Crash with a town, county, state or NJ Transit vehicle in NJ: the tort claim notice
Yes, you can claim against a New Jersey public body, such as a town or state vehicle, NJ Transit or the Turnpike Authority. Written notice must reach it within 90 days after the claim accrues. Late notice is possible only within one year, and the lawsuit waits six months.
Hit by a town truck, a county car, a police car or an NJ Transit bus? A 30-second questionnaire checks whether a lawyer's office may review your claim for free before the notice window closes.
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Can you sue the state of New Jersey after a crash?
Yes, on the Tort Claims Act timetable:
- The claim accrues. Accrual is the legal start of the clock, and when it happens depends on the facts.
- No later than the 90th day after accrual: the written notice must reach the public body.
- Missed it? Within one year of accrual, a judge may allow late notice, but only for extraordinary circumstances and if the delay does not substantially harm the public body.
- Six months after the public body receives the notice: the earliest a lawsuit may be filed.
- Two years after accrual: the hard stop. No suit may be filed later.
The six-month wait eats into the two years, so a notice served late in the first year leaves a short window to file. A minor or a person lacking mental capacity may sue within these limits after reaching adulthood or regaining capacity.1
What is a tort claim notice in NJ?
It is the written notice of claim the Tort Claims Act requires before you can sue a public body. The New Jersey Supreme Court restated the notice and filing rules in O'Donnell v. N.J. Turnpike Authority (2019).2
Which crashes need a notice to a public body?
Any claim against the public body itself, such as a crash with a town or state vehicle, a town police car, an NJ Transit bus or a Turnpike Authority vehicle.2
A crash between two private cars is a claim against the other driver, with the ordinary two-year clock on our New Jersey filing deadlines page. Our deadline checker dates the 90-day notice from your crash date. How your own medical bills are paid is on is NJ a no-fault state.
Pedestrian and cyclist claims involving towns, such as Estate of Massi v. Barr (2024), are on our pedestrian and cyclist appeals page.
Who owns the roads where New Jersey crashes happen?
The road owner is not automatically the party you claim against, but it shows how often a public body is close to a crash. Every NJDOT crash record names the road's owner.
In 2023 and 2024, towns and counties owned or ran the road in 307,761 of 514,320 police-reported crashes. County roads carried fewer crashes than town streets but more injury crashes, and 404 deaths against 227.
Only 2.5 percent of crashes were on private property, federal land, or a road with no owner recorded.
See the full table
| Road owner in the crash record | Crashes | Share of crashes | Someone hurt or killed | People killed | Share of deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Town (municipal roads, plus town parks and authorities) | 161,327 | 31.4 percent | 31,366 | 227 | 17.5 percent |
| County (county roads, plus county parks and authorities) | 146,434 | 28.5 percent | 36,151 | 404 | 31.2 percent |
| NJDOT (state highways and interstates) | 154,599 | 30.1 percent | 37,077 | 531 | 41.0 percent |
| State Authority (toll roads and similar) | 37,834 | 7.4 percent | 7,669 | 106 | 8.2 percent |
| State parks and institutions | 1,138 | 0.2 percent | 65 | 1 | 0.1 percent |
| Private property, federal land, or no owner recorded | 12,988 | 2.5 percent | 638 | 25 | 1.9 percent |
Adding preliminary 2025, county road-system roads alone (without county parks and authorities) reach 559 deaths, town roads 274 and State Authority roads 165. Another 119 deaths in 2025 records carry no road owner yet, so those totals will rise.3
Is the road in your county more likely a town or a county road?
It depends heavily on the county. In Hudson, town streets carried 18,004 crashes in two years and county roads 5,238; in Ocean the pattern flips, 11,905 on county roads against 6,559 on town roads.
See the full table
| County | On county roads | On town roads | Hurt or killed, county roads | Hurt or killed, town roads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen | 17,768 | 14,520 | 4,208 | 2,436 |
| Middlesex | 14,353 | 15,932 | 3,646 | 3,198 |
| Essex | 12,129 | 22,045 | 2,915 | 4,942 |
| Ocean | 11,905 | 6,559 | 2,745 | 925 |
| Hudson | 5,238 | 18,004 | 1,177 | 3,191 |
| Gloucester | 6,398 | 2,694 | 1,732 | 502 |
All 21 counties
| County | On county roads | On town roads | Hurt or killed, county roads | Hurt or killed, town roads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen | 17,768 | 14,520 | 4,208 | 2,436 |
| Middlesex | 14,353 | 15,932 | 3,646 | 3,198 |
| Passaic | 12,616 | 12,048 | 3,265 | 2,393 |
| Essex | 12,129 | 22,045 | 2,915 | 4,942 |
| Ocean | 11,905 | 6,559 | 2,745 | 925 |
| Union | 9,543 | 14,317 | 2,281 | 2,927 |
| Camden | 9,240 | 6,150 | 2,288 | 1,377 |
| Monmouth | 7,860 | 9,896 | 1,935 | 1,874 |
| Burlington | 7,379 | 5,017 | 1,966 | 976 |
| Gloucester | 6,398 | 2,694 | 1,732 | 502 |
| Somerset | 5,881 | 4,954 | 1,354 | 957 |
| Morris | 5,767 | 6,168 | 1,273 | 1,064 |
| Hudson | 5,238 | 18,004 | 1,177 | 3,191 |
| Mercer | 5,149 | 8,168 | 1,328 | 1,662 |
| Atlantic | 4,652 | 5,247 | 1,518 | 1,219 |
| Cumberland | 2,760 | 2,247 | 857 | 638 |
| Sussex | 1,874 | 1,132 | 377 | 201 |
| Hunterdon | 1,739 | 1,336 | 318 | 207 |
| Cape May | 1,312 | 1,752 | 345 | 289 |
| Warren | 1,105 | 1,009 | 232 | 202 |
| Salem | 1,090 | 384 | 316 | 87 |
Local numbers by town and road are on Hudson County crash data, Middlesex County crash data and Bergen County crash data.
Which toll roads count as State Authority roads?
Mostly the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike, with the Atlantic City Expressway, the Lincoln Tunnel approach and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Together, State Authority roads held 37,834 crashes and 106 deaths in 2023 and 2024.
Crash totals for each toll road are on our New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway accident pages.
What happened in NJ appeals against public bodies?
Five appeals in our set of 76 New Jersey car-crash decisions involve a public body or a public vehicle. The list comes from case names and crash types, so it may not be complete.
- Sanchez v. Inoa-Tejada and City of Perth Amboy (2025, unpublished): a collision with a police vehicle whose driver allegedly ran a stop sign. Summary judgment was reversed; a jury must decide whether the injuries were permanent and substantial.
- Estate of Massi v. Barr (2024): a cyclist's fall while avoiding a passing pickup. Summary judgment for the defendant townships was vacated and the case sent back.
- State v. County of Ocean (2021): a county vehicle rear-ended a passenger van. Affirmed.
- State v. Lora (2020): a vehicle struck a police car during a pursuit, in a criminal appeal. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
- N.J. Transit Corp. v. Sanchez (2018): a work-related crash in which the injury threshold was found not met. Reversed and remanded.
None of these predicts your case. The full list is in our index of NJ car accident appeals.4
Questions people ask
What is a tort claim in NJ?
A claim for money over an injury someone else caused. Against a private driver it is an ordinary injury claim; against a public body it runs through the Tort Claims Act, starting with the 90-day notice.
Does the 90-day notice apply if the other driver was a private motorist?
Not to a claim against that driver alone. The notice is for claims against the public body. If a public vehicle was also involved, ask a lawyer early how the clocks apply.
Is NJ Transit treated as a public body for the notice?
Yes. The notice rule covers claims involving NJ Transit and the Turnpike Authority, as well as town and state vehicles.
What should the notice say?
Ask the public body or a lawyer early, because the 90 days run either way.
Crashed with a public vehicle or on a public body's road in New Jersey? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, to see if a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
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Sources
- N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 and 59:8-9 as quoted in O'Donnell v. N.J. Turnpike Authority, 236 N.J. 335 (2019); minors and capacity rule from the 59:8-8 text via Justia (2025 edition).
- N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 and 59:8-9 as quoted in O'Donnell v. N.J. Turnpike Authority, 236 N.J. 335 (2019).
- NJDOT police crash records via the NJDOT Crash Data Portal, as normalized by the open-source nj-crashes project; our count by the road system field.
- NJ Appellate Division: Sanchez v. Inoa-Tejada, A-2663-23; Estate of Massi v. Barr, A-2005-21; State v. County of Ocean, A-3665-19; State v. Lora, A-3472-17; N.J. Transit Corp. v. Sanchez, A-0761-17.
How we counted
- Our count of NJDOT police crash records by the road system field, which names the road's owner. 2023 and 2024 complete; 2025 preliminary and shown only where labeled.
- "Hurt or killed" means at least one person injured or killed.
- Counts say nothing about fault or about who a claim is against.
- Legal points: N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 and 59:8-9 as quoted by the NJ Supreme Court, paraphrased. General information, not legal advice; Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.