Personal injury cases are already so hectic, plus if you have to move ahead with the case in another state, then it can be much more troublesome.
A personal injury case might be liable if you suffered from an accident or incident in another state from where you reside.
Since laws in the USA vary from state to state, your personal injury case will also proceed in a different manner, depending on where you file it.
Here we have listed down five essential things you should know, about filing a personal injury case out of state.
- Most States Have Timelines Around Three Years for Filing
The timeline for filing your personal injury case differs according to each state.
While some states allow up to 5 years, some may not allow further than a year.
As such, you will have to act promptly and find out the laws of the concerned state as soon as possible.
- Your Case Will Be Filed in the Place Where the Accident Occurred
You could live in California but might have had a slip and fall in Florida. You could be a resident of Texas but could have had a car accident in Maryland.
This is because your case would be against a party of ‘that’ particular state and not yours. That party could be an individual or a company.
You can only file the case in your own state, if the at-fault party belongs to or has ‘minimum contacts’ with your state. These could refer to the at-fault party owning property in your state or having connections with your state.
- You Will Have to Make the Trips to the State
Suing in another state means appearing for the hearings and trial proceedings.
While you may feel that you have to make many unnecessary trips every now and then, you will have to make them nevertheless otherwise the case might go against you.
- The Case Proceedings Will Go According to the Concerned State
State-wise laws differ on a large scale in the United States.
Some states automatically assign fault to a party, while some states have a ‘no-fault’ policy.
Unfortunately, this also means that you could end up getting ‘nothing’, if you are more than 50% at-fault in a few states like Georgia.
- It is best to Be In Touch With a Relevant Personal Injury Attorney from The State
As mentioned above, the laws vary from state to state. For a regular person, you might not even have knowledge about your own state’s laws, let alone the laws of another state.
Therefore, while filing a case in another state, you will have to get in touch with an attorney of that state.
For example, you will hire a California attorney such as a Ventura personal injury attorney for filing your personal injury claim in California. In the end, it will only benefit you if you receive your desired compensation.