If you’ve been injured, you may know that the clock is ticking when it comes to exploring your legal options to recoup your losses and receive compensation for the injury. Because the state of Nevada has a personal injury statute of limitations for legal recovery, it’s important to move quickly and make sure that you get your case active as soon as you can.
Understanding the personal injury statute of limitations in Nevada can help you understand your range of options more fully. Sometimes an injury takes time to show up, so it is important to understand not only the way that the statute of limitations works from the date of an injury but also from the date that it is discovered.
What is a Statute of Limitations?
Put simply, a statute of limitations is a window of time within which an injured party can file a lawsuit to recover damages. Generally speaking, the statute of limitations starts at the time of injury. Cases must be filed before that window closes, or the injured party may lose the ability to recoup losses from the injury.
What Happens if You Miss the Statute of Limitations?
Often, cases that are brought after the statute of limitations has ended will be thrown out, and the person seeking damages will not be successful. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule. A statute of limitations can be paused — which is called being “tolled” — in specific situations. For example, if there is a malpractice suit and the party responsible for the damages worked to conceal an unlawful act that contributed to the damages, the statute of limitations may be extended.
If the statute of limitations was still active at the time of the injured party’s death, the family members generally have one year to bring charges on the injured party’s behalf — even if the statute of limitations would have run out earlier had the person remained living.
How Long is the Statute of Limitations in Nevada?
If you have a personal injury in the state of Nevada, the time you have to file a claim depends on the type of lawsuit.
- Generally, the timeline for a negligence action is 2 years from the date of injury to a person.
How Can an Attorney Help with the Statute of Limitations?
As you can see from the above list, the rules surrounding the statute of limitations in Nevada are complex. There are often multiple elements to any given case, and it is possible that a case that seems to be outside the statute of limitations may be able to be brought as a contract breach instead, which often has a longer statute of limitations. An experienced attorney can help injured parties determine if their case meets the statute of limitations or if there are any additional possibilities for how to file.
In addition, having an attorney can be extremely helpful when it comes to arguing that the statute of limitations should be tolled or extended. Much of the language surrounding the discovery rule is vague and subject to interpretation. The legal details say that the statute of limitations often begins when the injured party “should” have noticed the injury. Determining when someone should have noticed the effects of an injury is not always a straightforward process, and an experienced attorney can help navigate these complexities and potentially extend the statute of limitations.
In general, the sooner you are able to begin the legal process from the date of injury or the date of discovering an injury, the more likely you are to get your case settled before the statute of limitations runs out. If you have questions about whether your case qualifies or how to make sure that you have explored all of your legal options after suffering a personal injury in Nevada, reach out today to schedule a consultation.
Please know that every case is unique and that this post is not intended to be legal advice as the facts and circumstances of a particular case may not apply to the above general rules.
