The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that a woman who saw her mother die in a car crash can sue the other driver for negligently inflicting emotional distress.
The 4-3 decision released Tuesday said such a claim can be made despite the state’s so-called “verbal threshold” for auto insurance, which generally allows victims to only sue for physical injuries.
The insurance industry criticized the ruling, charging it threatens efforts at reducing insurance rates.
The daughter was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after the car she and her mother were in was rear-ended in 2000. The daughter got more than $500,000 for wrongful death and survivorship claims, but a judge dismissed the emotional distress claim.
The Supreme Court decision reinstates that claim.
Topics Lawsuits New Jersey
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Bring It On: AI Strategy Sways Underwriter Choices of Employers 
CBIZ Brokerage to Be Spun Off, Backed by Private Equity, After $5B Grant Thornton Deal 
State Farm to Begin Issuing Dividend Payments to Louisiana Drivers 
NYC Mayor Mamdani’s Rent Freeze Heaps Pressure on a Teetering CMBS Deal 
