Is there anything I can do about a personal injury that happened twenty years ago? 29 Answers as of February 20, 2012

It appears that you may be time-barred from initiating a personal injury claim or litigation for your medical problems. However, with your statedmedical problems, you may qualify for disability benefits. Perhaps, you should consult with an attorney who handles medical disability claims.

No, the statute of limitations has run.

You are probably out of luck but it is worth sitting down with a personal injury lawyer to discuss the specifics of your case and find out if there is anything that can be done, but there likely isn't.

Probably not. It's been way too long past the statute of limitations and the discovery rule more than likely isn't going to help you in that this could be anticipated, but probably not proven twenty years ago. Additionally you have the issue of causation that will likely be tough to prove up after twenty years of aging and more than likely having other accidents and injuries.

You have 2 years from the date of the incident to file a personal injury claim, so I am afraid your statute of limitations has long expired.

Probably not. Your statue of limitations has probably expired.

Unless there is some special reason why the three-year statute of limitations did not run, the time for you to file suit has passed.

No. The statute of limitations in New Hampshire is 3 years on such cases. Statutes of limitation are backed up by the policy requiring finality in legal affairs. There's nothing you can do now.

No. Statute of limitations is 3 years on injury cases.

The statute of limitations is three years. Have you applied for SSD?

If you did not bring the law suit already, it is to late now.

Normally, the statute of limitations requires commencement of a lawsuit within 3 years, if at all. RCW 4.16.080 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.080).

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done. If you condition limits your ability to work you could apply for social security disability benefits but as far as an injury claim. Nothing can be done at this point. Sorry.

In Utah, the statute of limitations for a personal injury is 4 years. You will not be able to bring a claim for a personal injury that happened 20 years ago, because the statute of limitations has expired.

No. The statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of loss.

I would require additional information on your situation. However, assuming it was a motor vehicle accident that injured your spine, then in 1989, the Washington State Supreme Court held that a 6 year contract-based statute of limitation applies to UIM claims, rather than a 3 year tort based statute of limitations. Thus, a three-year statute of limitation applies to claims filed to recover damages for personal injuries received in a motor vehicle accident. This may be found under RCW 4.16.080 (2). However, this may not be your situation. The six-year statute of limitations may apply if the person who hit you did not have insurance or is simply underinsured, and you have a policy which contains underinsured motorist protection. This would allow for a six-year statute of limitations. However, an insured must not confuse his or her UIM entitlement with any right that the insured may also have against their own insurance Co. as a third-party claimant. So let us say, for example, if an insured driver is injured while riding as a passenger in his or her own vehicle, and the collision was the fault of an uninsured or underinsured driver of the insured's vehicle, the three-year tort statute of limitations found under RCW 4.16.080 (2) will apply to the insured's third-party claim against his or her insurer. This is so because the person's status as a named insured does not change the applicable statute of limitations when that person files a third-party claim against his or her own insurer. In addition, one must bear in mind that, if you find yourself in a UIM situation, a close review of your policy may reveal that you are unable to file a lawsuit. Rather, there may be other hoops set up by your insurance company that you must jump through, prior to the filing in court. What you need to remember is if these hoops have not been jumped through by you, as you promised you would do when you purchased policy, then the insurance company can force you to do so and courts are helpless in this matter. Bottom line, a close review of your policy, is warranted in all cases. Washington State's legal system has time limits on which one may make a claim. There are many reasons for these temporal elements. For example, over time, evidence may be corrupted, disappear, witnesses memories fade, scenes for which collisions occurred change, and entities dispose of critical records. The best time to bring a lawsuit is while the aforementioned is not lost or corrupted and as close as possible to the alleged negligent behavior. Thus, it has been my experience as an ex-claims insurance adjuster working with defense counsel on litigation files, and now as a plaintiff's attorney; that insurance companies like to drag out the litigation process in order to advance their profit margins and causes because they know that overtime evidence may be corrupted, disappear, memories fade, scenes for which collisions occurred change and entities dispose of critical records which would allow the plaintiff to prove their case. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the injured party to swiftly bring about changes so that the process may begin and fully executed. Generally speaking, these limitations, or for the lack of a better term, time periods begin when a cause of action is deemed to have arisen, and in some situations when a plaintiff had reason to know of the harm or should have known of the harm rather than at the time of the original event. This distinction is important in cases in which an event which occurred earlier on has delayed ramifications.

The statute of limitations has run on your claims. You may want to consider applying for social security disability.

Not if your accident happened in Texas. The time limit to bring a suit in Texas is 2 years from the date of the accident.

In Ohio there is a defined period of time within which you must file a lawsuit to recover for injuries and damages caused due to negligence. If you were a minor under the age of 18 at the time of the accident you had until you turned 20 years old unless the incident involved medical care in which event you had until you turned 19. Not knowing how old you were at the time of your accident, I assume from your description that the incident that occurred 20 years ago would place your claim beyond any statute of limitations unless you were and remain legally incompetent in which even the statute of limitations may be tolled. Sorry but it sounds like you are likely too late to do anything from a legal perspective.