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When an injury occurs because of another person's negligence, you have the right to sue that person for damages. This is considered a personal injury case, and you may be able to receive compensation for a number of different things relating to the incident. One of the most important aspects of personal injury law is something called a statute of limitations. If you understand what this is, you can use this rule to your benefit.
What Is A Statute Of Limitations?
A statute of limitations is a rule that gives a person a certain amount of time to seek damages for injuries. Every type of law has statutes of limitations, including personal injury law. This law is designed to prevent people from waiting decades to file lawsuits against others, but it is also there to give people a fair amount of time to make the decision whether they want to file a lawsuit or not.
In personal injury law, the statute of limitations varies from state to state. Some states have a period of only one year, while others have a length of up to six years. If your state has a period of three years, this means you have three years to file a claim against the responsible party.
When Does The Time Period Start?
A lot of people wonder when exactly the statute of limitations time period starts, and it typically begins on the day the accident took place; however, there is an exception. There is a legal term known as "discover of harm," which is also called the delayed discover rule.
This term refers to situations when a person does not realize harm occurred right away. In a case like this, the statute of limitations period would not start until the day the person discovered the harm.
A good example of this type of case would be if you had a medical procedure completed and later on discovered the doctor made a big mistake during the procedure. If you did not find out until six months after the original procedure took place, the statute of limitations would begin on the day you found out.
How Does Knowing This Benefit You?
By knowing the exact time frame you have to file a lawsuit, you can make sure you do not miss the deadline. If you didn't understand how long you have to file your case, you may prolong it to the point where you can no longer file a lawsuit. This would be a bad situation to be in, especially if you suffered major injuries from the case.
The other huge benefit knowing this offers is that you will have time to discover all your injuries and losses from the accident. If you are injured in a car accident, you may not really understand the depth of the injuries by the next day, or even by the next week or month. It often takes time to fully understand and see all the injuries you may be left with. If you file your case too quickly, you may cut yourself short when it comes to the compensation you ask for.
This is why a lawyer may advise you to wait for a while before filing a case. You can wait until the day your statute of limitations will expire if you want, and this is often a good idea. This will result in a delay in your settlement check, but it may help you get a larger check. During the time you are waiting to file, you can begin working with a personal injury lawyer on your case. By doing this, your case will be ready when the negotiations finally begin.
If you were recently injured by another person and are considering filing a case against that person, you should hire a personal injury lawyer to represent you. For more information, contact a lawyer.
Share8 September 2015
