There’s a lot of confusion with the question of how soon do I need to bring my case and the question of how soon do I need to hire an attorney for my personal injury case?
So, the answer to the question of how soon do I need to bring my case, is one that’s governed by statute, Florida statutes precisely, that’s what we call the statute of limitations. Just recently, the Florida legislature changed the statute of limitations for personal injury cases, taking it from four years down to two years. Most of the time it’s going to be within two years of your injury. There are certain exceptions and different things that apply, but you should operate on bringing a case, that is filing a lawsuit, within two years. Now, that applies whether it’s a wrongful death or a personal injury, two years is the statute of limitations.
However, certain cases even have short limits, and you need to contact an attorney. Which is the second question, how soon should I get an attorney on my side fighting for me and advising me? That answer is right now, as soon as you realize that someone else was negligent and you are injured or you had a loved one killed, you should be getting a qualified and experienced attorney right away. Sometimes the time periods for bringing your claim are shortened. There are notice requirements for some cases and there’s investigation that needs to be done, information needs to be gathered, evidence needs to be preserved. The sooner that you can get an attorney working for you who will know those time frames for bringing your case, will work within those time frames, the better off you’ll be. So don’t think about how soon to bring my case, think about how soon should I get an attorney, and the answer is right away.