The statute of limitations sets the maximum period you must file your personal injury lawsuit. You might lose your case on a technicality if you have a case but don't pay attention to the statute of limitations. Below are some tips to prevent the statute of limitations from messing up your case.

Get Medical Consultation for All Suspected Injuries 

Get medical care for all suspected injuries or health problems as soon as possible. For one, prompt medical care is necessary for your health. Secondly, the sooner you confirm your injuries, the sooner you can connect them to the defendant and start the claim process.

Consider a case where you suspect respiratory problems after working at a construction site for a long time. You should get a doctor to diagnose your condition and discover the link to your construction work if that is the case. That way, you won't delay your claim and exceed the period set by the statute of limitations.

Understand Your State Laws on Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations varies by state and injury. Thus, your research of statute of limitation and related injury laws should be specific to the state with the jurisdiction over your case. Understand the duration you have to file your claim. You should also underside the different applications and exceptions of the statute of limitations.

For example, the discovery rule allows you to delay the start of the statute of limitations until you discover your injury. However, the rule may only apply to cases where your injury is not obvious, such as medical malpractice. Thus, you should not assume that you would use the discovery rule for all injury cases, including obvious injuries.

File Injury Claim Promptly, but Know When Negotiations Fail

You should file an injury claim as soon as possible when the evidence remains fresh. The defendant can reject your claim in its entirety, accept your demand in its entirety, or accept your claim but offer a lower settlement. The last option is the most common one, and most injury cases settle outside the courtroom after some negotiation.

However, you should not negotiate your case endlessly. The negotiations do not delay the statute of limitations. For example, the court will not allow you to file a lawsuit for a case you have negotiated for two years and has a statute of limitation of one year. If the negotiations seem to be taking too long, file your lawsuit before the statute of limitation expires.

For more information, consult with a personal injury attorney.