It depends! Unfortunately that's the best answer I can give you without knowing the details of your accident and injury. But I can say that more often than not the answer is 2 years.
The statute of limitations is like a timer that starts ticking down to zero as soon as an injury occurs. When the timer reaches zero all your legal rights are extinguished. So it is imperative that you know how much time is left on the timer!
It works like this: The State of Georgia has laws on the books that restrict the time an injured person has to file a lawsuit against the person who caused the injury. For example, let's say you have been injured by a drunk driver and your injuries are limited to "injuries to the person." Under Georgia law you have 2 years from the date the drunk driver hit you to sue. If you or your attorney fail to file suit within 2 years you lose all your legal rights in connection with that injury. You either need to get your claim settled prior to the two year anniversary of your injury or file a lawsuit in advance of the end of the limitation period.
Like most things in the law, statutes of limitation can get complicated. Let's say you were badly injured in a DUI accident and your spouse suffers as a result - for instance, you can't do the things around the home you used to do and your spouse has to take up the slack. That is called "loss of consortium" and is a valid item of damages. The statute of limitations on "loss of consortium" is 4 years - not 2 years. So some complications can arise when you have multiple claims all arising out of one incident.
There are all sorts of rules that might apply and change the amount of time you have - AND there is a whole separate category of notice deadlines if the at-fault driver works for the government (what are known as ante-litem requirements).
The safest thing to do is to call an attorney and ask how long you have to take action on a given claim. I would be happy to answer any questions you have about this topic or any other injury related topic. I handle personal injury cases ONLY and my Atlanta injury law firm serves clients all over metropolitan Atlanta and throughout Georgia.
