In Arizona, and elsewhere, the statute of limitations imposes a deadline on the injured plaintiff’s various claims. When the applicable statute of limitations deadline passes, then the plaintiff’s claims expire, at which point the plaintiff is no longer entitled to sue and recover for damages in an Arizona court of law. For example, suppose that you are injured in a motor vehicle collision. Given the seriousness of your sustained injuries, however, you spend most of your post-accident time and energy attempting to physically rehabilitate and reintegrate into your old lifestyle/career. As a result, you wait too long to file your claims and the statute of limitations deadline passes. You will no longer be entitled to compensation. Importantly, the Arizona statute of limitations for injury claims — which runs for two years from the date of injury — allows for the suspension/extension of the deadline in certain circumstances. This is known as “tolling.” If the statute of limitations deadline has been tolled, then you may still have enough time to pursue litigation. Tolling on the Basis of the Discovery Rule Equitable tolling takes into consideration the possibility of a delayed discovery of one’s various injuries in the wake of an accident. The application of the discovery rule is actually fairly straightforward, though many prospective plaintiffs are unaware of how it works. Essentially, the statute of limitations period does not begin to run until the date that the plaintiff’s injuries are actually discovered, or until the date that the plaintiff’s injuries should […]