What is the Statute of Limitations or Time Limit for an Accident or Personal Injury Case?

[Everett Barnhill]

In each jurisdiction that I am aware of, you have time limits on your personal injury or auto accident claim. In other words, suppose that you get injured in an accident on November 10, 2006. Despite the fact that you didn't cause the accident, if you don't settle your case or document a lawsuit by a certain date, you will barred or blocked from truly seeking a financial recovery later on. That time period is known as the statute of limitations.

Statutes of limitations are usually set by the legislative branch of the public authority, state or federal.

KNOWING THE ACCURATE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON YOUR CASE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND USUALLY REQUIRES SOUND LEGAL ADVICE!

Most states have different time limits for different kinds of cases, and these time limits can change after some time. Take the state where I practice as an example, Nevada, where I have practiced law as a Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyer for the past 17 years:

You have two (2) years to record a personal injury claim in Nevada, usually. But there are exceptions that make the time period either more or more limited. Using our example of November 10, 2006, if you are an adult and were injured, you have until November 10, 2008 to settle or document suit. That is actually two years and a day if you think about it, but the courts allow it.

If you are a minor (under 18 years of age) and are injured, you have until two (2) years after the age of majority, so in other words, you have until you are 20 to settle your claim or document suit.

Sometimes, you only have one year in Nevada. For example, in medical malpractice claims, the time period was abbreviated to one year from the date you knew or should have known about the malpractice. It used to be two years. Also, if an individual bites the dust from natural causes after being in an accident, the beneficiaries only have one year from the date of death in which to settle the claim or document suit (maybe less time if the individual kicked the bucket not exactly a year before the two-year statute of limitations).

There is no absolution in the law for missing a statute of limitations deadline. Except if a mob or common turmoil happen, or maybe a natural disaster (think Katrina), if you miss the deadline, your case is finished.

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