Filing a personal injury claim is very important if you suffered damages after an accident. And the truth is that you don’t always have as much time as you might think in order to file a claim. Which is why we encourage you to read this article, as it will help prepare for the situation in a much better fashion.
Understanding the statute of limitations
The statute of limitations is a legal deadline that you have for filing a suit after an injury takes place. Every jurisdiction will have their own time limit, depending on the case type. It’s very important to have a legal representative that will help you figure out how much time you have available for filing a claim. Because if you don’t file the claim within that timeline, you will not be allowed to file again. And that’s totally a problem to think about.
What’s the typical statute of limitations?
Now that we know what the statute of limitations is, we need to narrow down the typical statute of limitations.
- The typical deadline is 2 years from the date of the injury. That applies to car accidents, slip and fall injuries, defective products, workplace accidents and so on. Even if it seems like a long time, the truth is that negotiations, medical treatment and investigations can easily consume a lot of time pretty fast.
- There’s also the 3-year deadline, which will be available in some regions for personal injury claims. The extended timeline applies to various negligence claims, some of the product liability cases and so on. But it’s limited, and it’s certainly a good idea to keep it in mind.
- And of course, there is also the 1 year deadline that involves cases against public institutions or against the government agencies. In these cases, you might have public transportation accidents, municipal negligence and so on. Here, you need to submit a formal notice of claim to the government agency.
When does the clock start?
That’s another important aspect, mainly because people think the clock will start at the date of the accident. A lot of the time, it does, if you have a straightforward case. But if you have a more complex case, there can be some other situations that arise.
For example, there is the discovery rule. If someone discovered the injury a while after, due to malpractice, exposure to toxic substances and so on, then the date they discovered the injury will be when the clock starts. For the continuous treatment rule, the timer starts when the treatment ended.
Are there exceptions that will extend the deadline?
It’s a very good idea to work closely with your Louisville personal injury attorney to ensure that you have all the necessary details about your case. But a lot of the time, there are extensions because the injured person ins a minor, in which case the statute of limitations begins when the minor turns 18.
Then, there’s the situation when the person in question has mental incapacity. The statute of limitations will pause for a bit, until that person will retain their capacity. Also, it’s possible that the statute of limitations will pause when the person responsible for the injury is leaving the country. And of course, there are cases where there are issues like concealment or fraud, where courts will extend the filing deadline if any misconduct is discovered.
What happens when you miss the deadline?
Sometimes, you might end up missing the deadline, in which case your case is normally dismissed. At that point, it does not matter how severe the injury was, if the defendant was responsible or if you have strong evidence. You need to meet the statute of limitations. Because if you’re not doing that, anything else doesn’t matter. You must address the problem the best way that you can and file the claim as quickly as possible.
If you see that you have any injury, you want to seek medical attention and document the incident, but also report the accident. And of course, you also want to talk with a personal injury lawyer. When it comes to the length of such a case, that will depend. If there’s a simple settlement case, it will take a few months. More complex cases can take 1-2 years or even multiple years.
Conclusion
As you can see, you need to know the statute of limitations in your state so you can figure out how much time you have until filing a claim. And that’s the problem, a lot of people don’t know that and think they can file at any time. Sure, you can file at any time you want, until the statute of limitations deadline. If you get past that time, the case will be dismissed and you can’t do anything. That’s why you always want to file before the deadline.
