Time limits for bringing a Chicago product liability claim

healyscanlonveugelergannon • November 29, 2015

Imagine this: you are driving down the highway in Chicago when suddenly your brakes fail and you go smashing into the guardrail on the median of the road. Not only is your car totaled, but you suffered severe injuries including broken bones and a concussion. Your hospital stay lasted a week, and you couldn’t return to work for over two months. Not a pretty situation, right?

Now imagine that the devastating accident was due to a defect in your car’s braking system that the car’s manufacturer and designer knew were faulty, but did not take any corrective action. In this situation, and many like it, the victims of defective products may want to consult with a Chicago products liability attorney to learn if they are able to pursue a product liability lawsuit.

However, did you know that you have a limited amount of time in which to pursue a product liability lawsuit? This law is known as the “statute of limitations.” If this time period has passed, a person may no longer be able to file a product liability lawsuit. In addition, some states have laws that are known as “statutes of repose.” Under a statute of repose, a person is barred from filing a lawsuit if a certain amount of time has passed since a particular event has taken place.

What are the statute of limitations and statute of repose in Illinois when it comes to product liability lawsuits? In Illinois, a person has up to two years after the injury caused by the defective product occurred to bring a product liability lawsuit. In addition, there are two statutes of repose in Illinois. In one, once the product is sold, a product liability suit must be brought within 12 years. In the other, once the product that is the subject of the potential lawsuit is delivered to the initial owner, a 10 year statute of repose commences.

It is important that anyone interested in bringing a product liability lawsuit understands the applicable statute of limitations and statute of repose. Since this post is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney, individuals who want to learn more about the possibility of filing a product liability lawsuit in Illinois may want to seek legal advice.

Source: FindLaw, “ Time Limits for Filing Product Liability Cases: State-by-State ,” Accessed Nov. 15, 2015

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