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When there is a catastrophic accident leading to hundreds of injuries and many deaths, such as the recent Southern Pacific and Metrolink accident of Chatsworth, California, the families left behind are much too busy arranging for medical treatment, burials, funerals and grieving. They are caught in one of the worst situations where they are not only vulnerable, but have to deal with events that have been forced upon them. To add insult to injury for the families of the deceased there is shortened statute of limitations for bringing a claim against Metrolink.
Metrolink is operated by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority which is a government agency. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority operates Metrolink as a regional rail system that offers transportation for commuters and other passengers and serves about 50 cities in the greater Los Angeles area on several regional lines, including Antelope Valley, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and also Ventura County.
It is significant that the Southern California Regional Rail Authority operates Metrolink, because a government agency requires special procedures be followed before a lawsuit can be filed for compensation. This is true for a personal injury claim as well as a wrongful death. Unlike a civil lawsuit for personal injuries against a private party a government agency requires specific personal injury claims be made directly with the agency before filing a lawsuit. Once the claim is made and denied, then the private party has the right to file a lawsuit.
Every right to sue has a limited time period. This period is described under the statute of limitations and is modified depending on the circumstances leading to the claim. Generally there is a specified period which is the cut off period. If a lawsuit is not brought within the specified period the personal injury claimant or the families of the deceased cannot bring a lawsuit. When the defendant happens to be a government agency the time period is reduced to a matter of months. This period is not only shortened by the statute of limitations, but is also shorted because of specific procedures that must be followed before a lawsuit can be filed. The claim procedures can reduce the time period by another month and sometimes several months, because it requires specific information be gathered and submitted and it also requires specific forms or language be used when filing the claim.
In the instant matter all kind of things could have gone wrong and it not yet known why the accident occurred, which also tends to shorten the time period for the victims and families of the deceased to take action. If the investigation takes sixty days and the time required to file claim requires another thirty days, the victims and families of the deceased may have very little if any time to file a lawsuit. If it is determined that the culpable party is a private party, then there is plenty of opportunity and a higher degree of fairness for the injured and the families of the deceased, but if turns out to be a government agency then such will not be the case.
The obvious effect and intent of the shortened statute of limitations in actions against government agencies was to keep the number of claims down. obviously shortened to keep the number of claims down. Needless to say the injury victim and the families of the deceased should speak with an attorney as soon as practicable.
Attorney Arnold Hernandez, has represented families in wrongful death claims and personal injury claimants throughout Southern California including claims against Union Pacific Railroad personal injury attorney.
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