The Statute of Limitations

If you do not file a lawsuit then you could lose all your rights!

The statute of limitations is how every state restricts the amount of time allowed to bring a lawsuit against a responsible party. If you do not file a formal lawsuit, then you lose all your rights.

Bodily injury and property damage claims have different statutes of limitations, and usually the bodily injury claim statue is longer by at lease a year. Every state has different statutes of limitation. See our appendix for different states.

States have protection consumer laws and they require insurance carrier to put you in notice of when the statute of limitation approaches. Note that this protection is only available to you if you are NOT represented by an attorney. If an attorney represents you, then it is her/his responsibility to protect you from losing your rights.

It is important to remember that to protect your rights from the statue of limitation; you are only required to file a summons and complaint (a lawsuit). This is important because filing a lawsuit is not that expensive (anywhere from $20 to $45), and all it takes is to fill out some forms and walk them to the courthouse.

You DO NOT have to serve the lawsuit upon responsible party in order to protect the statute. Filing is first step and buys you time to settle with the insurance company.

How much time? That depends in state law. Some states will give you twenty days to serve the complaint; some will give you up to three years. Check our state appendix for statue of limitations.

For more information regarding the Statute of Limitations in your State please vist our "Your State" Page.

Enter your search termsSubmit search form

Web www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com