It’s common to hear talk of suing to recover personal injury compensation after an accident. In reality, most cases close through negotiation and settlement rather than through a court verdict. However, from time to time, filing a lawsuit is necessary — but it’s only possible if you file before the deadline.
Pennsylvania sets different timeframes for different types of cases, so it’s important to know how long you have and why you should call a lawyer as soon as possible.
Pennsylvania Lawsuit Deadlines
The deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is called the statute of limitations. How long you have to file is different in every state. Many states even set different deadlines for different types of cases. For example, it’s common for states to have different time limits for personal injury and wrongful death cases.
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations in most cases is two years from the date of the injury. This is true in a variety of case types, including:
● Personal injury
● Wrongful death
● Medical malpractice
One noteworthy exception is with workers’ compensation lawsuits. If you end up needing to file a lawsuit to recover workers’ compensation benefits for a workplace injury or death, you typically have three years from the date of the accident. However, workers’ comp claims are particularly complicated.
While you have longer to file a workers’ comp lawsuit, there are also strict laws about reporting the injury. You need to report the injury to your employer within 21 days of the accident. If you don’t report it within 120 days, you can lose any chance of recovering compensation.
Exceptions to Lawsuit Deadlines in PA
Pennsylvania laws are very strict when it comes to the deadline for filing a lawsuit. There are only a few exceptions that allow you to file after the deadline has passed.
Filing a lawsuit after the window allowed by the statute of limitations is a practice known as tolling. Tolling means that the clock on your two- or three-year window begins at a later point in time. Valid reasons that might allow you to have your deadline extended include:
● You didn’t discover the injuries right away
● You weren’t aware of the other person’s negligence
● Someone committed fraud to conceal negligence
● You were a minor at the time of the injury
Time limits in personal injury cases are complex. For example, injuries to minors allow the statute of limitation to begin on the minor’s 18th birthday, meaning you have until age 20 to seek compensation. There are also certain situations in which time frames are longer. Two examples are when you are seeking compensation for an occupational disease or for sexual assault.
Get Help With PA Personal Injury Compensation
There’s a lot your lawyer needs to do before filing a lawsuit. An attorney will first conduct an investigation, build a case, and attempt negotiations. A lawsuit is usually the final step in the process of trying to recover the compensation you need.
Waiting too long to get legal help puts you at risk of running out of time. If you’re serious about recovering the injury compensation you need, it’s best to call a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
