Statute of Limitations for Various Types of Car Accident Lawsuits

 Posted on October 09, 2018 in Car Accidents

Being involved in an automobile accident can be a traumatic experience. If you have been involved in a car accident and are considering filing a lawsuit, you should be aware of the statute of limitations for the lawsuit. Different types of lawsuits have different time limits, so it is important to be knowledgeable about the types of lawsuits and how long it is possible to file them. Once the time limit has expired, it is extremely rare for the court to consider the lawsuit unless some mitigating factor can be explained.

The main types of lawsuits that relate to vehicular collisions are the following:

• Personal injury: A personal injury lawsuit is filed because the victim was injured in some form during the incident. Occasionally, the injury or trauma may not present itself until much later on. This can be something as simple as whiplash, or more serious injuries. In most cases, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit for a vehicular accident is the same as any other personal injury lawsuit, which is two years.
•  Wrongful death: This type of lawsuit will be filed when a representative of a deceased person believes a person was killed due to the legal fault of the defendant. The representative may be a family member, spouse, or child. The statute of limitations on wrongful death lawsuits is one year after the death of the deceased person.
•  Vehicle damage: Vehicle damage is included under Illinois law as personal property damage. If you are seeking damages due to an automobile collision there is a time limit of five years from the date of the collision for the lawsuit to be filed.

Results of Your Lawsuit

If it is found that the other driver is entirely at fault in the accident, it is fairly obvious that they will be ordered to pay the damages. However, if it is also partially your fault, Illinois will follow a “comparative fault” rule when calculating who pays the damages. The comparative fault rule means that the jury will look at the percentage of fault each party has to determine the total amount of damages the plaintiff receives. The jury looks at the total amount of the damages and the percentage of fault each side has, then reduces the plaintiff’s damages by the percentage of blame they share. If the fault is more than 50% the plaintiff’s, they do not recover any damages.

Contact a Knowledgeable DuPage County Automobile Accident Attorney

If you wish to file a lawsuit related to a car accident, you need an experienced Bloomingdale automobile accident lawyer to help you pursue compensation. The lawyers at The Law Offices of David W. Clark, P.C. will assist you in seeking the damages you deserve and fighting for your case. Call our office today at 630-665-5678 to set up a consultation.

Sources:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=073500050HArt%2E+XIII+Pt%2E+2&ActID=2017&ChapterID=56&SeqStart=102300000&SeqEnd=105700000

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K2-1116