3 Common Misconceptions about Waiting to File a Claim

When a person is injured in a car accident, they may be left dealing with debt from medical bills and a loss of wages during recovery. For those injured in accident caused by someone else’s mistakes, there may be legal action available. With these options, an injured claimant needs to follow the rules and restrictions of injury lawsuits, though. This means paying attention to the statute of limitations, a legal rule that establishes a time limit for an injured claimant to file a civil lawsuit.

If you have sustained an injury in a car accident caused by someone else and are looking for financial help with the subsequent costs, you may be entitled to pursue compensation through a legal action. For more information, contact the Waukesha auto accident attorneys of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. by calling 800-242-2874.

Costly Errors

There are no guaranteed outcomes in civil lawsuits. However, one thing that is certain is that a failure to file a claim before the statute of limitations has expired is likely to prevent an injury victim from recovering compensation.

• Mistake: “I can file whenever I want.”
  • Truth: Actually, the law will prohibit claims from being filed if they exceed the statute of limitations. An injured motorist needs to file within 3 years of discovering the injury, or they’ll lose the right to file a lawsuit for compensation.

• Mistake: “I can’t file, although I just realized I was injured.”
  • Truth: In some cases, an injury may not become apparent until weeks or months after the incident which caused it. In the state of Wisconsin, claimants won’t be held responsible for the fact that they didn’t realize they were injured in terms of the statute of limitations. Thanks to the discovery rule, an injured motorist’s time limit only begins when they discover that they’ve been injured.

• Mistake: “The statute of limitations is the same for every case.”
  • Truth: Because of the nature of the discovery rule, this isn’t true. If there is virtually no way to dispute the appearance of an injury, a person’s time limit to file will count down from the time of the injury. Also, in cases of a tragic roadside death, the statute of limitations gives the deceased’s family up to 3 years to consider legal action.

Contact Us

An injury caused by another person’s negligence shouldn’t be your burden to carry. To learn more about your legal options as an injured motorist, contact the Waukesha car accident lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. at 800-242-2874 today.