There are certain time limits to bring a personal injury case in Dallas, Texas. In law, these time limits or deadlines are known as “statute of limitations.” There are dozens of laws in Texas that identify when a personal injury case must be filed with the court. Due to the complex nature of these laws, it is recommended that a person immediately speak with a Dallas, Texas personal injury lawyer.
Generally, a personal injury case that occurs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area or anywhere in the State of Texas must be filed with the court within two (2) years from the date of the event that caused the injury. However, there are numerous exceptions to this rule.
For example, there is a legal concept known as the “discovery rule.” The discovery rule, depending on the type of case, may extend the deadline beyond two years. There must be evidence that the injury was inherently undiscoverable and injury must be able to be verified in an objection fashion. A court will decide if the “discovery rule” applies to a personal injury claim brought after the 2 year time limit.
For personal injury cases causing a death, the 2 year time limit is based on the date of death.
Injuries to adults injured in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, drunk driver accidents, dangerous premises, work injuries, construction accidents, oil and gas rig accidents generally begin two years from the date of injury.
In Dallas and throughout Texas, injuries to minors must be brought within 2 years from the minor reaching the age of 18.
Once of the most confusing statute of limitations involve medical malpractice claims. Numerous factors can determine the deadline to bring a medical malpractice case, including: age of the patient, whether the alleged malpractice was a single event or arose from a continuing course of treatment, whether the patient died, when a hospitalization ended, or the date the treatment of a medical condition was finished.
The longer you wait to file a case, the more you risk your case being dismissed by a court for not being timely filed. Do not wait. If you think you have a personal injury case, you should immediately contact a Dallas, Texas personal injury lawyer.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 2:48 pm and is filed under Dallas Personal Injury Attorneys.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 
