Statutes of limitation on their surface may seem simple to apply and there are many locations on the web where those who consider that they have legal rights may look to find the state statute of limitations which applies to their claim. Half of those who are likely to look up this information want to find out if the statute of limitations has expired on their case. The other half may want to assure themselves that they have plenty of time left on their statute of limitations so they can attend to matters more pressing matters than the lawsuit, such as seeking out the right medical care and concentrating on their rehabilitation.

This is not an article intended to advise you about the statute of

limitations which might be applicable to your case. To the contrary,

and much more important for you to learn right now, the purpose of

this article is to urge that you not to look up the statute of

limitations yourself. Instead you should seek the advice of a

competent and knowledgeable lawyer in your state to advise you with

regard to the statute of limitations, as well as other statutes

providing time sensitive rules that may deprive you of your right to

sue long before last day to file suit provided by the statute of

limitations. If you want correct information, you will require counsel

fully knowledgeable about your state statute of limitations including

how it has been interpreted by your state courts of appeals in the

volumes of pertinent case law, knowledgeable also about the exceptions

to the statutes of limitation, and the other legal theories which can

undercut the statute of limitations defense.

We will try to highlight the dangers of your simply looking up the

statute of limitations applicable to your type of case and then making

decisions on your own that your case is barred and your rights lost,

or that you can safely delay filing your complaint to attend to more

pressing matters.

As examples, we will explore the two most common statute of

limitations questions we receive, the first inquiring about the

California Statutes of Limitations in auto accident cases, a common question just because there is more accident litigation than any other type of

litigation. It is a good question to select also because people might

think it so straightforward that anyone should be able to correctly

interpret the statute of limitations. The second example is the

inquiry about the California Statutes of Limitations in medical malpractice

litigation, common because in many states the medical and insurance

industries have obtained special interest "tort reform" legislation

commonly including more restrictive statutes of limitation with

"outside limitations," also permitting us to discuss a "discovery

rule."

There are both federal and state statutes of limitation with most

cases arising in the state court systems and so we will pick the 2

year statute of limitation for injuries sustained in auto accidents,

and the 1 year discovery rule and 4 year outside rule applicable to

medical malpractice cases under California law. Again this is not to

provide information for you to rely upon in deciding whether your

claim is barred, or conversely to lull you to feel you can safely

delay filing suit while you attend to more pressing matters. Rather,

it is to demonstrate why you should not attempt to interpret even what

might seem to be the most straightforward of statutes of limitation.

Leave the interpretation of statutes of limitations to the lawyers.

Attorneys will be pleased to speak with you about you case. Just ask

for a free case consultation.

So, let's imagine that through your research you discover that

California has a 2 year statute of limitations applicable to auto

accidents. What I would hope to demonstrate here is that this is very

dangerous information for the injured auto accident victim to rely

upon, one who might have been paralyzed, or brained damaged or who

might have suffered debilitating internal injuries, catastrophic

orthopedic injuries or a limb amputation. He or she may read about

the 2 year statute of limitations and be lulled into waiting to file

suit, for example to deal with the medical decisions and

rehabilitation, or in smaller cases perhaps to see if his injury might

resolve.