Any time you are involved in legal action, you will be required to meet certain deadlines. The most serious of those deadlines are what we call the statute of limitations. That is the timeframe within which one is required to bring a lawsuit for whatever reason you might have in order to put limits on how long somebody who caused an injury is going to be held responsible for that injury. In essence, if you do not file a lawsuit within the timeframes of a statute of limitations, you’re going to be foreclosed from ever making that claim in the future.
In personal injury cases, the typical statute of limitations is three years from the date of the accident, but there are situations involving municipalities where your statute of limitations is much shorter. If you plan to bring a case against a municipality, you will have to file a notice of claim within 90 days, and you have to start your lawsuit within one year of those 90 days.
Then again, if it’s a medical malpractice lawsuit, the insurance industry and the medical profession were able to get the legislature to reduce the timeframe within which you could file a lawsuit in a medical malpractice case from what was three years to now only two and a half years. It was done intentionally to prevent or limit medical malpractice lawsuits.
If you have been injured in an accident and are considering legal action, it is important to act quickly. If you fail to meet the deadlines set, you will not be permitted to bring a case against the negligent party, which can ultimately prevent you from recovering the compensation you are entitled to.
Hausman & Pendzick effectively represents victims of neglect in Westchester County and across the state of New York. If you need a knowledgeable and skilled personal injury attorney to help you recover compensation after an accident, contact Hausman & Pendzick today.