Emergency medical costs for injuries caused by another person’s negligence or deliberate actions can leave victims swimming in medical debt. Not only does the victim of an accident have to suffer the physical consequences of another person’s actions, but they are left to cover the medical and financial cost as well.
A personal injury lawsuit, if won, can help a victim cover the expensive costs of medical bills and can act as compensation for losses that come from being incapable of working. But how long does a victim have to file an injury lawsuit?
Time limits
The State of California has enacted statutes of limitation on injuries resulting from accidents and deliberate acts. This protects victimizers from being hit with lawsuits years or decades after the injury originally occurred.
The statutes of limitation limit the length of time you can sue for personal injury to two years following the original accident. This allots the victim of the accident a grace period to recover from their injuries and provides a time frame for both parties to reach an out-of-court settlement.
What is a personal injury?
A personal injury lawsuit can cover the damages resulting from assault, battery or other injurious actions caused by another person’s negligence or wrongful act. The circumstances in which personal injury lawsuits apply vary. For example, personal injury lawsuits may be filed for things such as assault, injuries relating to vehicle accidents, or injuries caused by a faulty product but other circumstances may also apply.
Personal injury lawsuits can be filed to cover the cost and losses resulting from injury. In certain tragic circumstances, injuries may result in death. In these cases, the victim’s family members may be able to sue for the damages which resulted in the victim’s death.