If you are injured in an auto accident, truck accident, slip, and fall, or other personal injury accident, you may consider filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party in order to recover damages for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. However, in Georgia, there is a statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit against the at-fault party in your accident. This statute of limitations is covered under the Georgia Code OCGA 9-3-33.
Statute of limitations laws are implemented in order to maintain the integrity of evidence and to promote fairness on the part of defendants. They are also in place to ensure plaintiffs act with due diligence in filing a personal injury claim.
What is OCGA 9-3-33?
OCGA 9-3-33 refers to the statute of limitations code in Georgia that states, “actions for injuries to the person shall be brought within two years after the right of action accrues, except for injuries to the reputation, which shall be brought within one year after the right of action accrues, and except for actions for injuries to the person involving loss of consortium, which shall be brought within four years after the right of action accrues.”
More simply, this law states that you have two years after an accident to file a lawsuit unless you are suing for damages to your reputation, in which you have only one year to file a lawsuit. Claims related to personal property, trespassing, or debt collection have a four-year statute of limitations. It is very important to understand the statute of limitations for your particular case in order to ensure that you file your claim in a timely manner and demonstrate that you have maintained due diligence on your part.
The OCGA 9-3-33 law limits the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit to recover money damages for some injury. The law requires you to plead your case with some particularity.
Particularity means that you need to have your medical treatment complete or substantially done before you file your lawsuit so that you will know how much compensation to ask for to cover your medical bills.
Why is there a Statute of Limitations?
OCGA 9-3-33 puts a time limit on how long you have to file a personal injury case simply to allow for peace of mind, mostly on the part of defendants. In legal circles, this concept is related to the “statute of repose,” which refers to the ability to feel sure that charges will not be brought against you for committing a crime or causing an injury years after the accident. Statute of limitation laws ensures that legal motions are put in place in a timely manner in order to maintain the integrity of the case.
Statute of limitations laws are in place to put limits on how long a case can be brought before a judge and jury in order to grant individuals peace of mind. Consider if you were involved in a fender bender ten years ago in which you were at fault, but a personal injury case was never filed. OCGA 9-3-33 then protects you from the injured party filing charges against you a decade in the future after you have moved on.
In most cases, the statute of limitations begins on the date that the wrongful act took place. However, for many injured parties, it can be difficult to know how much to ask for in compensation in a personal injury case. This is particularly true for injured parties who may require rehabilitation after an injury, which will add to medical expenses.
Attorney Ali Awad is Here to Help You Navigate Your Case
In these instances, you will want an experienced attorney well versed in Georgia personal injury law to help you determine what is appropriate.
Make sure you consult with an injury and accident attorney before taking legal action and if you’ve been in a car wreck and want to make sure you get a fair deal from the insurance company, call one of our CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm at (470) 323-8779 for a no-obligation, free consultation regarding the particularities of your case. Few people have the legal knowledge to aggressively pursue their own claim, but with the CEO Lawyer in their corner, they can go toe-to-toe with big insurance companies.
