{"id":8332,"date":"2020-12-08T13:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T18:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10028\/uncategorized\/new-york-statute-of-limitations-personal-injuries\/"},"modified":"2022-08-18T21:16:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T01:16:08","slug":"new-york-statute-of-limitations-personal-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/article\/new-york-statute-of-limitations-personal-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"New York&#8217;s Statute of Limitations for Personal Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US law requires that a lawsuit be filed within a specified period of time, depending on the nature of the claim and the entity that caused the damage. This is known as a statute of limitations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main purposes and benefits of statutes of limitations are to ensure that defendants are treated fairly and that cases are based on valid, timely evidence. Both physical evidence and the reliability of eyewitness testimonies deteriorate over time, so a limitation on how long a plaintiff can wait before pursuing a case is necessary to ensure the trial is as fair as possible. However, the set length of these limitations vary depending on the type of case and the state it is tried in.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York\u2019s Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In New York, most personal injury actions must be filed within <\/span><b>three years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the date the injury occurred. Failure to file within this time will cause you to forfeit your right to pursue a personal injury case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are three facts you should know about New York\u2019s statute of limitations for personal injury cases:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The statute of limitations is a law that establishes the maximum term that the parties have to initiate a judicial proceeding.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The duration of the time allowed for filing varies according to the type of crime and its severity.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Serious crime cases such as murder usually do not have a statute of limitations.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the defendant\u2019s side, to successfully use the statute of limitations as a defense, it is necessary to show that the criminal complaint or charge was filed after the specific period dictated by the statute has elapsed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are, however, some exceptions which affect the period the statute of limitations covers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exceptions to the Rule<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In most cases, the date from which the statute of limitations extends is the date the injury occurred. However, there may be exceptions in cases where the injury might not reasonably be discovered until a later date.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, mesothelioma is a cancer that often goes undetected for years or even decades after exposure to asbestos. In a <\/span><a href=\"\/practice-areas\/mesothelioma-attorneys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mesothelioma case<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or in cases of other diseases with long-term effects such as this that may not be immediately recognizable, the statute of limitations is three years after the diagnosis of the disease instead of three years after the disease itself began to take effect.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York Statutes of Limitations for Other Cases<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to New York\u2019s statute of limitations for personal injuries, each type of case will have its own statute of limitations judging when the case is too old to be tried. Here are some of the most common:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Wrongful Death:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In the days after a wrongful death in NYC, you may find that you don&#8217;t have the money to cover your funeral or burial expenses. You\u2019ll likely wonder how you are going to balance your bills if you depended on your loved one for support.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are damages that you can recover with a wrongful death lawsuit. You can seek compensation for the financial losses you suffered as a result of the death of your loved one. Pecuniary damages can include money for:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of income and wages,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of employment benefits, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loss of inheritance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In New York, the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases is<\/span><b> two years.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Property Damage or Property Liability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: For any damage caused to your home and business, the clock starts running on the day the property damage occurs. The owner has <\/span><b>three years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from that date to file against the party responsible for the damage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Medical Malpractice:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An action for medical malpractice must be filed within <\/span><b>two years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from when the act or omission took place or from the end of the treatment during which the action or omission took place.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special Cases and Exceptions<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Serious crime cases, such as murder, often do not have a maximum statute of limitations. Some other exceptional cases that often do not have a maximum time frame in which it is required to begin your case include sex crimes involving minors, violent crimes like kidnapping or arson, and acts of terrorism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One New York example of such an exception is the <\/span><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-8-19-NYLJ-Child-Victims-Act-Is-a-Step-Toward-Healing-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Child Victims Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. On February 14, 2019, the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, enacted the legislation that expands the statute of limitations for the sexual abuse of minors. The extension gives victims more time to file criminal charges generally and allows a 12-month window for litigation for adult victims of all ages who were abused as children. Due to COVID-19, this <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-extending-look-back-window-child-victims-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">window has now been extended <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">further to allow claims to be filed until August 14, 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In some cases, there are further exceptions to the statutes of limitation that may extend or limit the time frame. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There may be special claims filing requirements for claims against state and local governments. For example, lawsuits against the State and its political subdivisions must be filed within 90 days of the injury or occurrence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For these reasons, it is important to consult an experienced <\/span><a href=\"\/practice-areas\/personal-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York personal injury attorney<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as soon as possible after an injury or other abuse occurs to ensure that you do not miss a crucial deadline. Napoli Shkolnik\u2019s knowledgeable lawyers are prepared to give you the legal assistance you need to achieve the best legal results possible.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US law requires that a lawsuit be filed within a specified period of time, depending on the nature of the claim and the entity that caused the damage. This is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-injury"],"acf":[],"page_builder_type":"gutenberg","gutenberg_data":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/napolilaw.lemonadestand.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}