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Statutes of Limitations
A “statute of limitation” is a time
frame that defines the length of time an individual
has to file a claim. The time limit begins when
an injury occurs, or is discovered, and concludes
on the latest date the injured person can file
suit. These time limits vary from state to state,
and depend on the type of claim to be filed. The
time frame of the statute of limitations usually
begins when the injury or wrongful act occurs.
However, some states may allow a claim to proceed
if the wrongdoing or injury was not discovered
until a later date. The time frame would then
begin on the date of discovery.
The Statute of Limitation Laws serve two main
purposes:
- To protect any potential defendants from
being forever at risk for a lawsuit
- To ensure that legitimate lawsuits are filed
while evidence and memories are still recent
It is important to speak with an attorney as
soon as you think you have a valid claim. In addition
to preserving your rights and protecting your
claim in court, an attorney may also help to preserve
evidence, locate witnesses, and perform other
tasks in a timely manner to help you win your
case.
The date at which the Statute of Limitations
begins to run is of the utmost importance. Once
the Statute of Limitations has run, no lawsuit,
legitimate or otherwise, can be filed. If a suit
has not been filed within the requisite period
a later suit will not be allowed. If the lawsuit
is not filed before the passage of the Statute
of Limitations deadline, it will be subject to
dismissal by the court. It is, therefore, extremely
important that you find out the deadline for your
case and keep it in mind when negotiating.
If you believe that the Statute of Limitations
may have passed in your case, you should consult
an attorney immediately. Some exceptions exist
that your attorney may be able to inform you about.
If you file a complaint on time, a statute of
limitations has nothing to do with how long it
takes for a case to conclude.
If you feel that you have a valid claim, be
sure and contact an attorney in a timely manner.
If you contact an attorney and inform them that
your statute of limitations runs out tomorrow,
next week, or even next month, they may decline
your case simply based on time. An attorney will
most likely not file a suit on your behalf if
s/he does not have adequate time to prepare your
case, or even to research your case to determine
if you have grounds for a claim.
Depending on the type of lawsuit, and the state
in which it is filed, the Statute of Limitations
can be any number of years. Every state has its
own time limits, and even within a state the period
of time in which you must file a lawsuit varies
according to the type of claim. Occasionally theses
limits are changed by the legislature. To be sure
of your time limit, check the law for your state,
or ask a personal injury attorney.
Once you have ascertained what statute of limitations
applies to your case, your next step is to determine
what date the statute actually begins.
The period of time during which a lawsuit must
be filed usually begins with the date of harm.
However, a huge exception to this general rule
exists. There are instances, however, in which
an injury is not discovered for months or years
after it occurs. In such situations, statutes
of limitations may begin the clock ticking either
on the "date of discovery" of the harm,
or the date on which the plaintiff "should
have discovered" the harm. This refers to
the date when a judge considers it fair to say
that the plaintiff should have known about the
harm, whether or not the plaintiff actually knew
about it.
These three possible situations are explained
below:
- Earliest Detection: Date injury or wrongdoing
OCCURED.
Example: On January 1, a doctor performs an appendix
removal operation on Tony, but mistakenly cuts
and has to remove Tony's spleen as well. The doctor
tells Tony of the mistake as soon as he wakes
up. Tony's time period for suing the doctor begins
to run on January 1, since the harm occurred on
that date and Tony was informed of the mistake.
If a one-year statute of limitations for medical
malpractice applied to Tony’s case, he'd
have one year from January 1 to file a lawsuit
against the doctor.
- Later Detection: Date injury or wrongdoing
SHOULD HAVE been discovered
Example: Same case, except the doctor does
not tell Tony about the surgical mistake. Tony
is in constant pain following the January 1 surgery.
A month later, on February 1, Tony talks to another
doctor who tells him that he should not be in
pain and that he should immediately come in to
have it checked out. Tony delays going to the
doctor until June 1 of the same year, at which
time he finds out that his spleen had been removed
on January 1. In this situation, Tony's time period
for suing the doctor probably begins to run on
or shortly after February 1, because the pain
coupled with the second doctor's advice determines
when Tony should reasonably have discovered the
harm.
- Latest Detection: Date injury or wrongdoing
WAS discovered
Example: Same case, except that Tony suffers
no unusual after-effects following the January
1 surgery. Tony is unaware that anything went
wrong with the surgery until June 1 of the same
year, when an x-ray during a routine medical checkup
reveals that his spleen was also removed. In this
situation, since Tony did not discover and could
not reasonably have discovered the harm until
June 1, most states would measure Tony's time
to sue from June 1.
Once you have determined the date your claim
begins, and applied the statute of limitation,
you can determine a deadline by which you must
file your claim. Be sure to make a note of this
date so that even if you put off filing your claim,
you will still be able to do so before the time
limit runs out.
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