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Statute of Limitation in Illinois?

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hockeygirl

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Illinois

I was involved in a car accident in Sept 2003. I was served with court papers on Dec 30th, 2005 concerning this accident. I need to appear in court in less than 2 weeks. I thought the statute of limitations in Illinois is 2 years?

More details on the accident...

I was completely stopped at a red light with one car (pick up truck) in front of me. The other vehicle was completely stopped as well. I was driving a '97 pontiac grand prix and the other driver was in a '94 chevy S-10 pick up truck. A bee flew in my window and in the process of shooing the bee away (I am severly allergic to bee stings) I lost control of the vehicle and let off the gas pedal and rear ended the truck in front of me. Damage to both vehicles was minimal. Neither of us seemed to be injured. Both of us were in a hurry so we did not call police to the scene (we did file a police report later that day though). We exchanged contact/insurance info and went our own ways. Both of us filed the accident information with our insurance companies as well. I never heard anything about the accident after that until just a few days ago.

The summons is from the insurance company - not directly from the other driver. They are claiming over $8k in damages for an accident that occurred over 2 years ago. So my questions are this -

1) Is the statute of limitations 2 years in Illinois for this type of accident? Are there exceptions where the statute doesn't apply?

2) If there is a statute of limitations that applies should I still have a lawyer to represent me? Should I contact my insurance company? Do they need to pay for the lawyer instead of me? Will my insurance company be liable for any court settlement (if any)?

3) If there is a statute of limitations that applies, can I file a counter suit to cover my court costs and lost wages? or is this something my insurance compnay would cover?

Any advice someone could share on this type of situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

Heather
 


seniorjudge

Senior Member
hockeygirl said:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Illinois

I was involved in a car accident in Sept 2003. I was served with court papers on Dec 30th, 2005 concerning this accident. I need to appear in court in less than 2 weeks. I thought the statute of limitations in Illinois is 2 years?

More details on the accident...

I was completely stopped at a red light with one car (pick up truck) in front of me. The other vehicle was completely stopped as well. I was driving a '97 pontiac grand prix and the other driver was in a '94 chevy S-10 pick up truck. A bee flew in my window and in the process of shooing the bee away (I am severly allergic to bee stings) I lost control of the vehicle and let off the gas pedal and rear ended the truck in front of me. Damage to both vehicles was minimal. Neither of us seemed to be injured. Both of us were in a hurry so we did not call police to the scene (we did file a police report later that day though). We exchanged contact/insurance info and went our own ways. Both of us filed the accident information with our insurance companies as well. I never heard anything about the accident after that until just a few days ago.

The summons is from the insurance company - not directly from the other driver. They are claiming over $8k in damages for an accident that occurred over 2 years ago. So my questions are this -

1) Is the statute of limitations 2 years in Illinois for this type of accident? Are there exceptions where the statute doesn't apply?

2) If there is a statute of limitations that applies should I still have a lawyer to represent me? Should I contact my insurance company? Do they need to pay for the lawyer instead of me? Will my insurance company be liable for any court settlement (if any)?

3) If there is a statute of limitations that applies, can I file a counter suit to cover my court costs and lost wages? or is this something my insurance compnay would cover?

Any advice someone could share on this type of situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

Heather

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/limitations_by_state/Illinois.html

...Injury to Personal Property: 5 years....
 
hockeygirl said:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Illinois

I was involved in a car accident in Sept 2003. I was served with court papers on Dec 30th, 2005 concerning this accident. I need to appear in court in less than 2 weeks. I thought the statute of limitations in Illinois is 2 years?

More details on the accident...

I was completely stopped at a red light with one car (pick up truck) in front of me. The other vehicle was completely stopped as well. I was driving a '97 pontiac grand prix and the other driver was in a '94 chevy S-10 pick up truck. A bee flew in my window and in the process of shooing the bee away (I am severly allergic to bee stings) I lost control of the vehicle and let off the gas pedal and rear ended the truck in front of me. Damage to both vehicles was minimal. Neither of us seemed to be injured. Both of us were in a hurry so we did not call police to the scene (we did file a police report later that day though). We exchanged contact/insurance info and went our own ways. Both of us filed the accident information with our insurance companies as well. I never heard anything about the accident after that until just a few days ago.

The summons is from the insurance company - not directly from the other driver. They are claiming over $8k in damages for an accident that occurred over 2 years ago. So my questions are this -

1) Is the statute of limitations 2 years in Illinois for this type of accident? Are there exceptions where the statute doesn't apply?

2) If there is a statute of limitations that applies should I still have a lawyer to represent me? Should I contact my insurance company? Do they need to pay for the lawyer instead of me? Will my insurance company be liable for any court settlement (if any)?

3) If there is a statute of limitations that applies, can I file a counter suit to cover my court costs and lost wages? or is this something my insurance compnay would cover?

Any advice someone could share on this type of situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

Heather
Turn all of your paperwork over to the insurance company covering you at the time of the accident. They will provide counsel and pay any subsequent judgment (if any) assuming it does not exceed the policy limit.
 

Happy Trails

Senior Member
hockeygirl said:
What determines if this can be looked at as "injury to personal property" as opposed to an auto accident? What differentiates the two? See the link below.

http://print.nwcn.injury.findlaw.com/mesothelioma-asbestos/personal-injury-law/personal-injury-law-limitations.html
Injury to personal property is the same as damage to someone's personal property. (Which the SOL is 5 years as SJ stated.)

I agree with John123456, let the insurance company (that you had at the time of the accident) know what is happening.

After all, this is what we pay insurance for. :D

Good luck!
 

hockeygirl

Junior Member
john123456 said:
Turn all of your paperwork over to the insurance company covering you at the time of the accident. They will provide counsel and pay any subsequent judgment (if any) assuming it does not exceed the policy limit.

I guess I just panicked since I hadn't heard back from my insurance compnay until today. After I was actually able to talk to someone about it, they reassured me that they would handle it and I may not even need to appear for the first court date. It was scary getting a summons stating that you are being sued for over 8k and not being knowledgable about the subject. Thanks for all of the replies!
 

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