Yes, there are time limits. Called Statutes of Limitations. Take them very seriously.
I do.
In 40 years of practice my law firm has never missed a Statute of Limitations deadline.
Each State has their own laws about time limits to file a lawsuit.
Some States allow extra time to file a lawsuit for child injuries, some do not.
The safest way to approach these deadlines is always to observe the shortest time limits as the true deadline.
Deadlines come in many forms and some of them can be rather sneaky.
Often the deadline can be shorter, because it is not just a deadline to file the lawsuit, it is a deadline to file or transmit the notification.
Even before filing your lawsuit, your child injury attorney should be aware of notice of claim deadlines. Such notification deadlines can be just as alarming and important not to miss.
Some States, for example, require written notice by certified mail within 90 days of a claim against them for a city bus accident with a resulting injury to a child.
Time Limits may appear simple, yet attorneys have been known to miss these deadlines.
My law firm is very conservative about monitoring and adhering to these deadlines. Our practice and protocol is to use the earliest possible notification and filing deadlines that may apply. This way, you cannot make a big mistake. Because the most frequent consequence of missing a key time deadline is that the case cannot be filed, and the claim is forever time-barred.
More than one kind of time limit may apply to a single case.
As another example, if a child in a serious car accident and has a brain injury from it, then is airlifted from the scene for emergency treatment and the helicopter crashes, causing additional injuries. Now there are two cases, from one continuous series of circumstances.
The decision about whether to file both of these accident and also deciding the correct time deadlines is complex.
In addition to watching the time limits like a hawk, and deciding which types of time limits may apply, there may be concerns about which State’s time limits apply to begin with.
The Federal Government has its own time limits for Federal kinds of claims, and it may happen that a lawsuit between Citizens of different States has to be filed in Federal Court.
What if a car from Oklahoma is in a big accident and a child is injured in a car from Iowa, but the two cars were driven by vacationers and the accident happened in New York?
There are actually laws and plenty of contradictory cases just about how to choose what law applies.
Now you have learned just a little about there being different laws for different states, possibly several applicable deadlines within a single fact pattern or accident, and possibly competing choices of which State’s laws apply.
Let me take you just a little further.
The choice of time deadlines ( remember, they are usually but not always called Statutes of Limitations) may also depend upon the form of transportation used.
If a ship, boat, or vessel, then it may be necessary to learn if the accident happened on something called ” navigable waters”.
If a railroad, is it on private or public track, and does the railroad receive a Federal Assistance or Federal Subsidy.
If on a plane, is it a trip intended to be overseas, or from one US State to a US Territory.
Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death deadlines are so complex a subject that the only mention about them I will make in this section is a caution.
Common sense has nothing to do with many of these time deadlines. Many of my clients come to me with common sense smarts, worldly experience and a college diploma, coupled with a few hours of solid internet searching.
I respect that you have all these personal assets and intellect, but a lot of this does not make common sense and with a free consultation available why not make the call.
I hope that this section about time deadlines for preserving the legal rights to make a claim for money compensation damages on behalf of you and your injured child has given you pause for thought and little better understanding about how important it is to consult with a highly experienced personal injury lawyer.
