How do you know if you have a potential personal injury claim? How long do you have to file a claim in your state after your injury? Who may be eligible to file a claim on another person’s behalf? Below, a motorcycle accident lawyer will share the answers to those questions and, hopefully, provide a better understanding of potential personal injury claims.
What Legal Elements Must Be Met To File A Claim?
Personal injury claims rely on legal concepts known as “negligence” and “liability.” Regardless of whether you experienced a vehicle accident, slip and fall, or even get hurt on a job site, those elements must be proven. For each of those examples, meeting those various elements may look different, but liability and negligence are still present.
Liability can be simply defined for the purposes of this post to someone is liable or responsible for what happened at least in part. Negligence can be simply defined as not fulfilling a legal obligation to the injured person or persons.
How Long Do You Have To File A Claim?
The length of time you have to file a personal injury claim depends primarily on the laws in the state where you live as our friends at Herschensohn Law Firm, PLLC can explain. Each state has a law known as the “statute of limitations” that creates the deadline for this type of claim. In most states, that deadline is two years after either the date of the accident or when you realize you have an injury.
Some states also include a caveat for those who are injured when they are minors. Essentially, they or their parent or legal guardian may have two years from the date of the accident or noticed injury or two to four years after the minor reaches legal adult age.
To know how long you have, please consult your local laws or speak with a licensed attorney in your area.
Who May Be Eligible To File A Claim On Behalf Of Another?
There are times when a personal injury matter impacts a person in such a way that they’re not able to file their own claim. In most states, parents and legal guardians may have the legal right to file a claim on behalf of a minor.
If someone is disabled because of the accident and unable to file their own claims, their legal guardian, spouse, adult child, or other next of kin may be eligible to file the claim on their behalf.
If someone dies as a result of the accident or injuries sustained because of the accident, a claim may be filed generally by only one person. This person may be the representative of the estate, the spouse of the deceased, or an adult child of the deceased. That isn’t a fully inclusive list. It is a list of the most common explanations of when one person may file a claim for another.
Get Your Questions About Personal Injury Answered
While Google, and the internet in general, is full of information that may be informative, it’s vital to get the proper and true answers about your personal injury claim. The best option for this is to speak with a personal injury attorney in your area.