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If you were hurt in a Rhode Island car crash, you generally have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit. Three years may sound like plenty of time, but it can pass quickly if you wait to see whether the insurance company will make a fair offer without you involving a lawyer.
Too often, insurance companies focus only on their own profits, not on helping injured people. Delay tactics are one of their favorite ways of avoiding paying people. To add further complications, some claims have additional deadlines, and certain circumstances can change how the clock is calculated.
Bottaro Injury Lawyers serves clients injured in accidents throughout Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts. Here’s what to know about Rhode Island deadlines, possible exceptions, and how the rules compare with Massachusetts.
What Is a Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Cases?
A statute of limitations is the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit. Once that deadline passes, you can lose your ability to take the case to court.
The deadline also gives both sides a defined period to resolve a legal dispute while evidence is still available and witnesses’ memories are still fresh.
Keep in mind that filing an insurance claim and filing a lawsuit are not the same thing. Insurance companies have their own claim and notice requirements. The statute of limitations determines how long you have to bring a lawsuit in court.
Rhode Island’s Three-Year Deadline
Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14, you must file actions for personal injuries within three years. For a typical car accident injury claim, that means three years from the date of the crash.
Other claims arising from the same accident can have different deadlines.
If someone dies because of a crash, Rhode Island’s wrongful death law gives surviving family members three years from the date of death to bring an action. Our Rhode Island wrongful death lawyers can explain how these claims work and what steps families can take.
Property damage can also follow a different timeline. Rhode Island’s general limitations statute provides a 10-year deadline for civil actions when another limitations period does not apply, which may include claims for damage to a vehicle or other property.
While Bottaro Injury Lawyers handles injury claims, we can also help injury victims resolve their property damage claims at the same time after a serious auto accident.
How Does the Massachusetts Deadline Compare?
Massachusetts also gives an injured person three years to bring a personal injury lawsuit. However, Massachusetts car accident claims work differently because Massachusetts uses a no-fault insurance system. In Massachusetts, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) provides certain benefits after a crash regardless of fault.
Massachusetts also limits when an injured person can recover pain-and-suffering damages. Under M.G.L. c. 231, § 6D, the injured person must have more than $2,000 in reasonable and necessary medical expenses or have an injury that falls within one of the statute’s exceptions.
Can the Car Accident Deadline Be Extended?
In some circumstances, Rhode Island law can pause or extend the deadline for filing a car accident lawsuit. This is known as tolling.
Examples include:
- Injured Minors: Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-19, the deadline may be postponed when the injured person is under 18 at the time of the accident.
- Mental Incapacity: The same law may extend the deadline when the injured person is mentally incapacitated at the time of the injury, such as when a crash leaves them in a coma or with a debilitating brain injury.
- An Absent Defendant: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-18 may affect the deadline when the person being sued is outside Rhode Island, and certain other conditions are met.
- Fraudulent Concealment: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-20 may affect the deadline if the at-fault party lies to hide the fact that you have a claim.
Do not assume you have additional time without confirming the deadline that applies to your case with an experienced car accident lawyer.
Filing a Claim Against a Rhode Island Government Agency
If a government vehicle, public entity, or poorly maintained road is involved in a crash, additional notice requirements may apply that are much shorter than the usual three-year deadline.
For example, if an injury results from a town’s failure to maintain a highway, causeway, or bridge, R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-15-9 requires the injured person to notify the town of the time, place, and cause of the injury within 60 days of the accident.
Government claims can involve different rules depending on what happened and which public entity is involved. Acting quickly can help you avoid missing an applicable notice requirement.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?
Waiting beyond the applicable statute of limitations can have serious consequences. The defendant can ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit as untimely, potentially leaving you unable to recover any compensation.
Delay can also benefit the at-fault party’s insurer while making it harder to build your case. Video can be erased, vehicles can be repaired, physical evidence can disappear, and witnesses’ memories can fade, leaving you with little evidence to support your claim.
Taking action early gives you more time to preserve important evidence and meet applicable deadlines.
Statute of Limitations for Uninsured Motorist Claims
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims differ because you seek coverage from your own insurance policy rather than the at-fault driver.
These claims may follow different, often contract-based deadlines, and your insurance policy may have its own notice requirements. That means you should not assume the three-year personal injury deadline is the only deadline you need to meet.
Review your policy carefully to determine which deadlines apply when seeking compensation from your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. You can also learn more about your options in our guide to uninsured car accidents.
Talk to a Rhode Island Car Accident Lawyer Today
At Bottaro Injury Lawyers, our car accident lawyers can review what happened, identify applicable deadlines, and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf.
You may be entitled to compensation, and we want to help you get it. Our No Fee Guarantee® means you don’t pay us anything unless we win your case. We are available 24/7 by call or text, because nobody should fight Goliath alone.
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