What Are the Statutes of Limitations for Personal Injury in the Different States?

You may be entitled to compensation if you’ve been injured through no fault. However, there’s a strict time limit on filing personal injury cases in each state and city. If you miss the deadline to file your case or if it expires before you take action, then you won’t have the opportunity to receive fair compensation for your damages.

To ensure this doesn’t happen to you or someone close to you, here’s what every injured person should know about statutes of limitations: when does their injury case expire? When is it too late to file a case? And how can they ensure they don’t miss out on receiving justice for their injuries?

The Statute of Limitations Varies Across States

The statute of limitations varies according to the state and the type of personal injury. Some states have a specific timeline for every kind of personal injury, while others have different statutes for different injuries. You need to take action after a car accident based on these statutes of limitations. Hence, hiring a local lawyer is of utmost importance.

If you would like to learn more about personal injury law and how long it takes to file a claim after being injured by another person or corporation’s negligence, here are the details for some states.

Statute of Limitations in California

The statute of limitations for personal injury in California is generally 2 years. This means that if you have been injured and believe that someone else is responsible for your injuries, you must file a lawsuit within two years from the injury date.

Suppose you had a car accident in Redwood City, California, and you have a small limb injury. However, you neglect the wound, and you let it go. After two years, the neglected wound would get severe, cause a lot of pain, and lead to medical expenses. Now, if you head to a court to file a case, that wouldn’t be possible. Two years have passed since the accident, and you could have treated the wound at that time, but you neglected it. If you had contacted a Redwood City car accident lawyer, he or she would have told you about the statute of limitations. Hence, hiring a local lawyer for a personal injury case is vital. The lawyer should know the local laws and regulations.

Statute of Limitations in Florida

The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Florida is four years. The four-year limit is for cases founded on negligence. This means that auto accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death cases have a 4-year limit. However, when it comes to civil injury cases where the injuries are not occurred because of negligence, the period reduces to two years.

There are also some exceptions to the time limit. Firstly, if the accident victim is deemed incapacitated, the statute of limitations is extended to seven years. Also, if the person who caused the accident left the state of Florida at some point and returns after four years, the victim can file a lawsuit without worrying about the statute of limitations. Lastly, the victim can also file a lawsuit even after four years if the alleged defendant takes measures like concealing himself/herself or changing his or her identity to prevent the suit.

Statute of Limitations in Illinois

In Illinois, the statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the injury date. This means that to bring suit against someone for a personal injury, you must have filed your lawsuit within two years of the date of your accident. However, this two-year limit can be extended depending on certain circumstances related to your case.

Suppose you were under 18 at the time of your accident or are currently incompetent due to mental illness or brain damage resulting from an accident. In that case, your case will not expire until either five years after turning 18 or one year after regaining competency and control over yourself again.

When calculating how long it has been since filing suit against a person who has caused harm through negligence or other wrongful action, you may want to consider whether they were aware that they had caused damage through negligence or other wrongful action before filing suit against them. If so, this would also lengthen their statute because, once again, it’s not about whether someone knows but rather whether someone acts upon knowledge about an injury-causing event happening somewhere else at some point during the time frame needed for filing suit.

Statute of Limitations in New York

New York law requires that you file a personal injury lawsuit within three years of the incident. If your rights are violated and you suffer an injury, you must act quickly to preserve your right to compensation.

If someone dies due to someone else’s negligence, the family member or friend of the victim can file a lawsuit within two years of the death. The statute of limitations in the New Your is mentioned under the Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), Chapter 8, Article 2, section 214.

There are, again, some exceptions to this law. According to section 214, the statute of limitations changes in situations as described in sections 214-b, 214-c, 214-i, and 215. For instance, in section 214-b, the personal injury that occurred due to exposure to phenoxy herbicides can be filed until years from the damage’s discovery date or from the time the injury could have been discovered.

Statute of Limitations in Texas

In Texas, the statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the alleged incident’s date. This means that you have up to two years after your accident or injury before your case will be considered “time-barred” and unable to proceed through court.

In addition to this general rule, there are separate statutes of limitation for car accidents and work injuries in Texas. If you file a personal injury claim based on an automobile accident, you must do so within two years; otherwise, your right to sue may be forfeited forever.

Similarly, suppose your employment contract includes an arbitration clause (which will often happen). In that case, you only have three years from when your employment ended with which to file suit against them, or they will likely win any such dispute based on contractual grounds rather than under tort law like most other states follow.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the statute of limitations is essential to any personal injury claim. Hence, it is advised to act fast because the sooner you file your case and begin working with an attorney, the better off you will be in the long run. Hence, you need to contact a lawyer as soon as possible to get the compensation you deserve.