North Carolina Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

Suppose you have sustained injuries from a slip and fall, traffic accident, or any other type of incident where someone else’s actions or lack thereof caused you harm. In that case, you are very likely to be thinking about filing a personal injury lawsuit in North Carolina. Should this be the case for you, you must comply with the statute of limitations for this type of case. The statute of limitations is a law that puts a time restraint on your right to file a lawsuit in court with the help of a Raleigh personal injury attorney from Nagle & Associates, P.A.

What is North Carolina’s Standard Time Limit?

Listed under North Carolina General Statutes section, it states that any lawsuit that seeks a legal remedy for an injured person must be filed within three years. This translates to if another person’s careless or intentional acts were to inflict injury on you, it makes sense that you would seek remedy for your losses and damages. Just be mindful that you only have those three years stated in the NC General Statutes section to get initial documentation or any other required paperwork filed in court.

The three-year time limit begins when bodily harm to the victim or physical damage to the property becomes apparent. Generally, with most accidents, it is fairly easy to determine whether or not you have sustained an injury, given the three-year clock starts on the day of the accident. For more serious and underlying injuries that are not as clear to the naked eye, speak with an experienced attorney at Nagle & Associates to determine your next step in the process.

The North Carolina three-year deadline applies to just about every type of personal injury lawsuit driven by negligence. Talk to our team of experts if you have any further questions regarding negligence.

What Happens if I Miss the Filing Deadline?

Should more than three years have passed since the accident, and you try to file your injury lawsuit anyway, the defendant can and will most certainly file a motion to dismiss, at which point your claim will no longer be valid. When this happens, you have lost your right to ask a court to inform you of your damages and injuries. It doesn’t matter how severe the injuries may be or how blatantly obvious the defendant’s liability may be; you will not be able to receive compensation.

Whenever the other side knows that the three-year mark has passed, you can guarantee that they feel a huge sense of relief. They know the victim has now lost all negotiating leverages.

Are There Any Exceptions to the North Carolina Personal Injury Statute of Limitations?

The state of North Carolina has identified numerous scenarios that could potentially further delay the running of the statute of limitations clock. This means a practical extension of the three-year filing period has successfully been completed. The examples below are the cases to modify the standard three-year timeline.

• If the injured person is considered under a legal disability at the time of the accident, the three-year time limit will likely not begin until the legal disability is lifted.
• If, at any point after the accident but before the lawsuit can be filed, the defendant who caused the injuries resides outside of North Carolina or remains continuously absent from the state for over one year, that will not be counted towards the three-year time frame.

Call a Personal Injury Attorney Today

Were you injured in any type of accident? If so, contact a Raleigh personal injury attorney from Nagle & Associates, P.A., to schedule a consultation. Call our office at (866) 631-2228 today.