The Statute Of Limitations And Personal Injury Suits: A Primer
If you plan on filing a personal injury suit, you should be aware that there are often statute of limitation laws in place that may ultimately prevent you from filing said suit if you wait too long. These laws tend to vary from state to state. Throughout this primer, you'll learn a little bit about how statute of limitations operate.
What Is The Statute Of Limitations?
Every state has its own particular laws regarding statute of limitations and personal injury cases, as aforementioned. The statute of limitations is essentially the deadline for which you can file a suit. This deadline is usually quite strict, although you will see how, in some cases, you can obtain an extension on a statute of limitations deadline. It is recommended that you discuss, in detail, with a personal injury attorney in which your accident took place, what the statute of limitations are for filing a personal injury case. It should be noted that the countdown for when the statute of limitations expires begins on the day in which your accident took place.
What Is The Standard For The Statute Of Limitations?
Essentially, there is no standard. However, there are some general features of statute of limitations that, while not universal, are commonplace. The statute of limitations usually expires between one and six years, depending upon state law. The only facet of statute of limitation laws that are universal from state to state is that the timeline for the statute of limitation begins on the day in which the accident occurred, and this timeline may be subject to an extension through the rule of discovery.
What Is The Discovery Rule?
The discovery rule can effectively give you an extension on the statute of limitations. Essentially, the rule of discovery means that you discover some aspect of the case sometime after your injury took place. For example, you may not even be aware that a particular event caused you an injury until months after it took place. In this situation, you can invoke the discovery rule to gain an extension on the statute of limitations.
Hopefully, this brief primer has given you some idea of how statutes of limitations work with regard to a personal injury case. For more information on how statute of limitation laws apply to personal injury cases, it is recommended that you discuss the matter with a local and trusted attorney. Contact a law firm, such as the Weathers Law Firm, LLC.
