A personal injury lawsuit can be a very effective way of securing compensation for your auto repair bills, medical bills, and your lost wages. In many cases, you can even get financial compensation for your pain and suffering. However, filing a successful lawsuit can be a lot trickier than you might initially expect. To create a winning lawsuit, you need to navigate a precarious minefield of unintuitive laws and restrictions. Here are some such regulations that you will encounter when it comes to filing a personal injury lawsuit in Rhode Island:
The Statute of Limitations
First of all, you need to abide by the statute of limitation, which means that you need to file within 3 years of the date of the accident. If you fail to do so, then your case could be dismissed before you even have a chance to argue.
There are some restrictions, such as when the plaintiff is a minor or when the damages were not discovered until long after the incident, but unless you fall into one of those two categories, your chances of getting an extension are slim.
If you do believe that you have some exceptional circumstances, then you should talk to a lawyer from a firm like Barton Smith & Barton LLP as soon as possible. They will help you sort out whether or not you can still file your lawsuit and how much time you have to do so.
Comparative Fault
Every state also imposes some sort of penalty if you are found to be partially responsible for your injury. In some states, this can be as severe as dropping your case entirely, while other states will simply reduce your compensation by a percentage.
Rhode Island is one of the least restrictive states when it comes to comparative fault, which ultimately means that your compensation will simply be reduced by a percentage. If the defense can prove that you were 40% at fault, then you will only get 60% of what you asked for.
Damage Caps
Fortunately for you, Rhode Island doesn't restrict damages in most cases either, which means that you can ask for as much money as you want. In most cases, this means that your pain and suffering damages are unrestricted, which means that you could ask for much more money than you lost through lost wages and medical bills.
What does this mean for you?
Altogether, these laws mean that Rhode Island is on your side when it comes to filing lawsuits. Other states may place harsh restrictions on the individual that is filing, but Rhode Island does not. If you are thinking about filing a lawsuit, then Rhode Island is definitely a good place to do it.
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