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What Is The Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in Florida?

January 3, 2021 Personal Injury

Boca Raton Personal Injury Lawyers 

If you’ve suffered a physical, financial or psychological injury caused by the negligence or unreasonably safe actions of another person or entity, you have a right to hold them accountable with a personal injury lawsuit. However, you must do so within a specific time frame defined by Florida law. This is called a statute of limitations and refers to how much time you have to file a particular type of claim after a particular type of injury. The Boca Raton personal injury lawyers at Boca Injury Law can review your case to determine the statute of limitations for your particular circumstances, and help you file a claim in a timely manner.

What is a Statute of Limitations?
A statute of limitations refers to a deadline for filing a lawsuit. Once this deadline has passed, you will no longer be able to pursue legal actions against the party that injured you or is at fault for your loss, and your claims for the loss are forever time barred. If you are considering taking legal action for a personal injury, contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss your case. If you wait too long, you may lose your right to file a claim and you may not be doing what is best to preserve your claim.

How Long is the Statute of Limitations for Florida Personal Injury Cases?
For most personal injury cases in Florida, the statute of limitations is four years from the date of injury. Some cases, however, carry a statue of limitations of only two years (such as wrongful death, medical malpractice, libel or slander) or one year (such as recovering overtime wages). Additionally, the particular circumstances of your case may necessitate a shorter or longer timeframe so it is important that you discuss your claim with an attorney to determine whether your claim is barred by the statute of limitations.  For instance, claims against the state or a municipality have a 3 year statute of limitations and require pre-suit notice pursuant to Florida Statutes before you can proceed with a civil action.

In some cases, the “discovery rule” may apply. The discovery rule applies when a person may not have been reasonably able to discover an injury or the cause of an injury until long after the statute of limitations had passed. Therefore, sometimes the statue of limitations may not begin until the date of discovery, as opposed to the date of injury. A qualified and experienced trial lawyer focusing on personal injury law can review your particular case to determine how long you have to file your claim, but to preserve your claim, you should not wait.

Contact a Boca Raton Personal Injury Lawyer about Your Personal Injury Case
If you or a family member has suffered any kind of personal injury, whether physical, financial or psychological, and you believe the injury is due to someone else’s negligence, contact a Boca Raton personal injury lawyer at Boca Injury Law to discuss your case. You may be entitled to compensation for your injury including the cost of past and future medical bills, past and future pain and suffering, lost and future wages, mental anguish, funeral expenses or other expenses that directly resulted from the accident. If you choose us to represent you, you will not be responsible for any legal fees or costs unless we are successful in your case.

Ruben E. Socarras, Esq., managing member of the firm that is based in Boca Raton, Florida, is an AV® Preeminent™ rated attorney focusing his practice in the areas civil litigation, wrongful death, catastrophic and personal injury law, among other areas of law. The AV® Preeminent™ designation is Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer review rating based on a legal professional’s skills and ethics. Please contact our firm today for more information about how we can assist you with your car accident, or any other type of accident or injury case at 561-609-3190, or by filling out and submitting our online Contact Form. We offer a free phone or video consultation and there is no obligation to pay for legal fees or costs unless we successfully recover against the at-fault party. 

The information on this web site and posting is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this web site or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. Every case is different and each client’s case must be evaluated and handled on its own merits. Furthermore, this information on this web site is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between you and Chane Socarras, PLLC.  You must first retain our firm, and we must acknowledge that you hired the firm, before the attorney-client relationship is created.

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