The Statute of Limitations is the time limit you have in order to file a lawsuit in a civil case. Personal injury cases are one aspect of civil law, and are governed by the statutes that cover civil lawsuits.In Texas, the statute of limitations on a motor vehicle case is two years. Pursuing Legal Action Many steps are involved in prosecuting a personal injury case. First, you might contact the insurance company to make a claim. Many people who are injured in an accident try to deal with the insurance company first before contacting a lawyer. (This is a bad idea, though – refer to my web page Insurance Companies Won’t Treat You Right to understand why.)
Then a lawyer gets involved. Your personal injury lawyer usually will attempt to contact the insurance company and resolve the claim. The insurance company typically looks for specific evidence in order to determine whether or not to pay on a claim. The lawyer puts together this evidence to convince the insurance company to pay.
Finally, if an insurance company still declines to pay on a valid personal injury case, it’s time to file a lawsuit.
The Texas Statute of Limitations The Texas Statute of Limitations gives you two years to file a lawsuit before your time limit to make a legal claim expires. Please note that contacting the insurance company is not enough. You must actually file a lawsuit at the courthouse. There may be times when you’re getting close to the statute date but you haven’t yet reached the point in the process when you’d normally file a lawsuit. If this happens, your personal injury attorney can file a lawsuit to ‘save’ the statute; i.e. to prevent the statute from running out in the event that the case cannot be resolved short of a lawsuit.
