Being injured in an accident with a large truck is an overwhelming experience for anyone. While you do have the possibility of filing a legal claim – either an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit – against the at fault party and their insurance company, it’s a stressful time. You need to make sure you file your St. Louis truck accident claim before the time runs out, otherwise you won’t be able to recover any compensation at all.
Contact our St. Louis motor vehicle accident attorneys at Meyerkord & Kurth to seek compensation and receive legal guidance. Schedule your free consultation today.
Deadline For Missouri Truck Accidents – 5 Years From Date of The Accident
When you’re filing a lawsuit for any type of personal injury case, including a truck accident, there’s something called the statute of limitations. This is the deadline you must follow when filing your lawsuit. In Missouri, this deadline is 5 years from the date of the accident in most cases.
516.120. What actions within five years. — Within five years: (4) An action for taking, detaining or injuring any goods or chattels, including actions for the recovery of specific personal property, or for any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not herein otherwise enumerated;
If you do not file your lawsuit before this five-year time limit runs out, the court will almost always refuse to hear your case. It doesn’t matter how strong your story is or how much proof you have, you won’t be able to file your claim and collect compensation. It’s important to note that there are exceptions to this deadline – some of them shorten the deadline and some extend the deadline. Some of the most common ones include:
The Discovery Rule
In some situations you may not realize that you have an injury or what the injury is from. The discovery rule gives you extra time to file a lawsuit in these cases. The clock for the statute of limitations doesn’t start until you discover, or should have reasonably discovered, the injury or the problem that caused it.
Injured Party is Under 21 or Has a Disability
If you were under 21 when you got hurt, the deadline for filing a lawsuit usually does not begin right away. The law holds off the countdown until your 21st birthday. Once you turn 21, you’ll have the usual amount of time to start a case. The same kind of rule applies to people with certain mental or physical disabilities. In these cases, the time to file will not begin to run until you have recovered enough to handle legal matters yourself.
516.170. May delay filing of action, when. — Except as provided in section 516.105, if any person entitled to bring an action in sections 516.100 to 516.370 specified, at the time the cause of action accrued be either within the age of twenty-one years, or mentally incapacitated, such person shall be at liberty to bring such actions within the respective times in sections 516.100 to 516.370 limited after such disability is removed.
This pause gives people a fair chance to seek justice when they might otherwise lose their rights because of age or their health.
Defendant Leaves the State
When the person or business you want to sue leaves the state, it can be difficult or impossible to serve them with legal documents. When this happens, the statute of limitations is paused for the time that they’re absent. This prevents potential defendants from leaving the state to prevent a lawsuit against them.
Government Notice Requirements
Making a truck accident claim in St. Louis against a government agency has special requirements. You must file a written notice with the government within 90 days of the incident or injury. Missing this step may mean permanently losing your chance to make a claim.
Fraudulent Concealment
Sometimes, the party at fault tries to hide their involvement or the fact that an injury even happened – this is known as fraudulent concealment. When this occurs, the statute of limitations does not run. The countdown resumes only when you discover or reasonably should have discovered the concealment or fraud.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, the deadline for filing a lawsuit isn’t as simple as it first seems. Contact Meyerkord & Kurth today to schedule a free consultation and make sure you don’t miss your chance to get the justice you deserve.