What to Know About the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Lawsuits

After suffering an injury due to someone else’s negligence, you may be owed compensation. The problem that some plaintiff’s have when filing a personal injury lawsuit is that they wait too long. Maybe you weren’t sure that the injury was serious at first. No matter the reason, you should never wait to file your claim. There is a statute of limitations when it comes to personal injury law. Here is what you need to know about it.

What Is the Statute of Limitations?

Every state has its own statute of limitations. The statute of limitations has strict deadlines that you must follow. The range varies from state to state, but most commonly, you have between one year to six years to file a lawsuit. After you suffer an injury, if you wait past the statute of limitations, then you cannot file the claim. This is why it is important that you speak with a lawyer soon after an injury. Even if you aren’t sure what your medical costs will be or how the injury will affect your future, you don’t want to wait to file. This could hurt you in the long run. The last thing you want is to be unable to collect compensation because you waited too long to file.

Are There Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations?

Many states have a discovery rule. A discovery rule is the exception to the statute of limitations. This extends your deadline based on your injury discovery. In some instances, you may not recognize how bad an injury is until later. Some injuries may not need medical care, but the complications may require medical care later.

An example of this exception could be a head injury that you sustained on someone’s property. The head injury may not have been serious at the time, but it can get worse over time. It could be months or years later that you have complications from the head injury. You could find out that you sustained a TBI after a stroke years later. The medical bills from the stroke are still due to the original injury. You are entitled to compensation.

There is a time limit when it comes to filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you wait for too long, your case could end up being dismissed. If you suffered an injury due to someone else’s negligence, contact a personal injury attorney, like Affordable Traffic Ticket Lawyers soon as possible!