West Virginian Personal Injury Lawsuits

A personal injury lawsuit can be an excellent tool in your search for the compensation that you deserve. In some cases, an insurance claim simply won't cover all of your suffering. However, lawsuits can be much more complicated than insurance claims, since they involve dealing with some pretty arcane legal matters. To help you create the perfect lawsuit, here are some laws that you will need to be aware of when filing in West Virginia:

The Statute of Limitations

Your first and foremost concern needs to be whether or not you are within the statute of limitations. If you take too long to file, then your case might be dismissed before it even reaches a court.

In West Virginia, you have two years to file from the date of the injury. If that date is rapidly approaching, then you need to hurry up and gather your evidence. If gathering your evidence and building your case means that you won't be ready to file by the deadline, then all of your efforts will have been in vain. However, there are some exceptions where you can get the deadline extended.

First, if you were a minor at the time of the accident, then you do have some extra time. In general, you have 2 years after the date that you legally become an adult, which means that your window of opportunity ends when you turn 20.

Second, you have a shot at getting an extension if you didn't actually discover the extent of your injuries until long after the fact. If you developed a chronic condition that didn't appear until later in life (such as cancer), then you might be able to link that condition to negligent exposure in the past. For example, you might sue your employer for knowingly exposing you to carcinogenic materials without taking the proper precautions. In these cases, your time limit is often extended to 2 years from the date that you discovered the injuries.

Comparative Negligence

Like every other state, West Virginia takes responsibility and negligence very seriously. If you were partially responsible for your injuries, then you will not get all of the compensation that you ask for.

Fortunately for you, West Virginia is much more lenient than some states and only has two rules that you need to worry about.

1. Your compensation will be reduced proportionally to your proven responsibility. If the defense can prove that you were 30% responsible for your injuries, then you may only receive 70% of the damages that you asked for.
2. If you were more than half responsible for your injuries (if the defense can prove that you were more than 50% responsible), then you forfeit the rights to any compensation at all. This effectively means that your case is dead and you won't get any money at all.

For more information, contact LeBaron & Jensen, P.C. or a similar firm.