If you havesuffered from an injury due to someone's negligence or wrongdoing, it isimportant to understand that you only have a certain amount of time to file apersonal injury case. This is due to the statute of limitations that is placedon nearly all, civil and criminal cases, including personal injury.
The statuteof limitations is a time limit in which you can file your claim for damagesagainst the other party. A statute of limitation is imposed on most cases toavoid someone coming back years later and filing a claim.
Forexample, if someone is in an accident but at the time feels that their injurieswere not significant enough, or that their chances of getting a largesettlement were not sufficient to file a lawsuit, they cannot do so later. Thisis to prevent someone fabricating injury years later because they feel theperson's financial situation has improved enough to pay a large claim. Anotherscenario could be that the injured party received another unrelated injury at alater date; in this case they cannot file against the first injury.
There are afew exceptions to the statute of limitations. Some types of personal injury mayhave a clause that indicates that the statute of limitations limit does notbegin until the person becomes aware of the damage or injury. If you were in acar accident and it appears that you are unhurt, but find at a later date itbecomes apparent that you received a spinal injury due to the accident, you maystill be able to file a claim.
Anotherexception is in the case of a minor under the age of 18 who is injured; theymay have the right to file claim once they are 18.
The statuteof limitation will vary according to state, and type of personal injury case;ranging from two and six years. A personal injury lawyer can best advise you onthe status of the statute of limitations for your case.
