Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury in Illinois

Whether you got injured because you slipped and fell on a wet floor in a grocery store or someone’s carelessness caused you harm, you can file a personal injury lawsuit against them. However, you will only have a limited amount of time to do so, as defined by the statute of limitations for personal injury in Illinois.

In Illinois, from the time of the accident, you have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. In some cases, the time may start from the date you discover you were injured from the incident. This is called the ‘discovery date.’

If you wish to file a personal injury lawsuit against a county or a city, you have one year to file a formal complaint and then file a lawsuit within a year.

Why is There a Time Limit?

As time passes, investigating a personal injury claim gets more difficult. As a result, the case gets weaker. Evidence gets lost, deteriorates, or is hidden and memories of the details surrounding the accident also fade.

Proving you were injured because of someone else’s negligence in court can be challenging. The statute of limitations allows defendants to resume their life and business without the threat of a lawsuit hanging over their heads. In other words, as per the law, you cannot hold anyone accountable for your injuries for an indefinite period and should get your compensation within a reasonable amount of time.

What About Victims Who are Minors?

If the victim is a minor, the statute of limitations is not as limiting. If a minor was younger than 18 at the time of the accident, until the minor turns 18, the statute of limitations will be suspended so they will have until they turn 20 to file a lawsuit.

There are certain restrictions to this. For instance, if the minor sustains injuries because of medical malpractice, he/she has eight (8) years to sue the guilty medical practitioner or before they turn 18.

Personal injury cases can be tricky to navigate in Schaumburg, Illinois - especially if you have no idea how to use the evidence you have on hand. In such cases, you need experienced attorneys from IAmCallingMyLawyer.com in your corner. With more than five decades of combined legal experience working cases, as well as workers' compensation and wrongful death suits, we have experience winning difficult cases.