New Jersey Appellate Division Limits Recovery of Future Medical Expenses Covered by PIP

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently held that future medical expenses payable through available Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) benefits are “collectible” under the No-Fault Act and therefore inadmissible in a civil personal injury action pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:6A-12.

In the case of Murray v. Punina,(A-51-24)(090246) , the plaintiff sought damages for anticipated future medical treatment despite having remaining available PIP coverage. The court rejected the argument that such expenses were merely “unpaid” because treatment had not yet occurred. Instead, the court concluded that future medical expenses remain “collectible” where they will be legally payable through existing PIP benefits once treatment is rendered.

Because the plaintiff’s projected future medical expenses would not exhaust available PIP limits, the court held that the medical expenses should not have been presented to a jury.

Why is this significant?

The decision reinforces the No-Fault Act’s policy against double recovery and provides defendants and insurers with a stronger basis to challenge claims for future medical damages where PIP benefits remain available. Often, Plaintiff’s will have experts opining upon the need for future surgeries, and would defer treatment until after trial thereby enhancing their damage award. Not anymore.

Practically, we will be closely evaluating remaining PIP limits in automobile injury cases and will seek to bar future medical expenses that would be covered by PIP.

If you have any questions about the information in this post or if you would like to learn more on this topic, you can contact Joshua Filzer at jfilzer@hoaglandlongo.com, Jack Simons at jsimons@hoaglandlongo.com, or call 732-545-4717.