So, you’ve been involved in a car accident and you’re wondering, “How long do I have to file a claim?”
Hi, I’m Brad Parker, the attorney you want but hope you never need. This is another edition of Bar Talk.
After being involved in a car accident, many people wonder how long they have to file a claim. Well, that’s really a different question than how long you have to file a lawsuit because a claim is not a lawsuit. You have until two years from the date of the accident at which to file your lawsuit. You can make a claim almost immediately, but unless or until there’s a lawsuit on file, a claim does not preserve the statute of limitations.
Therefore, it’s critically important that if you don’t have your claim resolved within two years or well before that, that you have a lawsuit on file to preserve your claim. You don’t want to wait two years though. You need to get involved with an attorney as soon as possible because the statute limitations is looming, but more importantly because there is evidence to be gathered. With time, evidence can become harder to obtain as memories fade and evidence disappears.
So, while you have two years to file a lawsuit and actually make your claim, you never want to wait that long.
CATEGORY: Bar Talk
