Clearing Confusion Over Timeline For Filing Personal Injury Claim

Does the reference to a personal injury claim suggest a desire to learn about timelines for an insurance claim, or those for a personal injury lawsuit?

There is no timeline for an insurance claim.

Hence, there is no deadline; although adjusters often try to trick a claimant into thinking that he or she has missed a non-existent deadline. Personal Injury Lawyer in Richmond Hill knows that even though there is no timeline, it is always a good idea to notify the insurance company as soon as possible, if you plan to submit a claim.

The timeline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is given in the statute of limitations.

• Each state has its own statute of limitations.
• If a plaintiff was late with filing a personal injury lawsuit, the case could be dismissed.
• Still, in some situations the plaintiff has the right to ask the court for an extension of the deadline.
• For instance, if a minor had been injured in an accident, the deadline could be extended until a point 2 years after the injured party’s 18th birthday.

The deadline marks the termination of the timeline for a personal injury lawsuit; what event marks the start of that timeline?

Normally, the starting event is the accident that caused the injury. Still, it could be that the plaintiff was not aware of the injury immediately after the accident’s occurrence. If the plaintiff were not aware of the injury at the moment of the accident, then the timeline would start when the plaintiff became aware of that injury, or should have become aware of that same injury.

Why should anyone that has filed an injury claim with an insurance company know the timeline for filing a personal injury lawsuit?

The insurance company might try to deny its obligation to provide coverage. Alternately, it might delay responding to the demand letter. In either case, it might be necessary to threaten the filing of a lawsuit, in hopes of getting the process to progress, in the way that it is supposed to.

If the threat failed to elicit the desired action, then the plaintiff would need to file a personal injury lawsuit. That would not require the actual holding of a trial. It should simply underscore the serious nature of the plaintiff’s complaint.

A lawsuit might be threatened during any negotiations between an insurance company and a claimant, or a policyholder. After all, a policyholder might need to submit a first party claim. Indeed, that would be the case, if the policyholder wanted to use the comprehensive policy as a source of money for car repairs. What if the insurance company insisted that the policyholder had helped to cause the damage? In that situation, it might help to file a lawsuit.

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