In Alberta, as is true in all parts of Canada, someone that has been injured in an accident has only a limited amount of time in which to file a personal injury claim. That limited amount of time is referred to as the limitation period.
What is the limitation period?
For the majority of victims and possible claimants, that period provides a 2-year window for the filing of a personal injury claim. That 2-year period begins with discovery of the fact that the victim has reason to submit a claim.
Are there exceptions to the standard limitation period?
Yes, if one of the 2 party’s in a case has lost evidence, or if a witness has suffered from a fading memory, the court might allow for utilization of the absolutely largest window. That largest window equals a length of 10 years.
Personal injury lawyer in Red Deer know that if the victim were a minor, then the limitation period would get suspended until that minor reached the age of 18. Similarly, such a suspension takes place during the time when any claimant becomes affected by a period of disability. A disabled claimant cannot complete the tasks that must be done, in order for a claim to get filed properly.
The final exception is one that has received a great deal of public attention in the past few years. There is no limit on the length of time that a victim of sexual assault has in which to file a personal injury claim. The introduction of that exception arose from the court’s realization that the victim of such an assault faces great difficulty with facing and dealing with his or her horrible memories.
A youth of 18 can be expected to feel ready to take whatever actions might be necessary, in order to get compensated for a typical, accident-related injury. Unfortunately, the victim of a sexual assault suffers an emotional and psychological injury. That can impair any effort that the same victim might make, in hopes of obtaining some form of compensation.
Moreover, the same victim may require passage of a great deal of time, before coming to the realization that he or she actually had a claim. Sometimes, a youth believes that someone victimized by a sexually-influenced adult has committed an offense. Only realization of the true situation reveals the nature of the victim’s experience.
In other words, the absence of a limited window for the victim of a sexual assault has resulted from the realization of 2 facts. First, the victim’s reluctance to confess to his or her part in the offense committed by another person. Second, the fact that the victim seldom realizes the right to make a claim until after the passage of many years.