Over 40 million people within the United States seek out medical help for an injury each year. That report from the National Safety Council quickly sums up the common nature of personal injury. After an accident or trauma, you and your family may experience a roller coaster of stress and pain. Physical, financial, and emotional pain can impact the entire family.
If the injury was tied in any way to another party’s negligence, you need to seek financial compensation. Compensation is meant to provide financial relief and give you a chance to pay your unexpected medical bills. Additionally, compensation should provide support for you and your family.
Personal injury claims are serious, and you should consider bringing a claim up to the negligent person responsible for your grievances. At Ted A. Greve and Associates, our team of personal injury attorneys works hard to defend victims. Our team acts quickly and can help you, as well as your family, throughout the legal process. Of course, first, you must understand how the NC statute of limitations regarding personal injury impacts your case.
Our legal team gives an overview of the statute of limitations within North Carolina.
The North Carolina Statute on Personal Injury – Three Years
Statute of Limitations is legal to speak for the time frame you have to file a lawsuit. That means that you have the right to initiate a claim during that time, and possibly only within that time frame. With extremely rare exceptions, personal injury claims must make their way, as a formal complaint, within three years of the date of the incident. This law applies to all claims of negligence. It may seem like three years is a lot, but it goes by quickly.
Of the few exceptions for personal injury claims there are these situations:
- Minors Exception: Known as “tolling for minors” this exception states that the statute of limitations will begin on the date of a minor’s 18th
- Medical Instances of Malpractice: Medical malpractice claims often do work within the confines of the three years from the date of injury. However, there are some instances where a victim may not immediately be aware of the injury. It’s possible that the victim was not initially harmed. Often in complex medical malpractice cases, the attorney will need to work to define the implementation of the statute of limitations further. The three-year statute may begin after the discovery of medical harm.
- Wrongful Death: When it comes to wrongful death, this sensitive topic has a stricter deadline. To file a wrongful death claim, you must submit the lawsuit within two years of the date of the death.
Missing the Statute of Limitations Deadline
Unfortunately, many people who miss the deadline are then out of options. The deadline for the NC statute of limitations is so crucial, and there are many people each year that experience the disappointment of not having access to a claim. When you file a claim after the statute of limitations, the defendant will likely submit a motion to dismiss. Then a judge or administrative official will acknowledge the lapse in the time frame and often dismiss the case.
With these cases, likely, you cannot access any compensation for the injuries. Not because your case has no merit but simply because the timeframe ran out. When plaintiff’s failure to move their claim forward, the defendant is often let by on a technicality. Take great measures to ensure that this does not happen to your case. Anyone hurt in North Carolina has access to legal resources and public information to file their claim promptly. Reach out to a North Carolina injury lawyer for guidance on how to handle and approach this time frame.
One aspect that comes with hiring an attorney for a personal injury claim is that they will keep track of deadlines like this for you. The only thing that you have to do at that point is to get in front of an attorney within a timely period.
Contact a North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer Right Away
Ted A. Greve and Associates is a law office that helps injured victims. Our team fights to ensure that you or the injured family member has the best possible chance of recovering compensation for the damages associated with an injury. Personal injury claims always have some association with another person’s negligence. It’s not fair that you end up paying for someone else’s negligence. Contact our offices right away to schedule a free consultation.
