Pennsylvania Code permits personal injury victims two years to file a claim from the date of injury. This is known as a statute of limitations. If you miss the statute of limitations, you risk being barred from compensation. However, there are exceptions that “toll” the statute of limitations, allowing you extra time for recovery. If you or someone you love has suffered harm due to another’s negligence, reach out to our Harrisburg, PA, personal injury lawyers.
Two-Year Statute of Limitations
The state of Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims. The law only provides two years from the date of injury to take legal action. The statute of limitations aims to preserve evidence, since an eyewitness’s memory can fade or physical evidence can deteriorate over time. If you take your case to court after the two-year limitation period, your claim may be lost. If you are filing a wrongful death claim or survival claim, the two-year limitation period begins at the date of death, not the date of the injury itself.
Discovery Rule
There are exceptions to the two-year limitation period, one of which is the discovery rule. Under the discovery rule, the two-year legal “clock” begins when the plaintiff first becomes aware of or should have known about their injury. The discovery rule “tolls” the statute of limitations, allowing you more time to take your case to court. The discovery rule is most common in medical malpractice cases, in which the plaintiff may not immediately be aware of the harm they sustained.
Statute of Repose
Although the discovery rule pauses the statute of limitations until you discover your injury, there is a limitation. This is known as the statute of repose. A statute of repose is a hard deadline for filing certain claims, regardless of meeting a legal exception. In Pennsylvania, medical malpractice claims are governed by a seven-year statute of repose. Nonetheless, if a foreign object was left behind following surgery, no statute of repose applies.
Discovery and Pre-Trial Motions
Although you may consider forgoing representation, this is never in your best interest. Our personal injury team knows how to gather evidence efficiently to move your claim along. This applies especially if your case is headed to trial. It is not the court’s job to inform you of what legal action you can take, nor will they.
Each state has its own laws regarding discovery, or the formal exchange of information between two parties. In a personal injury claim, discovery requests may include interrogatories, depositions, requests for production, and requests for admission. Each approach comes with benefits and drawbacks. Our legal team will know which method will yield the best results based on the information we are seeking.
Moreover, our personal injury attorneys will know which pre-trial motions to file to safeguard your interests. Pre-trial motions are asking the court to take action on something, whether it be excluding evidence at trial, compelling evidence from the opposing party, or ruling on a case when the facts are undisputed (motion for summary judgment). These motions determine the trajectory of your case, so you need experienced counsel taking the lead on these issues.
Contact Our Harrisburg, PA, Personal Injury Attorneys At Your Earliest Opportunity
If you have been involved in a personal injury or accident, do not hesitate to contact Shollenberger Januzzi & Wolfe, LLP. With over three decades of serving personal injury victims, we are ready to help many more. To arrange your free consultation with one of our Harrisburg personal injury lawyers, we can be reached online or by phone at (717) 229-6580 today.