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The statute of limitations is a set of laws that specify how long someone can wait to file a personal injury claim or in this case a truck accident claim. For most personal injury claims in Colorado, the time limit to file is 2 years, but for truck accident claims the statute is extended to 3 years. This means that you have 3 years from the date of the accident to file your lawsuit against the responsible party. If you try to file your claim after this 3 year period, then your claim may not be valid and you will be fully responsible for covering any damages that you may have accrued from the accident.
There are a few exceptions to the statute of limitations for trucking accident claims in Colorado, which may prove to be beneficial for you if you fall under these exceptions and didn’t file your claim on time.
There are a few situations that the statute of limitations will allow for an extension(and sometimes reduces time to file). These exceptions are reserved for people that do not currently have the ability to file their claim on time due to circumstances outside of their control. In some situations, you actually have less time to file, so it is very important to speak with an attorney about your truck accident claim right away to ensure you don’t miss your window to file.
Tolling is when the courts give the case extra time to be filed for various circumstances that are outside of the plaintiff’s control. These can be things such as the plaintiff not being of sound mind, still recovering from their injuries, bankruptcy from medical bills and more. If the plaintiff cannot control the situation that prevents them from filing the lawsuit appropriately, then the courts may decide to allow tolling which lets the plaintiff have more time to get their situation back to normal before they file. You should never expect this to happen though, so make sure to contact your attorney about this if you think you should be eligible for tolling.
If the injured person in the lawsuit is a minor, then the statute of limitations of 3 years does not start until that minor turns 18. This allows anyone that may have suffered injuries as a child but didn’t realize how it affected their life until they are an adult and can comprehend the situation better. This exception only stands for minors under the age of 18 when the accident took place.
If you are on active military duty during the time that the statute of limitations allows and could not file your case on time, then you may be granted extra time to file. This is typically only for active duty military that are stationed outside of the US or far from where the accident took place since it is much harder for them to be present to get everything together to be able to file a legitimate claim.
Sometimes, when a government entity is involved in your truck accident claim, they don’t allow you the full 3 years to file. In this case you may only have six months or less to file your claim depending on the situation so make sure to have your claim examined by an attorney right away if a government entity was involved in the accident.
If there was a part failure on the truck that caused the accident, this is considered product liability and will fall under the normal personal injury statute of limitations of 2 years to file.
No matter what type of injury claim you have, it is always very important to have a consultation with an experienced truck accident lawyer right away to make sure that you don’t have to cover the costs of your damages by yourself because you waited too long to file. This happens quite often and is always disheartening for the person who was injured because that settlement money can go a long way in helping you get your life back on track without having to pay for it all yourself.
At Rector Stuzynski LLC, we have been helping injury victims get compensation for decades and we know how to build a bulletproof claim. From start to finish, you can expect our law firm to handle everything for you so you can sit back and focus on healing yourself from your injuries without having to worry about dealing with a trucking accident lawsuit. Our consultations are always free and we are available by phone 24/7 so don’t hesitate to call us or stop by our Colorado Springs, CO office. We are happy to help!
We serve clients injured anywhere throughout the state of Colorado, but we focus on residents of these areas: Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Fountain, Briargate, Monument, Black Forest, Pueblo, Canon City, Larkspur, Security-Widefield, Peyton, Castle Rock, Teller County, El Paso County, Elbert County, Park County, Douglas County and beyond.
Consultations are always free and available 24/7 over the phone.
