If you have been considering a lawsuit in order to get the money that you deserve, then you probably know that you have a pretty long road ahead of you. Not only do you need to gather all your evidence, but you need to make sure that you abide by the rules and regulations of your state. This can be pretty tricky, since many states have unique and conflicting laws. To help you out, here are some of the specific laws that you will need to follow when it comes to personal injury lawsuits in North Dakota:

The Statute of Limitations

Your first and foremost concern is going to be the statute of limitations, which tells you when you can and cannot file your lawsuit. If the statute of limitations has passed, then you will have a lot of trouble filing your lawsuit unless you meet some specific exceptions.

North Dakota says that the statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit is 6 years, which is actually exceptionally long. This gives you a pretty large chunk of time to build your case, or even to gather funds to hire a lawyer.

If you were a minor at the time of the accident or if you failed to discover your injuries until long after the time limit had expired, then you can get an extension, but you will need to prove why you could not file the lawsuit within the original time frame.

Damage Caps

The amount of money that you can ask for is limited, but not necessarily in the ways that you might imagine.

When it comes to covering your medical bills, your car repair costs, or your lost wages, then you may ask for as much money as you are owed.

The restrictions often arise when it comes to non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. These types of damage are much harder to quantify, which means that the court will need to make a judgment call.

In medical malpratice lawsuits, non-economic damages are limited to $500,000. However, there is an additional restriction that is placed on any lawsuit's damages that exceed $250,000, at which point the court will need to judge the reasonableness of the damages.

Comparative Fault

If you were partially to blame for your injuries, then you may receive less money than you originally asked for. If you were 10% to blame, then you will lose 10% of the money that you asked for. On top of that, if your level of responsibility exceeds 50%, then you will be denied any compensation. This is similar to law in the vast majority of states, which means that comparative fault works the same way in almost any state.

For more information, contact a practice like Herbert Law Firm LLC.