Time Limits for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases

Time Limits for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases in Kentucky and Tennessee

The law sets time limits for a personal injury or wrongful death‍ case.  If you do not assert your rights within the time set by law, then you lose those rights and your case.

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A law that fixes the time to make a case is called a statute of limitations.

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Let me give you examples of statute of limitations problems I see from time to time.  I am going to leave out technical legal exceptions so you can better understand why this is important.

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In Kentucky, the statute of limitations for a personal injury caused by carelessness with a motor vehicle is 2 years.  By contrast, the Tennessee statute of limitations for personal injury caused by carelessness with a motor vehicle is 1 year.  On several occasions, my clients living in Kentucky, drove down Interstate 24 into Tennessee where they were injured by carelessness with an automobile or semi-truck.  Before coming to see me, these Kentucky clients mistakenly believed the 2 years statute of limitations for Kentucky applied to them because they resided in Kentucky.  But in fact, the Tennessee statute of limitations of 1 year controlled the time to make a case against the negligent party.  Fortunately for these clients, they came to me quick enough to protect their rights.

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Let me give you another example.  For my Tennessee clients with serious injuries, 1 year is not enough time to heal.  Sometimes people mistakenly believe the statute of limitations does not run out until after the injury heals. Not so.  If the injury occurred in Tennessee and the severely injured person waits beyond a year to contact me, then the case is lost before I can even look at the case.

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Why lose your right to make a case when you can contact me for help?  I never charge a fee to discuss your case with you.  I'll help you understand each statute of limitations that applies, and immediately give you a plan of action to protect your rights.