What is the time limit to file a personal injury claim?
The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury for bodily injury is two years in Virginia unless you are a minor. In Virginia, the statute is such that if you are a minor under the age of 18 you have from the time that you had your injury, whatever that age may be until you’re 18 plus two years. So if you are 10 at the time of the accident, you have eight years to become 18, but then you have two years for that statute to run. Even as a minor if you resolve your case by way of settlement, the law in Virginia also has ways of protecting you from the money being squandered or lost. So if I settle a case for a person under the age of 18, what I have to do is set up a hearing and talk to the judge about all of the things that went on into the case, let the judge see if it’s reasonable and appropriate based on the circumstances, and then the judge will order where the money goes. Nine times out of 10, the judge is gonna order that the money be left with the clerk of the court to put wherever the clerk of the court puts that money, and then when that child becomes 18 years old he can come with the proper identifications and then get those proceeds plus whatever interest may have accrued on it. When clients come through the door, their lives have been changed. I try to get them to understand that we’re gonna go through this with them as part of their team. _________________________________________
The Gee Law Firm
(804) 226-4111
4719 Nine Mile Rd
Richmond, Virginia 23223