Personal Injury

Personal injury cases are legal disputes that arise when one person suffers harm from an accident or injury, and someone else might be legally responsible for that harm. A personal injury case can become formalized through civil court proceedings that seek to find others legally at fault through a court judgment or may be resolved through a settlement between the parties.

A personal injury case typically starts when a private individual (the “plaintiff”) files a civil “complaint” against another person, business, corporation, or government agency (the “defendant”), alleging that they acted carelessly or irresponsibly in connection with an accident or injury that caused harm. This action is known as filing a lawsuit.

Under a legal rule known as the statute of limitations, any lawsuit arising from an accident or injury must be filed within a certain time limit or the injured person’s legal claim will be barred and his or her right to sue will be lost forever. Every state has enacted its own statute of limitations, requiring any personal injury suit be filed in court within a set time after the incident or injury.

If your personal injury suit involves a claim against a federal, state, local government entity, or a government employee, you will most likely need to follow strict guidelines in bringing a lawsuit, including the requirement that you file a “notice of claim” within as few as 60 days after your injury depending on the municipality at fault. New York City has a 90-day Notice of Claim filing requirement. If you do not provide the government prompt notice of your injury claim, you may lose the right to receive any compensation for injuries caused by the government.

If you are involved in any accident in which a government agency or employee is involved (even in a minimal role), you should file a notice of claim as soon as possible, regardless of whether the government’s fault is clear at the time.

Many personal injury cases are time sensitive due to the statute of limitations placed on them and must be handled in a timely manner. If you believe that your personal injury was caused by the negligence of another party contact a personal injury attorney immediately.