What’s the Statute of Limitations on a Personal Injury Claim in Pennsylvania?

After being injured because of another person’s negligence in Pennsylvania, you will not have an unlimited period of time to sue. In fact, you will only have 2 years to bring most cases.

In general, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Pennsylvania is just 2 years. That said, there are additional deadlines for certain accidents. Furthermore, while there are a few exceptions to the deadline, victims should not rely on them as there is no guarantee they will apply to each case.

To have our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers evaluate your case for free, call The Reiff Law Firm now at (215) 709-6940.

Pennsylvania’s Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims

The statute of limitations is the period of time during which victims can bring a claim for personal injury. This deadline tends to be the same across the board, whether you have been hurt in a slip and fall or a car accident in Pennsylvania.

Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

According to 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2), Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is 2 years. This applies to most accidents caused by negligence, excluding those involving a government entity or employee.

Car Accidents

While there are various reasons why victims might sue for injury in Pennsylvania, motor vehicle accidents tend to be at the top of that list. While victims will have 2 years to sue for car accident injuries in Pennsylvania, they must first confirm the type of car insurance they have.

If you have full tort coverage, you can sue for pain and suffering without meeting additional criteria. If you have limited tort coverage, you can only sue for non-economic damages if your injuries meet the serious injury threshold.

Wrongful Death

The filing deadline for wrongful death lawsuits is also 2 years from the day of the victim’s death in Pennsylvania.

SEPTA Accidents

Let’s start by discussing the filing period for bus accident claims in Pennsylvania. If you were injured by a SEPTA bus, for example, you will have to submit a notice of a claim within six months of the accident occurring.

The time to file train accident claims involving SEPTA or another similar government-created entity would be the same. If you do not file the necessary notice of your claim, your case might be thrown out, even if it was filed in court within 2 years of the accident.

Workplace Accidents

If you plan to file a Workers’ Compensation case, you have to report your injury within 120 days of the accident (usually 21 days is ideal), but our lawyers do not handle those claims.

If you are also filing a lawsuit, you have the usual 2 years to bring your case against third parties.

Sexual Abuse of a Minor

People who were sexually abused or assaulted as minors often do not come forward about what happened to them until well into their 50s. To combat this, Pennsylvania extended its statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse victims to file injury claims.

This allows some victims until age 55 to file claims. If you were an adult aged 18 through 23, you can file until age 30. However, these rules are not retroactive, so you have to check what the law was at the time of your abuse.

Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in Pennsylvania

There are a few exceptions that extend your filing deadline. That said, you should never assume these exceptions apply to your specific situation.

Minors

When minors are injured, they can typically wait until they turn 18 to file their own claim. The limitations period would then be “tolled” until they turned 18. That gives them until age 20 to sue the party responsible for their injuries.

If you want to file on their behalf sooner, then you have to do so within the typical 2-year limitations period.

Discovery Rule

Delayed discovery can sometimes give injury victims longer to sue in Pennsylvania. This only applies to situations where it was impossible to discover the true cause of your injury until later.

This is most common in medical malpractice claims, where the victim might have a sponge or tool inside of them that they are unaware of. They might not know until a while later that they were already a victim of negligence.

Fraudulent Concealment

Another way the filing deadline can be delayed is if you were prevented from discovering the true cause of the injury because of fraud or lies.

For example, if a doctor knows that they made a mistake while operating on you, but they say your pain is normal post-surgical pain, you might be convinced to stop investigating until months or years of persistent pain.

How to Bring Your Personal Injury Claim within the Filing Deadline in Pennsylvania

Filing your injury claim within the allotted time period requires you to act quickly and intentionally.

Call a Lawyer

Begin by contacting our lawyers. When you do this immediately, we can start investigating your claim more quickly and obtain certain evidence that is at risk of being destroyed or lost as time passes. For example, security camera footage might get deleted, or eyewitnesses’ recollections might fade.

Report Accidents and Seek Medical Care

Be sure to report your accident to the necessary individuals or law enforcement agencies and get treated for your injuries by qualified medical professionals.

Keep Records and Evidence

If you have any communications from the defendant, records of what happened, medical records, bills, financial records, or other info about the accident, keep it safe. You can put all of it in a folder or binder and keep any emails or digital records in a folder on your computer.

Typically, the more evidence you already have ready to go, the quicker we can get your case filed.

Filing Claims

Once you have decided to sue for personal injury, you must file the necessary paperwork with the court.

In your initial claim, our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers will name the defendant, outline the facts of the case, and request certain compensation for your injuries. We can then assist in negotiations with the opposing side and help you bring your case to court to recover compensatory damages in Pennsylvania.

Why is it Important to File Before the Deadline?

Getting your case filed on time is important for a few reasons:

• If you fail to bring your case before the final filing date, you will be barred from recovery.
• Filing your lawsuit as soon as possible after an accident can give you the best chance of recovery.
• When victims delay bringing personal injury claims, it can appear as though they are not committed to their recovery or that their injuries were unrelated to another party’s negligence.
• You can never trust an exception to apply, so filing before the deadline can avoid issues even if an extension would have applied.
• Waiting means dragging out how long it takes before you get paid.

FAQs for Statutes of Limitations in Pennsylvania

Is the Statute of Limitations the Same for Every Case?

Most claims get 2 years to file, but claims against the government require earlier notice. There may be extensions that are available for certain cases, but always check with a lawyer for the specific deadline in your case.

Can I File an Insurance Claim After the Deadline?

Whether an insurance claim will be covered or not depends on the terms of the insurance policy. However, you usually cannot file an insurance claim past the lawsuit’s deadline, as there is nothing to force the insurance company to pay if you can’t take them to court.

Should I File an Insurance Claim Before Suing?

Do not let the fact that you can file an insurance claim stop you from suing on time. If you miss the filing deadline in court, your case is essentially over.

You may file an insurance claim before filing a lawsuit, and the insurance company might offer you a settlement before you even get close to the statute of limitations running out. This is ideal, but only if the settlement actually covers your case in full!

When Should I Call a Lawyer?

You might have 2 years to file your case, but you should call a lawyer far sooner than that. If you can call us on the day of the accident or in the days or the week afterwards, that is ideal.

When is it Too Late to Start My Case?

Even if you think your case might be too late, call us. We may be able to prepare the case and file on time, even if you come to us close to the deadline.

If the statute of limitations has already expired, still check with us. There are exceptions that might apply, letting us get your case in the door.

Can the Statute of Limitations Change?

It is rare for the legislature to change the statute of limitations, but it can happen. Notably, sexual abuse claims involving underage victims were given an extended filing deadline in 2019.

Whether certain laws can change retroactively in Pennsylvania is an open question, and the legislature has considered opening “lookback windows” where cases can be filed anyway, even if they are otherwise too late.

How Long Do I Have to Investigate My Claim?

A lot of the evidence collection needs to be done before we file your initial claim. This helps us give the court the basic facts of what happened, why the defendant is at fault, etc.

However, once the case is filed, we can get to the “discovery” stage. At this point, we can subpoena witnesses and evidence to investigate further, get more evidence, and build an even stronger case. Talk to your lawyer about how much work needs to be done before filing versus after filing.

Why Do We Have a Statute of Limitations?

The only thing worse than having a serious injury is being told it is too late to file a claim for it. However, the statute of limitations serves at least three important purposes:

• Pushes people not to sit on their rights
• Ensures evidence and witness testimony are fresh instead of dealing with half-remembered information from years ago
• Prevents the defendant from always looking over their shoulder, wondering if a lawsuit will be filed.

What Needs to Happen by the Statute of Limitations Deadline?

Your case merely needs to be filed in court before the limitations period runs out. There is no expectation that you would have finished your case by that time, and cases can take months or years after they are actually filed.

How Long Can My Case Take?

There is no limit to how long litigation can take once the case is filed, which gives you plenty of breathing room to fully investigate the facts, file motions as needed, and prepare for trial. However, each stage has deadlines so that the parties do not drag the case out too long.

Most lawsuits take more than a year if they go all the way to trial, with some taking 2 or 3 years. However, settlements can end cases much sooner and get you the damages you need quicker.

How Long Does the Defense Have to Respond?

The defense will usually get around 30 days to respond to your lawsuit, with some exceptions. If they do not, and we can show that they were properly served with notice of the lawsuit, we can request what is known as a “default judgment.”

Essentially, a defendant who ignores a case filed against them is considered to have waived their defense and consented to giving up the damages without contest. We can then take our default judgment to court and get payment enforced against the defendant.

Call Our Pennsylvania Attorneys About Your Personal Injury Case Today

Call our Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers at (215) 709-6940 for a free case assessment from The Reiff Law Firm.