Auto Accident Statute of Limitations

Is There a Statute of Limitations on Auto Accidents? 

Each state allocates an amount of time victims have to file personal injury claims. The statute of limitations on car accidents for the state where your accident occurred applies to your claim. 

Most states allow car accident victims to file a claim two or three years after the accident date. However, North Dakota gives accident victims six years to file any auto accident claim. Some offer the same deadline for claims involving property damage and personal injury. However, states like Nevada differentiate between those types of cases. Nevada car crash victims have three years to file a property damage case but only two years to file a personal injury claim. 

What Is the Statute of Limitations For Claims Involving Bodily Injury? 

For car accident statutes, you have 24 months to file a claim for an accident causing bodily injury. 

How Long Do You Have to Report a Car Accident Claim? 

There is a distinction between filing a car accident report and a car accident claim. When you’re in a car accident, you have two options for reporting. You can contact emergency services and have police respond to the accident scene. However, suppose there are no injuries or fatalities. In that case, you can file a report within ten days of the accident. 

You must file car accident claims before the statute of limitations for the type of claim expires. If you were in an accident causing property damage, Nevada gives you 36 months to file your claim.

Is Nevada an At-Fault or No-Fault State?

Nevada is an at-fault state. Consequently, car accident victims can seek compensation from the at-fault party’s car insurance company through an insurance claim or lawsuit. Winning your case involves proving the at-fault party’s negligence. 

Our society operates on a social contract, expecting most reasonable people to conduct themselves appropriately and not jeopardize their safety, that of others, or other people’s property. Negligence occurs when a person acts in a manner most reasonable people would not or fails to act in a manner most reasonable people would in the same circumstances. 

Proving a car accident claim begins with demonstrating that the at-fault party did not act appropriately, their conduct caused harm to another person or property, and the person or property would not have suffered that harm if the at-fault party had behaved responsibly. Proving negligence establishes grounds for a legal claim for damages. 

Car Accident Claim Types

The grounds for filing a car accident claim determine the claim’s classification. Typical car accident claim types include the following causes:

• Distracted driving
• Driving under the influence (DUI)
• Hit-and-run
• Reckless driving
• Road rage
• Speeding

Claims may also involve multi-car accidents, rear-end collisions, unsafe roads, and pedestrian accidents. 

Do I Have a Case if I Was Partially Responsible for My Accident?

Nevada’s comparative negligence statutes allow accident victims to file claims when they’re partially responsible, as long as their percentage of fault is not 50% or more. 

In cases where you share liability, your share of liability will be deducted from your compensation. Suppose you’re 20% responsible for the accident, and a jury awards you $250,000 in damages. You would receive 80%, or $200,000, in damages from the at-fault party. 

Cases involving shared liability can be more time-consuming, mainly if you’re suing multiple at-fault parties. The at-fault parties’ insurance companies may dispute their clients’ percentage of fault, making it challenging to negotiate a settlement.

What Damages Could I Receive for a Car Accident Claim?

What is the average car accident settlement, and how much you could get from your claim? The factors relevant to your case impact the amount of compensation you receive.

Car accident victims can seek economic damages to recover expenses caused by the accident. A person dealing with vehicle damage but has a second vehicle, no children, and no severe injuries may only have a claim for property repairs. However, a person with one vehicle, two children, and severe injuries may have multiple costs to claim as economic damages, including:

• Childcare costs
• Lost income
• Medical expenses
• Property repair costs
• Transportation costs

Non-economic damages compensate car accident victims for mental and physical suffering. Grounds for non-economic damages vary and can include the following:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Grief
• Loss of intimacy
• Loss of quality of life
• Pain and suffering
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

There are also cases when victims can seek punitive damages. Punitive damages apply to accidents involving gross negligence. Some types of car accident claims, such as reckless driving claims, may justify claims for punitive damages. Since punitive damages do not apply to all auto accident claims, you should discuss potential damages with your car accident attorney to determine whether they apply to your case.

How a Car Accident Attorney Can Help

Car accidents can involve lengthy investigations and a lot of legal paperwork. Hiring an auto accident attorney means hiring an advocate with the skills and resources to investigate your accident and meet the legal requirements to ensure your case is heard. Our legal team will gather evidence, issue subpoenas, respond to motions from the defendant’s legal team, and handle the settlement negotiations. We’ll use our knowledge of case law and the information from our investigation to fight for you to receive fair compensation for your auto accident claim.

Sources:

Nevada Traffic Safety Crash Facts. (2021). 

Number of road traffic-related injuries and fatalities in the U.S. from 1990 to 2020. (2024). 

Personal Injury Lawyers & Attorneys in the U.S. – Market Size (2004–2029). (2024).

Report of Traffic Crash. (2024).