If you want to personal injury claim, you need a basic understanding of personal injury law. There are a few Wyoming laws that could affect the outcome of your case. Find out everything you need to know about the local laws.
1. Statute of Limitations
In Wyoming, you only have a set time period to file a personal injury claim. If you wait too long to file, you could lose your chance at compensation. It’s likely that the court will throw out your case if you file after the set period.
The specific amount of time you have to file depends on the type of incident that occurred. For example, you have four years to file a case that involves injury to personal property. However, you only have two years to file a medical malpractice claim.
You don’t need to resolve your lawsuit within the time period. But you do need to file within the timeline. It’s crucial that you speak to a Wyoming personal injury lawyer to find out more about the timeline.
2. Procedures for Government Claims
In some situations, your lawsuit might be against the government. These claims are different than claims against individuals or businesses. In Wyoming, you need to follow certain procedures.
For example, you need to file notice of your claim with the government. You only have two years to give the government formal and written notice about the legal matter.
The notice of a claim isn’t the same thing as a lawsuit. By filing notice of a claim, you merely let the government know that you are initiating a lawsuit. You inform them of the injury and then you can get started with the lawsuit. Within a year of filing notice, you need to file the lawsuit.
3. Shared Fault
In Wyoming, personal injury cases involve shared fault. This means that someone can file a personal injury claim if they are partially at fault for the incident. However, they must be less than 50% at fault for the accident.
Therefore, it’s acceptable to file a claim against another individual if you are partly to blame. You must be able to prove that the other party takes on more of the blame than you.
According to Wyoming’s shared fault rule, you can only receive all of the damages if you are 50% at fault. After that, you receive a percentage of the damages. For instance, someone 10% at fault for an incident can only receive 90% of the damages.
4. Dog Bite Laws
Every state has unique laws regarding dog bites. In Wyoming, there is no specific law that relates to dog bites. However, the state uses the one bite rule to handle dog bite claims. If a dog bites an individual, the owner knows that their animal is dangerous.
Therefore, they are liable for dog bites if their animal bites another individual. This occurs when they had a reason to know that their dog was a danger. If you are bit by a dog with a history of biting, you could have a personal injury claim. The event is more common than you might think. In Casper, every day about 1.3 people are bit by animals.
5. Lack of Damage Caps
In Wyoming, there is no limit to the amount of damages you can recover. This is unique from certain states that place caps on damages.
Because of a lack of damage caps, you can seek compensation for all of your expenses. You can receive money for pain and suffering, missed wages, and more. Speak to a personal injury attorney in Wyoming for more information.
