How long do I have to file a personal injury case?
If you have suffered an injury in an accident, you may believe that the most important thing on your mind and where all your efforts should be focused is on recovering your health. And although that may be true, there is another significant factor that you should also be keeping in mind: the time you have to fileā¦ Read More »
If you have suffered an injury in an accident, you may believe that the most important thing on your mind and where all your efforts should be focused is on recovering your health. And although that may be true, there is another significant factor that you should also be keeping in mind: the time you have to file a personal injury claim. Suppose you allocate all your time and energy to doctors, receiving therapies, and other medical aspects. In that case, you may be minimizing the time that...
If you have suffered an injury in an accident, you may believe that the most important thing on your mind and where all your efforts should be focused is on recovering your health. And although that may be true, there is another significant factor that you should also be keeping in mind: the time you have to file a personal injury claim.
Suppose you allocate all your time and energy to doctors, receiving therapies, and other medical aspects. In that case, you may be minimizing the time that you will have left to file a claim through which you might be able to recover all the expenses that accompany the process of restoring your health.
How much time do I have to file my personal injury claim?
Every state has established a set of deadlines that you must strictly adhere to when filing a personal injury claim. This is called the statute of limitations, and any case filed after this date has passed will undoubtedly be dismissed. Although there are a few exceptions, you should not rely on them to file your claim since they are extremely rare.
Depending on the state where you live, the statute of limitations can run between one and six years. While New Yorkās statute of limitation is set at three years, if you live in New Jersey, it is set at two and in Connecticut. Louisiana has it set at one year while Maineās is six years.
What is the āDiscovery Ruleā exception when it comes to personal injury cases?
The āDiscovery Ruleā regarding personal injury cases applies when the injured party had no way of knowing that they had been injured until some time had passed, even once the statute of limitations had expired. This happens, for example, when you are involved in an accident in which you did not believe you were injured, and it is not revealed until a long time later that there was an injury. This may be because the injury affected your internal organs, and evidence did not present itself right away. Or maybe you had been living in a house that had asbestos, and you did not develop mesothelioma until many years later.
This means that the deadline to file a personal injury claim is extended when:
- You suffer an injury that becomes evident at some future point, and
- You are trying to prove that the actions carried out by the potential defendant are responsible for your injury.
Other exceptions to the statute of limitation timeline may get extended to apply to individuals who are not yet 18 years old or those who have a mental disability when they are injured.
Why should I hire a personal injury lawyer to file my claim?
When you are ready to file a personal injury claim, you want to make sure to have the law working for you and avoid making any mistakes that may result in your case being dismissed. That is why Isaacson, Schiowitz & Korson, LLP recommend getting legal representation to make sure you do not miss any critical deadlines and that your case is as solid as it can be.
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank is an alumnus of the prestigious Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Under his leadership, Legal Bites has been researching and developing resources through blogging, educational resources, competitions, and seminars.
