The statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is three years. When the statute of limitations accrues or starts counting down differs depending on whether the plaintiff is an adult or child at the time of injury.
Standard statutes of limitations in injury cases affect children differently because children are too young to file a lawsuit on their own. Rather than having three years from the date of injury to sue, minors have three years from turning 18 to file lawsuits. The statute of limitations might be extended for other reasons, and different statutes of limitations apply to wrongful death, medical malpractice, and even childhood sexual assault lawsuits. If your child is injured, you should get medical attention immediately and then contact our attorneys to figure out how and when you can file a lawsuit for damages.
Our Westchester personal injury attorneys can give you a free case evaluation when you call The Martello Law Firm at (914) 685-6950.
What is the General Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims in New York?
The general statute of limitations for adults filing personal injury claims is three years, according to C.V.P. Law § 214(5). The clock typically begins to count down on the date of injury, so don’t waste any time contacting our lawyers. This is known as the date of accrual, which differs for victims injured as children.
While three years often seems like ample time to victims, it is not long to gather evidence, prepare claims, and file lawsuits. We may need to utilize much of the statute of limitations to build your case, and contacting us immediately ensures we have sufficient time to do so.
While there are several exceptions to the statute of limitations for plaintiffs regardless of their age, assume you only have three years to sue before confirming so with us. Our Yonkers personal injury attorneys can help you figure out the deadline for your case and ensure you don’t miss it.
Missing the statute of limitations bars plaintiffs from getting any compensation, so learning and sticking to your filing deadline is crucial.
Does New York Have a Filing Extension for Injury Lawsuits for Minors?
When a child is injured, the statute of limitations gets tolled on account of their “infancy.” Infancy is a legal term that refers to being under the age of 18. This “tolling” pauses the statute of limitations from running, giving children a fair chance to file their lawsuits for their injuries when they are adults who can better understand what happened to them and their legal rights to file a lawsuit.
According to § 208(a), the statute of limitations does not begin to run until a minor victim turns 18. Since a 3-year statute of limitations generally governs personal injury cases, minors end up having until they turn 21 to file a case.
If this rule didn’t exist, a plaintiff could lose their right to sue while they are still a child and cannot bring a claim independently.
Does New York Have Other Filing Extensions for Injury Lawsuits?
In addition to the tolling exception specifically for plaintiffs injured as children, there are more tolling exceptions. These can apply to any plaintiff, including you if you were injured in New York.
Insanity
The same statute that tolls the filing deadline for infancy also tolls it for insanity. The statute of limitations will remain paused until the plaintiff’s disability is lifted and will begin to count down then.
Absence from the State
Under § 207, the defendant’s departure from the state pauses the statute of limitations. This is relevant in various personal injury scenarios, but especially in car accident cases involving out-of-state drivers.
Residing Under a False Name
If the person who is liable for your injuries resides in New York under a false name, the statute of limitations will be paused during that time.
Delayed Discovery
Not all physical harms are instantly obvious to victims. Shock can sometimes delay pain, and internal or soft tissue injuries are not always immediately discovered. If you receive tolling for delayed discovery, the statute of limitations will start on the date you learned of your injuries, not when you suffered them.
To get tolling for delayed discovery, we must show you could not have reasonably discovered your injuries sooner, which medical experts can help with.
Are There Different Filing Deadlines for Specific Types of Claims in New York?
While there are different dates of accrual for adults and children for typical personal injury claims, there are also different statutes of limitations for specific types of claims in New York. Instead of having three years from the date of accrual to sue, you may have less.
Wrongful Death
The filing deadline for wrongful death claims in New York is two years, regardless of the victim’s age. The date of accrual is the date of death, which may differ from the date of injury. While only the deceased victim’s personal representative can sue for wrongful death, their spouse, children, and possibly even their parents may recover damages.
If criminal charges come from a wrongful death, the victim’s personal representative has one year from the end of criminal proceedings to file a lawsuit.
Medical Malpractice
The statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits in New York is two and a half years. Medical malpractice claims also have a “statute of repose,” which only tolls the statute of limitations for so long.
Statutes of repose are like statutes of limitations in that they impose deadlines for filing lawsuits. However, a statute of repose is far stricter and cannot be extended, making it the final word on the matter. The statute of repose in medical malpractice cases prevents the statute of limitations from being tolled for more than 10 years, even for infancy.
What’s more, if a victim learns of a foreign object left in their body during surgery, § 214-a(a) gives them one year from the date of discovery to file.
Childhood Sexual Abuse
People who were victims of sexual abuse as children are provided much more time to file a lawsuit against their abuser. This is likely because child sex abuse is an incredibly heinous offense, and victims of this offense are often abused for years, making it very difficult to take legal action or even report the abuse.
Under § 208(b), survivors of childhood sexual abuse have until their 55th birthday to file injury lawsuits. This means if someone was sexually abused when they were very young, they have decades to report the abuse and file the case. If this sounds like your situation, our New Rochelle personal injury attorneys can help you start your case. This law applies retroactively to child abuse cases that occurred before the new law was enacted in 2019, so don’t hesitate to reach out, even if the abuse ended long ago.
What to Do if Your Child is Injured in New York
If your child has been injured because of someone else’s negligence, they may have a valid personal injury claim. Unfortunately, parents are often unsure about taking legal action. By the time the child becomes an adult, the evidence may be lost, and the odds of winning the case and receiving compensation decrease. Talk to us if your child is injured, and we can explain their case’s viability and potential compensation.
Get Them Medical Attention
If your child is injured, the very first thing you should do is get emergency help. Take them to the hospital if necessary and ensure they get the appropriate follow-up care. Medical treatment can be expensive, but a lawsuit should cover all costs associated with your child’s care.
Medical records play a crucial role in proving a case, and we assist parents in obtaining and organizing these records, allowing them to focus on their healing child.
Call Our Injury Lawyers
Once your child is recovering, you should speak to our Mount Vernon personal injury lawyers about when you or your child can take legal action. The deadline for your child’s case might vary based on their age and the kind of injuries involved. Even if you are unsure whether you want to take legal action, it is a good idea to speak to our attorneys.
We can review medical damages from the injury and other expenses parents face when their children are hurt in accidents. After learning what’s recoverable from a lawsuit, many parents opt to proceed with litigation.
File a Lawsuit
While your child might be able to have the statute tolled until they turn 18, it is best to take legal action now while the case is still fresh. Waiting until your child turns 18 to file a lawsuit means important evidence, witnesses, and records that might be used as evidence could be lost. Even if we do not file the case immediately, we can still collect and preserve evidence.
Parents may file lawsuits on behalf of their children so that they can cover the cost of surgeries, physical therapy, mobility aids, hospital stays, and other costly damages from an accident.
Call Our New York Personal Injury Attorneys for a Free Evaluation of Your Case
Call our White Plains personal injury attorneys for a free case review from The Martello Law Firm at (914) 685-6950.
