Overview

The amount of time in which an injured person can make a claim is limited in every state. Furthermore, it is very complicated, there are exceptions to the rules and exceptions to the exceptions, and by "make a claim" the law means file a lawsuit, not just a report or an insurance claim. For these reasons, two very general guidelines must be observed whether the victim is a child or an adult:

• If there is a chance that a government agency or employee, or a humane society or SPCA, might be legally responsible for the victim's losses, the victim can count on only 60 days to make a claim in the manner required by law, for which reason he should retain an attorney to make his claim immediately after the date of the injury.
• If there is no chance that a government agency or employee, or a humane society or SPCA, might be legally responsible for the victim's losses, the victim can count on one year to file the lawsuit in court, for which reason he should retain an attorney to make his claim within 10 months from the date of the injury.

This does not imply that a victim should wait to retain a lawyer, or try to figure out the period of limitations without the assistance of an attorney. The opposite is true. A lawyer should be retained while the facts are still fresh, for many reasons. (See Should Parents Get A Lawyer for Their Injured Child?)