Car accident or a fall? Which claim do you have in NJ?

Which claim fits what happened to me?

Start with one question: did a car or truck cause it, or were you getting into or out of one? Your answer decides who pays your doctors and how long you have.

Your car insurance (PIP) pays your doctors if you were in a car, getting in or out of one, or hit by one while on foot. If no car was part of it, PIP does not pay, so use your health insurance.¹

I was half out of the car when it happened. Am I a passenger or a pedestrian?

Good news first: either way, your PIP can pay your doctors, because the law covers getting in and out of a car.

What the police form calls you depends on your feet and your seat:

• Still sitting, even with your feet on the ground: you count as in the car.
• Half in or half out and standing up: you count as a pedestrian.
• Standing on the car with your feet off the ground: you count as a passenger.²

Hurt on bus steps or getting out of an Uber? See our page about getting hurt on or getting off a NJ Transit bus.

I fell in a parking lot walking to my car. Is that a car accident?

No, unless a car hit you. You claim against the owner of the lot, and your own health insurance pays your doctors first.

Not sure if your fall counts as a car accident? You are not alone: 3 of our fall cases were in parking lots like hers, and almost everyone (61 of 62) first asked for help through a car accident ad or form.³

I tripped on a sidewalk or a pothole on foot. Who is responsible?

Whoever owns that spot or has to keep it safe. If you tripped on the sidewalk in front of a store or other business, that business can be responsible, because it has to keep the sidewalk in reasonably good shape.⁴

If you fell on a town street, a county road or a state highway, that is public property: you must send written notice within 90 days. Missed it? Ask a lawyer fast: a judge can still allow notice up to one year after the fall, but only for a very strong reason.⁵

So mark day 90 on your calendar the day you fall: 19 of the falls were on public property, and 7 of the 12 with a known date signed with a lawyer after day 90.³

For pain and suffering from a town or the state, you also need a permanent injury (like losing a body function for good, lasting disfigurement or losing a limb) and over $3,600 in bills.⁶

Fell on public property? Here is how to make a pothole claim in NJ and send the 90-day tort claim notice.

How serious were these falls?

If you fell and ended up in the ER, you are not alone. More than half of the people in these falls went to the ER or hospital (58 percent), about 4 in 10 broke a bone (38 percent), and 1 in 4 needed surgery (24 percent). If you hit your head, get checked: 1 in 5 did too.³

Your fall does not need to be dramatic to count. Most happened somewhere ordinary: 15 on a sidewalk, street or path, often ice or a loose brick, and 12 at a home, apartment or motel. Others were in a public building or station (7), a store (6), or on a bike, e-bike or motor bike (5).

What should I write down after a fall?

Write it down the same day, if you can, and start with what most people forget.

1. Take photos of the spot, close and far, before anyone fixes it. Fewer than half of the people who fell did (26 of 58).
2. Get the name and number of anyone who saw you fall, before they leave. Most people had a witness (35 of 58).
3. Ask the store, landlord or building for a written incident report, and keep a copy. Only 22 of 56 people got one.
4. Was there a warning sign? Write it down either way, and take a photo. None of the 58 people who fell saw one.
5. Find out who owns the place, because a town or the state means a 90-day clock. 9 of 58 people were not sure if it was public.
6. Write down the date and count 90 days from it. Our deadline checker does it for you.

A store or ambulance note is not a police report. Many people who fell thought they had one (20 of 53 said yes), but police came to only 9 of 58 falls, so ask for the store's incident report too.³