Statute of Limitation for Personal Injury Claims

Personal injury suits must be filed within 2 years. The limitation 735 ILCS 5/13-202 covers most personal injuries for most victims. Car wrecks, slip and fall, negligence and professional malpractice are normally included.

As with any good rule, there are exceptions.

The statute of limitations for municipalities is 1 year. This means that the victim has only 1 year from the date to file a claim against a local public entity or its employees.

For many cases, like medical malpractice, there is the discovery rule. The discovery rule means that the limitation period to file a claim will not begin until the victim knows or should have known there was malpractice. This is limited to 4 years. There is an exception. If the defendant fraudulently conceals a cause of action to 5 years from the date the person discovers he has a cause of action.

Additionally, no action for damages for injury or death may be filed for medical malpractice, contracts, tort or otherwise, may be brought more than 8 years after the date of negligence if the person was under 18. A person cannot file suit after the age of 22. However, if someone is under disability, the limitation period does not begin until the person’s disability is removed.

In general, minors or persons under disability, in the service or imprisoned, are entitled to wait until the disability is over or until 2 years after the disability is over or not until the minor turns 20.

If you have an injury claim contact us at Ackerman Law office. We are so confident in our ability to win that we handle these claims on a contingent fee. We offer free initial consultations. All of our clients get prompt action and personalized attention. See what our clients have to say on our Client Reviews page. Our blog is at Springfield Injury Lawyer.