Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury. What You Should Know?

The statute of limitations in personal injury lawsuits determines how long you have to bring a lawsuit or settle your claim with the insurance provider. After the limitations period has passed and you have not resolved your claim, you will lose your right to sue the responsible party. Your case is finished for all practical purposes. So once you sustain an injury in the state of Illinois, you have a certain amount of time—known as the statute of limitations—in which to file a lawsuit or file a claim.

Different State Limitations 

The statute of limitations on personal injury varies from state to state. The majority of states have various restrictions for various case categories, which further complicates matters. A state might have different statutes of limitations for general personal injuries, medical malpractice, wrongful death, libel and slander, for instance. You must check the statute of limitations in the state where the incident took place if you were hurt as a result of someone else’s negligence. Contact our experts to know what is limitations in your specific case.

Make sure to check the timeframe that relates to the specific injury type you have. Understanding how to protect your legal rights is crucial. All 50 states’ statutes of limitations provide sufficient time to resolve a minor personal injury claim with an insurance provider. The majority of viewpoints allow 2 to 3 years from the date of the injury. However, there are times when a wounded victim may not be able to resolve their claim within the allotted period due to a variety of factors, including the accident’s perpetrator.

The party that was at fault for the collision fled the scene without leaving a contact number. The responsible party lacks insurance. The at-fault party agreed to pay medical expenses and property damage in monthly instalments, but they stopped. Both the insurance company and the claimant have been unable to agree on a settlement figure. 

Tolling the legislation is a crucial concept to understand in the process.
There is a way to extend the statute of limitations if the deadline is quickly approaching and you haven’t resolved your claim.

Lawsuit Filling

To keep the statute in effect after its expiration date, you must file a lawsuit. The personal injury statute of limitations is automatically extended by the law whenever a case is filed. Tolling the legislation refers to this perpetual suspension. You’ll have plenty of time to continue pursuing a settlement once the statute of limitations has been determined without having to worry about missing any deadlines. There are certain drawbacks to bringing a case, though. 

When you file a lawsuit after engaging in negotiations with an insurance provider, there are time restrictions. The likelihood that the adjuster will stop speaking with you is very high. You’ll notice that the adjuster won’t answer your calls or emails file a lawsuit after engaging in negotiations with an insurance provider, there are time restrictions. The likelihood that the adjuster will stop speaking with you is very high. You’ll notice that the adjuster won’t answer your calls or emails. 

This is due to the fact that when you file a lawsuit, the insurance company’s attorneys will become involved and take your claim away from the adjuster and hand it to an attorney. To protect your interests, you must hire a personal injury lawyer on your own. You won’t be able to take on the company’s formidable legal staff on your own outside of small claims court. Our attorneys are ready to fight for you. Don’t waste time and schedule a free call with our experts to start your case.

Deadlines

You need to know the start date of the statute of limitations on personal injury in order to comprehend your deadline. Almost invariably, it starts the day you get hurt. If you were hurt in an accident, note the precise date of the incident. The constraints become more crucial as your case drags on. Any chance of receiving compensation can be eliminated by even a single day of a statute of limitations violation.

There are a few exceptions to the statute of limitations, most of which pertain to medical negligence. The only exception is if you can demonstrate that your injuries weren’t immediately apparent as a result of the doctor’s negligence. The finding of injury is the term used to describe this exception. Let’s take a closer look at the injury discovery. Evidence of a doctor’s carelessness in medical malpractice claims can occasionally only be discovered after the restrictions have passed. The statute of limitations for personal injury may be extended in such a case.

It will start as soon as you become aware of the damage or as soon as the court decides you ought to have been aware of the damage. Here is an illustration of discovering harm. Jim resides in Florida, where a patient has two years from the date of the operation to file a claim for medical malpractice. After the two-year limitation period had passed, Jim felt great for a while before becoming seriously ill. Testing showed that his sickness was not only an old one but was also directly related to the original surgeon’s carelessness. The court might permit Jim to file a claim in this instance even if the medical malpractice statute of limitations has already passed.

The rationale for this exception is that his disease was only discovered later than expected, which introduces the concept of a reasonable discovery. Extensions brought on by a later realisation of harm are not automatic. Every case is evaluated on its own merits, and the reason for the discovery delay must be justifiable. Courts examine Discovery Farm claims in great detail to persuade the court to raise the statute of limitations. If the court determines that a reasonable person could have found evidence of the doctor’s malpractice prior to the statute of limitations expiring, you must show that you couldn’t have reasonably discovered such evidence until after that time period.

Need help understanding specifics of deadlines in your situation? Contact our experts and we will clear all questions you have!

Final Thoughts on Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

You won’t likely be able to file a lawsuit with the court. Working with trained claims adjusters who are knowledgeable about the statutes of limitations is what you can expect. Personal injury claims are expertly prolonged for as long as possible by claims adjusters from insurance companies. Their billion-dollar employers dislike disbursing their funds. Even a one-month delay in payment results in interest being earned by the business on the funds. The more claims that are delayed, the more money the corporation earns in interest. Additionally, if the claim is not resolved prior to the limits, the insurance company keeps the entire sum, not just the interest. 

The significance of the location is a final point to be made. It is imperative that you check the state’s statute of limitations in which the accident happened. The statute of limitations period is determined by the location or venue of the accident, not your state of residence. This is why it’s crucial to check the statute of limitations in the state where the accident occurred. For example, if you live in South Carolina and are involved in a car accident in Georgia, the statute of limitations that applies to your case is the Georgia two-year statute, not the South Carolina three-year statute. This concludes our examination of key points regarding statutes of limitations and damage claims.