An 11-year-old girl gets bitten by a Rottweiler back in 1999 and is left with serious injuries to her face. As a 19-year-old woman, she files a personal injury lawsuit against the owners of the animal. How is she able to do this? Hasn’t the statute of limitations long run out on her filing a personal injury claim?

Not so in this case. Laura Haidet was attacked eight years ago by a dog owned by Gregory and Nancy Kovalchick while she was playing video games with other children at the home of the defendants in Bristolville, Pennsylvania. A Vindy.com story explains that while the statute of limitations for filing for bodily damages in Pennsylvania is two years, this does not apply to a minor under normal circumstances. Haidet’s personal injury attorney, Rick Bush, elaborated in the story that the statute of limitations for a case involving a minor begins from the date of the person’s 18^th birthday. In other words, Haidet had two years from the day she turned 18 to file her Pennsylvania personal injury lawsuit for bodily damages; which thus makes her claim as a 19-year-old acceptable.

Haidet suffered deep wounds to the face during the dog attack, which was described in the personal injury lawsuit as being “without warning or provocation.” She needed 150 stitches to close the wounds and required surgery for scar revision. Haidet now claims that she needs surgery to improve the positioning of her nose cartilage and a noticeable difference between both sides of her nose. She is thus seeking more than $25,000 from the Kovalchick family, who was not available for comment in the story.

This personal injury case once again reveals the importance of talking to an experienced lawyer as soon as possible after suffering a personal injury. Statutes of limitations vary from state-to-state and sometimes even by the type of claim, and thus may not be as clear cut as you think. With that said, a local personal injury attorney can fill you in on the statute of limitations in your state and provide the clarity that you may need.