- In New Jersey, you have two years to file a lawsuit for an accident such as a slip and fall or a motor vehicle accident
- Each case is different, there are other limitations that apply when you are dealing with personal injury cases.
- For cases against a state, county or a municipality, you have something called the Tort Claims Act
- This act requires you to put the entity on notice within 90 days, and if it’s not done, you stand the risk of losing your case altogether
- On occasion that period of time can be extended, however the courts are leery about doing so when it comes to entities such as a state, county, or municipality. This is because many times they are paying out tax money and the feeling of the court is to protect taxpayers as best they can
- You must file your tort claim notice within the 90 day window or your case is lost
- Once you file the claim you then have two years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit
- Then that lawsuit is handled just like it is with regard to those entities as it is with regard to any other private person
- There are some differences in the standards that have to be proven, but essentially it is the same.
- For example, in medical malpractice cases the two year statute of limitations is occasionally extended
- This occurs because of the fact that injuries and ailments that result from a doctor’s mistreatment of patients may not be determined for some time
- When thought of whether the person knew or should have known that the doctor made an error, and at times that will extend the statute of limitations beyond the two years
- An extension should not be relied upon. The proper rule of thumb is that there is a the two year statute for anything except political entities.