Suffering severe injuries can have life changing consequences and often result in expensive medical bills, property damage, loss of income and other untold hardships. If someone else is at fault for your injuries, you shouldn’t have to bear these costs. However, once an injury occurs, time is of the essence because like all states, Florida has a statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
What is the Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury Claims in Florida?
In short, Florida’s statute of limitations for a personal injury claim depends on the type of claim presented and who the claim is against. In general, The Statute of Limitations for a personal injury claim in Florida is four (4) years. Like all general rules, they are many exceptions, and the applicable statute may be much short or even longer depending on the facts of the claim. For example, a claim by a passenger injured on Cruise Ships may be as little as one (1) year. Professional/medical negligence is usually two (2) years. To make things more complicated, when a personal injury claim involves the Federal Government, the State of Florida or a Florida municipality, there are detailed notice requirements and the failure to timely and correctly give notice will bar a claim. The key is to quickly contact legal counsel after an accident to make sure your rights are properly preserved. Our team at Weinstein & Cohen can help you determine which category your case falls under with a no cost, and zero obligation consultation.
What Exactly is a Statute of Limitations?
Think of it like an expiration date on when you can bring a lawsuit against someone following an accident. It’s essentially the maximum amount of time you have to pursue legal recourse after an incident. If you do not act before the statute of limitations expires, your claim will be forever barred.
Do Statute of Limitations Exist for all Types of Cases?
Yes. Every kind of case has a statute of limitations, and our attorneys can review those with you during your initial consultation. Statute of limitations occur for all our personal injury disciplines including:
- Automobile accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bike and pedestrian accidents
- Slip and fall injuries
- Wrongful death
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Construction accidents
- Product liability
- Cruise Ship injuries
- Negligent Security claims
Why you Should Act Long Before the Statute of Limitations Deadline?
There is so much that gets done before a lawsuit is ever filed, such as gathering evidence and making attempts to resolve a claim before filing the lawsuit. Acting quickly and properly following an accident will avoid diminishing the value of your claim. Delays can result in evidence being misplaced or destroyed. Witnesses can forget things or become difficult to locate after time has passed. Therefore, it’s best to take quick action and seek immediate legal representation.
How you can Make Sure Your Statute of Limitations has not run out
Figuring out which statute of limitations applies to your case can be complicated. Additionally, you might not know who is at fault initially and who is at fault can change how much time you have to file suit. The best way to make sure you have time to assert your rights is by contacting an experienced personal injury attorney soon after an accident.
At Weinstein & Cohen, we have more than 50 years of combined experience fighting for accident victim’s rights. Personal injury law is our specialty. Our experienced Miami and Naples personal injury attorneys at Weinstein & Cohen will put your priorities first. If you or someone you care about has been injured or involved in an accident across South Florida or Southwest Florida, contact us at Weinstein & Cohen at 305-374-1011 or 239-793-3331, or visit fairnessforall.com for an absolutely free legal consultation to learn more about your options.
