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What is the Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Accidents?

When referencing the statute of limitations, slip and fall lawsuits would generally fall into the category of personal injury lawsuits. This means that in most cases, the statute of limitations is 2 years. However, we provide more details and exceptions below. Remember that regardless of when it happened, you should always contact a skilled Pennsylvania slip and fall attorney who can help you negotiate the intricacies of slip and fall lawsuits. You only pay if you win.

Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Accidents

All types of personal injuries that can be attributed to someone else’s fault have a certain time frame that is allowed for bringing lawsuits – the statute of limitations. If an obstacle or substance caused you to slip and fall on someone else’s property, you will have to file a lawsuit against whomever is it fault within two years of the date of the incident, according to Pennsylvania personal injury statute of limitations.

Under the Pennsylvania statute of limitations, slip and fall accidents would fall under:

“An action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another.”

Property Damage

Title 42, section 5524 also applies to personal property of yours that was damaged during a slip and fall accident. For example, you may have been carrying your expensive and cherished iPhone and cracked the screen when you slipped on a substance and fell in a parking lot managed by the city. The part in section 5524 that pertains to your property states:

“An action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for specific recovery thereof.”

This means that if your personal property was also damaged during the slip and fall incident, you can pursue a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages to your property, as well as your own injuries.

What if the Statute of Limitations has Expired?

If you do not file the proper paperwork for your slip and fall injury before the two-year statute of limitations has expired, you can expect the defendant of the case to ask the court to dismiss your case. This would be a waste of the filing fees, as well as any lawyer fees that you have paid up to this point to file your claim. Therefore, it is in your best interest to be knowledgeable about the time limitations you have before you start taking steps to pursue a lawsuit.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that whether the property owner was negligent or not will greatly affect your slip and fall case. It is up to the plaintiff and his or her Pennsylvania slip and fall accident lawyer in these types of cases to prove that the property owner did not take reasonable steps to keep the property in question safe. You will also have to prove that the property owner’s negligence was the direct cause of your slip and fall injuries.

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If you have suffered a personal injury, let Solnick Lawyers fight to get you the assistance and compensation to which you are entitled. Contact us at 215-481-9979 to put us on your side.