When you are injured due to the fault of another person, you have a right to receive financial compensation for your injuries. Injuries caused by an accident can greatly disrupt your life and can affect your ability to work, take a toll on your mental health, and require expensive medical care. A personal injury claim can help you get recovery not only for your medical bill costs, but for all of your damages (a legal term meaning all harm caused by the accident) suffered.
However, if you are wanting to bring a Los Angeles personal injury claim against the party responsible for your injuries it is absolutely crucial to understand one thing: there is a time limit to filing personal injury claims.
Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is a law that dictates the timeframe you have to bring a legal claim. These deadlines created by statute of limitation laws apply to all types of claims and differ in length depending on the type of claim. Under California law, a person generally has two years from the date of the accident to bring a claim seeking compensation for personal injuries.
Due to this two-year deadline, it is very important to contact a skilled Los Angeles personal injury attorney as soon as you are injured, so they can begin work on your claim, so you do not miss your deadline and your opportunity to get compensation.
Deadline Exceptions
There are a few exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations deadline to be aware of. Even if the two-year deadline has passed, you may still be able to bring your claim if:
- You did not discover your injuries until later—sometimes injuries aren’t discovered until after the accident. It can be months or even a year before you start to feel the effects of an accident and discovery your injuries.
- The injured person is under 18 or does not have “legal capacity” to make decisions—With few exceptions, if you were injured when you were a minor, the 2-year statute of limitations is “tolled” until you are 18. This means the 2-year clock doesn’t start to run until you are no longer a minor. This exception also covers people who are mentally incapable of bringing a claim.
- The claim is against the government—if your accident involved the government, such as a car accident caused by a government worker or an accident occurring on government property, claims have to be filed more quickly, usually within 6 months of the accident.
- The person who caused the accident leaves California—if the person who is at fault for your injuries leaves California before or during your claim, it can change the deadline or toll the clock for the time they are out of state.
Talk to a Skilled Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been injured in an accident caused by another person and want to bring a personal injury claim, contact the experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorneys at Walch Law right away. You don’t want to miss out on your chance to file a claim! Even if you think it may be too late, give us call to see if you still have options. We offer a FREE case consultation, so contact us today at 866-465-8792!