Can I still file a claim if I waited too long? - Answer by Samantha B. Cohn

Can I still file a claim if I waited too long? - Answer by Samantha B. Cohn

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Can I file a claim if I waited too long?

There are very strict timelines regarding filing a claim after a motor vehicle accident.

The two big ones are going to be the statute of limitations.

And why I say two, because in Virginia, property damage and personal or bodily injury are considered to be two different claims because of the damages.

Because the damages are different.

So even if it's the same accident, same person, you can bring the cases together, but you can also bring them separately.

Now, for personal injury, the statute of limitations is only two years.

Absent incapacitation, such as incarceration, you were in a coma, you were a minor at the time, two years is a very hard deadline.

And the defense, any defense attorney worth their salt is going to run to the courthouse and immediately move to dismiss any action brought after two years.

For property damage, it's five years, which quite frankly doesn't make sense to me.

It should be the opposite way around because the property damage is what it is the day that it happens, where you might be injured and be treating for a very long time.

But I'm not a politician, so here we are.

So for property damage, it's five years, but there are all these other little nuances and intricacies regarding how you can file that are called notice,

such as if you are suing the Commonwealth or a state entity such as a school board or maybe a transit system.

There are requirements regarding within which time frames you must notify these different entities of this claim.

So long before the statute ever runs, you have to put these different entities on notice.

And if you do not do that properly regarding the time frame and who needs to be notified, then your claim is moot and you will never be able to bring it.

That's why it's so important that you get an attorney involved because these are very finite, nuanced points and laws and procedural requirements that we know to ensure that we protect your interests and bring the case properly.