Personal Injury Filing Deadlines
A sad moment for lawyer and client occurs when it becomes
clear that a Statute of Limitations deadline has passed. Statute of
Limitations deadlines are legal time limits which control when lawsuits
must be filed. If the lawsuit is not filed before the passage of the
Statute of Limitations deadline, it will be subject to dismissal by the
court. It is, therefore, extremely important that you find out the
deadline for your case and keep it in mind when negotiating.
The Statutes of Limitation vary from state to state
and occasionally they are changed by the legislature. Here is a list of the deadlines for
negligence cases as of the date of this web page, along with the statute citations. To be sure of your
deadline you should contact us.
You should consult an attorney in your state if you
fear that the Statute of Limitations has passed in your case. There are
some exceptions which you may need to be aware of. For example, generally,
minors have two years from the date they reach their 18th birthday to
file, although, again, this varies from state to state.
For obvious injuries, like those resulting from car
accidents, the time period begins when the injury occurs. However,
different deadlines apply to certain kinds of cases. For example, in
medical malpractice cases, in most states the time begins on the date you
first discovered or should have discovered the malpractice. It is a good
idea to start the suit within two years from the alleged malpractice since
this may be the date on which you should have discovered it.
One of the worst types of calls a P.I. attorney can
get is when a potential client calls and says he was badly injured and the
statute of limitations runs out next week, or tomorrow! A busy attorney
will often decline to take such a case because he does not want to take
the risk that the suit cannot be filed on time, or that he will have to
file a suit before he knows if there are actual grounds for filing.
Learn your deadline as soon as you can and mark it on
all of your calendars. If you delay hiring an attorney, be sure to contact
one at least a month before the deadline. Or better yet contact us and we
will get on it for you.
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