When a person is injured in an accident caused by someone else, they often have the option to file a personal injury claim to pursue compensation for the financial, physical, and emotional hardships associated with their injuries. However, in most cases, victims only have a limited amount of time to file such a claim. In legal terms, this is known as the “statute of limitations.” If a lawsuit is not filed or a claim is not resolved prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, the claim can be barred and compensation denied.
The statute of limitations period varies depending on a variety of factors and requires careful analysis by a trained attorney. Below is some general information about the many factors that can affect this timeframe.
What Can Affect the Statute of Limitations in Illinois?
The Illinois personal injury statute of limitations can fluctuate from a year after the date of the injury to several years later. In general, the amount of time you have to file is based on the cause of the injury, the age of the injured victim, and the nature of the injuries sustained.
Wrongful Death Claims
If the victim passes away from injuries wrongfully caused by another party, the heirs of the victim may be eligible to file a wrongful death claim on their behalf. In these cases, the statute of limitations is generally two years from the date of the death of their loved one.
Wrongful death claims allow family members to pursue compensation for the financial and emotional hardship associated with the loss of a loved one. This may include medical care costs, funeral and burial expenses, the loss of income if the family member contributed to the family’s finances, as well as the loss of love, companionship, guidance, and support provided by the Decedent.
Medical Malpractice
In many medical negligence cases, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury. However, there are sometimes instances where the victim can still pursue a case afterward if they did not discover the injury until later. For example, if a radiologist failed to identify a tumor on an X-ray and cancer was eventually discovered years later, the statute of limitations would start at the time of discovery rather than when the original X-ray was performed.
In addition to statutes of limitations, however, there are also “statutes of repose.” The statute of repose sets an outer time limit on the date of discovery, meaning that if you discover the injury more than four years after the act or omission that caused it, you may not be able to file a lawsuit. That being said, there are also some exceptions to the 4-year statute of repose. As we’ll discuss later, whether the victim was a minor can also affect the deadline for filing a suit.
Product Liability Cases
The general timeline for victims to file a product liability claim is two years from when the injury occurs or from the date when the injury should have reasonably been discovered. However, like medical malpractice cases, there is a cap on how long you’ll have to “discover” the negligence. Generally, you’ll have two years from the date of discovery of the injury to file your claim. But if the discovery occurred more than eight years from the manufacture date of the defective product, you may lose your right to file a claim.
Claims Involving Minors
If a minor is injured in an accident, Illinois law generally pauses the statute of limitations until two years after the victim’s 18th birthday. However, the victim may still have more or less time to file, depending on the circumstances of the case. In medical negligence cases, the statute of limitations is generally a minor’s 22nd birthday or eight years from the date of the injury, whichever comes first. Again, there are exceptions to these timeframes, too.
Claims Against Government Entities
If a government entity was involved in negligently causing your injuries, you will generally have a much shorter timeline to file your claim. The statute of limitations in Illinois for personal injury claims filed against the government is one year from the date of the occurrence. Additionally, there is usually a lot more paperwork involved in filing a claim against the government, and a higher burden of proof. Because of this, you’ll want to begin this process as soon as possible and work closely with a lawyer who can help minimize the amount of legwork associated with these types of claims.
Why You Shouldn’t Wait to File an Injury Claim
Meeting the filing deadlines is one of the most important things you can do to ensure you retain your right to pursue compensation after a wrongfully caused injury. Unfortunately, if you allow the statute of limitations to expire, it’s unlikely that you will be able to recover anything at all.
Furthermore, even if you have a significant amount of time left to file your claim, it’s still best to act quickly. The longer you wait to file, the more likely it is that evidence may be lost or details may be forgotten. People also often underestimate how long it takes to build a personal injury case, and even with several months left before the deadline, you may still not have enough time to investigate the full extent of the occurrence.
The longer you wait to file, the more likely it is that evidence may be lost or details may be forgotten.
Talk To Power Rogers About Your Case Today
Statute of limitations are extremely important and complex, as they can range significantly from case to case. Sadly, there are many scenarios where victims assume they have more time only to find that they’ve begun the process too late. A personal injury lawyer at Power Rogers can not only determine how much time you have to file a claim but also help you manage the requirements involved with filing. For over 30 years, our firm has prided itself on our ability to make the legal process as simple and straightforward as possible for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation.
