When people are injured because of another party’s negligence, they may wish to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. A personal injury case works to hold a negligent party responsible for injuries that occur as a result of that negligence. Sometimes, people may hesitate to bring a lawsuit against another party for a long period of time after an accident. This may be out of fear that they cannot afford the legal fees that come with the lawsuit or they do not wish to cause any further trouble. This is generally the case if the individual would be filing a claim against a relative or friend.
Often times, people do not realize that personal injury attorneys are paid on a contingency basis. This means the attorney only gets paid if they recover an award for the injured party. In addition to this, their payment is usually taken out of the award that is recovered.
Pennsylvania’s Statute of Limitations
If someone is harmed in a personal injury accident and wishes to pursue a lawsuit, it is important that they not wait too long to do so. This is because there is a statute of limitations on filing a lawsuit. A statute of limitations is a deadline that people are required to meet if they want to file a lawsuit against another party. In the state of Pennsylvania, an injured party has a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the injury to pursue a claim for a personal injury case.
If an individual does not file a lawsuit within this two-year time limit, the state of Pennsylvania will not allow them to bring a lawsuit against the negligent party.
Notice of Claim Requirements
A different process is in place to pursue a lawsuit in the event that an individual becomes injured because of a municipality’s negligence. The state of Pennsylvania has a Sovereign Immunity Act that releases its immunity in certain types of injury cases. This allows the state to be sued for injuries resulting from car accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability, negligence, and more.
In the event of this, the injured party must file a Notice of Claim. This gives notice to a municipality, informing them that the individual plans to bring a lawsuit against them. In Pennsylvania, people have a period of six months from the date of the injury to file a written Notice of Claim. An experienced personal injury attorney can be beneficial for individuals to help them navigate their case.
Contact our Firm
If you or someone you know sustained an injury in a car accident and wishes to speak with a skilled attorney, contact the Law Offices of Ilkhanoff & Silverstein today.
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