You have been hurt in an accident or due to someone else’s negligence, now what? It’s likely that you want to prioritize your health and you should make health your main priority. As the medical bills and lost wages stack up, however, you may wonder how you’re going to afford all of it. Even if you consider filing a lawsuit, you may not think about doing so right away. The truth is that you always should file one right away.
Every state has a statute of limitations. Some states, you have one year to file a lawsuit, whereas others, you may have six and anywhere in between. Here is why there is a statute of limitations on personal injury suits.
Time-Sensitive Evidence
This is probably one of the biggest reasons why there is a statute of limitations. When dealing with personal injury law, the evidence may not last forever. Your memories of the incident are going to fade and so are your eyewitnesses, if you have them. Over time, the evidence is going to become less convincing. Likewise, you have more risks of losing documents and other files that are crucial to the case if you wait too long to file the lawsuit.
It is always better to file the lawsuit as soon as possible. This gives you ample time to gather evidence and to put together a strategy. When you wait too long, your case will be dismissed automatically.
Defendant Protection
Another reason to have a statute of limitations is to protect the defendant. Tort law can be expensive. While you deserve to have compensation, it would be more expensive for individuals or companies to have to worry about lawsuits from years prior. Defendants cannot defend themselves properly against a civil lawsuit that comes years later. Of course, there are situations where a statute of limitations can have exceptions. For instance, if you do not find out that you are ill from a company’s negligence until years later, you can file the lawsuit at that time.
It is important to understand the purpose of the statute of limitations. While it may initially seem like the statute of limitations is inconvenient, it is there for a reason. It is best to abide by it and to find out what your particular statute of limitations is. To find out more about how to file a personal injury suit, contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. Contact a personal injury lawyer in Melbourne, FL, like Arcadier, Biggie & Wood, PLLC to have your questions answered.