A woman was injured in an auto accident. She hired an attorney. Shortly before the statute of limitations was to run, the attorney filed the lawsuit and had a process server attempt to serve papers on the other driver. The process server handed to the documents to the nanny, who answered the door. Unfortunately, the nanny did not live there, and service must be on a resident. Guests, employees, and the like do not count.
The case was dismissed. The injured woman’s attorney appealed. He lost. The dismissal was upheld, and the attorney who appealed for the injured woman was ordered to pay some of the other side’s attorney fees.[1]
This sad scenario happens far too often. It is important to file any personal injury case well before the statute of limitations is to run. While we always strive to settle out of court, that is not always possible. If a case has not settled it should filed well in advance of the statute deadline. This is one of many reasons it is best to contact a personal injury attorney early.
Contact our office for a free personal injury case evaluation.
By personal injury attorney Travis Eller
[1] Vuletic v. McKissic, unpublished (Wa. Ct. App. No. 69515-1-1, December 16, 2013). Available at http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/695151.pdf