Time Limits On Filing A Claim On Municipality By Injured Victims

This article focuses on the limited time span during which Canadians injured in an incident on government property have for filing a personal injury claim. According to the law, each of them must notify the appropriate municipality within 10 days. Those victims that fail to present a notification within that short span of time lack the ability to seek compensation for the municipality’s alleged negligence.

Owing to the existence of that brief statute of limitations, any injured victim should take the time to study the two times when the government could be willing to extend the length of time for the filing of a claim. For that reason, this article will go into detail, regarding those two times when the government appears ready to make an exception.

An exception will be made if the injured victim can present an acceptable excuse

The victim must produce evidence that his or her medical condition has altered the body’s normal ability to perform simple tasks, such as composing and sending a letter of notice. If a doctor can testify to the fact the victim currently lacks such an ability, that could qualify as an acceptable excuse.

The wording of this exception suggests that no injury could be so severe that a victim would be unable to travel to or contact a physician within a span of 10 days. It also assumes that once contact has been made, the contacted physician can arrange to exam the victim before the statute of limitations has passed.

By hiring a personal injury lawyer in Oakville, a victim could produce evidence of an effort to travel to or to contact a physician, in order to acquire the necessary proof of the inability to tackle even simple tasks. Whether or not such evidence might satisfy governmental authorities remains uncertain. Still, it would be about the only hook for which the victim could grasp, in an attempt to produce an acceptable excuse.

An exception will be made when the municipality does not want to appear prejudiced.

This exception reflects the belief that the victim’s evidence needs to be preserved. If the victim were unaware of the limited time for filing a claim and also unaware of the severity of his or her injury, the time for filing could be extended.

Seldom does the government declare that ignorance of a law can be used as an excuse for violating it. In this one case, victims do get granted an extension of the statute of limitations. Still, not all victims can seek to take advantage of that possible exception. It only gets granted to those whose health and lifestyle had been seriously affected by the injury sustained during a single accident.