Guide · The First 7 Days
What To Do in the First 24 Hours After a Crash in New Jersey
The short answer
Get medical attention today, even if you feel fine. Report the crash to your own insurer, because your PIP pays your medical bills regardless of fault. Photograph everything. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company, and do not accept a quick settlement check.
First, the thing nobody tells you
You are probably reading this on your phone, sore, rattled, and holding a business card from a tow truck driver. So here is the most important sentence on this page, and then we will get to the list.
Your own insurance pays your medical bills, no matter whose fault the crash was.
It is called PIP, it is on your New Jersey auto policy whether you knew it or not, and it does not care who caused the crash. People go weeks without treatment because they think they cannot afford a doctor, and every one of those weeks makes their injury worse and their case weaker. Go get looked at.
The checklist
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The one thing that is more urgent than people realize
If the vehicle that hit you was a government vehicle, a municipal truck, or an NJ Transit bus, the ordinary two-year deadline does not apply to you. You may have as little as 90 days to file a formal notice of claim, and missing that window can end your case before it begins.
Most people have never heard of this. Some of them find out on day 91.
Check your deadline in 30 seconds →Not sure where you stand?
Call (201) 719-1669. You will get Dominick, not a call center. He will tell you what your deadline is, what your own insurance actually covers, and whether you have a case worth bringing. Sometimes the answer is no, and he will tell you that too. The call is free.
Call (201) 719-1669Common questions
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Written and reviewed by Dominick Succardi
Personal injury attorney, admitted in New Jersey since 2014. About Dominick →