Legal Question in Personal Injury in Georgia

Re: BI statute of limitations in Georgia

Let me clarify. The Georgia Statute of Limitation for tort cases (which includes personal injury actions) is two years from the date of the injury. This means a "lawsuit" must be filed against the alleged tortfeasor (negligent party) within two years of the tortious act. NOTE: The action is not against the liability or UM insurance company. The lawsuit is against the negligent party. The insurance companies (whether liability or UM) would generally provide a defense to its insured. NOTE: Georgia has special requirement for initiating a lawsuit involving a UM claim. For instance the UM carrier can be named and served as a party to the lawsuit. This does not however avoid the requirement that you sue the negligent party and obtain a judgment against this person, before the UM carrier would have any requirement to pay.

Also statutes of limitation applies to the time in which to file a "lawsuit" not time to file a "claim".

My advice is that if a UM claim is involved, you should retain a qualified personal injury attorney.

Re: BI statute of limitations in Georgia

To answer the first part of your question, the time that you must file a suit in an auto case is 2 years.

To answer the second part of your question, please note that Uninsured Motorist or Underinsured Motorist claims (both known as �UM�) are insurance issues. These are important in determining the total money damages recovered. These claims are actually made against your insurance. Since insurance is a contract, you must comply with the strict terms of the obligations of the contract. In other words, if you do not comply with all of the insurance company�s rules and regulations, you can lose your coverage. If you do have a UM component to your case, call an attorney as soon as possible.

Please also note, that while for auto cases the statute of limitations is 2 years, you should not wait that long before speaking with an attorney. In fact, the sooner that you seek the advise of a competent attorney, the better your results. This is due to a great number of factors, including the availability to obtain statements from eye witnesses, and the ability to collect other evidence from the accident location. As such, while attorneys often urge potential clients to contact them �right now� as a part of their marketing efforts, there is also clear benefit to the client.

Good luck,

Roger Krause

Re: BI statute of limitations in Georgia

As others have mentioned, two years.

However, don't wait until the last minute. It can take a lawyer months to prepare a solid claim, and last minute claims are more likely to fail due to insufficient preparation.

Call my office if we can be of assistance.