New Jersey personal injury law allows even the negligent to sue which was not always the case. If you were hurt in an accident for which you were partly to blame, you can still be able to collect money damages.

In the day of contributory negligence you would not be entitled to restitution however. This concept says that anyone who is partly to blame for the accident cannot receive any money damages. But that has given way to the law of comparative negligence.

The legal case that founded the concept of contributory negligence was a case under the common law of England hundreds of years ago where a man riding in his carriage at night suffered injury when he drove over a large log in the road negligently left in the road by the owner of home adjacent to the road.

The man in the carriage at first won the case but it was overturned on appeal. The court on appeal ruled that the carriage driver was partly at fault because the lamp on his carriage was not working at the time.

The court reasoned that if the driver had repaired his light he would have had it turned on and he would have been able to see the log and avoid running over it, therefore he contributed to the accident and was not allowed to collect money damages.

Contributory negligence has long been determined to be a harsh concept. Under this theory, any amount of fault, even on percent could bar all recovery. Therefore, the law of comparative negligence evolved which allows a person to recover damages according to the percent of his or her negligence.

So you can still sue successfully even if you are partly at fault for the accident. A jury will determine levels of fault for both parties and adjust the award accordingly.

Hiring a New Jersey personal injury lawyer for your case is an important decision. You must make sure you are comfortable with the attorney you retain. Conductin research and speaking with a qualified Neptune injury attorney is a good idea.