One of the most basic legal principles is that statutes of limitations establish the timeframes in which a civil suit can be brought in a given case and any attempt to bring suit outside of that timeframe will inevitably result in the case being dismissed. For example, the statute of limitations for a personal injury matter is two years from the date the injury is, or should be, discovered, and, for the most part, bringing a personal injury matter beyond that two-year deadline will be cause to dismiss the claim.
One of the possible exceptions to the application of statutes of limitations is if the defendant dies during the pendency of the limitations period. As with any complaint, it is the duty of a plaintiff “to use all reasonable diligence to properly inform himself of the facts and circumstances upon which the right of recovery is based and then institute suit within the prescribed period,” and that includes determining whether the defendant is living or dead at the time of suit, as the court held in Lange v. Burd, 800 A2d 336 (Pa.Super. 2002).
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