Kelly & West’snew blog post will help readers understand the statute of limitations and how they work.
Many clients are unaware of the statute of limitations in North Carolina. The Kelly & West Law Firm team has released a new blog post helping clients understand the statute of limitations in North Carolina.
What are statutes of limitations? The post describes them as, "Let’s say your car is damaged in an accident. At the time, you don’t have the resources to file a lawsuit against the other driver. You wait a year before deciding to take the case to court. Is the case still valid?" So, the longer a person waits to file a lawsuit, the higher the chances are of losing valuable evidence, forgetting facts, losing track of witnesses, or even passing a critical case figure. Statutes of limitations attempt to prevent evidence and memories from getting stale.
They are also very strictly enforced, so if a lawsuit is not filed within the allotted time, clients can lose the right to file the lawsuit forever.
Statutes of limitations vary based on the area of law or category of case. Here are some examples of statutes that are effective under North Carolina legislation:
● Personal Injury or property damage claims due to an accident are barred after three years.
● Wrongful death claims cannot be brought forward after two years from the date of death.
● Trespassing upon real property must be brought forward within three years of the initial trespass.
● Assault, battery, or false imprisonment cannot be brought forward more than three years after the act.
● Libel and slander must be brought forward within one year of the act.
A complete list of statutes of limitations currently active under North Carolina legislation can be found on the NC Legislature website.
Contact an attorney at Kelly & West Law Firm as soon as possible to learn more. Even if not filing suit immediately, it’s best to know the deadlines. Speak with one of our legal professionals today to discover the most important answers.
