Don’t Delay: When You Should File Your Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Suit
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, under the Statute of Limitations, any personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years from the date of the accident, injury or death. If the lawsuit is filed even one day after the expiration of the two-year deadline, the defendant(s) will have an absolute defense and the court will not allow the claim to proceed, regardless of how egregious the defendant(s) actions were or how severe the injuries are.
While two years may seem like a lot of time, it is important to file the lawsuit as soon as practically possible. In many cases, there may be people or companies that violated their duties and responsibilities in ways that caused the plaintiff’s accident and injuries, but that are unknown or unknowable prior to filing a lawsuit. Filing your lawsuit well before the expiration of the Statute of Limitations will allow your attorneys to engage in discovery and potentially uncover responsible people or companies that were not named as defendants in the lawsuit. As long as those responsible people or companies are discovered prior to the expiration of the Statute of Limitations, they can be added as defendants to the lawsuit.
If, however, the lawsuit is filed only a short time before the Statute of Limitations deadline, there may not be enough time for your attorney to conduct adequate discovery before the applicable deadline expires. After the expiration of the Statute of Limitations deadline, even if additional people or companies that were responsible for the accident and injuries are discovered, you will be unable to add them to the lawsuit as defendants. It is therefore important to file your lawsuit as soon as practically possible to allow enough time to discover other potentially responsible people or companies. The Statute of Limitations varies from state to state, and also is dependent on the type of lawsuit you are attempting to bring. Contact the attorneys at Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky as soon as possible to fully explore your options.