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What is the ‘Statute of Limitations’ and Why it is Important It is a legal rule under which any lawsuit arising from an injury or accident must be filed within a specified time period or the injured person’s legal claim will be barred and the right to sue will be lost forever. This statute of limitations is different for different situations and depends on the type of injury and also varies according to state. That is why it is important that you consult with an accident and injury lawyer as soon as possible after the accident so that you do not miss out on your chance to file a legal claim. Every state has enacted its own statute of limitations which requires that any personal injury suit be filed in court within a specified time period after the incident or injury has occurred. For example the time limit for filing such lawsuits is one year in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky while in North Dakota and Maine it is six years. The timeframe prescribed by each state ranges from one year to six years.

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As stated above different time limits have been specified for different types of personal injury claims. In some states the type of personal injury claim may also affect this statute of limitations for filing the lawsuit. This is why it is extremely important that you consult a personal injury accident attorney as soon as possible after the incident. To cite an example where the type of claim affects the associated time period certain defamation cases and claims involving minors may be granted longer time periods medical malpractice statutes of limitations may grant shorter timeframes for filing respective lawsuits. Usually the statute of limitations in a lawsuit for injuries to a minor does not begin to run until one turns 18. For example if a minor suffers injury as a result of an accident at the age of 17 in a state that has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits that person will be required to file a lawsuit within a period of three years for injuries suffered in that accident. Additionally there is also the ‘Discovery of Harm’ rule that needs to be considered when evaluating claims for which you need to consult a competent accident and injury lawyer. The statute of limitations only stipulates the amount of time within which a person needs to file a suit after an accident or injury. However that time period does not usually begin to run until that point in time when the person is aware that he or she has actually suffered harm and the nature of that harm. To understand this better consider the example of a case where a surgeon mistakenly left a temporary surgical bandage in the abdomen of a patient. However this was not discovered by the patient until years later during another surgical procedure. In such a case there is no way that the patient could have reasonably known about the surgeon’s mistake and the lack of this knowledge could not be termed as unreasonable under the given circumstances.

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Road accidents and injurious mishaps are a common occurrence. We have all either been a part of or have experienced one firsthand and are well aware that personal injury accident attorneys are usually associated with such occurrences. While being in an accident can certainly be an ordeal to deal with it is also important to know how to deal with such situations. The pain and trauma that goes along with such situations is also common knowledge. However not many are aware about what needs to be done soon after. In fact not many are even aware about the typical precautions or measures that an individual needs to take soon after the accident. Some simple steps can help prevent issues later on when filing a lawsuit to claim damages. Furthermore one also needs to be aware of the timeframe within which a case needs to be filed assuming the claim is legitimate and has merit. This is the part where the ‘Statue of Limitations’ comes in. When filing a medical malpractice lawsuit the statute of limitations would most likely not begin to run until the patient actually discovered the first surgeon’s mistake as opposed to when the mistake was actually made. As a plaintiff you need to remember that any delay in discovery must be reasonable considering the prevailing circumstances. Vehicle accident attorneys are expected to be aware of the conditions associated with discovery which is why you need to consult a personal injury accident attorney as soon as possible. In the above example if the patient experienced abdominal pain post the first surgery but did not bother to seek medical attention for a number of years the lawsuit may very well be barred by the statute of limitations. Another important aspect to keep in mind is that the ‘discovery of harm’ rule will almost never arise in cases related to common types of injury claims such as car accidents and slip and fall cases. This is mainly because such cases usually leave nothing for accident and injury lawyers to ‘discover’ in terms of the source of the injury and the nature of the harm suffered. However on the other hand the discovery rule may be applicable in certain wrongful death cases. Since state laws are frequently revised on a regular basis and the statute of limitations varies according to state and according to the type of claim it is important that you consult a vehicle accident attorney to know exactly how those laws apply to your specific case. If you’re looking for a competent vehicle accident attorney in the South Florida area Mark Schiffrin P.A. is one law firm that has a proven track record. They have over 30 years of practice in areas including personal injury slip and fall accidents wrongful death automobile accidents and other types of negligence. Catering exclusively to the South Florida area they provide their services in Broward County Miami Dade County and Palm Beach County. For more information you can visit www.schiffrinpa.com or give them a call on 954-866-7722 for a free consultation to discuss your case.