A speeding ticket after a crash can make you wonder whether you still have a case. In New Jersey, driving over the speed limit does not automatically prevent you from pursuing a car accident claim. What matters is whether your speed contributed to the collision or your injuries and how your responsibility compares with the other driver’s.

New Jersey uses modified comparative negligence. You can generally recover compensation if your share of fault does not exceed the other driver’s—or the combined fault of the defendants you are seeking compensation from. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. In an ordinary two-driver case, being 50% responsible still allows recovery; being more than 50% responsible bars it.

A speeding citation does not decide those percentages by itself. The circumstances of the crash, the available evidence, and the other driver’s actions all matter.

Key Takeaways About Filing a Car Accident Lawsuit in New Jersey if You Were Speeding

• Speeding does not automatically prevent you from recovering compensation, but your share of fault cannot exceed the fault of the defendant or combined defendants you seek recovery from.
• Your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility for the crash.
• A speeding ticket alone does not prove that your speed caused the collision.
• Your applicable automobile insurance lawsuit option can affect whether you may recover compensation for pain and suffering.
• Covered PIP benefits are generally available regardless of fault, subject to policy terms and applicable law.

Can You Still File a Car Accident Lawsuit if You Were Speeding in New Jersey?

You may still have a claim if another driver’s negligence contributed to your injuries, even if you were speeding. However, another driver sharing some responsibility does not necessarily mean you can recover compensation. Your own percentage of fault must remain within New Jersey’s comparative-negligence limit.

For example, suppose you were driving above the speed limit when another motorist turned left across your lane without yielding. The other driver’s failure to yield may have caused the dangerous situation, while your speed may have reduced the time available to avoid the collision. Both drivers’ actions would need to be evaluated.

If your legally recoverable damages total $100,000 and you are found 20% responsible, your recovery would be reduced to $80,000. If you are found 50% responsible in a two-driver case, you could recover half of your damages. If you are found 51% responsible, you generally could not recover from the other driver.

These percentages depend on the evidence. There is no automatic percentage of fault assigned simply because a driver exceeded the speed limit.

How Does Speeding Affect Fault After a Car Accident?

Speeding matters when it contributes to the crash or the resulting injuries. Evidence may show that excessive speed increased stopping distance, made a collision harder to avoid, or increased the force of the impact.

The question is not simply whether you were speeding. It is what difference your speed made.

Consider two situations. In one, a driver is traveling slightly above the posted limit when another vehicle suddenly crosses into the driver’s lane. In another, a driver approaches stopped traffic at a much higher speed and cannot brake in time. Both involve speeding, but the evidence may support very different conclusions about responsibility.

Investigators may consider:

• Whether the collision could have been avoided at a lawful and reasonable speed
• How much time each driver had to react
• Whether another driver failed to yield, ran a red light, or changed lanes unsafely
• Whether weather, visibility, or road conditions required a lower speed
• Whether speed contributed to the severity of the injuries

A driver can also be traveling too fast for conditions without exceeding the posted limit. Heavy rain, ice, poor visibility, or congested traffic may require a slower speed.

Does a Speeding Ticket Prove You Caused the Crash?

A speeding ticket does not, by itself, prove that your speed caused the accident. Receiving a citation is also different from being convicted of the alleged violation.

An insurer may consider the ticket when evaluating a claim, but it should assess the surrounding evidence as well. Whether a citation, plea, or other traffic-court material can be used in a civil trial depends on the applicable evidence rules and circumstances.

A police report does not automatically settle civil liability, either. Video, witness accounts, vehicle damage, and electronic records may provide information that was unavailable when the report was prepared.

For example, a report may note that you were speeding, while surveillance footage shows that another driver entered the intersection against a red light. Both facts deserve consideration when determining how the collision happened.

Can More Than One Driver Be Liable for the Same Crash?

A collision can involve negligence by several drivers. Your speeding does not erase another driver’s responsibility.

In a multi-vehicle collision, one driver might change lanes unsafely, another might follow too closely, and a third might travel too fast for traffic conditions. Each driver’s actions may contribute to different impacts or injuries.

When you seek compensation from multiple defendants, your fault is compared with their combined negligence. Your damages are still reduced by your own percentage of fault.

New Jersey also has separate rules governing how much each defendant may have to pay. A defendant found at least 60% responsible may be required to pay the entire recoverable award after the reduction for your own fault. A defendant below 60% generally pays only the share attributable to that defendant.

The 60% collection rule serves a different purpose from the 50% cutoff governing your eligibility to recover.

What Evidence Helps Show Whether Speeding Contributed to the Accident?

Evidence should help explain what happened before the collision, what each driver did, and whether speed affected the outcome.

Useful evidence after a car accident may include:

• Police reports and information about any traffic charges
• Dashcam or surveillance footage
• Event data recorder information, when available
• Vehicle damage and impact locations
• Skid marks, debris, and other roadway evidence
• Witness statements
• Traffic signals, signs, and posted speed limits
• Weather, lighting, and road conditions
• Relevant GPS or telematics records

Some vehicles preserve information about speed, braking, and other conditions shortly before a crash. What is available depends on the vehicle and whether the information has been preserved.

When speed is disputed, an accident-reconstruction professional may examine physical evidence and electronic records to assess stopping distances, impact speeds, or the sequence of collisions. A technical analysis can help evaluate speeding allegations beyond the drivers’ competing accounts.

Preserving evidence promptly matters. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, and repairing or disposing of a vehicle can make important information harder to obtain.

How Can Speeding Affect an Insurance Settlement?

An insurer may argue that your speed caused the accident, made your injuries worse, or supports assigning you a larger percentage of fault. That assessment can affect a settlement offer.

However, an adjuster’s proposed percentage is not a court ruling. It can be questioned when the evidence supports a different allocation of responsibility.

For example, an insurer might focus on your speeding ticket while giving little attention to its policyholder’s unsafe lane change. Video or witness testimony may provide a more complete account.

When discussing the crash, provide accurate information and avoid guessing about your speed, distances, or reaction time. If you do not know an answer, say so. Before giving a recorded statement to another driver’s insurer, consider getting advice about answering insurance-adjuster questions after a New Jersey accident.

Your own insurer may have cooperation requirements under your policy. Those obligations are separate from requests made by another driver’s insurance company.

What Compensation May Still Be Available if You Were Speeding?

Depending on the circumstances, compensation may include medical expenses and lost income not covered by applicable benefits, vehicle repair or replacement costs, and pain and suffering when legally available.

Your percentage of comparative negligence can reduce the damages recoverable from another driver. Insurance coverage and other legal requirements also affect which losses can be claimed.

PIP benefits and a liability claim serve different purposes. New Jersey personal injury protection generally provides covered benefits regardless of who caused the accident. Speeding alone generally does not disqualify you from those benefits, although coverage remains subject to policy terms, limits, deductibles, and applicable exclusions.

Your PIP coverage options can affect how medical bills and certain other losses are handled. PIP does not pay for vehicle damage.

A claim against another driver may address losses that are legally recoverable beyond applicable benefits. You generally cannot recover payment twice for the same expense.

Does Your Insurance Lawsuit Option Affect a Pain-and-Suffering Claim?

Your applicable lawsuit option presents a separate question from fault. Even if another driver was primarily responsible, you may need to meet New Jersey’s injury threshold to recover compensation for pain and suffering.

If you are subject to the limitation-on-lawsuit option, qualifying injuries include:

• Death
• Dismemberment
• Significant disfigurement or significant scarring
• A displaced fracture
• Loss of a fetus
• A permanent injury supported by objective medical evidence

A permanent injury is one in which the affected body part or organ will not return to normal function, even with further treatment.

The applicable option may depend on your own policy, a household member’s policy, or rules that apply when no selection was made. It is not always determined by a choice you personally remember making.

The no-limitation-on-lawsuit option allows a pain-and-suffering claim without meeting those listed injury categories. You must still prove the other party’s liability and your damages.

These lawsuit options concern noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. They do not impose the same injury threshold on claims for economic losses, such as otherwise recoverable medical expenses and lost wages.

Protecting Your Claim After a Speeding Allegation

A speeding allegation makes it especially useful to preserve evidence and understand the basis for any fault assessment.

Keep copies of the police report, ticket, photographs, medical records, and insurance correspondence. Save any footage you have, and identify potential witnesses. Avoid deleting relevant electronic records or disposing of the vehicle before necessary evidence can be preserved.

A lawyer can help evaluate the other driver’s conduct, question an unsupported fault percentage, and determine whether expert analysis would be useful. Counsel can also review your insurance coverage, the applicable injury threshold, and any proposed settlement. These are common reasons to consider legal help after a New Jersey car accident.

You generally have two years from the accident to file a personal-injury lawsuit in New Jersey. Exceptions can change that deadline, and claims involving public entities may require notice much sooner. Negotiating with an insurer does not ordinarily stop the filing deadline from running.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue the other driver if I was speeding but they caused the crash?

You may still recover compensation if your speed contributed to the accident but your share of fault does not exceed the other driver’s—or the combined fault of the defendants you seek recovery from. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility.

Does a speeding ticket automatically make me responsible for the accident in New Jersey?

A speeding ticket alone does not establish that you caused the crash. The evidence must show how your speed and the other driver’s actions contributed to the collision or your injuries.

Can my speeding affect my settlement even if the other driver was also ticketed?

Both drivers’ actions can affect the fault assessment. The number of tickets issued does not determine the percentage of responsibility. What matters is how each driver’s conduct contributed to the harm.

What if I was speeding because I was trying to avoid another car?

The circumstances of your response matter. Evidence about the other driver’s maneuver, the time available to react, and whether your response was reasonable may affect the assessment. Trying to avoid danger does not automatically excuse speeding or establish fault.

Can I still make a claim if the police report says I was at fault?

A police report does not necessarily decide civil liability. Other evidence may support a different assessment. Your ability to recover depends on the facts, the applicable fault percentages, and the other legal requirements for your claim.

Can I receive PIP benefits if I was speeding?

Speeding alone generally does not prevent you from receiving covered PIP benefits. PIP is generally available without regard to fault, subject to your policy’s coverage, limits, deductibles, and applicable exclusions.

Get Legal Help from Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law

Getting a speeding ticket after an accident can make you feel as though the outcome has already been decided. But a traffic allegation does not tell the whole story. Another driver’s failure to yield, unsafe lane change, or other careless action may still have played a substantial role in your injuries.

Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, can review the circumstances of the collision, explain how New Jersey’s fault rules apply, and help you understand your options for seeking compensation.

Our team is available 24/7, and we offer a free consultation. Contact us today.