When another person injures you, you deserve to be compensated. That is where our attorneys can help you get what you are entitled to.
Our firm has been fighting for injury victims’ rights for decades, and with over a hundred years of collective experience, our team can help you. We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from defendants in numerous types of claims and can assess your case to determine how much you are likely to recover. We can also determine how long you have to file your lawsuit depending on the type of injuries you sustained. We aim to ensure that all your economic and non-economic losses are accounted for when we file your claim. If your accident was caused by more than just carelessness, we can request punitive damages to increase your compensation.
Contact Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., by calling (201) 777-1111 and get a free case evaluation with our personal injury lawyers today.
When to File a Lawsuit for Personal Injuries in Union City, NJ
If someone’s wrongful or negligent conduct injured you, you likely know that you have a valid legal claim. Regardless of the accident, the best time to file a lawsuit is as soon as possible. You will not have unlimited time to file a lawsuit, so contacting our personal injury lawyers right away is the best way to build the strongest case we can. Our team can start collecting evidence during our first discussion and immediately continue to investigate further after we understand your case.
Time Limit to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
The reason to get started quickly is because the “statute of limitations” will begin to run as soon as you are injured. This is the deadline to file your lawsuit in Union City. For most personal injury claims, N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2(a) provides victims two years from the date of their accident to file an injury lawsuit.
This rule holds true for most personal injury cases. If you were injured by a dangerous product or on someone else’s property, you will usually have two years to sue the responsible parties. Those who caused injuries intentionally, like battery, also need to be sued within two years. You will also have only two years to file a claim for more complex cases, like medical malpractice.
Lawsuits might be blocked when it comes to car accidents or work injuries, requiring you to use insurance instead. This might change your filing deadlines, but if access to a lawsuit is opened through certain loopholes, these deadlines often still apply.
When You Might Have More Time to File a Lawsuit
There are several scenarios in which you might get more time to file your lawsuit. However, you should not determine this on your own because if you are wrong, you will lose out on any chance to recover compensation since the deadline has passed.
One way to “toll” or pause the statute of limitations is to show the court that you could not “serve” the other person with notice of your lawsuit because they were not in the state, as per § 2A:14-22(a). Due process and fairness demands that potential defendants be notified of an impending case. However, if you cannot serve them after making reasonable efforts to do so, the time they are outside New Jersey should not count against you.
Another typical exception to the general rule is when the victim is a child. If you are a minor or mentally incapacitated, § 2A:14-21 considers this a legal “disability.” Thus, these injury victims will typically have two years from their 18th birthday or the date they are not incapacitated to file a lawsuit.
We also might argue that you should have more time to file because you did not discover your injuries until much later. This is known as the “discovery rule” and can be very challenging to prove. You must convince the court that you did not know about the injuries even after diligently trying to discover them. This exception often applies to medical malpractice cases where a foreign object was left in your body after a procedure and does not make itself known until much later.
Damages You Can Claim in a Union City, NJ Personal Injury Lawsuit
“Damages” are the losses you suffered because of the defendant. Your damages can typically be broken down into two categories: compensatory and punitive damages.
Compensatory damages are the losses the victim is entitled to in order to make them whole, but no more than that, according to § 2A:15-5.10. However, these damages can be further broken down into “special” and “general” damages.
Special damages are essentially your economic losses. This includes medical expenses, lost wages, property damages, and any other purely financial losses you suffered because of your injuries. Special damages are relatively easy to calculate in a claim as the bills and lost income can be added, though some future losses are harder to calculate.
General damages, on the other hand, are more difficult to quantify. These damages are more commonly known as “pain and suffering.” General damages will compensate you for the physical pain you must now live with, as well as the emotional distress the accident caused. While these losses are challenging to assess, they are just as real as your economic damages under the law. Pain and suffering damages are often barred in car accident cases unless you can meet certain standards.
Punitive damages are reserved for personal injuries that were caused by egregious behavior. They are not included in compensatory damages as a matter of law. They can only be awarded if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant acted with willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others or through a malicious act, as per § 2A:15-5.12(a). Punitive damages can also be justified where the defendant was grossly negligent, such as driving while intoxicated.
Our Union City, NJ Personal Injury Lawyers Are Ready to Help You Get the Compensation You Deserve
For a free case assessment with our personal injury attorneys, call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C., at (201) 777-1111.