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Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

When you have sustained a personal injury through the negligence of another party, you deserve compensation. Building a personal injury claim takes time, from gathering appropriate evidence and documentation to handling negotiations. However, from the moment the injury occurs, a clock starts ticking on the statute of limitations. The Illinois statute of limitations governs the amount of time a person in Chicago has to file lawsuits on a variety of actions.

For personal injury cases in Illinois, the time limit is set forth in 735 ILCS 5/13-202.

Personal Injury Statute of Limitations in Illinois

In Illinois, anyone pursuing a personal injury case has two years from the date of the accident to bring a lawsuit into action. After two years have passed, a claim will not be considered valid anymore. However, there are certain exceptions to the rule. These include:

  • When the accident resulted in death – In these cases, the claim may be filed up to one year after the date on which the person passed away.
  • Medical malpractice cases – Since injuries may not become immediately noticeable after the medical error occurs, claimants  have up to 2 years from the date they became aware of the injury.

Products liability cases – When defective products were involved any claimant has 2 to a maximum of 8 years from the date the injury was discovered.

Different Types of Personal Injury Cases

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