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.