A statute of limitations regarding lawsuits: is a law that sets the maximum period that you can wait before filing a lawsuit. The time periods are different depending on the type of case or claim. If a lawsuit or claim is not filed before the deadline the right to sue is barred forever. The types of cases and statute of limitations periods are different depending upon the type of claim or injury such as; personal injury, property damage, breach of contract, professional malpractice, and the list goes on and on.

Most states have special requirements before a lawsuit can be filed, and there are many variations such as making a demand upon a state agency and then waiting for the claim to be denied or disregarded for a certain time period. The clock starts running when a cause of action is deemed to have arisen or when a person had reason to know of the harm, rather than at the time of the original occurrence. This is extremely important in cases in where an earlier event causes a later harm. Contracts may also have a time limit under which they may be the basis of a suit, and after which a you are barred from making any claim.

These Iowa statutes of limitations regarding lawsuits are designed to prevent old and fraudulent claims from being filed after all evidence has been lost or after the facts have become murky because of the time that has passed or the imperfect memory, sickness, death, or vanishing of witnesses.

Tolling: In some instances a statute of limitations can be extended (“tolled”) based on delay in discovery of the injury or very few other reasons such as a child’s right to bring an action for injuries due to negligence is tolled until a time after the minor reaches the age of majority.

States establish different deadlines depending on the cause of action, be it a personal injury, contract, slander, fraud, malpractice or other claim. To determine which statute of limitations will control in a civil action, it is very important to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible, because a statute limitation time might be unknown it is best to contact an attorney and retain one immediately or else you could lose rights.

If you have a question regarding an Iowa Statute of Limitation or any other questions pleasecontact us