How much time do you have to commence your maritime lawsuit? A critical element of any maritime injury case is the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is a legal term for deadline. After that deadline expires, the case will be time-barred. That means it’s too late to bring an action. The defendant could have been outrageously negligent….the victim could have been left a quadriplegic. The court must dismiss the case, even if the judge wanted to be sympathetic to the victim. No matter how strong a case may be…one has to preserve their rights by filing an action before the statute of limitations runs. Other statutes of limitation may relate to a case…some of which are of a maritime nature, and some of which fall under ordinary civil law. These causes of action may follow the code of civil procedure for the state where the action is pending. Or they may follow federal law. Unlike maritime law, statutes of limitations are not uniform throughout the fifty states. As a general example, a negligence action in New York State such as a motor vehicle accident has a three year statute of limitations…but in New Jersey, an injured motorist only gets two (2) years to bring an action. New York is more liberal to the plaintiff in other causes of action also. The statute of limitations in New York for a medical malpractice action is two and a half years. Compare this to two years, which is what the state of Virginia gives a patient for the same cause of action. Two lessons to be learned here….make a note of the day an accident occurred or circumstances leading to an injury took place…AND if there are other issues of state law or federal law, learn the applicable statute of limitations. Other causes of action may include breach of contract, wrongful termination, slander, libel, fraud, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. Back to Commercial Vessels |
Maritime Law Statute of Limitations - Jones Act - Unseaworthiness Statutes of Limitations in Maritime Injuries - How Long Do You Have - How Much Time to File Marine Injury Lawsuit |