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Your time to file a lawsuit is limited. Each state, including Iowa, has what is known as a statute of limitations. This law explains how long you have to file a claim. If you fail to file your case before the statute of limitation expires, then you may be unable to recover damages.
What Does the Law Say?
Iowa Code §614.1(2) provides people who have suffered a personal injury with two years to file a lawsuit. Typically, the statute of limitations begins running on the date that the injury occurred.
There Are Exceptions
As with most legal rules, there are exceptions to the statute of limitations. You may have more than two years from the date on which the injury occurred if:
- You could not have reasonably discovered that you were injured on that date. Some injuries from defective pharmaceutical products are not immediately apparent. In these cases you wouldn’t know that you were hurt until you started to exhibit symptoms of illness or injury. If this applies to you, then your two-year time limit to file a case begins when you knew, or should have known, that you were hurt.
- You were a minor (under the age of 18) when you were hurt. If your parent or guardian failed to take legal action on your behalf then you have either two years from the date of your injury or until your 19th birthday to take action.
What If You Don’t File Within the Required Time?
If you file your case in court after the statute of limitations has expired, then you can expect the experienced attorneys for the pharmaceutical company to motion the court to dismiss your case. If the judge agrees that the time for filing a case has expired, then your case will be dismissed and you will be unable to recover any damages—regardless of the significant injuries that you suffered.
Accordingly, it is important to understand how an Iowa pharmaceutical class action case works as soon as possible. Please browse our website or start a live chat with us today to learn more and to make sure that your rights are protected.
