Statute of Limitations for Nevada in filing accident lawsuits
Live in Nevada? Here’s what you need to know about the Statute Of Limitations for Nevada in filing accident lawsuits.
According to Nevada Accident Statistics, the percentage of fatal car accidents rose by 6.4% during the period between 2017 and 2018. These car accidents occur due to a variety of reasons, from drunk driving to speeding and much more.
Suffering from injuries after car accidents
While not all accidents are fatal, some tend to be serious and cause critical injuries. These injuries can be traumatic injuries that require immediate hospitalisation. However, some internal injuries do not show up until under some time.
Even if the concerned person feels that they are ‘okay’ and do not require immediate medical attention, it is imperative that they visit the doctor after their accident. Unfortunately, most individuals rely on treating them with aspirin or ice bags to drive away the minor pains.
These minor pains can manifest themselves in the form of serious medical conditions later on. The treatment for such injuries end up producing medical bills of thousands of dollars, which exceed the range of a regular individual.
In order to recover damages and receive compensation for those medical bills, it is important to file a personal injury claim according to your state’s laws.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Nevada? What do Nevada citizens need to know?
The laws of your state have a direct impact on your personal injury claim. As far as the state of Nevada is concerned, the statute of limitations consists of a time limit during which the concerned individual can file a personal injury claim, since car accident injuries belong to the category of personal injury claims.
These personal injury claims have a time period of two years, which means that the injured individual has to complete all the workings and file their claim within a two-year limit.
As per the Statute of Limitations, the time period begins from the day of the accident. This goes for losing a loved one during the accident as well, as you have to file the claim against the at-fault party within those two years.
For damage that has occurred to your property or automobile, there exists another Statute of Limitations with a time period of three years for filing a claim against the at-fault party, starting from the day of the accident.
To summarise, the time period for filing claims varies as per the nature of the claim, such as:
- Personal Injury Claims: Two years from the accident
- Medical Malpractice: Three years from the date of the negligence or one year from the discovery of the negligence
- Product Liability: Three years from the injury from the product
- Wrongful Death: Two years from the date of the death of the individual
- Property Damage: Three years from the damage to the property
Understanding the beginning dates of Nevada Statute of Claims
While it is established that the Nevada Statute of Limitations marks inception from the date of the accident, which caused the injury, there are a few exceptions to the deadline.
These exceptions are beneficial in case that you were not able to meet the deadline for filing your personal injury claim.
The Discovery Rule
It is quite common for the victims to be unaware of their injuries, especially in case of internal injuries. By the time these injuries act up and call for medical treatment, most victims realise that the deadline for the Statute of Limitations has passed.
The Discovery Rule is such that, the Statute of Limitations applies from the date of the discovery i.e. when the victim discovers their injuries. The deadline still applies but begins from the date of the discovery.
Tolling in cases of minors
For a specific period of time, the Nevada Statute of Limitations can be tolled as well, which means that it stops for some while. This usually happens when the victim is a minor i.e. under the age of 18 or mentally incompetent as per the court.
Under such circumstances, personal injury laws of Nevada are applicable that allow for tolling, such as in situations involving the following:
- Cases involving medical malpractice: If the victim was a minor, the parents bear responsibility for filing the personal injury case. If the case involves birth defects or brain damage, the parents will have to file the lawsuit before the 10thbirthday of their child. In case that the injury ends up causing sterility, the lawsuit deadline is two years from the date of the discovery.
- Other kinds of personal injury cases not involving medical malpractice: If the victim suffered from the injury when they were a minor, the Statute of Limitations is not applicable until the victim turns 18.
Why you should know about the Statute of Repose
The Statute of Repose sets down a date after which, you cannot file a personal injury claim, thus not being able to pursue legal damages.
You have to be careful while filing your personal injury claim because the strictness of the Statute of Repose is much more intense than that of the Statute of Limitations. Under the Statute of Limitations, there are no exceptions through which one can delay the time period or extend it for filing their claim.
If the date has passed and the Statute of Repose is applicable, then your personal injury claim will be denied.
Do you need help from a personal injury lawyer?
Have you or someone you know been injured after a car accident? Do you reside in Nevada and need help in finding out more about Personal Injury Claims?
You can get in touch with a professional personal injury lawyer and learn more about your rights as a citizen of Nevada. We have the legal team present to ensure that you as a victim have all the necessary knowledge about your rights and that you receive your deserved compensation.
Schedule a free appointment with an attorney from our firm and find out how you can hire a personal injury attorney and fight for your claim.
