Jimenez v. Baglieri

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

This appeal presents the issue of whether individuals injured by hit-and-run motorists must satisfy the verbal threshold pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:6-70(n), to recover noneconomic damages from the Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund (Fund or UCJF). We conclude the Legislature intended that claimants injured in hit- and-run accidents must satisfy the verbal threshold to recover noneconomic damages from the Fund.

I

On July 2, 1991, while on her way to work, plaintiff Jesenia Jimenez was struck by a car. The car slowed momentarily, allowing…