through the online service identified by the Garfield Police Department after the report has been completed and uploaded. The department’s Records Division states that Garfield crash reports are generally available through CrashDocs five to seven business days after the incident. The case number, crash date, location, license plate, or involved driver’s information may help locate the correct record.
New Jersey law requires investigating officers to transmit crash reports electronically and generally makes those reports available for inspection and copying. If the New Jersey State Police investigated the collision rather than Garfield Police, use the State Police crash-report request service. A crash report may provide useful evidence, but it does not conclusively decide civil liability.
Sources: Garfield Police Department Records Division—local crash-report instructions; City of Garfield 2025 Police Annual Report—motor-vehicle crash-report system; New Jersey P.L. 2023 c.55—accident-report availability and electronic transmission; New Jersey State Police crash-report request service.
PIP generally pays covered auto-accident medical expenses without regard to fault. The applicable insurer depends on factors such as whether you occupied an insured automobile, your household policies, and your status as a driver, passenger, or pedestrian.
If health insurance was selected as primary for auto injuries, the health plan usually pays first and PIP provides secondary coverage. Deductibles, copayments, preauthorization rules, and coverage limits may apply. Medicare and Medicaid cannot be selected as the primary health insurer under New Jersey’s health-primary option.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4—Personal Injury Protection coverage; NJDOBI—selecting a health insurer for the PIP option; 2026 New Jersey Auto Insurance Buyer’s Guide.
You may be able to recover pain and suffering, but your lawsuit option and injuries must be reviewed. A person with the no-limitation option generally retains the right to pursue noneconomic damages for any injury caused by another driver, subject to proving negligence and causation.
Someone subject to the limitation-on-lawsuit option generally must prove one of six statutory injury categories. These include death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury supported by objective medical evidence. A diagnosis alone does not establish that the threshold has been met.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8—limitation on the right to noneconomic loss; NJDOBI—Standard Auto Insurance Policy and lawsuit options; 2026 New Jersey Auto Insurance Buyer’s Guide.
Yes, partial fault does not automatically prevent recovery in New Jersey. A claimant can generally recover if that person’s negligence was not greater than the negligence of the party or combined parties from whom recovery is sought.
Any award is reduced by the claimant’s percentage of fault. For example, an award of damages would ordinarily be reduced if the injured person’s conduct contributed to the collision. Fault percentages depend on evidence such as vehicle positions, traffic controls, witness accounts, video, and the conduct of every involved driver.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1—comparative negligence; NJ Courts Model Civil Jury Charge 7.31—comparative fault and ultimate outcome.
Many personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the claim accrues. Waiting until the deadline approaches can create problems because video, witness recollections, vehicle data, and other evidence may disappear sooner.
A much shorter notice period may apply when a state, county, municipality, public agency, or public employee could be responsible. New Jersey’s Tort Claims Act generally requires notice within 90 days, and permission to file a late notice is limited and discretionary. Minors and other circumstances may involve different timing rules.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2—personal injury filing period; NJ Treasury—Tort Claims Act filing information; N.J.S.A. 59:8-9—notice of late claim.
Preserve the crash report information, photographs, video, witness details, insurance documents, and medical records. Keep copies of repair estimates, total-loss paperwork, bills, wage records, and communications with insurers. Do not alter the vehicle or discard damaged personal property before asking whether an inspection may be needed.
You can also request your medical and billing records. HIPAA generally gives patients access to information in designated record sets, including treatment records, diagnostic images, billing records, and claims information. A lawyer may separately seek surveillance recordings, electronic vehicle data, and records held by other parties.
Sources: HHS—individuals’ right to access health information under HIPAA; Garfield Police Department Records Division; HHS—health information included in the HIPAA right of access.
Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may provide benefits. Uninsured motorist coverage applies when a legally responsible driver has no applicable insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage may apply when that driver’s liability limits are lower than your applicable UIM limits and are insufficient for the losses.
These claims are governed by policy terms, coverage limits, notice duties, and settlement procedures. Before settling with the other driver’s insurer, determine whether your own carrier’s consent or other action is required to preserve a UIM claim. Basic policies may provide substantially less protection than standard policies.
Sources: NJDOBI—Standard Auto Insurance Policy and UM/UIM coverage; NJDOBI—filing an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim; 2026 New Jersey Auto Insurance Buyer’s Guide.
Yes, obtain appropriate medical advice when symptoms develop or worsen after a collision. Some concussion symptoms may not appear until hours or days after a head injury. Prompt documentation also helps medical providers understand the timing and progression of your condition.
Call 911 or seek emergency care for a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, unusual behavior, increasing confusion, weakness, slurred speech, unequal pupils, or difficulty waking. These warning signs do not establish a particular diagnosis, and a website cannot determine whether an injury was caused by the crash.
Sources: CDC—symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury and concussion; CDC—mild traumatic brain injury and concussion patient instructions; HHS—accessing medical and diagnostic records.
The initial consultation is an opportunity to explain the crash and receive a preliminary assessment of the insurance, evidence, and deadlines involved. Helpful information may include the crash date, report number, vehicle and insurance details, injuries, treatment, missed work, and communications from adjusters.
The Epstein Law Firm offers free case evaluations. If the firm accepts a matter, the attorney should explain the scope of representation, fees, and responsibility for litigation expenses. New Jersey RPC 1.5 requires a contingent-fee agreement to be in writing and to state how the fee and expenses will be calculated. Contacting the firm for a consultation does not require you to pursue a lawsuit.
Sources: The Epstein Law Firm—contact and free case evaluation; NJ Courts Rules of Professional Conduct—RPC 1.5 fees and written contingent-fee agreements.
Tell The Epstein Law Firm what happened and get clear guidance about your injury claim and legal options.
We want to express our deepest gratitude for the exceptional work you did to insure that our father’s unfortunate accident did not go unrecognized; my dear dad would have appreciated your professionalism, unstoppable work ethic and most of all your compassion every step of the way. Please know we have the highest regard and the utmost respect for you.
Thank you again for all of your help, support and advice. You’ve made a trying and difficult time much easier to deal with for my family and myself. You will never have any idea how much your efforts were, and will forever be appreciated.
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973-381-8410
The Epstein Law Firm
The Epstein Law Firm