The Clock is Ticking
The statute of limitations is two (2) years in Pennsylvania for dog bites claims by adults. For children, the two year statute does not begin to run until the child is 18.
Don’t Delay
If your claim against a governmental entity, such as the police, for a K-9, you may only have six months to serve formal written notice or bring suit.
During that time, you and your lawyer need to identify all possible defendants. Our lawyers prefer to take an aggressive and proactive approach to dog bite claims, because you need to start preserving evidence ASAP and putting responsible parties on notice of your claim, even if you do not file suit.
What’s the Rush?
As soon as possible, your Pittsburgh dog bite lawyer needs to serve something called a “preservation letter” on every party that might be responsible for your injuries. This puts each responsible party on notice of his duty to preserve evidence.
Otherwise he or she may dispose of evidence in the ordinary course of dealings. He may, for example, clean up blood or make other changes to the scene of the attack. He may also delete texts or emails between himself and others, which could show that, prior to the attack, he knew of his dog’s dangerous propensity.
The Effect
If evidence “disappears” (or becomes unavailable) after the dog owner is notified of his duties to preserve evidence, you can ask the court to draw an inference that said evidence would have been helpful to your case and harmful to his. This is called spoliation. This adverse inference can save you and your lawyers lots of time proving your case.
Note that some states have a separate claim or cause of action — over and above your dog bite claim — for spoliation. Pennsylvania law does not recognize a separation action for spoliation.
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