4 Reasons a Judge Might Dismiss Your NJ Personal Injury Case
Our attorneys have over seven
decades combined experience.
Early in your personal injury case the defense might file a motion to dismiss. If the judge dismisses your case, that’s it: it’s over. The defense has won and you won’t get any compensation for your injuries other than what your own insurance company will provide for you.
Here are a few reasons why the judge might dismiss your case.
Your percentage of negligence is too high.
If you’re 51% at-fault for the accident then technically, the other driver should be suing you.
Fault percentage is, of course, a fact-based but ultimately subjective measure of what happened and you may not know what percentage of fault you bear when you bring the case. Your attorney should work closely with you to ensure you have a strong case before you start the process. That includes understanding your potential fault percentage.
Keep in mind that any award you receive would be reduced by your own percentage of negligence anyway. At a certain point it may not be worth it to press a personal injury lawsuit.
The other party is not responsible.
It is sometimes possible to misidentify the correct party in a personal injury lawsuit. For example, in some truck accident cases the trucking company and the driver aren’t the party to blame. Instead, you’d need to sue the manufacturer of faulty brakes that got put into the truck.
One of the most important things your personal injury attorney will do for you is to make sure that you have identified the proper party for your lawsuit.
The facts of the case are in favor of the other party.
Sometimes the facts of the case just don’t support a finding of negligence. Remember, the point of a personal injury lawsuit is not to compensate you just because you got hurt. It’s to compensate you because someone else’s negligence caused your injuries.
The defendant might be able to show that they did not commit any acts of negligence. They may then ask for a summary judgement. A summary judgement says “the facts are indisputable and you should rule in our favor based on these facts.” Your own lawyer can file a similar request when it is appropriate to do so.
There’s a procedural problem.
If the case is filed in the wrong venue or if there is some other procedural issue then the judge will have to dismiss your case. If you have an experienced personal injury attorney this should not happen as any good one will catch these issues before they become a problem.
Get help today.
Don’t try to handle your personal injury case on your own. Reach out to our offices to schedule a free consultation today.
See also:
Which Personal Injury Cases Go to Trial?
Practice Areas
Practice Areas
Early in your personal injury case the defense might file a motion to dismiss. If the judge dismisses your case, that’s it: it’s over. The defense has won and you won’t get any compensation for your injuries other than what your own insurance company will provide for you.
Here are a few reasons why the judge might dismiss your case.
Your percentage of negligence is too high.
If you’re 51% at-fault for the accident then technically, the other driver should be suing you.
Fault percentage is, of course, a fact-based but ultimately subjective measure of what happened and you may not know what percentage of fault you bear when you bring the case. Your attorney should work closely with you to ensure you have a strong case before you start the process. That includes understanding your potential fault percentage.
Keep in mind that any award you receive would be reduced by your own percentage of negligence anyway. At a certain point it may not be worth it to press a personal injury lawsuit.
The other party is not responsible.
It is sometimes possible to misidentify the correct party in a personal injury lawsuit. For example, in some truck accident cases the trucking company and the driver aren’t the party to blame. Instead, you’d need to sue the manufacturer of faulty brakes that got put into the truck.
One of the most important things your personal injury attorney will do for you is to make sure that you have identified the proper party for your lawsuit.
The facts of the case are in favor of the other party.
Sometimes the facts of the case just don’t support a finding of negligence. Remember, the point of a personal injury lawsuit is not to compensate you just because you got hurt. It’s to compensate you because someone else’s negligence caused your injuries.
The defendant might be able to show that they did not commit any acts of negligence. They may then ask for a summary judgement. A summary judgement says “the facts are indisputable and you should rule in our favor based on these facts.” Your own lawyer can file a similar request when it is appropriate to do so.
There’s a procedural problem.
If the case is filed in the wrong venue or if there is some other procedural issue then the judge will have to dismiss your case. If you have an experienced personal injury attorney this should not happen as any good one will catch these issues before they become a problem.
Get help today.
Don’t try to handle your personal injury case on your own. Reach out to our offices to schedule a free consultation today.
See also:
Which Personal Injury Cases Go to Trial?