What Is the Statute of Limitations on a Car Accident Claim?
The statute of limitations for car accident claims depends on whether the victim sustained injuries or passed away. Statutes of limitations set deadlines for filing various types of legal actions in Massachusetts, and the clock starts running based on a triggering event.
The time within which a claim can be filed is called the limitations period. When a claimant waits until after the limitations period has ended before trying to file a claim, their lawsuit will be time-barred. This means that since it is filed too late, the court will likely dismiss the action and leave the claimant without legal recourse to recover damages for their losses. Different statutes of limitation apply to personal injury and wrongful death claims in Massachusetts, and some circumstances will toll the statute of limitations or cause it not to begin running until a future date.
Personal Injury Statute of Limitations in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, the personal injury statute of limitations, which includes injury claims for car accidents, is found at Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 260 § 2A. Under this law, victims have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit from the date of their car accidents. However, certain circumstances might be present that would cause the statute of limitations to not begin until a later date.
Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations in Massachusetts
The wrongful death statute of limitations in Massachusetts is found at Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 229 § 2. Under this law, a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within three years of the date of the victim’s death. It’s important to notice that the deadline clock doesn’t begin to run until the victim’s death and not the date of the accident. This means in cases in which the victim initially survived the crash but later died from their injuries at some future date, the wrongful death statute of limitations will begin running from that future date instead of from when the accident happened. Like the personal injury statute of limitations, there are a couple of exceptions that will allow the start of the limitations period to be tolled until a future date.
Tolling of the Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations
Three exceptions can extend the statute of limitations for personal injury victims:
- Tolling for Minors: Under Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 260 § 7, car accident victims who are younger than 18 have more time to file lawsuits to recover damages. The statute of limitations will be tolled until they turn 18, and they will then have three years to file a claim or until they reach age 21.
- Tolling for Incapacitation Due to Mental Illness: Under the same tolling statute, people who were incapacitated by mental illness at the time of their car accident will have the deadline tolled until they are no longer incapacitated. From that time, the deadline will be three years from the date their capacity was restored.
- Discovery Rule: Massachusetts has a discovery rule that applies to personal injury and wrongful death cases. Under this rule, the deadline clock will be tolled in cases in which the victim’s injury and the cause could not be reasonably discovered until sometime later.
Contact Ellis & Associates
What is the statute of limitations on a car accident in Massachusetts? In most cases, three years — which sounds like a lot, but time often flies by much faster than you think. It’s best to speak to an experienced attorney at the law firm of Ellis & Associates soon after your accident or the death of your loved one to prevent the loss of crucial evidence. Call us for a free consultation today at 800-MR-ELLIS or send us a message online.