Posted on Thursday, May 9th, 2024 at 9:00 am
Accidents happen in the blink of an eye. One moment, everything feels normal as you drive to work or stroll through the grocery store – and the next, you find yourself seriously injured due to someone else’s carelessness. As the medical bills start piling up and your injuries force you to miss work to recover, you may start wondering: How long after an accident can you sue? What legal deadlines do you need to know if you plan to sue the at-fault party?
At London Harker Injury Law, our Sandy personal injury lawyers understand how overwhelming it feels to deal with a severe injury that wasn’t your fault. Let us lift some of that burden by walking car accident victims through the key legal timelines you need to understand if you’re considering filing a personal injury lawsuit in Utah.
How Long After an Accident Can You Claim Injury in Utah?
How long after an accident can you sue? First, how long do you have to claim injury and take legal action after an accident in Utah? The answer comes down to understanding the statute of limitations.
Simply put, a “statute of limitations” refers to the legal deadline for filing a particular type of lawsuit. Think of it as a ticking clock that starts when your injury occurs. Once the amount of time runs out, you generally lose your right to sue.
Different types of cases have different statutes of limitations. In Utah, the statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits – including car accident cases, slip and fall claims, and product liability cases – is four years from the date of the injury.
For example, if you get into a car crash that was the other driver’s fault on January 1, 2023, you would have until January 1, 2027, to file a claim against that driver. If you try suing on January 2, 2027, a court will likely dismiss your case as time-barred.
However, there are a few key exceptions to the standard four-year deadline for Utah personal injury cases that you should know about:
Exceptions to the Four-Year Statute of Limitations
Certain circumstances can shorten or extend the normal four-year statute of limitations for accident and injury lawsuits in Utah. Some key exceptions include:
- Cases Against the Government: If your accident involved a government employee or agency, you face stricter filing deadlines. Generally, you must file an official notice of claim within one year of the incident and file any subsequent lawsuit within two years.
- Medical Malpractice Claims: If you’re suing a doctor or hospital for medical negligence (also known as medical malpractice), you must file your lawsuit within two years of the incident or two years from the date you discover or should have discovered your injury. However, Utah has a hard cutoff of four years for medical malpractice cases. You can only sue up to four years after the malpractice occurred – even if you didn’t immediately discover your injury.
- Cases Involving Minors: If the injured person was under 18 during the accident, the statute of limitations is “tolled” or paused until their 18th birthday. So, if a 10-year-old is hurt in a car crash, they would have until their 22nd birthday to file an injury lawsuit.
- Victims of Violent Crime: If you suffered injuries due to a violent crime like assault or battery, the statute of limitations is not just extended but eliminated. There is no filing deadline for lawsuits against perpetrators of violent crimes under Utah’s “criminal statute of limitations exception.”
These exceptions highlight why speaking to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident is essential. At London Harker Injury Law, we can analyze your unique situation and make sure you understand all the filing deadlines that apply to your potential case.
Why Do Statutes of Limitations Matter for Injury Cases?
Why do these legal timelines for suing even exist? Does this affect how long after an accident can you sue? While statutes of limitation can feel unfair to injury victims, they serve a few important purposes:
- Evidence Preservation: As time passes, crucial evidence for your case can get lost or destroyed. Witnesses’ memories fade. Physical evidence needs to be found. The sooner you take legal action, the better your chances of building a solid case. Statutes of limitation encourage swift action.
- Prompt Resolution: Both injury victims and the legal system benefit when cases get resolved relatively quickly after an accident. Plaintiffs can move forward with their lives and won’t clog the court system with stale lawsuits.
- Fairness to Defendants: As frustrating as it feels when you’re the one who was hurt, statutes of limitations aim to protect defendants from constantly looking over their shoulders and worrying about a lawsuit. If someone wants to sue, they must do it within the established timeframe.
While these rationales make sense in theory, statutes of limitation often end up causing hardship to injured folks who wait too long to seek legal guidance. Don’t let that happen to you. Seize control of your case today and safeguard your rights before time runs out.
Act Fast to Protect Your Legal Rights
How long after an accident can you sue? Unsure of the legal deadlines for injury lawsuits? The most important thing you can do to preserve your legal rights after an accident is to seek out trusted legal counsel as soon as possible – ideally before speaking to any insurance adjusters.
At London Harker Injury Law, we have years of experience helping injured Utahns like you navigate complex legal timelines and build powerful cases against the parties who harmed them. Our car accident lawyers are here to take on the legal burden so you can focus on healing.
Our skilled Sandy and Provo personal injury attorneys can get to work immediately to investigate your accident, gather time-sensitive evidence, deal with the insurance company on your behalf, and do everything in our power to get you the full and fair compensation you deserve.
Call London Harker Injury Law today at 77CARCRASH or complete our online contact form to schedule your no-risk free consultation. Let our firm fight to get you every dollar you deserve before it’s too late. You have nothing to lose and potentially money to gain. Seize your chance for justice for your personal injury claim now.
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