Even the strongest Okmulgee, Oklahoma personal injury claims have an expiration date.
Under state law, the deadline by which you must file an Oklahoma personal injury claim is called the statute of limitations.
Filing Your Oklahoma Personal Injury Claim
For the vast majority of Oklahoma personal injury claims, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of your injury. For example, medical malpractice claims must be brought two years from the date of the act causing your injury. Likewise, products liability claims have a two-year statute of limitations.
While two years is the general rule, do not ever assume that you always have two years to file your claim. Some types of claims have more time and some have less. Always consult your Okmulgee personal injury attorney to help you determine the applicable statute of limitations.
Timeline Considerations
Usually, the passing of the statute of limitations is an eternal bar to a particular claim. However, there are two exceptions.
The first is called the Discovery Rule – if the person filing the claim discovers the cause of the injury after the statute of limitations has already passed, he or she is sometimes allowed to file the claim anyway. The Discovery Rule is applied frequently in wrongful death cases, where a loved one dies but the spouse or children are unaware of the cause of death.
For example, where a loved one’s cause of death was due to medical malpractice, but the family is unaware of the malpractice until two years after their loved one’s death, they will most likely be granted an extension of time to file their medical malpractice/wrongful death claim.
The second exception to the eternal bar of the statute of limitations is an exception for children under 18 years old. Minors will be permitted to file a personal injury claim when they reach 18, which is the age of majority.
Upon achieving the age of majority, the claimant has one year to file an Oklahoma personal injury claim before it is forever barred.
Low-cost Consultation: Okmulgee Personal Injury Attorney
To find out how much time you have left to file your Oklahoma personal injury claim, contact the Okmulgee personal injury attorney at the Personal Injury Law Office of Okmulgee today.
For a low-cost, no-obligation consultation, call (918) 756-9600 or send your question using the email form on this page.
