We were just contacted by a gentleman who sustained serious personal injuries and wanted us to represent him. Unfortunately, we were unable to assist him because he made a number of fatal mistakes in handling his own case prior to coming into our office.

The Statute of Limitations

If you have been injured in some type of accident in Connecticut, you might do some quick research and determine, depending upon the type of accident you have been involved in, that the statute of limitations in CT is two years. In other words, for most types of negligence cases, you will have two years from the date of the injury to either settle your case or file a lawsuit. Otherwise, you will be time-barred because of the statute of limitations. Injury victims sometimes do this quick research and think that because they have two years to resolve their case, there is no hurry to go out and consult with a lawyer. Instead, they will try to handle their own case or will receive medical care and treatment to determine how significant their injuries are before deciding what to do.

The Issue

The individual who contacted us was seriously injured over one year ago. He brought in all of his medical information and the ambulance call report which sets forth what happened at the time he was injured. He told us that he was at a point where he wanted to hire a lawyer to file a claim to be compensated for his significant injury. He knew that there was a two-year statute of limitations in Connecticut so he thought he had plenty of time. The problem with his case was that the injury occurred on town-owned property and involved a defect that was present which had caused his injury. Unbeknownst to this individual, there is a notice provision that must be followed which involves putting the town on notice pursuant to the requirements of the Connecticut General Statutes. If you do not comply with this notice provision and follow all of the requirements of the statute, then it will not matter that you file suit within the two years after the date of the injury. This is because you did not comply with the notice requirement. In other words, you will be time-barred from filing your lawsuit because you did not comply with the notice requirement.

The End Result

Unfortunately, we had to tell this gentleman that there was nothing that we could do for him given the fact that he did not provide the statutory notice to the town regarding the defect that caused his injury. There were additional problems with his case as well. The defect that caused his injury was later repaired and he did not have pictures of the pre-existing condition nor did he have a report of a premises liability expert explaining the nature and extent of the defect and why the town would be responsible for his injuries and damages.

How a Lawyer Could Help

If you are injured in any type of accident, it is very important that you contact an experienced Connecticut personal injury lawyer at the earliest possible moment. In addition to potential notice requirements, there are a number of other time-sensitive issues that may need to be addressed. For example, witnesses may need to be interviewed so that statements can be obtained before these individuals forget what happened. Certain experts may need to be retained to perform tests or take pictures and give opinions as to why someone else is responsible for your injuries and damages. You can also make a number of mistakes in attempting to handle your own injury case which could include giving information to the insurance adjuster who will later use that against you or will twist your words.

People who have been injured in a Connecticut accident should understand that our CT injury attorneys provide free consultations and take cases on a contingency fee basis and advance the costs to develop your case. In other words, you do not have to come up with any money out of your own pocket to hire one of our experienced Connecticut accident lawyers to represent you in your important injury case. We are only paid if we recover money damages for you. If there is no recovery then you would owe no legal fees and no costs. We take all of the financial risk, so you can concentrate on what is most important: getting better as quickly as possible.

If you have been injured in any type of accident, check out a copy of our free ebook The Crash Course on Personal Injury Claims, browse our free resources, or contact us!