Wrongful Death Lawyer in New Jersey

New Jersey's Wrongful Death Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 et seq.) and Survivor's Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3) are separate causes of action that must both be pursued. The Wrongful Death Act is brought for the benefit of surviving family members — spouse, children, parents — and compensates them for their own economic losses: the loss of financial support, household services, guidance, and companionship. The Survivor's Act preserves the decedent's own claims: the pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages the victim experienced between the injury and death. The statute of limitations for both is two years from the date of death under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3 — not from the date of injury. But when a crash victim lingers in the ICU, the Survivor's Act damages can be substantial, and they begin accruing from the moment of impact.

In the landmark case Portee v. Jaffee, 84 N.J. 88 (1980), the New Jersey Supreme Court recognized the right of a bystander to recover for negligent infliction of emotional distress when they witness the death or serious injury of a close family member. The Portee factors require: (1) the death or serious injury of another; (2) caused by defendant's negligence; (3) plaintiff had a marital or intimate familial relationship with the injured person; (4) plaintiff observed the death or injury at the scene; and (5) plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress. This doctrine is particularly powerful in highway crash cases where family members arrive at the scene. Portee claims are brought alongside the Wrongful Death and Survivor's Act claims and can significantly increase total recovery.

Economic damages in New Jersey wrongful death cases are calculated by forensic economists who project the full lifetime value of the decedent's lost earnings, benefits, and household contributions. For a 35-year-old earning $80,000 per year, the lifetime lost-earnings projection, discounted to present value, can exceed $1.5 million. Add the value of household services (childcare, cooking, maintenance) — which the NJ Supreme Court in Carey v. Lovett, 132 N.J. 44 (1993) recognized as independently compensable — and the economic damages alone in a prime-of-life wrongful death can reach seven figures before pain-and-suffering and Portee claims are even counted.

Punitive damages are available in New Jersey wrongful death cases when the defendant's conduct was especially egregious — deliberate, wanton, or reckless disregard for the safety of others — under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.9 (Punitive Damages Act). Trucking companies that falsify Hours of Service records, property owners who knowingly ignore catastrophic safety hazards, and drunk drivers who kill are all potential punitive damages defendants. New Jersey courts have permitted punitive damages in wrongful death cases brought in Essex, Hudson, and Bergen Counties, where plaintiff-friendly juries have demonstrated their willingness to hold corporations accountable with awards that go beyond compensating the family. An attorney must specifically plead and pursue punitive damages — they are not automatic.