If your motorcycle accident caused serious life changes, you may be wondering about bringing a claim against the other driver. If you weren’t at fault for the accident, you deserve compensation for your injuries. In most cases, you have a time limit to bring your claim.
Understanding the Statute of Limitations
Personal injury cases, such as a motorcycle accident, usually have an amount of time in which you can bring legal action. It’s known as the statute of limitations. In motorcycle accidents, it’s usually between one to three years, but it depends on state law where the accident occurred. If you’re nearing the one-year anniversary of your accident without a settlement, you may want to speak to a lawyer about filing a lawsuit to stop the clock. Filing a lawsuit doesn’t mean you’ll go to court, but it does mean that you meet the time frame. Once you file a lawsuit, you can still enter negotiations with the other driver’s insurance company.
What If You Miss the Deadline?
In most cases, if you don’t bring a legal action against the other driver within the statute of limitations, your case would be dismissed. This is where a lawyer can help you by understanding the timeline and keeping track of your deadlines. There may be other deadlines you need to worry about. For example, in Florida, you must seek treatment within two weeks of the accident, or it could be denied. For every law, there are exceptions. A minor who is injured may have an extended statute of limitations. A pregnant woman who discovers her child has injuries when it is born could have an extension on the statute of limitations, based on discovery of the injuries instead of the date of the accident.
Why Wait to Bring a Lawsuit?
Motorcycle accidents can have serious repercussions, some of which may not manifest until after the accident. Once you settle with the insurance company, you can’t go back and ask for more money. It can help your case to wait until you fully understand how you are impacted by the accident. Of course, you shouldn’t miss the statute of limitations, but you also don’t want to settle too quickly. An attorney can assess the best time to file the lawsuit based on your injuries and expected healing.
Make an appointment with a lawyer, like a Woodland Hills motorcycle accident lawyer from Barry P. Goldberg, auto accident attorney. You can discuss your case and take the right steps to proceed in your situation.