Admiralty Lawsuit Lawyer

The Uniform Statute of Limitations for Maritime Torts

Every civil case has a statute of limitations during which time any lawsuit must be filed. Because there were varying statutes affecting maritime and admiralty cases, Congress passed the Uniform Statute of Limitations for Maritime Torts. The purpose was to establish a uniform limitation period for maritime torts.

The law specifies that unless it is otherwise specified by a separate law, a suit for the recovery of damages for personal injury, death, or both that stems from a maritime or admiralty tort is not to be maintained and heard in a court unless it is commenced within three years of the date of the incident. This means that a case will not be considered unless it is filed within three years of the accident date.

The act was passed in October of 1980. Congress was seeking to establish a uniform national statute of limitations for maritime torts. Before the statute was enacted, the doctrine of laches governed whether or not a tort claim under maritime or admiralty law was valid. These statutes were different from those created by the Jones Act. The laches doctrine lead to a variety of divergent rulings about the timeliness of claims which resulted in forum shopping.

Overall, the act is devoted to eliminating forum shopping and the presentation of stale claims. Stale claims are frequently presented when claimants seek to bring their suit in the jurisdiction that has the most advantageous procedural rules.

In general, any lawsuit arising out of maritime or admiralty law must be filed within three years of the original injury. In general, any lawsuit arising out of maritime or admiralty law must be filed within three years of the original injury.

Contact an Admiralty Lawyer

For more information on statutes of limitations and other issues pertaining to an injury at sea, contact the admiralty lawyers of Williams Kherkher at 1-800-220-9341 today.