You go to a public event at a city park. A tent set up by a public utility district collapses. You are injured.
You make a personal injury claim against the public utility district, but if you delay contacting an attorney you risk making it difficult and possibly impossible to pursue the claim.
A couple who were injured by a tent as described above waited until just shortly prior to the running of the statute of limitations to contact an attorney (not our firm). The attorney filed a tort claim notice form with the local government, as is required by Washington law before filing suit against state or local government.
Under this law, the claim cannot be filed in court for 60 days. This gives the government time to investigate the claim and decide what, if any, settlement offer to make. The injured party then has a five-day grace period to file the case in court, beyond the statute of limitations period.
Unbeknownst to the attorney, the injured parties had years earlier filed a handwritten government tort claim form. The utility district filed a motion in court, arguing that the first tort claim created a 65-day period in which the parties were required to file their claim. The trial court dismissed the personal injury lawsuit.
The decision was revered on appeal. The Court of Appeals noted that it “is never a good idea to wait to commence a lawsuit until shortly before the statute of limitations expires” and that procrastination is “especially perilous for parties suing local government defendants.” [1]
If you have any personal injury claim, especially against a governmental entity, you should contact an attorney early. The statute of limitations is a very good reason, and there are many other very good reasons not to delay
[1] Rumburg v. Ferry County PUD, ____ Wn.App. ____ (No. 34572-6-III November 16, 2017).