Injured individuals often call our office to inquire about their rights for recovery. This is a question that varies, as it all depends on each individual and their circumstance. With that in mind, what many people forget to ask about is the Statute of Limitations and how it will affect their case.
What is the Statute of Limitations?
In plain and simple terms, the Statute of Limitations refers to a set of laws that put a time limit on when a person can file a claim for a lawsuit. The Statutes main role is to protect people from being sued years after an event. Memories of an incident can fade over time, so it’s important from a societal standpoint to set a time limit which ensures a potential defendant does not have to fear a lawsuit for the rest of their life.
Who Determines What the Statute of Limitations is?
The Statute of Limitation Laws are set on a state-to-state basis. The Legislators enact specific laws that establish the deadline for filing a lawsuit against a party that may be liable. The Statute of Limitations for disputes in Indiana, including personal injury, can be find in Title 34 of the Indiana code, under the title ‘Civil Law and Procedure.’
What is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in Indiana?
This question gets to the heart of this blog, whether your injury arises from a car accident, slip and fall, medical malpractice, or any other negligence from a 3rd party causing injury or general damages to you. The Statute of Limitations is 2 years from the date of the injury. This means, that if you believe a 3rd party is responsible, you only have 2 years to file a lawsuit, if it has not settled sooner.
If you allow the deadline to pass, you permanently revoke your right to file a lawsuit. This underscores the importance of hiring a personal injury attorney to represent your case. As your attorney, we will be on top of deadlines and make sure proceedings are filed in a timely manner.
At Salmon and Hewins, we recommend that an injured party reach out to an attorney to establish a relationship well before the 2 year deadline. This is because many cases can be settled without the need of filing a lawsuit.
Lawsuits can be time consuming and expensive, but if the incident is taken to an attorney and they are given an appropriate amount of time, this allows the attorney time to prepare and attain medical records, communicate with the adverse party, insurance company, and to ensure that they understand the severity of the injuries you have sustained and appropriately place a valuation on any settlement that may take place for the best outcome possible. Hopefully, resulting in a settlement prior to ever needing to file a lawsuit.
Likewise for Workers Compensation cases, the Statute of Limitations is also 2 years, but it can be found in Indiana Code title 22. Just like with injury cases, if you sustain a work related injury and believe your employer is responsible for that injury, but they have not accepted the obligations to provide you with the benefits you deserve. That dispute is resolved by the Indiana Workers Compensation Board, in a document called the ‘Application for Adjustment of Claim’. Which needs to be filed with the Workers Compensation Board prior to the 2-year deadline.
What if I Miss the Statute of Limitations?
In most cases, if you miss the Statute of Limitations, then your right to pursue a claim or lawsuit is permanently gone. However, there are a few notable exceptions that could still save your case.
- In Indiana, the Statute of Limitations for a minor to file a lawsuit does not actually begin until the minor has reached the age of 18. This means that if you are the parent of a child who’s sustained some sort of injury, you may still have the right to pursue a claim on behalf of that child even if the 2-year Statute of Limitations has since expired.
2. Another scenario in which the deadline may be extended beyond the ordinary 2-year Statute of Limitations, would be if the injured party is or has been deemed to be mentally incompetent.
During the period of incompetence, the injured party’s time to file a lawsuit is paused until such time as the person becomes competent again. In the event of permanent incompetence, the person’s guardian would need to reach out to an attorney immediately to establish a relationship and ensure that any claims for a lawsuit are initiated appropriately in light of the incompetence period.
3. A more complicated extension of the ordinary deadline is called the ‘Discovery Rule.’ The Discovery Rule means that if the negligence of another, or the injury sustained, occurred at a certain point of time of the past, but could not be discovered until more recently, the Discovery Rule would allow for the Statute of Limitations to begin only when the negligence or injury has been discovered.
This rule is peril and has a much narrower definition than it may appear based on knowledge of discovery. This is because this standard is not exactly when you discover the cause of action, but instead when you should have known about the existence of the cause of action. This is a point of great contention and should not be used as a crutch to delay hiring an attorney and filing a lawsuit.
4. In Workers Compensation cases, the Statute of Limitations issue is rendered much more complicated by the provision of the Workers Compensation Act which says that the limitation for filing a worker’s comp claim (lawsuit) in Indiana does not begin running until the last day the benefits were actually paid.
For example, if someone has a back injury and is off work for 1 year and receives temporary total disability benefits for 1 year, the Statute of Limitations does not commence until those benefits are terminated after that 1 year. Therefore, the deadline to file a workers compensation claim in the event that additional disputes exist, would actually extend to the 3 years from the date of the injury.
This, like the exceptions above, is a general rule but is a much more complicated issue that requires detail analysis and factual circumstances.
If you need legal help with your personal injury case, and are not seeing any development, hiring us will be beneficial to you and your case. We will be on your side, advocating for you, pushing to get the responses needed in a timely fashion and get you the help and care you need. Give us a call for a free over the phone consultation.
7505 Eagle Crest Boulevard