When you enter someone else’s property, you trust that they are upholding their legal responsibility to maintain safe premises to prevent accidents and injuries. This means that any unsafe property conditions that pose a significant threat must be addressed immediately. If a property owner fails to attend to dangerous property conditions, they can be held liable for any injuries that occur as a result of their negligence. If you decide to pursue legal action against a negligent party, it is important to understand filing deadlines to ensure you do not accidentally relinquish your right to take legal action to collect compensation for your damages. Keep reading to learn how long you have to file a premises liability claim in New Jersey and discover how our skilled Essex County Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys can help you file a claim within the right timeframe.
What is the statute of limitations for premises liability claims in New Jersey?
As in most states, anyone who wishes to pursue legal action against a negligent party must do so within the statute of limitations. Essentially, the statute of limitations puts a time limit on when victims can take legal action against another party. In New Jersey, the statute of limitations for filing a premises liability claim is within two years of the date of the accident. Therefore, if you are someone who has been injured in a slip and fall accident, you must file a claim against the property owner within two years of the date of the accident. If you fail to file a claim within this timeframe you will forfeit your right to take legal action against the negligent party in the future to collect compensation for your damages.
However, it is important to note that if you suffered an injury on state or city-owned property, you will be required to file a Notice of Claim. Essentially, a Notice of Claim is served to the government agency you want to file a civil lawsuit against, making them aware of the situation. The filing deadline for a Notice of Claim is shorter than that for the statute of limitations. Typically, you will have 90 days from the accident date to file a Notice of Claim.
Further, alongside filing a premises liability claim within the statute of limitations, you will be required to fulfill the burden of proof. Essentially, when you bring a case against another party, you must prove they knew or should have reasonably known about hazardous property conditions and failed to remedy them, causing your injuries. Ultimately, you must prove the other party’s negligence directly caused your injuries and damages.
In the unfortunate event that you have recently been injured in a slip and fall accident on someone else’s property due to negligence, contact one of our determined attorneys. Our firm will work tirelessly to help you hold negligent parties accountable.
