In Virginia, the statute of limitations is a complete bar to actions for personal injury that do not meet its time limits.
No matter how strong your case or severe your injuries – you will receive nothing unless you file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires. This is true even if everyone agrees that someone else’s negligence caused your damages. And there are few exceptions.
This article explains the statutes of limitations for personal injury actions in Virginia. Time limits for filing for damages arising from car accidents, truck accidents, property damage, defamation, and other injuries are discussed. And I will help you understand when the statutes of limitations for your injury begin to run.
Keep reading to learn more about the statutes of limitations for civil actions in Virginia. And call me if you want a free consultation with a top-ranked personal injury and car accident lawyer: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. I am ready to help you recover every dollar possible.
Courts have used statutes of limitations for hundreds of years. Their purpose is to force you to exercise your legal rights within a reasonable time and to protect defendants.
The Supreme Court of Virginia said that time limitations for filing help:
The terms “statutes of limitations” and “statutes of repose” are sometimes used interchangeably.
A statute of repose (also called a nonclaim statute) is similar to a statute of limitations. It cuts off legal rights after a certain date.
However, there are essential differences between a statute of repose and a statute of limitations.
First, the general rule is that the time limitation in a statute of limitations starts when the cause of action accrues. By contrast, the time limitation in a statute of repose starts to run from an event unrelated to your accrual of action. When the time limit expires, all causes of action are extinguished – even those that may accrue later.
Second, a statute of limitations focuses on forcing the injured person to take timely action. By contrast, a statute of repose protects the negligent party from liability after a specific time, even if the injured person could not have discovered the harm until after that time.
Third, the effect of a statute of limitations can sometimes be avoided or tolled. By contrast, the deadlines found in a statute of repose are more challenging to get around.
Because there are multiple statutes of limitations, you must determine which time limit applies to your injury claim. Separate statutes of limitations apply to claims for:
Therefore, the first step in determining the statute of limitations for personal injury is identifying the type of civil action involved.
Yes.
Some injuries result in multiple claims.
For example, a back injury in a work-related automobile accident may result in a workers comp claim with your employer, a tort claim against the negligent driver, and an underinsured or uninsured motorist claim with your auto liability insurance company. In this situation, several statutes of limitations may apply.
Virginia Code Section 8.01-243(A) provides the statute of limitations for personal injury claims. The general rule is that you have two years from the accident date to file a civil action for personal injuries.
This two-year statute of limitations applies to tort claims based on:
For actions for injuries caused by defamation, libel, or slander, you have only one year to file a lawsuit.
For legal malpractice actions, you have either three or five years to file a lawsuit. If you had a written retainer agreement, the longer time limit applies.
If you were hurt in a traffic collision involving your vehicle, you have at least two claims against the other driver. One for injuries. And another for property damage.
The regular statute of limitations applies to your claim for injuries; however, a longer time limit applies to your property damage claim.
In Virginia, you have five years from the accident date to file a lawsuit based on property damage. Virginia Code Section 8.01-243(B) has this time limit.
If changes to property cause injury, you may have a claim against the persons responsible for the design, planning, surveying, and construction of those changes. Changes are also called “improvements.”
Virginia Code Section 8.01-250 states you have five years to file this type of injury claim.
The statute of limitations for your injury case begins to run when your cause of action accrues.
Virginia Code Section 8.01-230 gives guidance on when an action accrues. This statute states:
In every action for which a limitation period is prescribed, the right of action shall be deemed to accrue and the prescribed limitation period shall begin to run from the date the injury is sustained in the case of injury to the person or damage to the property …
The term “injury” means physical or mental harm.
If you suffer an injury in a car crash or industrial accident, determining when the cause of action accrues is easy. Your damage occurs on the date of the accident.
But determining the accrual date in other types of injury cases is more complicated. In particular, medical malpractice and occupational disease claims cause the most problems when calculating the statute of limitations. This is because you may not receive an actual diagnosis and discover the harm until years after you report symptoms.
The General Assembly and courts have addressed some of these difficult situations.
In claims based on medical negligence, some courts have found that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the medical treatment resulting in damages is complete.
Similarly, the time of discovery rule applies in medical negligence claims alleging a foreign object left in the body, a failure to diagnose, or fraud and concealment. The statute of limitations does not start until you discover the error.
The General Assembly has addressed personal injury actions based on defective implantation of a prosthetic device for breast augmentation or reconstruction. These actions accrue when a physician first tells you that the injury is related to the implantation.
Birth injuries and injuries to minors also have different accrual rules.
A child has until age 10 to file a medical malpractice lawsuit and until age 20 to file a personal injury lawsuit based on a motor vehicle accident. Put another way, the cause of action for medical malpractice does not accrue until age eight. And the cause of action for motor vehicle accidents does not accrue until age 18.
Virginia Code Section 8.01-249 provides that a cause of action based on exposure to asbestos or products containing asbestos begins to accrue when a diagnosis is first communicated to the claimant by a physician.
Actions based on sexual abuse accrue when a licensed physician, psychologist, or clinical psychologist tells you that your damages are linked to sexual abuse.
A parent’s cause of action for emotional distress resulting from the sexual abuse of a child accrues at the same time as the child’s action.
The defendant in a personal injury lawsuit must assert the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense. If the defendant fails to raise the limitation defense, it is waived, even if the plaintiff did not file the action in time.
Once raised, the defendant has the burden of proof to establish the statute of limitations defense.
No.
The statutes of limitations require that you file a civil action in court before the applicable time limit expires. They do not require that you resolve your case before the deadline.
Many cases take longer than two years to resolve. Usually, you do not want to negotiate a personal injury settlement or go to trial until you have reached maximum medical improvement. Only then can you determine the cost of your future medical expenses.
You have read the entire article. And now you are concerned that you have waited too long to file a complaint in court in Virginia.
You may be in luck.
In certain situations, the statute of limitations is tolled. This means it will not begin to run from the date of injury or if it has started to run, it will be suspended for a period.
The personal injury statute of limitations may be tolled if:
If more than two years have passed since your injury, but you think one of the above situations applies, call an attorney.
Hurt in a motor vehicle accident?
Were you harmed by a defective product?
Call me: (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614. As your personal injury lawyer, I will do everything I can to build your case – and win.