How Much Time Do You Have To Sue Someone After An Accident in Canada?

You often are not prompt to take actions that make you regret and wonder if it is too late. This is why it is always a good thing to know how much time you have in hand to take action.

One of the most common questions for every accident victim is to know how much time they have to sue someone after an accident.

Here we will discuss the timeline with you and let you know what options you have. This way, you will get all the information you need to secure your rights in Canada.

How Much Time Do You Have To Sue Someone After an Accident?

The reason you might delay a lawsuit is because of your state of mind. When you have just met an accident or your family member has been hurt, filing a lawsuit is not the first thing you think about. It is probably the last thing on your mind. For example, after a motorcycle accident, hire a motorcycle accident lawyer immediately.

The only thing you care about is to get better or make sure the people you care about have recovered. You are emotionally vulnerable. Hence the option of hiring a lawyer to sue the responsible do not traditionally come to your mind.

A lot of people around you will personally advise you to hire a good personal injury lawyer (Ex. Airdrie lawyer). You have to assess the options to hire from carefully and where it goes from then. A personal injury lawyer is truly beneficial in fast-forwarding the process.

Since you have a limited timeframe to sue for the accident, it is definitely better to hire one. Let us go through the process to see how it works in Canada.

The time frame to sue in Canada:

The traditional law in Canada allows you to sue the responsible after the personal injury is 2 years. This implies that you will have a time period of 2 years from the accident date to file the legal papers to sue the party at fault.

Teenagers below the age of 18 and children will have the advantage of a longer time period to sue the faulty party. They will receive this extended time period if they do not happen to be represented by a litigation guardian.

Similarly, people who are not subjected to any physical, psychological, or mental disability will receive a longer period to make a claim.

Why do you need to hire a personal injury lawyer ASAP?

Usually, we like to believe that people offering different services are here to serve us, no matter what time or date. For instance, you would think that visiting a doctor would solve your problem right away when you are sick.

However, think of it this way. What if you are at the last stage of cancer and you visit a doctor to get treatment. What are your chances of surviving? Yes, it is low.

Likewise, lawyers are no different. If you visit a lawyer at the end of 2 years, you may not receive help right away following the incident. A personal injury lawyer will need to his own research on your case.

The proper filing of your case takes time as well. To elaborate, the lawyer will need to gather all hospital and police records. There are numerous reasons more to call a lawyer early at your service.

One of the important reasons is if the faulty party is the government or a municipality. If that is the case, you have a mini notice period of 10 days following an incident to sue the government or the municipality.

There is a high possibility that you are unaware of the party responsible for your injuries. Hence if you delay calling a lawyer, you might be losing your rights. Missing notice periods are highly detrimental and can affect your rights severely.

Another reason for going to a lawyer early is an essential one. A lot of personal injury lawyers like to carry out their own investigations. Police do investigate the scene. However, your lawyer could come up with a different viewpoint giving your case the much-needed light.

A different perspective from your lawyer might strengthen your case and increase your chances of getting a higher claim. A lot of evidence also goes missing if you wait too long to carry out an investigation.

Conclusion:

By the end of this article, you should now have a very good knowledge of when you have to sue someone after an accident in Canada. However, if you are still confused about hiring a lawyer or not, go through this article again. Clear your mind.

Study the pros and cons of hiring a personal injury lawyer and take the necessary action you need to take to recover your damages. We are here to help you ease your losses by suggesting the best options available to you. But the best option is to prevent accidents from happening and one of the best ways to do this is to undergo a school bus safety reorientation.