By: LINDSEY O’NEILL, ESQ.
Have you been in an accident or sustained an injury and thought about suing the responsible party, but just haven’t gotten around to it? Every state has a deadline, called a “statute of limitations,” by which a a personal injury lawsuit must be filed with the court. In some states, for example, you may have as little as one year from the date of an automobile accident to file a lawsuit for your injuries. If you miss the deadline for filing the case, you will be barred from ever bringing the lawsuit in court.
Statutes of limitation differ not only from state to state, but also with regard to the type of lawsuit involved. In some states the statutes of limitations for medical malpractice, wrongful death cases, or lawsuits against governmental agencies may be shorter than for other types of personal injury cases. In general, however, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is from one to three years. For other types of actions, such as enforcing a judgment, the statute of limitations may be up to 20 years or more! There are some exceptions to the rule, however. Also, the date upon which the time period begins to “run” (and the clock starts to tick) may vary depending on whether you discovered the injury/harm some time after it actually occurred. An experienced lawyer can help you with the details.
Part of the reason behind having a statute of limitations is to preserve evidence. Memories fade, witnesses move, and evidence may become unavailable as time goes on. Also, there is a principal of fairness involved - if someone has injured you, then you must try to hold them accountable within a relatively short period of time. Trying to sue someone 20 years after-the-fact may not be “fair” in most situations.
If you’ve been injured in an accident, a victim of a business-deal-gone-bad, or experienced some other wrongdoing for which you think you might have a legal right to sue…. contact an experienced attorney in your area to evaluate your legal options and preserve your right to file a lawsuit within the statutory deadline.
Lindsey O'Neill is the Director of Legal Content and Strategic Development at LawInfo.com. Ms. O'Neill is a California licensed attorney based in La Jolla and experienced in a wide variety of legal and business matters.
Statutes of limitations are important for just the reasons you stated. Witnesses’ memories can change, things can be forgotten and some witnesses for either side can even pass away or simply disappear. In the need to protect the accused, in a criminal matter that is, and provide a fair trial and true justice, we have to protect and preserve the sanctity of the trial process.
Reply
MZ.SEXYBIOTCH510 Reply:
November 26th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
i strongly disagree! There shouldnt be a statute of limitations on any crime where there is proof,dna,or evidence that proves or links the suspect to a crime. That person should be held accountable no matter how long its been! I was raped by knife point as i was walking home by myself one night 19 yrs. ago. I was 13 yrs. old.They never found the guy, & i dont know why my dad never pursued it. Now years later after an inncident came up & i found myself for the first time looking at the hospital records of the rape kit they had performed on me back in 1989
for a brief moment after seeing there was dna collected i was happy to know they could find this person & hold him accountable for what he violently did to a 13yr. old little girl! Thats when a Newark police dept.Detective told me theres nothing i could do because the statute of limitations is 7 yrs. and in my case it had been 19 yrs. too long & HE WAS SORRY!!
Reply
Lindsey Reply:
December 1st, 2008 at 10:07 am
For the same reasons you mention, many states have proposed legislation to do away with the statute of limitations for prosecuting rape cases. Some prosecutors have apparently filed “John Doe” cases where DNA evidence is available, but the suspect’s identity isn’t yet known. The case is filed before the statute of limitations runs out, against the John Doe, so that when the identity of the suspect is determined, the case can be pursued. Learn more about state legislation at the National Conference of State Legislatures website: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/genetics/dnasexoffen.htm.
Reply
my doctor puntured my lung during a routine procedure to implant a port for my chemotherapy treatments…….Iwas hospitalized for a week and went on to fight my cancer…..it was nine years ago……I was angry at the time but needed to get my health back, ……this was in February 2000……am I still able to file a suit against this doctor
Reply