Why Does New Jersey Place Time Limits on Wrongful Death Suits?
When a loved one dies, the amount of distress and sadness that is left behind can be immense. When a person’s life is cut short because another party was negligent, coping with this reality can be even more difficult and tragic. Dealing with unexpected loss and the unimaginable pain that comes with it can make it hard to function and to keep a clear head on what your rights are and what legal options may be available to you.
When negligence causes the loss of life, surviving family members may be able to obtain financial compensation and some amount of justice from the liable party. However, jumping into a legal action right after a loss may seem like the furthest thing that grieving loved ones want to take on. However, waiting can mean that the ability to recover financial compensation may be lost. That is, if family members wait too long to take legal action and they miss the statute of limitations.
The wrongful death statute of limitations in New Jersey is usually only two years from when a death occurs to file a lawsuit. It may be hard to think about legal action after the loss of a loved one. Still, with the help of an attorney, a lawsuit can be managed by a legal professional, allowing families to keep their focus on healing and preventing them from jeopardizing their ability to recover financial compensation.
If you want more information on filing a New Jersey wrongful death suit, you may speak with a South Jersey wrongful death attorney at Monaco Law PC.
Understanding the Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
Wrongful death suits are a means for surviving loved ones to recover financial losses that were sustained after a death occurs as the result of carelessness or negligence. There is only a limited amount of time, though, that surviving loved ones can take legal action to secure their damages. The two-year statute of limitations is put in place for most wrongful death cases for good reason. Consider the following:
- It is essential to prove your case when filing a wrongful death suit. To do that, you must have persuasive evidence. With time, evidence fades and can be lost. Putting a sense of urgency on filing a suit allows you to gather the most evidence possible before it is gone or is no longer viable.
- Similar to evidence preservation, often, civil suits benefit from the accounts of witnesses. Witnesses can lose their memory or forget key details of what they saw or witnesses can also die.
- It is essential to hold liable parties accountable for their reckless actions, but there must be a resolution at some point. Having no statute of limitations or an end date to when a legal action can take place is unfair to any possible defendants who would otherwise have the threat of a lawsuit hanging over their heads indefinitely.
Speak to a New Jersey Wrongful Death Attorney Today
If you have lost a loved one and would like to speak with an attorney at Monaco Law PC, call (609) 277-3166 for our New Jersey.
We are a New Jersey a wrongful death law firm serving Atlantic County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Camden County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Ocean County, Salem County, and all of South Jersey.
Source:
njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/charges/8.43.pdf
