When a family loses someone they love to another’s negligence, the heartbreak and upheaval are immeasurable. Our team at The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. understands the depth of that loss, and we come together to help families in Westfield and Union County navigate the legal path ahead with compassion and clarity.
We believe that while no legal action can ever replace a loved one, a wrongful death claim is a way to hold the responsible party accountable and secure the support your family needs for the future. Our attorneys and staff work closely with every family, bringing together decades of experience, local knowledge, and a genuine commitment to making this process as straightforward and supportive as possible.
We approach every case as a team, guiding you through each step, from the first conversation to the final resolution. We know that you need answers, practical guidance, and space to grieve, so we handle the investigation and the legal burdens, allowing you to focus on your family.
If you have lost a loved one and are considering your options, we invite you to reach out to our team for a conversation. There’s no cost or pressure, just answers and support when you’re ready.
New Jersey law actually provides for two related but distinct claims after a person dies from another's negligence, and understanding the difference helps a family see what can be recovered. The wrongful death claim, under the Wrongful Death Act at N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1, compensates the surviving family for what they have lost by the death, principally the financial support, services, and guidance the person would have provided.
The survival claim, under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, is different: it preserves the personal injury claim the person themselves would have had, recovering for the losses they suffered between the injury and death, such as their conscious pain and suffering and their own economic losses in that period.
The two claims are brought together by the estate's representative, and they compensate different harms, the family's loss of the person, and the person's own losses before death. Recognizing that both of these claims exist is important, because only together do they capture the full measure of what a negligent death has caused to the person and to the family.
The recovery belongs to the people who would inherit the person's property under New Jersey's intestacy law if there were no will, most often a surviving spouse and children (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4). A surviving spouse and children share equally. If any of those heirs depended on the person for support, the court, without a jury, divides the recovery among the dependents in a fair and equitable way, considering factors such as their ages, health, educational needs, and other means of support.
What the wrongful death claim provides is compensation for the survivors' losses, which the law frames in terms of the value of what the person would have contributed. This includes the financial support the person would have provided, the value of services they performed for the family, and the guidance, counsel, and companionship that have a recognized value, particularly for children who lose a parent. The claim does not, under New Jersey law, compensate the survivors for their own emotional grief as such, which makes careful presentation of the recognized categories of loss important to a full recovery.
Who can bring a wrongful death claim in New Jersey?
The personal representative of the person who died brings the claim on behalf of the surviving family members who depended on them. The family does not file individually; the estate's representative pursues the claim for the benefit of the survivors the law recognizes, such as a spouse and children.
A wrongful death claim can follow from any fatal injury caused by another's negligence or wrongful act, and the underlying causes mirror the kinds of serious injuries that, when survived, give rise to an ordinary injury claim. A fatal traffic collision is the most common source, whether it involves a passenger car, a large truck accident, a motorcycle accident, or a person on foot, and the death does not change the fundamental question of who was at fault, only the framework in which the claim proceeds.
Other fatal injuries arise on dangerous property, from defective products, from impaired driving, and from a range of other negligent conduct. In each case, the wrongful death claim is built on establishing the same liability that would support an injury claim: that someone breached a duty of care and caused the harm, with the death making careful proof all the more important because the person who was injured cannot describe what happened. Determining precisely how the fatal injury occurred, and who was responsible for it, is the foundation on which the family's entire claim is built.
Many fatal crashes around Westfield happen on its busiest corridors. North and South Avenue (Route 28) run east and west alongside the NJ Transit rail line through the commercial district; East and West Broad Street carry downtown shopping, dining, and civic traffic; Central Avenue links Westfield to Clark and the Garden State Parkway at Exit 135; and Springfield Avenue and Mountain Avenue carry traffic north toward Mountainside and US Route 22, which runs along the town's northern edge. Parkway crashes near Exit 135 in Clark and Exit 137 in Cranford happen just outside town limits, but both interchanges are also in Union County.
When a crash on these roads proves fatal, the most seriously injured are often taken to University Hospital in Newark, the state-designated Level I trauma center for northern New Jersey and the nearest designated trauma center to Westfield, about 13 miles away. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway, about 5 miles away, offers urgent medical care but is not a designated trauma center.
In 2025, Westfield recorded 104 injury crashes and one traffic death, and Union County as a whole saw 29 people killed in 27 fatal crashes (NJDOT crash data, 2025). The wrongful death claim that follows is built on the same investigation any serious crash requires: the scene, the vehicle evidence, the witnesses, the official reports, undertaken to establish who was responsible. Pairing knowledge of where fatal crashes occur around Westfield with a thorough reconstruction of how a particular one happened is part of building the family's claim.
A wrongful death claim, and the estate's survival claim, must generally be filed within two years of the date of death (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3; N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3). There is one narrow exception: if the death resulted from murder, aggravated manslaughter, or manslaughter and the person responsible has been convicted, found not guilty by reason of insanity, or adjudicated delinquent, the claim may be brought at any time. A conviction for vehicular homicide (death by auto) is not on that list, so families should treat the two-year deadline as firm.
There are important variations to be aware of. A claim against a public entity, such as one involving a government vehicle or a dangerous public road, requires a written notice of claim within ninety days under the Tort Claims Act, a far shorter and stricter deadline.
Because the two-year rule has only the narrow homicide-conviction exception, and vehicular homicide is not included, families should not assume other circumstances extend the deadline. Because the deadlines are firm and the evidence that establishes responsibility fades, addressing a wrongful death claim within the proper time, and identifying early whether a shorter public-entity deadline applies, is essential to preserving the family's claim.
A fatal injury often involves more than one responsible party, and identifying all of them is important both for full accountability and for the recovery available to the family. A fatal crash may involve multiple drivers, or a driver and a party responsible for a dangerous road condition; a fatal truck crash may implicate the driver, the trucking company, and others in the chain; and a fatal injury on property or from a product may involve an owner, a manager, or a manufacturer.
New Jersey's allocation rules divide responsibility among the parties found at fault, and the family can recover from each according to its share, with full recovery available from a party sixty percent or more responsible. Because a wrongful death claim addresses the loss of a person's lifetime of support and services, the value can be substantial and may exceed a single party's coverage, which makes reaching every responsible party and every applicable policy important. Investigating the full chain of responsibility is part of ensuring the family's loss is fully addressed.
Valuing a wrongful death claim is a careful process, because the law measures the survivors' loss in terms of what the person would have provided over their lifetime, and capturing that fully requires looking beyond immediate figures. The financial support component projects the income and contributions the person would have made to the family over their working life and beyond, accounting for their earnings, their career trajectory, and the support they would have given.
Beyond financial support, the law recognizes the value of the services the person performed for the family, the household work, the care of children or other family members, and the guidance, counsel, and companionship that a parent provides to children in particular. These have a recognized economic value even though they were not paid for, and presenting them fully is an important part of the claim. Because New Jersey does not compensate the survivors' grief itself as a separate category, careful development of the recognized categories of loss is what allows a wrongful death claim to reflect the true scope of what the family has lost.
Alongside the wrongful death claim brought for the family, the survival claim recovers what the person who died experienced themselves between the injury and death, and it is an important and sometimes overlooked part of the case. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, the survival claim preserves the cause of action the person would have had if they had lived, allowing recovery for their conscious pain and suffering before death, their own economic losses in that period (such as lost wages and any medical expenses not covered by their own auto insurance).
In a car crash, medical bills paid or payable under New Jersey personal injury protection (PIP) coverage generally cannot be recovered from the at-fault driver (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-12). The survival claim also allows reasonable funeral and burial expenses.
The survival claim matters most where the person survived the injury for a period, even a short one, during which they endured conscious pain and suffering, because that suffering is compensable through the survival claim, though it would not be captured by the wrongful death claim. The two claims work together: the survival claim addresses the person's own experience and losses, and the wrongful death claim addresses the family's loss of the person. Pursuing both is what captures the complete harm a negligent death has caused.
A wrongful death claim rests on establishing how the fatal injury occurred and who was responsible. Because the person who was harmed cannot describe the events, the investigation carries particular weight. The same evidence that supports any serious injury claim, including the physical scene, photographs and measurements, any video, vehicle or property evidence, official reports, and witness accounts, must be gathered and preserved, often with greater urgency because there is no surviving account from the person who was injured.
This evidence is perishable, and much of it disappears in the days and weeks after a fatal incident as scenes are cleared, vehicles repaired, and video overwritten. A prompt, thorough investigation is what preserves the proof of responsibility before it is lost, and it is especially important in a wrongful death case both because the stakes for the family are so high and because the burden of reconstructing events falls entirely on the evidence. Building the family's claim on a sound investigation, undertaken promptly, is what allows responsibility to be established and the loss to be fully addressed.
Not every fatal injury involves a vehicle occupant. A pedestrian killed while walking, struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk, at an intersection, or along a road, gives rise to a wrongful death claim built on the driver's failure of the duty owed to people on foot. The area around the train station and the downtown crossings on Broad Street and North and South Avenue, busy with commuters and shoppers, are among the settings where such a tragedy can occur.
A fatal pedestrian incident is investigated like any serious crash involving a person on foot, with attention to the crosswalk, the right of way, the driver's conduct, and any video or witnesses, and the wrongful death claim follows from establishing the driver's responsibility.
Where a hit-and-run is involved, identifying the driver becomes an added and urgent task, and uninsured motorist coverage may provide a path to recovery if the driver cannot be found. Establishing how a fatal pedestrian incident happened, and who was responsible, is the foundation of the family's claim.
Some of the most painful wrongful death cases follow a Westfield car accident caused by an impaired driver, where the death resulted from a choice that should never have been made. The responsible parties can extend beyond the driver. A bar or restaurant can be liable only if it served the driver while the driver was visibly intoxicated, or served a minor it knew or should have known was underage, and that service caused the crash (N.J.S.A. 2A:22A-5).
A private host can be liable for an adult guest's crash only if the host willfully and knowingly served the guest while visibly intoxicated in the host's presence, and the guest's blood alcohol level matters: below 0.10%, the law conclusively presumes the guest was not visibly intoxicated (N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.6). Because these claims turn on proof of what the server or host saw, receipts, video, and witness accounts need to be preserved quickly.
These cases also raise the possibility of punitive damages, which are meant to punish especially reckless conduct. New Jersey requires clear and convincing proof that the defendant acted with actual malice or wanton and willful disregard of the people who could foreseeably be harmed.
Punitive damages are ordinarily capped at five times the compensatory award or $350,000, whichever is greater, but that cap does not apply at all where the driver has been convicted of drunk driving, refusing a breath test, or of murder or manslaughter. In a fatal case, punitive damages are pursued through the estate's survival claim, because the family's wrongful death claim is limited to financial loss.
The same urgency to preserve evidence applies, because the proof of overservice that can expand the recovery is as perishable in a fatal case as in any other. Identifying every responsible party, and the possibility of punitive damages, is part of pursuing the full measure of a loss caused by an impaired driver.
The insurer defending a wrongful death claim approaches it with the goal of limiting what it pays, and a family should understand its methods. The insurer may dispute liability, contesting how the fatal injury happened or assigning fault to the person who died. Under New Jersey's Comparative Negligence Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1, the decedent's fault does not bar recovery as long as their share of fault is not greater than the share of the defendant(s); if so, the recovery is reduced by that percentage.
If the decedent is found more at fault than the defendants, the claim recovers nothing. This makes the evidence of how the crash happened especially important. The insurer may also dispute the value of the claim, minimizing the projected financial support and the value of the services and guidance the person would have provided. It may extend an early settlement offer before the full scope of the loss is developed.
If the decedent is found more at fault than the defendants, the claim recovers nothing. This makes the evidence of how the crash happened especially important. The insurer may also dispute the value of the claim, minimizing the projected financial support and the value of the services and guidance the person would have provided. It may extend an early settlement offer before the full scope of the loss is developed.
A grieving family is in a vulnerable position, and an early offer can be tempting at a difficult time, but it can fall far short of what the law allows the family to recover. The answer to the insurer's approach is the same as in any serious claim: a sound investigation establishing responsibility, and careful development of every recognized category of loss, the financial support, the services, and the guidance and companionship the law values. Building the claim fully, rather than accepting an early valuation, is what allows it to reflect the true measure of the family's loss.
In the aftermath of a fatal injury, there is little a grieving family should feel obligated to do, and the most important steps are practical measures that protect the family's options when they are ready to consider them. Preserving records and information related to the incident, including official reports, witness contact information, photographs, and any documentation of what happened, keeps the door open to a claim without requiring immediate decisions.
Being cautious about early contact from an insurer is also wise, since a representative may reach out before the family has had time to understand their situation, and a family is under no obligation to give a recorded statement or accept an offer.
Beyond that, the practical reality is that the evidence establishing responsibility fades and a filing deadline runs, so understanding the situation before too much time passes protects the family's options. A first conversation, whenever the family is ready, can clarify what those options are without any commitment.
Not every wrongful death arises from a traffic crash. A fatal injury can result from a dangerous condition on property, a fall, a fire, or another hazard an owner failed to address, or from a defective product that caused a fatal injury. In these cases, the wrongful death claim is built on the same theories that support a serious injury claim, premises liability or product liability, with the death making careful proof of responsibility all the more important.
A fatal fire deserves particular mention, because it can implicate both a property owner or landlord who failed to maintain safe conditions and the manufacturer of a defective product that started it, and the physical evidence, the fire scene, the suspected product, is both decisive and perishable.
A fatal injury from a defective product likewise depends on preserving the product for analysis. Determining the cause of a fatal injury on property or from a product, and identifying every responsible party, is the foundation of these wrongful death claims, just as it is for the underlying injury claims.
A claim against a public entity, such as a town, county, the State, NJ Transit, or the New Jersey Turnpike Authority that operates the Garden State Parkway, falls under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. A written notice of claim must be filed within 90 days after the claim accrues (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8); for a wrongful death claim, that is generally the date of death, not the date of the crash.
If 90 days pass, a Superior Court judge may still allow late notice within one year of accrual if there are extraordinary circumstances and the public entity is not substantially prejudiced (N.J.S.A. 59:8-9), but that relief is discretionary and difficult to obtain. The lawsuit itself cannot be filed until six months after the notice is received and must be filed within two years of accrual.
The Act also limits damages. Punitive damages cannot be awarded against a public entity, and pain-and-suffering damages against a public entity or employee are limited to cases of permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent disfigurement, or dismemberment with medical expenses above $3,600 (N.J.S.A. 59:9-2), a limit that can affect the survival claim. Because the deadlines are strict and missing them can bar a claim, determining early whether a public entity may be responsible is one of the most important first steps in a wrongful death case.
Where a fatal injury may involve a public road, a government vehicle, or another public responsibility, the shortened notice period and two-year suit deadline make prompt attention essential to preserving the family's claim.
The law governing wrongful death claims applies statewide, but a fatal injury occurs in a specific place and the claim is heard in a specific court. Familiarity with both adds value for a family. Knowing where fatal injuries occur around Westfield, including high-speed traffic on the Garden State Parkway and Route 22, conflicts along Route 28 and in the downtown and station area, and the properties and products that can cause fatal harm helps in understanding how a loss happened and in establishing responsibility for it.
That familiarity also reaches the institutions a serious case passes through, from University Hospital in Newark, the regional Level I trauma center where the most gravely injured are taken, to the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth, where a contested claim is heard in the Union Vicinage. Pairing command of New Jersey's wrongful death and survival statutes with attention to the specific facts of a loss in Westfield is what allows a family's claim to be handled with both the legal rigor and the care that such a case requires.
Because timing is so important in a wrongful death case, it helps to see clearly how the two principal deadlines differ. The ordinary wrongful death deadline is two years, but it runs from the date of death rather than the date of the injury, which can matter when a person survives an injury for a period before dying. A family should not assume the clock began at the time of the original injury, because for the wrongful death claim it begins at the death itself.
For claims against public entities, the 90-day notice period also runs from the date the claim accrues, which is generally the date of death in wrongful death cases. If the 90 days pass, a judge may allow late notice within one year of accrual for extraordinary circumstances and no substantial prejudice to the public entity. The lawsuit itself cannot be filed until six months after notice and must be filed within two years of accrual. These rules are set by N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 and 59:8-9.
The public-entity deadline is entirely different and far shorter: a written notice of claim within ninety days of the incident, with the lawsuit following later. This applies whenever a public entity may be responsible, and it can arrive long before a family has even begun to consider legal options. The gap between the two-year ordinary deadline and the ninety-day public-entity notice is exactly why determining early whether a public entity may be involved is so important, since the shorter deadline can end a valid claim before anyone realizes it was running.
A wrongful death case is unlike other legal matters in one essential respect: at its center is a family's grief, and the way the claim is handled should reflect that. The legal work, the investigation, the valuation, the dealings with insurers, proceed with the same rigor any serious case requires, but it should not add to the family's burden or rush them through decisions they are not ready to make. A family deserves to understand their options clearly and to proceed at a pace that respects what they are going through.
This means explaining the two claims, the deadlines, and the categories of recovery in plain terms, taking on the investigative and procedural work so the family does not have to, and being honest about what a claim can and cannot do. No claim restores what a family has lost, and saying so plainly is part of handling these matters with integrity. What a claim can do is establish responsibility and provide for the family's future, and pursuing that fully, while carrying the legal burden on the family's behalf, is the aim in every wrongful death case.
Among the gravest wrongful death losses is a child's loss of a parent, and New Jersey law recognizes harms in that situation that go beyond the financial. A child who loses a parent loses not only the financial support the parent would have provided through the years of the child's dependency, but also the guidance, counsel, training, and companionship a parent provides, harms the law treats as having real, recognized value.
Presenting a child's loss fully requires capturing both dimensions. The financial component projects the support the parent would have contributed during the child's upbringing and beyond, while the value of guidance and companionship reflects the parent's role in raising and counseling the child through the years ahead.
Because these losses extend across a child's development, valuing them carefully is essential to a claim that reflects the true scope of what the child has lost. Giving full weight to a child's loss of a parent is an important part of a wrongful death claim involving surviving children.
The personal representative of the estate brings it on behalf of the people who would inherit the person’s property under New Jersey intestacy law, most often a surviving spouse and children. If any of those heirs depended on the person for support, the court divides the recovery among the dependents fairly.
The wrongful death claim compensates the family for their loss of the person. The survival claim recovers the losses the person suffered between the injury and death.
The financial losses the family suffers from the death, including the support, services, and guidance the person would have provided, together with the hospital, medical, and funeral expenses incurred for the person who died (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-5). New Jersey does not compensate the survivors' grief itself. The estate's survival claim separately recovers the person's own losses before death and reasonable funeral and burial expenses (N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3).
Generally, wrongful death or survival claims must be filed within two years of death (N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3; 2A:15-3). The deadline does not apply when death results from murder, aggravated manslaughter, or manslaughter and the responsible person is convicted, found not guilty by reason of insanity, or adjudicated delinquent. Vehicular homicide is excluded. Claims against public entities require written notice within 90 days of accrual, usually the date of death. A judge may permit late notice within one year for extraordinary circumstances if there is no substantial prejudice (N.J.S.A. 59:8-9). The lawsuit must be filed at least six months after notice is received and within two years of accrual.
Responsibility can be divided among multiple parties under New Jersey's allocation rules, and each may contribute to the recovery. Identifying every responsible party matters.
We understand that no legal claim can ease the loss of a loved one, and a first conversation is simply a chance to understand your situation and your options, at no cost. You can contact the firm to talk through what happened whenever you are ready.
The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. represents families throughout Westfield and Union County after a fatal injury, with staff who speak Spanish, Russian, and other languages spoken across the community. Attorney Sander Budanitsky has represented injured New Jersey clients and their families since 1996 and is admitted in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Call us today at 908-241-3445 today and start your legal journey towards recovery.
Last reviewed: June 2026. This page was reviewed by Sander Budanitsky, licensed in New Jersey since 1996. It is provided for general information and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed New Jersey attorney for guidance specific to your situation.
The Law Offices of Sander Budanitsky, L.L.C. welcomes calls from potential clients and from attorneys looking to refer or co-counsel a matter. Whether it is an injury claim, a civil dispute, a criminal charge, or an immigration question, the first conversation is free and there is no obligation to hire the firm afterward.
Call the Roselle, New Jersey office at (908) 241-3445 or the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office at (215) 545-2300. You can also send the details through the contact form and someone from the office will get back to you. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
