The Verbal Threshold/Limitation on Lawsuit Option

In every auto insurance policy there is a choice to elect the limitation of liability option, or not. Whether you realize it or not, you have already made this choice. Often, injured plaintiffs realize, to their detriment, that they elected the limitation of liability option in order to obtain lower premiums on their insurance coverage. It is so very common. But, by doing so, these injured plaintiffs subject themselves to the verbal threshold under the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998 (“AICRA”). N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a).

Related topics:

Car Accidents

Truck Accidents

Personal Injury

Negligence

Under AICRA, a plaintiff is eligible for non-economic damages only under narrowly defined circumstances. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a). In order to recover, a plaintiff must demonstrate that she:

[s]ustained a bodily injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement or significant scarring; displaced fractures; loss of a fetus; or a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement. An injury shall be considered permanent when the body part or organ, or both has not healed to function normally and will not heal to function normally with further medical treatment. Ibid.

Claims subject to AICRA’s verbal threshold must include a confirmation from a specified medical provider that the qualifying injuries the plaintiff suffered were permanent in nature. AICRA states the following at N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a):

In order to satisfy the tort option provisions of this subsection, the plaintiff shall, within 60 days following the date of the answer to the complaint by the defendant, provide the defendant with a certification from the licensed treating physician or a board-certified licensed physician to whom the plaintiff was referred by the treating physician. The certification shall state, under penalty of perjury, that the plaintiff has sustained an injury described above. The certification shall be based on and refer to objective clinical evidence, which may include medical testing, except that any such testing shall be performed in accordance with medical protocols pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of P.L.1972, c.70 (C.39:6A-4) and the use of valid diagnostic tests administered in accordance with section 12 of P.L.1998, c.21 (C.39:6A-4.7). Such testing may not be experimental in nature or dependent entirely upon subjective patient response. The court may grant no more than one additional period not to exceed 60 days to file the certification pursuant to this subsection upon a finding of good cause.

If you have been injured and have elected the limitation of lawsuit option, do not worry! Your case is not lost. We have extensive experience litigating such cases and can help you to determine if you vault the verbal threshold so that you may seek monetary recovery. Call or e-mail us to discuss your case.

Vaulting the Verbal Threshold

More information on Limitation of Lawsuit Option

Degenerative Conditions & Pre-Existing Injuries

If you have previously been diagnosed with a degenerative condition or have been involved in a prior accident, it does not prevent you from filing suit to recover for new injuries sustained to the same part of your body in a more recent accident.

The Certification Of Permanency Requirement

If you are involved in a personal injury lawsuit and have elected the limitation on lawsuit option, the first thing you need to establish your entitlement to damages is to provide a Certification of Permanency from a competent physician.