Siloam Springs, AR Personal Injury Lawyer
Filing and winning personal injury claims is a complicated process, and our lawyers can help victims with case preparation and, notably, filing their claims on time.
As a general rule, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases in Siloam Springs is three years. There are some exceptions, such as tolling for minor victims or when defendants leave the state or intentionally conceal themselves from plaintiffs. Confirming the final filing date for your case is crucial, as missing it might bar you from recovery. After we file your lawsuit in Arkansas, our lawyers may negotiate a settlement with the opposing side, explaining your need for compensation and citing our most compelling evidence. Claims that do not settle may go to trial. In either case, victims may get compensation for all recoverable losses, including their economic and non-economic damages.
To get a free case assessment from our personal injury lawyers, call us today at (479) 316-0438.
What to Know About the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in Siloam, AR
The statute of limitations for personal injury cases is the amount of time victims have to file lawsuits against negligent parties. While there are exceptions to this, victims should not expect them to apply to their claims without confirming with our lawyers, as otherwise, they might unintentionally miss the deadline and their opportunity to get compensatory damages.
General Rule
In general, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including car accident and slip and fall cases, is three years, according to Ark. Code. § 16-56-105. The clock begins counting down on the date of the accident, and missing the deadline would bar victims from recovery.
There is a different filing deadline for medical malpractice claims, and § 16-114-203 sets that statute of limitations at two years. Identifying the right filing deadline for your case is crucial, and our lawyers can do so immediately after the accident so that we have the most amount of time possible to prepare and file your case in Siloam Springs.
Exceptions
There are few exceptions to the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Siloam Springs, among them tolling for minor victims, according to § 16-56-116(a). Minors cannot bring claims themselves until they are 18, and they have three years from that date to sue negligent parties in Siloam Springs.
If victims do not discover injuries until after an incident, they might get tolling for delayed discovery. This is common in medical malpractice claims, where victims might not notice complications from negligence until some time after it occurs.
If the negligent party leaves the state after the accident or otherwise conceals themselves from you, preventing you from bringing a lawsuit against them, the statute of limitations will pause for that period of time under § 16-56-120. This is common in car accident cases involving out-of-state drivers in Siloam Springs.
These exceptions to the standard filing deadline do not apply to all personal injury cases in Arkansas, and assuming that they do could land victims in difficult situations, as courts typically dismiss any late-filed claims.
Filing on Time
Although three years is often ample time to file lawsuits, victims dealing with serious injuries might delay their claims to focus on their physical recoveries. After the accident, our lawyers can help you preserve vital evidence that might otherwise get lost, like security camera footage and eyewitness statements, so we can start building the foundation of your case right away.
The best thing victims can do to hasten their claims and aid in preparation is to get continuous medical care. Hospital and medical records are crucial evidence in claims for personal injuries. Without them, victims cannot prove that they were injured due to negligence or incurred medical damages that require compensation.
Filing your case at the last possible moment is typically inadvisable, as it might be harder to prove that your injuries and damages were due to the accident in question. That said, you have the full three years to file, meaning that if you were injured in an accident due to negligence a couple of months or years ago, you may still have time to recover compensatory damages.
Next Steps After Filing Your Personal Injury Claim in Siloam Springs, AR
Settlement negotiations might commence after we file your complaint with the court and initiate your personal injury claim in Siloam. Our personal injury lawyers can prepare you for any depositions with the opposing side and explain what settlement talks might entail.
While many personal injury lawsuits settle out of court, victims should be careful about settling too quickly. Accepting any of the first few offers from the defendant might leave you without sufficient damages, and our lawyers will calculate your losses before settlement talks commence so that we can compare offers to your actual damages.
Settlement negotiations might take several weeks as our lawyers respond to offers and indicate the strength of your case to the opposite side. Some defendants want to take their chances at a trial, regardless of the amount of evidence against them, instead of willingly paying a significant amount in a settlement. In such instances, our attorneys can prepare victims for court, where we can present our case to a jury, which will then decide the defendant’s liability for the victim’s damages. Our attorneys will prepare proof of your various damages to submit to the jury to inform their calculations.
Throughout settlement negotiations and a potential trial, keep monitoring your medical condition and getting the necessary treatment. If you pause your care and let gaps form in your treatment, that might raise questions about the severity of your injuries or the need for certain compensatory damages.
Call Our Injury Attorneys in Siloam Springs, AR Today
Call our personal injury lawyers for a free case review at (479) 316-0438.