Work With a Skilled Crestview Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been injured due to the negligent, reckless, or intentional acts of another, then it’s important that you consult an attorney as soon as possible so that your claims can be pursued in a timely manner.
In Florida, and throughout the United States, statute of limitations rules apply, preventing plaintiffs from bringing claims after an excessive delay. This can prevent a legitimate and recoverable claim from being litigated, so such delays should be avoided at all costs.
Let’s take a closer look.
Statute of Limitations — an Important Deadline
The statute of limitations acts as a deadline. Failure to bring a claim within the applicable deadline period will result in the forfeiture of that claim.
For example, consider the statute of limitations for personal injury negligence claims. In Florida, the plaintiff has four years from the date of the accident to bring their claim. If they wait until after the limitations period has expired, then the court may dismiss the case automatically.
For this reason, it’s critical to get in touch with an attorney at an early stage, so that your case can be evaluated and claims can be filed within the applicable deadline period.
The Discovery Rule
What happens if you’ve waited too long? Is there still an opportunity to bring your claims and recover damages?
Maybe.
In Florida, there are a number of circumstances and exceptions that allow plaintiffs to extend the limitations period. One such exception is referred to as the “Discovery Rule.”
The discovery rule suspends the countdown of the statute of limitations period until the plaintiff discovers (or reasonably should have discovered) that they have an actionable claim under the law.
For example, suppose that you are injured in a low-speed car accident. Your injury is not obvious until four years later, however, when you realize that the low-speed impact accelerated spinal degeneration — causing a number of serious symptoms.
Given that you could not have discovered the spinal degeneration issues (and how they were caused by the accident) until that later date, the statute of limitations period would not start until the day that you “should have” reasonably discovered that you had a claim. You would therefore still have time to bring a claim against the defendant, even though four years already passed.
Contact a Crestview Personal Injury Lawyer at Powell Law Firm for Assistance
Powell Law Firm is a Florida-based personal injury litigation firm founded nearly seven decades ago. Over the years, we have represented numerous plaintiffs, helping them secure compensation in a variety of cases, from medical malpractice disputes to truck accident disputes and more.
We are committed to engaging closely with our clients from start-to-finish. To this end, we work to identify the unique circumstances surrounding their case and develop a personalized case strategy at an early stage. As the case develops, we are willing and able to iterate and change direction in order to maximize the likelihood of success.
If you’d like to speak to an experienced Crestview personal injury lawyer at our firm, then call us at 850-682-2757 or send us a message online to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.