Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

Texas Personal Injury Lawyer Michael Grossman Discusses the Statute of Limitations in a Personal Injury Case

According to Texas law, plaintiffs generally have two years after the date of an injury to file a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant.

This time limit is called a statute of limitations. There are some exceptions to this time limit, but in general, the statute applies to all personal injury cases, including car accidents, work injury cases (when workers’ compensation insurance is not present), product liability claims, and wrongful death suits.

Exceptions to the Two-Year Statute of Limitations:

· The Plaintiff is a Minor Child

If the plaintiff in a personal injury or wrongful death claim is a minor child, then the statute of limitations changes. Essentially, the statute of limitations does not begin to expire until the child’s 18th birthday, so the child has until he or she is 20 to file a lawsuit. This is to ensure that, even if a parent or guardian does not wish to file a lawsuit on the minor child’s behalf, the child can still seek compensation once he or she turns 18.

This extension also exists in the case of a death of a parent. For example, if a father dies in a car accident and leaves behind a 19-year-old child and a 16-year-old child, the eldest child would have two years from the date of the father’s death to file a lawsuit. However, the 16-year-old child would have approximately 4 years (2 years after the child turns 18) to file a similar wrongful death claim.

· Lack of Knowledge of an Injury

In some cases, a plaintiff is not immediately aware that he or she has been injured. For example, a worker may develop mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while on the job decades earlier. Mesothelioma takes decades to manifest symptoms, and as such, the victim would not have realized that he or she had a personal injury case until long after the actual exposure occurred. In these cases, the statute of limitations typically begins to expire once the victim realizes an injury has occurred. The victim would then have two years after being diagnosed with mesothelioma to file a personal injury claim.

· Plaintiff is Physically or Mentally Incapable of Filing a Lawsuit

In some cases, circumstances can leave a victim unable to file a lawsuit for whatever reason. For example, if a victim in a car accident enters a coma for four years after the accident, the statute of limitations would not begin to expire until the victim awoke from his or her coma since the victim could not file a lawsuit while unconscious.

Essentially, statute extensions require the establishment of a reasonable standard by which the victim could file a lawsuit. In the above example of the coma victim, clearly that victim could not file a lawsuit during the four years after his or her accident. But it is important to note that ignorance is not grounds for an extension. If the victim of an accident did not realize that he or she could file a lawsuit until three years after an accident, the statute of limitations would not likely be extended.

The Catch…

There is, of course, a catch: while the law allows a victim to file a lawsuit up to two years after an accident, in practice, waiting until the last minute to file a lawsuit can completely destroy your case. You should seek experienced legal representation as soon as possible after an accident to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. The longer you wait, the higher probability that physical evidence is no longer available, witnesses have forgotten important details, and the defense has built a strong case against you.

The reason for this comes down to how trials are used in the legal world. Contrary to popular belief, trial is typically used as a last resort in a personal injury case. Most personal injury attorneys will only take a case to court after they have exhausted all other possible methods for receiving a fair settlement. However, note that when an experienced personal injury attorney takes a case, he or she will begin immediately preparing for trial. Why? Because trial is used as leverage. Whenever San Antonio personal injury attorney Michael Grossman takes a case, he begins by conducting a thorough investigation of all of the circumstances surrounding an accident. If he is brought on early, he has a large amount of time to gather evidence and build a strong case. He can then leverage this case when negotiating with insurance adjusters and defense lawyers. He can use the threat of taking your case to court as a bargaining chip, in other words. This allows him to use a strong trial case to secure a fair settlement without actually taking a case to trial.

This is beneficial for all parties involved. Not only are trials stressful for accident victims, but they involve a certain element of unpredictability. Ultimately, the outcome of a trial case is in the jury’s hands, and a jury might end up making a completely irrational decision. No one wants to take a case to trial if it can be avoided, but everyone prepares for trial from day one.

What is Happening to Your Case While You Debate Hiring an Attorney?

Chances are, the defense is building a case against you. Any time there is the possibility of a personal injury suit, insurance companies begin preparing for trial, and their defense lawyers start gathering evidence to use against you in court. Even if you have not even yet considered filing a lawsuit, someone is preparing for it. This is especially problematic the longer you wait, because your attorney will have to hastily prepare a case in order to file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, while the defense will already have a strong case prepared. In other words, your attorney will lose much of the bargaining power that might have been established if he or she had been brought on earlier.

Many attorneys will even refuse to take your case if too much time has passed since the accident. Our firm is often able to build a strong case even after a year or more has passed since the accident, but in virtually every situation, the case would have been stronger if the plaintiff had come to us earlier. You should always at least meet for a free consultation about your options. You have nothing to lose, and it might just save your case.

Furthermore, by waiting, you increase the probability that you are damaging your own case. Any statement made to insurance adjusters could potentially ruin your chances of seeking compensation.

The legal world is complex, and you may think that by explaining what happened in your accident, you are not implicating yourself. But insurance adjusters have dozens of tricks by which they can get an accident victim to implicate him or herself, and thereby irreparably harm their case. Their tactics can be as innocuous as repeating back to you what you have said, but with slight variations that, from a legal standpoint, make you liable.

Also keep in mind that you are likely being watched. If you are in a car accident and receive numerous painful injuries, your doctor may request that you spend a lot of time in bed. But let us say that, after a couple weeks, you get sick of being indoors, and you go out and play tennis – even though you are in pain, it is worth it to get out of the house. In all probability, insurance adjusters saw you playing tennis and have photographic proof. They will use this as evidence that you were faking your injuries and you will have a hard time securing a settlement.

Ultimately, experienced legal representation can keep you from damaging your own case and help you build a comprehensive lawsuit so that you can receive the compensation you need. San Antonio personal injury lawyer Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices has twenty years of experience helping accident victims protect their rights. He has worked in all kinds of personal injury practice areas, and he has successfully investigated and litigated hundreds of high-profile cases. He has faced every major insurance carrier in the country. Their adjusters and defense lawyers know who we are, and they will often agree to our settlement demands readily, just to avoid facing us in trial. In other words, we can help you secure the compensation you need so that you can get on with your life. So if you or someone in your family has been hurt in an accident, contact San Antonio personal injury attorney Michael Grossman from Grossman Law Offices today, and make sure that those responsible for your accident are brought to justice.