A:
New Jersey car accident law is very complex due to the "Deemer Statute", New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 17:28-1.4. In a nutshell, if your insurance company is authorized to conduct business in New Jersey, i.e. has an office in New Jersey, then you may be penalized and be subject to "verbal threshold", which is similar to Pennsylvania's "limited tort". Therefore, even though you have full tort on your Pennsylvania car insurance policy, it will not apply when your accident happens in New Jersey and the accident was caused by a NJ resident insured under a NJ car insurance policy.
In general, an injured individual who has verbal threshold cannot file a lawsuit for non-economic damages, i.e., pain and suffering, unless the injury falls into one of the following specific categories:
(1) death;
(2) dismemberment;
(3) loss of a fetus;
(4) significant disfigurement or scarring;
(5) displaced fractures; or
(6) permanent injury.
Related NJ Car Accident and Insurance Article: New Jersey's Verbal Threshold or Limitation on Lawsuit-Will it Affect Your Ability to Recover Damages?
If you would like to discuss whether your situation and injuries fall under one of the exceptions above, feel free to contact me @ 877.944.8396.