Those seeking insurance settlements following car accidents don’t have unlimited time to make claims. Most jurisdictions specify hard time limits for filing and completing claims, and these maximums depend on a number of critical factors pertaining to the accident in question.
In many states, car accident claim limitations are determined by the statute of limitations for the type of incident in question. For example, in Illinois, adult motorists who want to claim compensation for bodily injuries have two years after the time of the accident to accept settlements. If they’re under the age of 18, they have two years from their 18th birthday. Illinois bodily injury claims for accidents that were caused by government entities or agents, on the other hand, are restricted to specific limitation statutes for the government body in question.
Note that many laws pertain to the date by which a claim must be concluded. As such, it’s critical to file an insurance claim sufficiently early enough to gather necessary evidence, complete all negotiations and come to an acceptable settlement agreement.
The minimum statute of limitations for personal injury car accident lawsuits is around one year in Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisiana while states like Oregon provide up to a decade. Because the clock starts ticking as soon as the accident occurs, survivors should generally prepare any evidence they may need immediately. Even if they don’t foresee needing to file a claim, the fact that damage or medical issues may be discovered later makes it prudent to get preliminary actions out of the way early. Steps like reporting the incident to the authorities and obtaining a medical exam don’t usually require that much time, and the documentation they generate can be used as evidence later.
Motorists who want to file claims after car accidents are typically limited by the laws in the jurisdictions where the accident occurred. To learn more about dealing with insurance firms and making a claim in a prompt enough fashion to still have time for negotiations, contact a lawyer.
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