How Soon Must We Bring a Lawsuit on Behalf of Our Child?

If your child suffered injuries in an accident or an instance of medical malpractice, you know how important it is to get the help he or she needs. Protecting your child’s legal rights is just as crucial as securing the best medical care, especially if the injuries could have permanent implications for your child’s future. You may wonder when you need to make a decision about filing a claim or lawsuit on behalf of your child.
Deadlines known as statutes of limitations limit the amount of time a victim has to pursue legal action in a personal injury claim. Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a general statute of limitations that allows victims and their attorneys two years from the date of the accident or the date of the discovery of medical malpractice to file a lawsuit.

To protect minors, the law allows them a longer period of time to pursue a claim. No matter what age your child was when the injury first occurred, that statute of limitations doesn’t expire until two years after your child’s 18th birthday. For minors who are nearing adulthood at the time of the accident, this rule may extend the typical statute by only months or days. Younger victims may have additional years, even a decade or longer, to pursue a claim.

Don’t Wait Until the Statute of Limitations Approaches

While the statute of limitations for minors means there is no rush to meet legal deadlines, you still will want to choose an experienced attorney to represent your child’s legal rights long before their 20th birthday approaches. Ideally, the time to hire a lawyer is immediately after an accident. After a serious injury, your child needs the highest quality medical care to recover, and that care could cost your family a fortune in medical expenses.