No one should get away with hurting you or those you love. However, in the aftermath of suffering a catastrophic injury or suddenly losing a loved one due to third-party negligence, it is, unfortunately, possible for some or all of those at fault to escape accountability. The fact is, while you’re dealing with the fallout of the incident, including grief, pain, severe injuries, and a seemingly never-ending flood of medical bills, those at fault are busy undermining your case.
If that’s happening, what can you do? Can you sue them? Should you sue them? Can you only sue one of the parties at fault or can you sue them all? Bottom line, how can you hold everyone at fault accountable for hurting you and your loved ones and recover the financial help you need moving forward? The answer may be filing multiple lawsuits involving the same claim.
Can You File More Than One Lawsuit at a Time?
In some situations, there is more than one business or a person whose negligence caused others to suffer serious injury or death. When that’s the case, victims and their families may be able to file lawsuits against each business or individual at fault for their injuries or the death of their loved ones. To know for sure whether you can file more than one lawsuit at a time, we recommend talking to a lawyer about your claim.
However, before deciding whether you should sue multiple people or companies, you need to figure out if you can sue anyone at all. If you sue a company or individual who you really don’t have a strong enough case against, it can serve as a roadmap for other defendants you sue for the same claim to find a way to avoid being held accountable for injuring you and your loved ones.
There are basically two types of defendants that you will have to choose from when trying to figure out who you can sue:
- Necessary defendants – If a defendant is necessary, the court has determined that it cannot decide the claim without that defendant being a part of the proceedings.
- Permissive defendants – A permissive defendant is not necessary to the case, but they can be included because the plaintiff’s claim against them happened due to the same dispute the plaintiff has against the necessary defendant(s).
Can You Sue for Multiple Claims?
In addition to filing lawsuits against multiple defendants for the same claim, you may feel like you have more than one type of claim to pursue. Filing multiple claims, especially against multiple defendants, is an extremely complex undertaking.
Several factors must be considered before attempting to file multiple claims, including but not limited to:
- The state(s) where you’re filing
- The district(s) where you’re filing
- The types of injuries/damages you’re claiming you suffered
An experienced attorney can help you sift through these factors and decide whether it’s possible and a smart strategy to pursue multiple claims.
Can You File the Same Lawsuit in Different States?
The deciding factor regarding where you can file lawsuits can come down to personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. Generally, for a court to have personal jurisdiction over a defendant, the defendant must have been served in the state where the court is and willingly appeared in court. Personal jurisdiction can sometimes be waived if the defendant argues that the court does not have personal jurisdiction over them for a valid reason. Subject matter jurisdiction is when the court only has power over a case if it is authorized to hear that claim under the laws of its jurisdiction. For example, the United States Tax Court is limited to only hearing cases involving taxation disputes.
Discussing your situation with a lawyer can help you figure out what jurisdiction your claims fall under, what states you can pursue your claims in, and several other factors concerning your case.
Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury Cases in NY
In New York, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases depends on the type of personal injury case involved. NYCourts.gov has a listing of the statutes of limitations for various types of legal matters, including multiple types of personal injury claims:
- Three years from the date of a car crash
- Two years and six months from the date medical malpractice occurred or from the date of the end of treatment by the person or entity that allegedly committed the malpractice
- Three years from the date of a slip and fall injury
- Three years from the date of a product liability injury
- Three years from the date of negligence that resulted in personal injury
- Two years from the date of a wrongful death
The best way to determine if the statute of limitations has passed for an injury claim, as well as whether you have a solid case, is to discuss your situation with an experienced personal injury attorney.
If you have been injured or lost someone you love because of the negligence of a person or company in Brooklyn, call Belushin Law Firm, P.C. at (888) 918-9890 or fill out our online contact form. Our experienced legal team has helped clients recover millions of dollars in damages and hold those responsible for their injuries accountable for hurting them.