Why Choose CM Injury
When you contact CM Injury about a Pennsylvania nursing home neglect matter, we will listen to your concerns and review the information you provide. We will take time to understand what you want us to address before explaining our assessment.
Pennsylvania Nursing Home Neglect
Guide contentsWhy Choose CM Injury
When you contact CM Injury about a Pennsylvania nursing home neglect matter, we will listen to your concerns and review the information you provide. We will take time to understand what you want us to address before explaining our assessment.
We will answer your questions about that assessment and explain whether we can accept the matter. If we accept your case, we will prepare it with attention to the concerns you have raised and explain the work we intend to undertake.
Filing deadlines in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania sets a two-year filing period for an action to recover damages for personal injury or death caused by another person’s wrongful act, neglect, unlawful violence or negligence.12
When does the time begin? Section 5502(a) states: “The time within which a matter must be commenced under this chapter shall be computed, except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) or by any other provision of this chapter, from the time the cause of action accrued, the criminal offense was committed or the right of appeal arose.”3
Subsection (b) addresses court rules: “Subsection (a) may be made more specifically applicable to particular classes of matters by general rules defining the acts, omissions or events from which the limitation shall be computed.”4 “Rules adopted pursuant to this section shall take effect only in the manner provided by section 503(b) (relating to procedures).”4
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court stated the discovery-rule holding below in Fine v. Checcio.5
Today, we hold that it is not relevant to the discovery rule’s application whether or not the prescribed period has expired; the discovery rule applies to toll the statute of limitations in any case where a party neither knows nor reasonably should have known of his injury and its cause at the time his right to institute suit arises.
Section 5533(a) provides: “Except as otherwise provided by statute, insanity or imprisonment does not extend the time limited by this subchapter for the commencement of a matter.”6
The rule for minors concerns the individual entitled to bring the action: “If an individual entitled to bring a civil action is an unemancipated minor at the time the cause of action accrues, the period of minority shall not be deemed a portion of the time period within which the action must be commenced.”7 “Such person shall have the same time for commencing an action after attaining majority as is allowed to others by the provisions of this subchapter.”7
For that paragraph, the statute defines a minor: “As used in this paragraph, the term "minor" shall mean any individual who has not yet attained 18 years of age.”8
How negligence affects recovery
Pennsylvania law sets this rule for actions seeking damages for negligence resulting in death or injury to a person or property.9 Negligence attributed to the person seeking damages does not bar recovery by that person or their legal representative “where such negligence was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought”.9
Any damages are reduced in proportion to the negligence attributed to the person seeking recovery.9
Where a Pennsylvania action may be filed
Venue concerns which county a Pennsylvania action may be filed in.10 Rule 1006 has separate provisions for actions against individuals and actions against certain entities.1011
These are selected examples of county connections under the rule for individuals.10 “Except as otherwise provided by subdivisions (b) and (c) of this rule,” an action against an individual may be brought in a county where the cause of action arose, as one example.10 “Except as otherwise provided by subdivisions (b) and (c) of this rule,” another example is a county where a transaction or occurrence took place out of which the cause of action arose.10
For corporations and similar entities, actions “except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), may be brought in and only in the counties designated” by Rule 2179.11
Reviewed and approved by Michael Cavaliere
How we handle these cases
How We Approach Your Matter
We listen to your concerns
We begin by listening to your concerns about nursing home care in Pennsylvania, including what you observed and what you want us to understand. We review the information you provide about your family member's care.
We explain our assessment
We explain our assessment of the information you have shared and answer your questions about it. We discuss whether we can accept the matter and identify any further information we would need to review.
We prepare accepted cases
If we accept your matter, we organize the information you provide and develop our plan for preparing the case. We explain the work we intend to undertake and make time for your questions.
A careful review and a straight answer.
Or call a partner now at (267) 936-2233.
No fee unless we win. We discuss costs at the start of every case.
