Key Aspect of The Statute of Limitations That Remains Constant

The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim varies from province to province in Canada. Depending on the nature of the act that injured the victim, the statute of limitations might be longer or shorter. Still, in every case, the limitation period has a starting date and an end date.

The 3 possibilities for the starting date

The date on which the victim was harmed. If the victim had been in a motor vehicle accident, that would be the date when the injury was sustained. If the victim’s property was hurt, then the start date would be the date that property got damaged. It could also be the date when an agreement was violated.

The second possibility is the date when the victim’s injury was discovered. While the 3rd possibility is the date when a reasonable person would have noticed such an injury.

Situations in which the statute of limitations gets changed

In most cases, the person that intends to file a personal injury claim has at least one year in which to act. Sometimes an injured adult has at least 2 years. However, if a government agency will be named as the responsible party, the party with the charge may have only 60 days in which to file a claim.

Victims of sexual abuse have a much longer time span for filing a personal injury claim. Victims that realize the extent to which they have suffered emotional and psychological abuse have a full 8 years, after reaching the age of 18, in which to file a claim.

Sometimes, though, a child that was the target of sexual abuse, goes for years without realizing the extent to which the abusive act affected his or her emotional and psychological health. Consequently, adults that become aware of the emotional and psychological harm done to them years earlier have 3 years in which to file a personal injury claim. They can consult with an Injury Lawyer in Brantford.

In contrast to that special timeline, a child that has been injured in a motor vehicle accident can delay filing a claim until he or she reaches the age of 18. At that point the statute of limitations starts running, and it determines the deadline for completion of the filing process. In most locations, that limitation period is no longer than 1 or 2 years.

Keep in mind all that could happen during those 2 years. Maybe the young adult does not realize the full extent of any bodily harm until after that 18th birthday. That realization might result from an event that sends the young adult to the hospital. The time spent recovering would reduce the time available for filing a personal injury claim.