If you have been injured as a result of an accident involving a commercial truck in Nevada, you have two years to file your claim in court. Failing to meet that deadline can result in the loss of the right to seek compensation for your injuries. An experienced truck accident attorney from Pacific West Law can help manage the deadlines in your claim in order to protect this important right.
How Nevada’s Statute of Limitations Can Affect Truck Accident Claims
For truck accident claims, the two-year clock generally begins to run on the date you were injured, discovered you were injured, or had reason to know. While it might seem like being injured in a truck accident would be something you would immediately know about, there are cases in which a person is incapacitated due to the injury and later learns that they have been injured and wish to file a claim. It should be noted that, while the claim must usually be filed in court within two years, the case does not have to be resolved during this time frame.
Failing to meet the statute of limitations will generally bar you from using the courts to seek compensation for your injury. While the majority of personal injury claims are settled before they reach trial, even a settlement is unlikely after the statute of limitations is filed, as the at-fault party’s insurance provider knows that you no longer have the option to file a lawsuit if they fail to make a fair offer.
Isn’t Two Years Plenty of Time to File a Claim?
While two years seems like a long time when you’re incurring expenses for your injury, Nevada’s statute of limitations is actually shorter than the deadlines many states have for this type of claim, and truck accident claims can take a lot of time to investigate. Some of the actions that must occur before the lawsuit can be filed include the following.
Your Maximum Medical Improvement Can Affect Your Case
You should reach maximum medical improvement for your injury, which occurs when your doctor determines that your condition is unlikely to make any more meaningful progress, even with the continuation of treatment. This allows your attorney to have a clearer picture of what the total amount of your medical expenses will be.
Investigating Your Case to Help You Reach a Settlement Faster
Your truck accident attorney will investigate your case to discover a number of important aspects, such as:
- Who is liable, and the provider of their liability insurance. Liability in a truck accident can include the driver, the company that employs the driver, other motorists, the entity that services the truck, or even the government agency tasked with maintaining the roadway where the accident occurred.
- The police report, which can indicate whether the at-fault party was cited for the accident, as well as if there are any witnesses.
- The amount of medical bills you have incurred, as well as lost wages, the cost of repairing your vehicle, and other expenses.
- The type of impacts you have suffered.
Communicating with the Insurance Provider
When a truck accident occurs, it is not uncommon for the insurance provider of the at-fault party to contact the injured person early after the accident to investigate or even to offer a settlement. This is one of the most vulnerable times for a truck accident claimant, as they have not had time to speak with an attorney or gain enough insight about the true cost of their injury to understand what their claim is worth. Instead, they are likely stressed about their injury, in pain, and worried about how they’re going to manage financially, and any offer can sound good in those circumstances.
Agreeing to an early settlement without having an attorney assist you in establishing a value to your claim can result in you accepting a settlement that doesn’t fairly compensate your injury and having no recourse because settlements are final.
Your attorney will manage communication with the insurance provider in order to ensure that you have the ability to obtain the most compensation that is available. This communication also allows settlement negotiations to occur. It should be noted that settlement offers can still be made and accepted any time after the lawsuit has been filed, as long as there has been no court judgment on the matter.
Managing Your Deadlines
A Nevada truck accident attorney provides guidance about the process and communicates information that can help you decide how to proceed with your case. They are skilled negotiators with the insurance provider, in order to garner a fair settlement on your behalf. They are an investigator when it comes to considering the extensive amount of regulatory documents that could potentially become evidence in your claim.
Throughout all of these activities, one of the most important is protecting your right to file a lawsuit if necessary.
Contact an Attorney as Soon as Possible About Your Truck Accident
A two-year statute of limitations means there is little time to waste if you have been injured in a truck accident and need help determining your next steps. The legal team at Pacific West Injury Law has experience in truck accident cases, and we are ready to talk to you about your claim. For your free case evaluation, contact us online.
