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Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims

Posted by Carmine R. Villani | Jun 06, 2014 | 0 Comments

The field of personal injury involves a harm that occurs to the body, emotions or mind of an individual. The umbrella of personal injury law involves so many different types of accidents and claims that can be filed. Claims that fall within the personal injury umbrella include: automobile accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, dog bites, defamation, defective product claims and more. A main concern is, after suffering one of these injuries, how long do you have to bring a claim against the party who committed the wrongdoing? Is there a statute of limitations for personal injury claims?

What is a Statute of Limitations?

A misconception that is held by most people is that because the offense falls under the same type of law, that they all have the same time limit. However, each type of claim has its own time restraint, or what is known as a statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations are laws that set specific time limits for how long a person has to file a claim. The statute of limitations for personal injury claims varies from state to state and the amount of time that is usually given depends on the type claim being filed. Usually the time period of the statute of limitations begins to run on the date that the claim arises. Once the statute of limitations runs out, an individual is unable to bring a lawsuit.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim?

The general statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years, such as auto, truck or other vehicle accidents. Cases that involve medical malpractice also have a statute of limitations of two years, which begins to run from the date that the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered. Other cases that involve product liability, wrongful death, false imprisonment and assault and battery also have a statute of limitations of two years. For cases involving dog bites, the injured party has two years from the date of the dog bite to bring suit against the other party.
However, there are some personal injury claims that have their own individual statute of limitations. For cases involving defamation, libel or slander the statute of limitations is only one year. Contract cases, both in writing and oral, have a statute of limitations of six years. Cases involving fraud or trespass also provide the injured party with six years to bring suit. Lastly, the enforcement of court judgments has a statute of limitations of twenty years.

Getting Compensated for Your Personal Injury

Filing a claim within the required statute of limitations period will place a person in the right path to becoming whole again. Some remedies to personal injury cases include but are not limited to: payment of medical and hospital bills, therapy costs and potential recovery of lost wages. Other remedies include obtaining an injunction which requires the party who carried out the wrong doing to take action and fix the behavior they have committed.

Contact a NJ Personal Injury Lawyer!

If you need to file a personal injury claim, do not wait too long or else you could lose your right to bring suit. It is important to consult with a personal injury law firm when injuries occur, whether they occur in your car or while at work. If you suffer a personal injury in New Jersey, contact the team of personal injury attorneys at Villani & DeLuca at (732) 709-7757 today.

About the Author

Carmine R. Villani

Founding partner, Carmine Villani, Esq. is a former municipal prosecutor with over three decades of experience in Criminal and DWI Defense.

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