- Personal Injury
There are important time limits to bringing a lawsuit in Georgia that you should be aware of. Most people in a car, truck or motorcycle accident don’t want to deal with arguing with an insurance company, let alone file a lawsuit. However, if you are in a serious accident and face mounting medical bills, lost wages or other expenses, you may be forced to do so at some point. Some accident victims will try to handle everything themselves, but then find themselves overwhelmed and decide to seek help. So, how long do you have to assert a claim and/or file a lawsuit?
First of all, you want to report any claim to an insurance company right away. That not only includes the wrong-doer’s insurance company, but your insurance company as well. With respect to your insurance company, there is oftentimes a contractual duty to report an accident within thirty (30) days. Failure to do so could prejudice your rights to recover uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
If you would like to know if you should hire a personal injury attorney for your car wreck, view this page.
So say you’ve reported you clain to an insurance company and you’ve been negotiating with them on your personal injuries. Months and/or years have gone by and you are just not getting the fair recovery for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering that you feel you deserve. When should you be worried? For a typical car, truck, tractor-trailer or motorcycle accident, the time limit in which you have to file a claim is two (2) years from the date of injury or else your claim will be forever barred. Does that mean you should call a lawyer on the day before the statute of limitations runs? NO! You should give your attorney plenty of time to collect evidence, interview witnesses, and prepare and file the lawsuit. Sometimes it can be hard to find the defendant, and it is best to file a personal injury lawsuit months in advance of the expiration of the statute of limitations to make sure you have the proper person or entity named as a defendant.
While it is best to contact an attorney as soon as practicable after an accident, you can still contact one even if some months have passed and still recover. Please be advised that the two (2) year statute of limitation does not apply to all lawsuits. The time may be shorter (!!!) or longer depending of the type of case and if certain special circumstances exist. Please contact an attorney today to find out your specific statute of limitation if you have any questions. The above is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Kenneth Crawford is a personal injury attorney practicing in Douglasville, Villa Rica, Carrollton Hiram, West Cobb and Marietta. He handles car accidents, truck wrecks, tractor-trailer accidents, dog bites, products liability and other personal injury cases. Call for a free consultation today!
