If you, or a loved one, has been the victim of the action or inaction of another entity, you are entitled to receive compensation for any of the damages you sustained. These include rehabilitation costs, medical bills, lost salaries and wages if you were incapable of working and emotional suffering and distress. Filing a compensation lawsuit is generally not overly difficult, as the law firm you choose will take all the hard work out of your hands. However, you do have to understand that there are a number of actions you will have to take, and that you must take these actions on time.
First of all, the statute of limitations in the jurisdiction that your accident took place in will determine how long after the accident you can file a claim. If you do not file within the statutory timeline, then your right to compensation for any of your losses will automatically be eliminated. Unfortunately, not everybody is aware of this. Furthermore, it would require at least a basic understanding of legal frameworks in order to know exactly what the statute of limitations is, as well as how you should file a slip and fall accident lawsuit in California. Hopefully, the information below may be of benefit to you.
It is important to know that the laws in California often become adopted across the rest of the country as well. At present, there is a two year statute of limitations on these types of cases. This means that you must file a claim within no more than two years since the date of the accident itself. If, however, the injury was not discovered immediately, then the plaintiff has one year from the date the injury was discovered to file a claim.
If the persons injured are still a minor, meaning that they are under the age of 18, the statute of limitations is different. In this case, they will have two years from the date on which they turned 18 to file the claim. Naturally, they are not able to put in a claim if their parents or guardians have already done so on their behalf.
If a slip and fall occurs in a government building, different rules and regulations apply. The first step in this process is for the claim to go through an administrative hearing. The administrative agency that oversees injuries caused by agencies within the government will look at the claim. In California, this is the Office of Administrative Law. The claim must be filed with this office within six months of the accident. The Office of Administrative Law can then reject or deny the claim. At that point, the plaintiff can file a claim with their local civil court.
Under the Code of Civil Procedure, there are a few exceptions that can apply to the statute of limitations. In rare cases, the statute of limitations can be tolled, although this is only possible in very specific circumstances. In terms of slip and fall accidents, these circumstances are:
The success of your claim will depend greatly on the actions you took straight after the accident itself. Unfortunately, in many cases, people are too shook up to remember all of this, or they are physically or otherwise incapacitated, preventing them from doing so. However, it is always recommended to complete the following steps in order to maximize your chances of filing a successful claim:
The actual legal work of filing a claim is something that will not be done by you. Simply choose a law firm that will work on your behalf and they will complete all the necessary steps for you. It will benefit them tremendously, however, if you have recorded evidence as listed in steps one through eight above.
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