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WARNING: we recommend that you consult a lawyer before determining the statute of limitations for your case. Though there are tolling provisions, they may or may not be applicable to your case. Thus, call a lawyer, or contact us at 1-800-238-1988 or by clicking here.

Statute of limitations: Put simply, the statute of limitations is a time limit upon for you file a lawsuit. If suit is not filed by that date, then you are forever barred from bring suit. Well, by first looking at this, it seems the issue should be considered uncomplicated, but it is far from it.

To determine the statute of limitations, you first have to ask when it starts to run. In a car wreck, we know it starts from the time of the wreck, but what about things like medical treatment? Does it start when the doctor started treating, or when the patient finally dies? Recently, a woman spoke at the Democratic National Convention. For years she had been discriminated against in her pay, but she only learned of it after years of paychecks had already been written out. The Federal anti-discrimination laws provided that you had to turn start your case with a federal agency in 180 days. Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled her claim was barred. They reasoned she would have to have made a complaint shortly after the first discriminatory paychecks despite the fact she did not even know. Thankfully, the law has been changed, but that lady, Lilly Ledbetter forever lost her case.

Thus, if you are handling your own case, you need to be real careful to know when the statute of limitations begins running. If you are dealing with an insurance company who has promised to pay your damages, make sure that they are not stalling you to let the statute of limitations run on your case. To be sure you can hire a lawyer, you need to find out what the earliest possible date that the statute would run, and be sure you have hired one at least six months before that date, if not a year. Some lawyers want even take cases with less than a year.

For example, if you have a case against a doctor, and he treated you on January 1, February 1, and April 15, then calculate the date from January 1, and make sure you see and hire a lawyer one year before the statute runs at the very least. This gives the lawyer time to investigate, file suit, and do discovery to make sure the right people and companies are brought into the suit before the statute of limitations runs. Many times, the companies that may have legal responsibility for your suit, may not be easily known. For example, if you were hit by a delivery company, the driver may have been hired by another company which has a contract with the delivery company. The delivery company may have no responsibility whatsoever. In that instance, if the Delivery Company was sued and then the statute ran, you claim against the proper company may be forever barred. This is why it is crucial not to delay long in hiring a lawyer. And some lawyers won’t even take a case not brought to them with a year or more left on the statute.

How to determine when your statute starts running: First, ask was there a major event, or when was I injured? If so, was it a wreck, fall, or specific trauma? If the answer is yes to both, then it probably starts from that date. Examples are car wrecks, fall in a store, plane wreck, or bicycle accident. Now ask, was the defendant’s action, a series or ongoing series of actions that caused the injury? Examples are car repairs, home repairs, or medical treatment. If so, start from the very first date that the medical treatment began, or the repairs began. That way you can be safe by knowing the earliest possible date that your statute will run.

Then, next look the state’s law where your cause of action arose, not where you live. Thus, if you were in wreck in Oregon, but live in Washington, you need to look at Oregon’s statute of limitations is two years. Washington’s statute of limitations is three. Thus, you know you have two years from the date of the car wreck to bring a case in court. However, if your case involved medical treatment or repairs, you may have much less. Calculate the earliest possible date so that you will have time to hire a lawyer at least one year in advance.