How this estimate is built
Your medical expenses and lost wages are your economic damages, never capped in New Jersey. We apply the multiplier method, the industry-standard approach, to estimate noneconomic damages — with no cap to check the result against.
The 51% bar, standard structure
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, a claimant whose fault is not greater than the defendant's, or the combined fault of multiple defendants, can recover, reduced proportionally. Exactly 50% still recovers half; only once a claimant's fault actually exceeds 50% does the claim get barred.
A distinct 60% threshold for defendants
New Jersey has a separate, genuinely important rule for multi-defendant cases. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.3, a defendant found 60% or more at fault can be held jointly and severally liable for the entire award — meaning that defendant alone could be on the hook for the full judgment even if other parties also share some fault. A defendant under that 60% threshold is generally only responsible for their own proportional share.
No cap on compensatory damages, despite repeated attempts
New Jersey places no cap on economic or noneconomic compensatory damages, in a medical malpractice claim or an ordinary personal injury case. This isn't for lack of trying: bills introduced in 2020, 2024, and again in January 2026 have each sought to cap medical malpractice noneconomic damages at $250,000. None has become law, and the most recent version remains pending in the legislature.
Punitive damages are a separate, capped category
While compensatory damages aren't capped, New Jersey does cap punitive damages — a different category reserved for especially egregious conduct — at the greater of $350,000 or five times the compensatory damages awarded.