New Jersey ranks near the top in the country for personal injury lawsuits, a study says

Kaitlyn Kanzler, NorthJersey.com
Updated ·2 min read

When it comes to personal injuries and filing lawsuits because of them, New Jersey ranks third in the country.

A study conducted by personal injury lawyers in Florida looked at all 50 states to see which was most likely to file a lawsuit after an injury, with Florida and Ohio trending first and second, respectively.

Personal injury suits are the top kind of lawsuit filed in the state, data supported by the USA TODAY Network New Jersey research shows.

According to the study done by Anidjar & Levine, there were 2,810 personal injury lawsuits filed in the state's 21 counties between March 31, 2022, and March 31, 2023. That adds up to 30.34 cases per 100,000 people.

Some of the most common personal injury lawsuits filed in the state involve car collisions and slip or trip and fall claims. Over half of Essex County's lawsuit filings are from personal injury.

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In September 2022 alone, the state Superior Court in Essex County filed 143 cases related to car crashes and an additional 45 for people involved in slip or trip and fall accidents. That equates to roughly six such suits filed each day of the month.

Florida far outpaced the number of lawsuits filed in any other state, with the law firm finding that personal injury lawsuits accounted for over 60% of all civil court cases.

There has been a decline overall in the filing of personal injury lawsuits in New Jersey over the last several years, likely attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ariel Alvarez, an associate professor of political science and law at Montclair State University.

Alvarez said it is a mix of a litigious culture and the number of attorneys available in the area.

Rounding out the top 10 were South Carolina, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Indiana, Georgia and New Hampshire.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ personal injury lawsuits higher than in most other states