Rear End Collision
$2,300,000
Insurer offered$85,000
Spinal cord injury after a rear end crash. The insurer offered $85,000.
Serving Lakewood, New Jersey
Car Accident Lawyer in Lakewood, New Jersey
Hurt in a crash in Lakewood? The insurance company already has a team working on your claim. You should too. A free call tells you where you stand.
- No Fee Unless We Win (Costs May Apply)
- Se Habla Español
- Available 24/7
Your attorneyPaul Perkins, Esq.Of Counsel. Licensed in New Jersey.Attorney advertising. Services are not available in all states.
Free consultationNo cost to ask. No obligation.
No fee unless we winCosts may apply. Explained in writing.
Available 24/7Calls answered day and night.
Se habla españolEvery step in English or Spanish.
Licensed attorneysA licensed attorney on every file.
Reviewed by Paul Perkins, Attorney at Law, Of Counsel. Meet the team
In New Jersey, a Lakewood car accident claim starts with your own PIP coverage, which pays medical bills whoever caused the crash, then turns to the other driver's insurer for what PIP leaves out. Top USA Law handles Lakewood claims by phone, video, at home or at the hospital. Call (877) 411-5291.
Why Lakewood car accidents look different
Lakewood has grown faster than its roads. Route 9 is still mostly one lane each way through the township, and it carries shopping traffic, tractor trailers headed for the industrial park and a steady line of school buses. When a driver pulls out of a strip mall lot across Route 9, the result is an angle crash, and those cause the neck, shoulder and knee injuries that take months to heal.
Route 70 and Route 88 cross the township on the way to the Parkway, and Exit 89 on the Garden State Parkway drops highway traffic onto Route 70 at the Brick line. Drivers leaving the ramp are still moving fast at the first signal, so rear end crashes there are routine. Closer in, Cedar Bridge Avenue, Cross Street and New Hampshire Avenue are the connectors everyone uses, and their intersections jam in the late afternoon when school buses, private buses and commuter vans all move at once.
Lakewood also has far more people on foot than a typical suburb, walking to school, to shops and to services at every hour of the day, and a driver turning left across a crosswalk on Route 9 can hurt someone badly at low speed.
Treatment, records and the Ocean County court
The nearest emergency room is Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus on River Avenue in Lakewood, where most township crash patients are seen first. Serious trauma from Route 9 or the Parkway often goes to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, the Level II trauma center for this part of the shore. That emergency chart records what hurt before any adjuster was involved, so if the stiffness set in overnight, get seen the next morning and say it came from the crash.
PIP first, then the verbal threshold
Under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4, the personal injury protection on your own auto policy pays your medical bills regardless of fault, up to the medical limit you picked when you bought the policy. If you own no policy, the PIP on the car you were in is usually next. Pain and suffering depends on N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8. With the limitation on lawsuit option, the verbal threshold, you need a displaced fracture, loss of a body part, significant scarring or disfigurement, a permanent injury confirmed by objective medical evidence, or death. Few people remember which box they checked, so we pull the declarations page.
Filing in Toms River and the deadlines
A Lakewood crash lawsuit is filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Ocean County, at the Ocean County Courthouse in Toms River, and N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 gives you two years from the crash to file. If a school bus run by a public school district, an NJ Transit bus or a Lakewood Township vehicle was involved, the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, requires a written notice of claim within 90 days, and missing it can end the claim no matter how strong it is. Lakewood Police write the report for township roads; the New Jersey State Police cover the Parkway.
See if you have a case
Three answers and a phone number. An attorney reviews your situation and calls you back, free.
Results in cases like this
T Bone Accident
$1,800,000
Insurer offered$120,000
Broken pelvis and internal bleeding at an intersection. The insurer offered $120,000.
Drunk Driver Victim
$1,500,000
Insurer offered$50,000
Traumatic brain injury caused by an impaired driver. The insurer offered $50,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict a similar outcome.
Where we help in New Jersey
How Top USA Law works a Lakewood car accident claim
Top USA Law's main office is in Hackensack, and Lakewood clients are handled by phone, video, at home or at the hospital, so nobody drives to Bergen County in a neck brace. We order the Lakewood Police report, pull your declarations page, request the hospital records, open the PIP claim and put the other carrier on notice. If a bus or township vehicle was involved, the 90 day notice goes out first. The full state rules are on the New Jersey car accident lawyer page, or call (877) 411-5291. The consultation is free. No fee unless we win; costs may apply.
Our New Jersey offices
Courts where New Jersey crash cases are heard
- Ocean County Superior Court, Toms River
New Jersey laws that control your case
N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4
Personal injury protection: your own policy pays medical bills after a crash regardless of fault.
N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8
The limitation on lawsuit option, known as the verbal threshold, chosen on your own auto policy.
N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1
Modified comparative negligence: recovery is reduced by your share of fault and barred at 51 percent.
N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2
Two year deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit.
N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3
Two year deadline for a wrongful death action.
N.J.S.A. 59:8-8
Ninety day notice of claim under the Tort Claims Act for claims against public entities.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-129
Duty to stop and report after a crash; leaving the scene of an injury crash is a crime.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-50
Driving while intoxicated.
Hurt in a crash in Lakewood? Talk it through for free.
New Jersey filing deadlines and insurance notice rules can be short. A free call tells you where your clock stands.
Car Accidents questions in Lakewood
Where will I be treated after a Lakewood car accident?
Most Lakewood crash patients go to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus on River Avenue. Serious injuries from Route 9 or the Parkway are often taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, the area's Level II trauma center. We request the records from either.
Who writes the police report for a crash in Lakewood?
Lakewood Police handle crashes on township roads, including Route 9, Cedar Bridge Avenue and Cross Street, and you request the report through the department. Crashes on the Garden State Parkway near Exit 89 go to the New Jersey State Police. Ask the officer which agency has it.
Where is a Lakewood car accident lawsuit filed?
In the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Ocean County, at the Ocean County Courthouse in Toms River. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 the complaint must be filed within two years of the crash, and settlement talks with the insurer do not pause that clock.
I was hit by a school bus in Lakewood. Does that change the claim?
It can. If the bus belongs to a public school district or another public entity, the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, requires a written notice of claim within 90 days. If it was privately owned, the claim runs against the company's insurer, so we identify the owner first.
What if the other driver left the scene on Route 70?
Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a crime under N.J.S.A. 39:4-129, and a conviction is strong evidence in the civil case once the driver is found. Until then, PIP still pays medical bills and uninsured motorist coverage may cover the rest.
What does it cost to hire Top USA Law for a Lakewood crash?
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, and there is no attorney fee unless the firm recovers money for you. Case costs, such as medical records and court filing fees, may apply, and each one is explained in writing before you sign.
Last reviewed by Paul Perkins, Esq., September 2026.
Get your free Lakewood case evaluation
Three fields. We respond fast, day or night.
Excelente servicio. Hablaron español conmigo y me explicaron todo el proceso. Recibí $320,000 por mi accidente de motocicleta.
Client testimonials. Testimonials are not a guarantee, warranty, or prediction of the outcome of your case.
Talk to an Accident Attorney
Top USA Law. Services are not available in all states.
Takes 30 seconds. No obligation.
Other services in Lakewood
Statewide guide: Car Accident Lawyer in New Jersey