Time Can Limit Your Right to Recover Damages

Statute of Limitations can bar your right to recover

All states have statutes enacted that bar or limit a person’s right to bring a legal action based on the passage of time.  The principle behind these statutes is to protect people from having to be worried or concerned that any person they might harm or damage would have an unlimited amount of time in which to seek damages.  The statutes apply to cases involving contracts, personal injury and even some crimes.

Not all States have the same statute of limitations

As in many areas of the law, individual states do not have the same time period that may bar or limit an action.  For example, one state may have a personal injury statute of limitations of three years while another state may have a limitation period of only one year. 

How the Statute of Limitations Operates

In the area of personal injury, the statute of limitations generally operates in this manner.  Unless a claim is settled or lawsuit is filed within the specific statutory period, the claim is barred by the passage of time.  Anyone seriously injured in an accident should consult a reliable source to ensure his or her claim does not become barred by the statute of limitations.

Robert W. Jacobson is a personal injury attorney in Boise, Idaho