California is often regarded as the Golden State for its sports related activities, optimal weather, internationally renowned personalities and exquisite natural wonders. Besides the perks of the State, a major drawback for the residents is the long lines of cars stuck in traffic and jammed pack roads and freeways. This has resulted in making accidents a rather common occurrence in California.
A large number of roadside accidents ultimately gives rise to compensation and injury claim cases. This has enhanced the importance of state legislation pertaining to the compensation for damages incurred due to the accident. California has three important car accident laws that preside over the Golden State and directly pertain to those who are involved in auto and car accidents. These three factors are determining how much time has passed since the accident took place, investigating which party is at fault, and in some cases the fulfillment of requirements of car insurance.
Determination of time passed between the accident and the claim filed is given core importance in the California statutory framework. The state legislation sets a time limit for the plaintiff to file a lawsuit when involved in a civil action.
A “statute of limitations” is an official term for referring to the period that has passed following the accident, injury or incident for which the victim party of the incident seeks legal remedy. Under the California Statute of limitations, for example, the allowable time limit to file a personal injury law suit is two years and a span of three years to claim for damage inflicted to vehicle or any other property.
If the accident/injury sustaining individual or party fails to bring claim or suit to the court in this time period, they will be barred forever to attain any recovery for their injuries or property damage.
Preserves Legal Evidence
Imposing limitation of two years on injury claims is typically seen as a hard and fast deadline that is strict and unforgiving in nature. One reason behind limiting a two year period for the injury claims is to prevent the evidence pertaining to the case growing stale. Over time all types of evidence in these auto injury claims can deteriorate including physical evidence, witness statements and more. Over time they become less reliable as to representing the facts of the incident.
It is perceived legally that extending the claim deadline any further than two years would not allow the legal course to be executed in an authentic and just manner, considering that memories are likely to fade and evidence vanish or deteriorate. California’s enforcement of the two year limitation on filing the lawsuit is exceedingly helpful in preventing any such occurrences.
A timeframe cap also prevents claims being filed years later. While there may have been substantial physical or mental damages, it is understood that a 2 year period is a sufficient amount of time to identify damages and properly pursue a fair recovery. After that period other injuries, or the simple fact of aging, could have bearing on injuries that were not easily attributed to the accident itself.
On the reverse, two years’ time can appear to be relatively no time at all when it is you or your family member undergoing extensive medical treatments to recover from the serious physical injuries. At the time of, and immediately after serious auto accidents, the priority is immediate medical attention for the best possible recovery. But it is also important that you seek the advice of a qualified personal injury attorney to determine how to carry out legal proceeding pertaining to the damage caused since the statute of limitations clock starts ticking on the date of the incident (in most cases).
The statute encourages the plaintiff to take immediate measures for making a claim. The sooner the claim is made, the less damage and deterioration could affect the evidence that can serve in legal hearings and decisions about potential settlement offers. Working with evidence while it is in good shape and factually current and relevant can bring more authentic facts to the court and contribute to the outcome of a case.
Allowing two years for making injury claims also plays a vital role in the diagnosis of the injury sustained in the accident. There are a lot of cases where the injuries incurred are not immediately apparent. Head injuries, for instance, may start off with a mere headache and take some time for the symptoms to reach surface and express the seriousness of the injury. Two years’ time to propose injury claims allows the full scope of the injury to be determined. This will allow the plaintiff to have facts that are complete and expresses the exact damage or injury. This is an important factor when serious injuries have created a physical or mental injury that will last a lifetime. In these cases loss of work or ability to earn as well as extensive and permanent medical care may be required and this would factor into monetary awards.
Insurance companies can be difficult to work with when it comes to injury claims and property damage. Insurance companies are for profit businesses and their goal with claims is to either deny the claim, or offer and have to pay the least amount possible. The red tape and complications of submitting a claim or negotiating a settlement can be very time intensive and valuable time could be lost with insurance companies without the help of an attorney to move them along, and ultimately determine if a settlement will be fair, or if the attorney will have file a suit in court within the allowed timeframe.
While insurance companies may seem like they are there to help you, they do not have your interests as their first priority. To avoid being wrapped up with insurance companies and getting too close to the statute of limitations for an auto accident claim, an attorney can help protect your claim under the law.
In most of the cases, the victim is widely aware of the fact that the injury they have sustained is due to the negligence of another person or the defendant. It allows them to pursue legal action against the defending party within the statute of limitations.
The California State allows two years in its Statute of Limitations on injury claims. The first thing the injury sustaining person can do is to contact a personal injury attorney who can help review the facts and can guide in determining any exceptions that may be present. The statute of limitation begins as soon as the injury causing accident occurs. While medical treatments and recovery can take time and expense, it is important to know the clock is ticking and your priority should also be compensation for damages before it is too late.
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