How Long Do You Have To File a Florida Personal Injury Claim if You Discover Physical Injuries Long After Your Accident?

Negligent behavior can have serious consequences, such as harm to oneself and others. When another party’s careless actions cause a situation where you sustain serious physical bodily harm, it can be possible to hold that party legally accountable and secure financial compensation. Personal injury claims and lawsuits are how victims of negligence can recoup their losses.

Sometimes, injuries are not realized right away and are discovered later on after an accident happens. Regardless of when an injury is identified, it is still important that injury victims protect themselves. Whether an injury is confirmed quickly or if an injury doesn’t show up immediately, an injury victim can still be burdened by costly damages. Personal injuries can lead to permanent and debilitating physical and emotional harm. They can disrupt life and adversely affect someone over the long term. 

Individuals injured by the negligence of others in Florida can meet with a Tampa personal injury attorney at Fulgencio Law to learn about their rights and how to get the compensation that they are entitled to.

Delayed Injuries and Compensation

One of the most important things to do if you are hurt in an injury accident is to seek medical attention as soon as possible. There are three big reasons for this. The first is that doing so helps you establish a clearer connection between your accident and your injuries, as you will be able to establish the harm you suffered after a physician’s exam and diagnosis. The second reason is that when you are hurt, usually the sooner you know what is wrong and start treatment, the faster you can heal and the better your outlook for a full recovery will be. The third is that there is only a limited amount of time to file an injury suit. Florida’s statute of limitations for an injury suit is four years so to avoid missing the statute of limitations deadline, starting the legal process quickly is essential to protecting your rights to compensation. 

Knowing the statute of limitations is critical. Injury accident victims will be unable to get the compensation they need if they fail to file their suit before the statute of limitations expires.

Since there are injuries that do not show up immediately and clearly indicate a problem, an injury accident victim may not feel the need to go to a doctor. However, the clock for the statute of limitations starts to tick after an accident takes place. The longer an injured party waits to get their claim in place, the less time they will have to take legal action. This means that they will be at risk of time running out and potentially missing the statute of limitations.

The good news is that in Florida, if you discover an injury late, such as learning that your accident caused some type of long-term trauma that you didn’t notice initially, this is an exception to Florida’s personal injury statute of limitations. In this scenario, it can be possible to obtain an extension of two years so you will not lose out on your ability to get the compensation you need.

Call Fulgencio Law Today

The personal injury claims process can be very complicated, and if you are unsure about your rights and how to be fully compensated for your losses, you may call Fulgencio Law at (813) 463-0123 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney.