When Does Indiana’s Two-Year Deadline for Car Accident Claims Begin?
In most car accident cases, the two-year clock starts on the date of the crash. That’s true even if you’re still in treatment or don’t yet know the full cost of your injuries.
The same two-year limit generally applies to claims for damage to your vehicle and other personal property.
Some situations follow different timelines:
- Crashes involving a government vehicle or employee: If a Citilink bus, a city or county truck, a state vehicle or another public employee on the job caused the crash, you generally must file a written notice of claim first. The notice deadline is 180 days for a local government agency or 270 days for a state agency. Missing that notice can end your claim, even if the two-year lawsuit deadline hasn’t passed.
- Injured children: When someone is hurt before age 18, Indiana law generally pauses the clock until they turn 18. They then typically have two years from their 18th birthday to file. If the crash involved a government driver, however, different notice rules may apply.
- Wrongful death: When a crash takes a loved one’s life, the estate’s representative generally must file a wrongful death lawsuit within two years of the date of death. That date may differ from the date of the crash.
Each of these rules has exceptions of its own, and figuring out which deadline applies isn’t always simple. A Fort Wayne car accident lawyer from Fletcher Van Gilder can review your situation and work to file your claim on time.
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Why Do I Need to Act Quickly in a Car Accident Case?
The statute of limitations is an obvious justification for filing a personal injury claim shortly after a car crash, but it’s not the only reason to start building a case right away.
As time passes, it can get harder to build a strong car accident case.
The memories of witnesses to the crash can fade over time. Physical evidence at the scene, like tire marks and debris from the vehicles, gets cleaned up or fades away.
You could also miss out on valuable video evidence from security cameras if you wait too long to start a car or motorcycle accident case.
If your crash happened near a surveillance camera or traffic camera, you may not have much time to seek that footage before it gets overwritten and lost forever.
You also need to make it a priority to seek medical treatment, even if you don’t feel injured right after the crash.
A car accident is stressful. It gets adrenaline pumping through your system. That can hide pain and other signs of injury.
If you wait too long to get medical attention, the other driver or their insurer might argue that you didn’t actually get hurt in the crash—that if you were truly injured, you would’ve gone to a doctor sooner.
They could also argue that injuries your doctor documents happened later and that you’re trying to blame the crash for something unrelated.
Insurance companies could also doubt your claim if you wait too long to report an injury or property damage, making it even more difficult to negotiate with them.
Talk to a Fort Wayne car accident lawyer as soon as you think you may have a valid personal injury claim.
Should I Take the First Settlement Offer I Receive After a Car Accident?
It’s good to move quickly in car accident cases, but accepting a settlement offer is never something you should rush into.
Once you accept a settlement offer, that generally ends your personal injury claim. You usually can’t ask for more compensation later.
This is a problem because it can be tough to accurately estimate the cost of a car accident.
You could go to the doctor and realize that your injuries are more serious than expected, or you could take your vehicle for repairs and realize that fixes are more expensive than originally estimated.
An insurance company may prefer that you settle quickly, before you can properly gauge how much compensation you should be fighting for.
An experienced Indiana personal injury attorney from FVG can develop a better estimate of the potential damages in your case and negotiate for a fair offer.
Don’t rush into a settlement and end up with a lowball payment that leaves you on the hook for medical expenses and other costs of a car accident that wasn’t your fault.
Talk to a knowledgeable car accident attorney from Fletcher Van Gilder.
