How Long Do Accident Victims Have to File a Personal Injury Claim?
The statute of limitations is the amount of time that you have to file your personal injury or wrongful death claim. If you fail to file your claim within that amount of time, your right to compensation will be forever barred.
What is the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Washington, DC?
Generally, accident victims must file their personal injury claim within three years from the date of their accident. This requirement applies to car accidents, truck accidents, and other types of vehicle accidents. The three-year time limit also applies to premises liability accidents and product liability accidents.
The clock generally runs from the date of the accident unless an exception applies.
Wrongful death cases
If a parent, child, or spouse dies due to the negligence or fault of others, the family members have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible parties. The time limit for filing a wrongful death claim is just two, not three years. This means that if, for example, your spouse is in a truck accident, then:
- Your spouse can file a personal injury claim within three years from the date of the accident.
- The personal representative of your spouse’s estate only has two years to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Medical malpractice cases
You can file a medical malpractice claim against a healthcare provider (hospital, doctor, pharmacist, or any other healthcare provider) if you were a patient, the healthcare provider failed to provide competent medical care, and their failure caused you harm.
Generally, patients have three years to file their personal injury claim and families of loved ones who died due to medical malpractice have two years to file their wrongful death claim.
The clock runs from the date of the malpractice or the date the patient (or family) should have reasonably discovered that the medical provider caused the patient harm. In some cases, this discovery may be the same day as the medical malpractice, such as if a doctor operates on the wrong arm. In many cases, a patient may not discover that their medical provider made a mistake until they begin to experience pain (which may be delayed) or obtain a medical diagnosis from another medical provider. In this case, the clock runs from the date the victim/family should have reasonably discovered the harm.
Claims by children
Generally, if a child suffers personal injuries due to an accident, the child must file their claim within three years from the time they become an adult (usually when the child turns 18).
Be careful. If your child tragically dies in an accident, the personal representative of the child’s estate (usually a parent) must file the wrongful death claim within two years from the date of the accident – not two years from the date the child would have turned 18.
Intentional torts
If your injuries are due to intentional misconduct (such as an assault), then victims generally have just one year to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim.
What is the time limit for filing a “notice of claim?”
Claims against the government
In some cases, our Washington DC personal injury lawyers file personal injury or wrongful death claims against Washington, DC or a Washington, DC agency such as the Washington, DC Department of Transportation. The government is entitled to notice of the accident.
- If you have a personal injury claim:
- You must file a “notice of claim” form within six months from the date of the accident.
- You then must file your personal injury lawsuit within three years from the date of the accident.
- If the government is responsible for the death of your child:
- You must file a “notice of claim” form within six months from the date of the accident.
- You then must file your wrongful death lawsuit within two years from the date of the accident.
At Nace Law Group, we understand the specific information that the notice of form must contain.
Medical malpractice claims
Patients and families who file a medical malpractice claim must first provide the responsible healthcare providers with a notice that they intend to file a lawsuit. The notice form must be filed at least 90 days before the lawsuit is filed.
At Nace Law Group, we understand the specific information that the notice of form must contain.
Reasons why you should contact legal counsel as soon as possible?
You should never wait to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim. It’s generally safer to file your claim as soon as possible to protect against the insurance company or a defense lawyer arguing that the statute of limitations bars your claim.
The sooner you speak with our Washington, DC personal injury lawyers, the sooner our lawyers can:
- Investigate the cause of the accident and who’s responsible while the physical evidence is fresh and the memories of everyone (you, the defendants, and any witnesses) are fresh.
- Review your medical status. We want to ensure that you are seeing the healthcare providers who can best diagnose and treat your injuries.
- Inquire of local residents and businesses if they have any video of the accident.
- Answer all your questions so you have peace of mind.
- Take other actions that can make your case stronger.
If your loved one dies, we need to prove your claim through other witnesses because your loved one’s death prevents them from testifying. We need to speak to those witnesses, such as the police, while they remember what happened. Additionally, prompt action helps families honor their loved ones by holding the wrongdoers accountable and helps families move forward with their lives.
Contributory negligence
Washington, DC’s contributory negligence law prevents a person from recovering any damages if they share liability for the accident that caused their injury. For this reason, insurance companies will look for any evidence/argument that shows you were even slightly at fault.
The sooner we investigate your claim, the sooner we can counter the evidence/arguments of the insurance companies.
Please note that comparative negligence is used when victims are pedestrians or bicycle riders. In comparative negligence cases, the damage award is adjusted to reflect the victim’s degree of fault.
If you were in any type of accident, please contact us as soon as possible to help protect your right to compensation. Please call Nace Law Group or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation.
Samantha L. Peters, a lawyer specializing in medical malpractice and personal injury, joined Nace Law Group in 2022. She previously established a medical malpractice section at a Maryland firm. Licensed in Maryland and DC, she was listed in The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40 and Top 100 Medical Malpractice Verdicts.