If you have been injured or lost property in an accident caused by someone else, you may have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit—but only within a certain period of time. Contact an accident lawyer in Fort Meyers, FL as soon as you can.
Understanding the Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations is the law that sets the maximum time you have to file a lawsuit after an incident. The reason for this law is fairness: it encourages both parties to make claims while evidence is still available and people’s memories are still clear. Waiting to make a claim long after an event makes it difficult to find uncompromised evidence of the incident or get accurate reports from eyewitnesses. The statute of limitations is in place to preserve court time and avoid unnecessary confusion over an event that happened too long ago.
The Statute of Limitations in Different Types of Personal Injury Cases
There are different statutes of limitations for different types of personal injury cases. In Florida, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is four years. This applies to car accidents, cases of product liability, and the majority of other personal injury cases.
For some types of cases in Florida, however, the time limit is shorter. For cases of medical malpractice, you generally have two years from the date you discovered the injury (or should have discovered it) to file. If an injury leads to a wrongful death, the family has two years from the date of the death to file.
Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations
Cases Involving Government Entities
If the injury involves a government employee, vehicle, or other property, the statute of limitations in Florida is three years. In addition, if you intend to file a lawsuit against a government agency, you must file a formal notice of claim with the appropriate government agency with that three-year period. Basically, you have to let them know that you intend to file a lawsuit before you file it.
Date of Discovery
In some cases, such as instances of medical malpractice or toxic exposure, the victim may not be aware of the injury until some time after the damage has happened. In cases such as this, the clock starts ticking for the statute of limitations from the date when the injury is discovered, rather than when it occurred.
Capacity or Age of the Victim
If the victim is mentally incapacitated by the injury, then the statute of limitations will not begin until they regain their full mental capacity. If the injured person was under the age of 18 at the time of the injury, the statute of limitations is tolled, or paused, until that person’s 18th birthday. The four-year statute of limitation’s then begins at that point, which means that they have until they are 22 to file a lawsuit.
If you are or may be involved in a personal injury lawsuit, call or visit the Goldstein, Buckley, Cechman, Rice & Purtz (GBC) Law Office in Fort Meyers, FL. We also serve Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral, Port Charlotte, and Naples.