Client Advisory
Additional Recent Client Advisories
New Jersey Appellate Division Reaffirms Plaintiffs’ Obligation to Provide “Objective Evidence” to Overcome Verbal Threshold
On October 21, 2025, the Appellate Division in Orlando v. Williams confirmed that plaintiffs cannot use their subjective complaints to satisfy the requirements to overcome the verbal threshold under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a). As the Appellate Division explained, to overcome the verbal threshold at the summary-judgment stage, a plaintiff must present objective medical evidence of a permanent injury. In Orlando, the plaintiff provided no objective evidence, though he did refer to (but did not include) an MRI report. The Appellate Division confirmed that this was insufficient; even if Plaintiff had included the MRI report, it would not have sufficed, as MRI reports must be interpreted by a qualified physician and cannot be “bootstrapped into evidence.”
Key Takeaway: In assessing summary-judgment strategy, clients should examine whether the plaintiff has disclosed in discovery any objective evidence (radiology films and expert declarations, for example) of a permanent injury. If not, consider filing a motion for summary judgment on that basis.