If you have been injured by a negligent party, you may be entitled to monetary compensation to help cover the expenses associated with your injury. A Colorado personal injury lawyer will be able to advise you on whether or not you have a viable case and will explain how the whole lawsuit process.
One very important aspect of personal injury law is that you take legal action within the statute of limitations for that particular type of personal injury case. The statute of limitations is simply the length of time you have to file suit following some type of injury due to some other party’s negligence or wrongdoing. In Colorado, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is two years. However, if a motor vehicle is involved, the statute of limitations is extended to three years.
Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
Even the best medical professionals make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes result in catastrophic injury or death. Doctors, nurses, EMTs, dentists, anesthetists, administrators and hospitals can be at fault and consequently sued for medical errors that result in serious harm or death. If you’ve suffered some type of injury or illness due to a medical professional’s negligent behavior or wrongdoing, you may have a personal injury case.
If you have lost a loved one due to a medical error, you may have a case. An experienced Colorado medical malpractice attorney will be able to advise you on whether or not you should proceed with legal action, and whether you still have time within the statute of limitations, which is two years in Colorado, to file.
Colorado Product Liability Statute of Limitations
In Colorado, if you are injured by a defective product, you have only two years to take legal action. The statute of limitations for product liability and some other types of personal injury cases can be a little confusing to the layperson. Some defective products don’t cause immediate injury. For instance, if a faulty medical device was implanted in your body, you may not suffer harmful side effects until several years later.
In Colorado and many other states, there is something called the “discovery rule” which sometimes extends the statute of limitations because you were not even aware that you had been harmed. Under the discovery rule, the statute of limitations does not begin until the date that the victim of a defective product knows of the injury (or should have reasonably known of the injury). The discovery rule also applies to medical malpractice cases in Colorado. Your attorney will evaluate the facts of your case and let you know if the discovery rule applies.
Unfortunately, many defective medical devices take years to cause injury. In other types of product liability cases, defective motor vehicles and car parts for example, the injuries occur at a specific moment in time, usually during a collision of some sort or another type of accident. In those situations, it may be harder to claim that the discovery rule applies.
Breach of Contract Statute of Limitations
In Colorado, the statute of limitations for breach of contract is three years for both oral and written contracts. If someone has breached a contract and that breach caused you financial harm, you should consult with a Colorado lawyer who handles breach of contract cases to determine the best course of action.
