If you have the right to seek justice for a harmful accident in New York, it’s important that you do not wait to do so. New York imposes strict deadlines on all personal injury lawsuits. If you wait too long and do not file within your statute of limitations, you will lose the ability to recover any financial compensation for your losses.
What Is a Statute of Limitations?
A statute of limitations is a law that imposes a time limit on the ability to take legal action. There are civil and criminal statutes of limitations in the State of New York. These legal deadlines are in place to keep the justice system fair and time-efficient for everyone.
Typically, if a plaintiff or filing party attempts to file a personal injury claim outside of the statute of limitations, the courts will prevent the case from proceeding. For this reason, it is important to act quickly if you believe you have grounds for a claim.
Three Years: Most Personal Injury Cases
Under the Consolidated Laws of New York §214, most personal injury claims must be commenced within three years of the date of the incident. This is true of the majority of car accident, slip and fall, premises liability, workplace accident, and other common types of personal injury cases. Three years is also the deadline for property damage claims.
Two Years and Six Months: Medical Malpractice
A personal injury claim filed against a hospital, health care center or medical provider for medical malpractice in New York has a deadline of two and a half years. If the case involves a foreign object left behind after a medical procedure, however, a claim must be filed within one year of discovery. A cancer misdiagnosis case also has a unique deadline of two years from the date of discovering the misdiagnosis.
Two Years: Wrongful Death
New York Estates, Powers & Trusts Law §5-4.1 requires any wrongful death claim filed for the death of a person caused by a “wrongful act, neglect or default” to be commenced within two years after the deceased person’s date of death. This may or may not be the same day as the harmful accident, depending on whether the decedent survived for any length of time prior to death.
One Year: Intentional Torts
Certain intentional torts or wrongdoings come with personal injury filing deadlines of just one year. This includes injuries caused by assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. It is common for the courts to toll (pause) the statute of limitations until any criminal cases against the defendant for the same tort have been completed.
90 Days: Government Tort
Special rules apply to claims filed against government agencies in New York. Under the state’s tort laws, a personal injury case against a government entity must be initiated in just 90 days with a Notice of Claim. From there, the claimant has 1 year and 90 days to file a lawsuit.
Unique Deadlines in Special Circumstances
There are exceptions to every statute of limitations in New York. Special circumstances can give a claimant more or less time to file than the general deadline, depending on the situation. If you want to avoid missing your time limit and forfeiting the right to pursue a personal injury case, contact an attorney as soon as possible after a harmful accident in New York. A lawyer can file the necessary legal paperwork for you by your deadline to preserve your right to recover.