We often discuss Indiana’s statute of limitations, and the importance of filing your suit in the courts before the two years after the incident elapse.
One of the most common questions about this statute that we receive is: why? What is the purpose of a law which prevents plaintiffs from getting the payments they may need in order to cope with the effects of their accident?
To non-experts, the statute often seems counterproductive. However, it is an important aspect of Indiana’s laws, and a part of the broader legal framework which allows for much-needed personal injury lawsuits in the first place.
So why does it exist?
Mainly, the statute serves to keep frivolous cases out of the courts. The logic is that a plaintiff who spends two years doing nothing to pursue a personal injury case must not be very certain of their right in the case.
Also, after two years, evidence for a case can have “gone cold,” and witnesses’ testimonies may be unreliable, due to shoddy memories. In short, the statute of limitations keeps the courts, which are already crowded, from being overcrowded by suits which are unlikely to resolve quickly and effectively.
The good news for you, the plaintiff, is that when you do file your suit within the statute of limitations, you get your case to court that much quicker.
