The Time Constraints Of A Premises Liability Case In Minnesota

If you suffered an injury while on someone else’s property, you may be able to seek compensation for components like medical bills, lost income and other costs associated with your injury. However, like most things in life, it pays to act swiftly if you are injured on someone else’s premises. Not only will the incident be fresh in your mind and your injuries be more apparent, but there are also some standard time limits associated with filing a premises liability claim in Minnesota. We spotlight those deadlines in today’s blog.

Premises Liability Deadlines

In order to file a premises liability case, you must have suffered an injury on someone else’s property as a result of the property owner failing to maintain a reasonable standard of safety for others. For example, if a landlord fails to have ice removed from the property, and a tenant or passerby slips and hits their head, they could file a premises liability suit. However, if you file a claim after the state mandated deadlines, a judge will deny your claim, so let’s take a look at the time constraints for filing a premises liability claim.

If you slipped or were injured on government property, you must notify the appropriate agency of your claim within 180 days. This may seem like a lot of time, but you’ll want to put together a strong case and have all your records on hand when filing, so this deadline can approach faster than expected, especially if you’re focusing on your health in the immediate aftermath.

In general, if you were hurt on someone else’s non-government property and it’s not a medical malpractice or defective product suit, you will have six years to bring a formal suit against the other party. Again, it’s better to start this process much sooner when evidence is fresh and well before time constraints become an issues.

Finally, the state says that fatal slip and fall or premises liability-related death suit have a deadline of three years after the incident before family members are no longer able to bring a claim. The state felt that this was enough time for family to settle an estate and get their affairs in order while still having plenty of time to move forward with a suit if they so choose.

Deadlines are not just put in place to preserve evidence to prove your case, but they also exist so defendants still have the means to disprove a claim. It may be impossible to prove that you shoveled the sidewalk on a specific date two decades ago, so these statutes of limitations have been put in place to help ensure evidence can still be gathered by both sides.

If you need help starting your premises liability claim, don’t wait. Reach out to Dean Margolis and the team at Margolis Law Firm today.