I waited to call a lawyer after my NJ crash. Is it too late?

How long do people in New Jersey wait before asking for help?

Most wait months, not days. Of 547 New Jersey callers who gave us their crash date, only 9 percent called within a week and a quarter within 30 days.

The middle wait was 156 days, about five months. A quarter waited more than 539 days, about a year and a half. Nearly 1 in 5 called after the two years had already passed.¹

Does waiting change whether a lawyer will take my case?

In our data, yes. People who reached out within 3 months of the crash ended up with a signed lawyer agreement 18.1 percent of the time; at 1 to 2 years it was 9.5 percent, about half as often.

This shows a pattern, not the reason for it. Later callers may also have smaller injuries or more doubt about fault. But the gap held across 5,252 requests for help.²

Signing is not the end of it. Among car cases a lawyer's office signed and later handed back, the middle gap from crash to signing was 110 days, and 10 of 36 signed more than a year after the crash.³

Why do lawyers say no when you call late?

The most common reason was simple: the two years had already run out. In 28 written turn-down replies we coded, that came up 15 times.

• The two-year deadline had passed: 15
• The person already had a lawyer: 5
• No insurance on any side: 4
• The caller was at fault: 4

Only the first one is about time alone. If you were partly at fault, you can still recover as long as your share is not bigger than the other driver's.⁴

How long do I have to file a car accident claim in NJ?

Two years from the crash to start an injury lawsuit, in most cases. Talking to an adjuster or having an open insurance claim does not count as starting one.

1. Two years: injury lawsuit against the other driver.
2. 90 days: written notice if a town, county, the state or NJ Transit is involved. A judge may allow late notice within one year, in extraordinary circumstances.
3. 180 days: notice to the state fund (UCJF) when nobody in your home has car insurance and the other driver had none or drove off.
4. Two years after a bill, and no more than four years after the crash: suing your own insurer over unpaid PIP medical bills.⁵

Put your crash date into our NJ car accident deadline checker, and read the exceptions on the New Jersey filing deadlines page.

I had surgery and still waited over a year and a half. Was that too long?

Not for the two-year limit, but every shorter clock had closed.

They made me an offer and I said no. Did that stop the clock?

No. Turning down an offer does not pause any deadline.

What can I do this week if I have been waiting?

Four checks, none of which needs a lawyer yet.

1. Find the exact crash date and count to two years, and to 90 days if a public vehicle, road or bus was involved.
2. Find the page of your policy that lists your coverages and look for UM (uninsured motorist). Of callers asked, 42 percent could not say whether they had it.
3. Get the police report and any witness's phone number. 89 percent of callers had police at the scene, but only 28 percent had a witness's number.
4. If you asked a lawyer's office to call you, answer unknown numbers for a few days.⁸

That last one matters more than it sounds: a third of the people who asked to be called never took the call. Signing on the first call is never required, so it is fine to listen and decide later. The rest of the first steps are on our New Jersey car accident help page.

Can I use these numbers?

Yes, with credit to Injuries Cases Autos and a link to this page. The charts and a small file with every number on this page are free to download.

• Download the numbers (CSV)
• Chart: how long people waited
• Chart: crash age and signed agreements