Lawsuits must be filed by a certain time, or else plaintiffs might be unable to file the claim at all. Statutes of limitations vary based on the nature of the claim, and your attorney can help you determine when you should sue.
Statutes of limitations are laws that set a deadline for when plaintiffs can file a lawsuit, and they vary depending on the claim. Car accidents, for example, are subject to a two-year deadline, which can be challenging to meet due to insurance claims and other complications. If the statute of limitations expires, you might lose your right to sue unless there is a condition that tolls the statute. Tolling might extend your deadline, but only under very specific circumstances.
Schedule a case evaluation for free with our Chicago personal injury attorneys at the Rhatigan Law Offices by calling (312) 578-8502.
What is the Illinois Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury Claims?
A statute of limitations is a law that limits how long a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit. The exact deadline may vary, depending on the type of claim and the state in which it is filed, but most are at least a few years. Although having a couple of years to file a lawsuit sounds like a long time, it is a somewhat narrow window.
Most accidents and injuries that fall under the broad legal category of “personal injuries” are governed by a two-year statute of limitations. Under this rule, personal injury cases must be filed no later than two years after the date the injuries occurred.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Different Kinds of Injury Claims?
The two-year statute of limitations applies to many cases, including claims for auto accidents, slip and falls, animal attacks, medical malpractice, defective products, and other personal injuries.
Auto Accidents
Two years might seem like plenty of time to prepare and file your car accident case, but there is a lot to do in a relatively short time. Our Chicago car accident attorneys can help you prepare your claim as quickly as possible.
As the plaintiff, your deadline to file likely starts to run from the accident date. Alternatively, if you file a claim because your loved one passed away after a car accident, your deadline begins to run from the date they died, which might be some time after the accident.
Premises Liability
Slip and fall accidents occur in workplaces, restaurants, and even neighbors’ homes. The two-year statute of limitations also applies to these lawsuits, in which victims seek compensation for common slip-and-fall injuries to the wrist, ankle, knee, hand, elbow, and shoulder.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice adheres to the same two-year statute of limitations in Illinois. However, the nature of your medical malpractice claim might affect how the statute of limitations applies to your case. Medical malpractice claims are often complex, and injured patients do not always realize how they were injured or that malpractice occurred until later.
For example, some malpractice cases involve negligent surgeons who leave surgical equipment like sponges or scalpels inside a patient’s body. In these cases, plaintiffs often have two years from the date they realized the equipment was left behind to file their claim. Sometimes, the patient does not experience pain or complications from the foreign objects until years after surgery.
What is the Statute of Limitations on Wrongful Death Claims in Illinois?
Wrongful death claims are unique because they are not filed by the injured victim but by surviving family members. Like many injury claims, wrongful death claims must be filed within two years. What sets this claim apart from other injury claims is that the statute of limitations begins at the time of death, not necessarily at the time of the injuries.
For some, the date of the injuries and the date of their loved one’s death are the same. Take, for example, a person injured in a car accident who died on impact. In that case, the statute of limitations would run from the date of the accident.
However, suppose the injured victim hung on for six months in the hospital before passing away from their injuries. In that case, the deadline would run from the date of death, and the family would have two years to file their claim, beginning six months after the crash.
What is the Statute of Limitations on Injury Claims Against Government Entities in Illinois?
When suing a government entity or employee, you must submit a notice of your claim to the appropriate governmental authority. The deadline to submit this notice of your claim depends on what kind of government entity you are suing.
Lawsuits Against Local or County Government
If you are suing the local or county government, your case falls under the Local Government and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. Under the law, injury claims against local government entities must be commenced within only one year of the date you were injured.
Lawsuits Against the State Government
There are different rules regarding injury claims against the state government. You must file your claim under the Illinois Court of Claims Act. Generally, you must submit a notice of your claims to the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims within one year of your injuries or file the lawsuit with the Court of Claims within one year.
What Extends the Statute of Limitations for Injury Lawsuits in Illinois?
Sometimes, a plaintiff can have the statute of limitations tolled, which pushes back the deadline to file their claim. Having the statute of limitations tolled is often possible under a few circumstances, and even tolling has limits.
Infancy
Many plaintiffs can have the statute of limitations tolled because they were minors when injured. For example, suppose you were injured in a car accident when you were only 17 years old, driving on a learner’s permit. It is difficult, sometimes impossible, for minors to file lawsuits on their own. If an adult guardian does not step up and assist them, they risk losing their right to sue.
As such, Illinois pauses the statute of limitations for minors until they turn 18. In many cases, this means a minor plaintiff has two years from their 18th birthday to file their lawsuit, so they have until they turn 20 to file their claim.
Disability
The law that tolls the statute of limitations for minors until they turn 18 also applies to people under a disability that prevents them from filing a lawsuit. In many cases, the term “disability” does not necessarily mean a physical impairment. Instead, the term refers to mental conditions or disorders that prevent a plaintiff from fully understanding their rights.
Suppose you experienced a disability that stopped you from filing your claim before the statute of limitations expired. In that case, you can argue to have the statute tolled until the disability is removed or ceases. This might be a few months or even a few years of extra time. To qualify, you must have been disabled when you were injured. If your disability arose after your cause of action arose but before the statute of limitations expired, the limitation might not be stayed until the disability subsides.
Defendant’s Absence from the State
If an out-of-state driver driving through Illinois hits you and then leaves the state, the statute of limitations will pause for any period that the defendant is not present in the state. This could give you significantly more time to prepare and file a car accident lawsuit.
Criminal Prosecution
Defendants being sued for personal injury sometimes also face criminal charges for the same incidents. The courts tend to prioritize criminal proceedings over civil matters, and plaintiffs sometimes have to wait until the defendant’s criminal trial is completed before they can sue them civilly. Criminal trials sometimes take a long time, especially when the case involves serious bodily harm or death. As a result, a plaintiff’s statute of limitations may be tolled until criminal prosecution is complete.
Delayed Discovery
An important caveat to the statute of limitations here is that it does not always start to run beginning on the date of the accident or injuries. In many cases, plaintiffs do not realize they were injured until later. In such cases, the statute of limitations might be delayed until the plaintiff discovers their injuries.
How Does the Statute of Limitations Affect the Pace of Your Injury Claims in Illinois?
Our Arlington Heights personal injury attorneys can use the statute of limitations to set the pace for your claim, ensuring that all necessary work and preparations are completed on time. If the deadline is close, the pace should be faster. If the deadline is too close, we can help you work to have the statute of limitations tolled, as discussed in more detail below.
Many plaintiffs face issues that slow down their cases. For example, it is common for injured people to file insurance claims before they file a lawsuit. If the insurance company is resistant, it might take them weeks, months, or even longer to settle with the claimant. In the meantime, the clock is ticking away on a potential lawsuit.
What is the Statute of Repose for Injury Claims in Illinois?
The deadlines imposed by statutes of limitations are strict but not completely rigid, and they may be tolled under certain circumstances. Statutes of repose, however, impose harsher deadlines that cannot be tolled under almost any circumstances.
General Personal Injury
For example, the statute of repose for many injury claims is 10 years. So, if you wanted to toll the statute of limitations because you were a minor when the injury occurred, you can toll it for no more than 10 years. This is often problematic for people who were injured very young or at birth.
Product Liability
Product liability cases are unique injury claims because they deal with defective products that malfunction and cause injuries to unsuspecting consumers. These claims have somewhat more generous statutes of repose, likely to incentivize manufacturers and businesses to produce safe goods. In Illinois, an injured plaintiff has no longer than 12 years from the date of the first sale of the defective good or 10 years from the date of the first sale to the initial user to file a claim.
Medical Malpractice
The statute of repose for medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois is four years from the date of the act or omission that injured a plaintiff. This means you may not be able to sue if you discover injuries more than four years after sustaining them.
What Happens if You Miss the Personal Injury Statute of Limitations?
The fact that the statute of limitations has expired does not necessarily prevent you from attempting to file your claim with the court. However, it is unlikely you will get very far. The court will likely notice how old your claims are, as information about the date and location of your accident and injuries is a necessary component of your initial complaint. At that point, the court will swiftly reject the case.
Alternatively, if the court does not realize that the statute of limitations has expired, the defendant sure will. When filing your initial complaint, you must also notify the defendant of the case. The notice must include a copy of the complaint, and the defendant and their attorney can answer the complaint and request that the court dismiss the case because the statute of limitations has expired.
How Long Does a Car Accident Case Take?
The two-year deadline for car accident injury claims is very short when you consider all the steps we must take.
Dealing with Insurance
First, injured victims often deal with insurance claims before filing a lawsuit. Since Illinois requires drivers to prove that the other driver was at fault in a crash before receiving any compensation from insurance, the insurance claims process can take time. If and when the insurance company finally agrees to settle, it might not be enough to cover all your expenses, and your time to file a lawsuit has been ticking away the entire time.
Filing a Lawsuit
Once you and your attorney decide that a lawsuit is necessary for sufficient compensation, you must begin preparing a complaint. The complaint is the document that initiates the lawsuit. It must contain very specific information about the people involved on both sides, your injuries and damages, evidence, and what kind of compensation you need. The complaint must be detailed and accurate. Otherwise, the case might be rejected.
In short, preparing a lawsuit takes a lot of time and effort. If you have already endured the insurance claim process, the time to file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires might be very short.
FAQs About the Statute of Limitations on Injury Claims in Illinois
When Does the Statute of Limitations Start to Accrue?
The statute of limitations typically begins to “accrue,” or start counting down, on the date of injury. The accrual date is delayed when a victim doesn’t discover their injuries immediately or if they are injured as a minor.
What Happens if You Miss the Statute of Limitations for an Injury Claim?
If you miss the statute of limitations for an injury claim and no exceptions apply to your case, you completely lose your opportunity to hold a defendant liable and get compensation.
Do You Need a Lawyer to File an Injury Claim within the Statute of Limitations?
Victims who seek compensation without an attorney may not realize the two-year time limit on filing a lawsuit or might fail to preserve crucial eyewitness statements and physical evidence.
Do You Need to Use All of the Statute of Limitations to Prepare an Injury Claim?
Complicated cases may need nearly all of the two-year statute of limitations to prepare in Illinois, so do not delay initiating your case, even though two years may feel like plenty of time.
Is Filing a Car Accident Lawsuit within the Statute of Limitations Hard?
Car accidents are some of the most commonly filed injury claims in Illinois. In severe cases, injuries might be catastrophic, and damages can be very serious. Getting your lawsuit filed with the appropriate court is paramount, but there are roadblocks and hurdles to overcome along the way.
How to Know if an Exception to the Statute of Limitations Applies to Your Injury Claim?
Our attorneys can confirm whether an exception to the personal injury statute of limitations applies to your case by asking questions about your age at the time of injury, when you discovered your injury, and confirming whether or not the defendant left the state for any period after injuring you, which would also pause the statute of limitations.
When Do You Have Less Time to Begin a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Illinois?
You have less time to begin your case if it is against a government agency in Illinois, as you must send a notice of a claim within even sooner if you plan to file a lawsuit.
How Often Do Victims Miss the Statute of Limitations on Injury Claims?
Missing the statute of limitations is relatively common when victims do not seek help from experienced attorneys and suffer very serious injuries that require much or all of their attention after an accident.
Call Our Illinois Personal Injury Attorneys About Your Claims
Schedule a case evaluation for free with our Aurora personal injury attorneys at the Rhatigan Law Offices by calling (312) 578-8502.
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