Many of us commit mistakes every now and then. When we were young we were forgiven for our little mistakes, but as we get older, our infractions were given penalties or punishment.
I just come across an article,”A Litigator’s Nightmare: Late Filing Costs… 1 Million”, posted January 8, 2008 , which is about a news article that came out of the Washington Street Journal. The incident happened in California wherein a client was fined $1 million for missing the deadline for filing a motion by 1 minute.
According to the article, the reason for the delay in the filing of the legal motion was the heavy traffic encountered by the messenger who was supposed to deliver the needed documents for submission to the court. Unfortunately, however, the intended documents missed the deadline and were filed the following office day instead. The judge did not consider the excuse as reasonable and gave the corresponding penalty.
The article underscores the need for people to pay great attention to time constraints, especially in vital concerns like meeting deadlines and submitting requirements. This may also serve as a reminder for people to value time as a precious commodity.
Relatively, this may also remind us of the great importance of the statute of limitation in filing cases, specifically personal injury cases. In California
This also applies to the filing of social security benefit claims, which have their deadlines to meet. For example, when a claim is denied in the initial stage, a claimant has only sixty days with which to file for reconsideration.
This brings us to the point that a lawyer’s services are essential in these instances. One cannot discount the benefits of having a lawyer who will attend to one’s legal needs. Besides, seeing to it that all deadlines will be met, a lawyer can best represent your interest in a legal proceeding, especially if you are in disposed or injured in an accident.
