If a person was in a car accident and gets injured, do they have to file a personal injury claim right away?

What is the time limit to file a claim on a personal injury caused by a car accident? Would it be possible to sue the person that caused the car accident after one year, even though at that time there was no police report, and the person's car that got hit did not file a personal injury report? What are the chances of winning if a lawsuit is filed after one year of the accident? Since California has a statue of limitation of two years, could this person file a lawsuit even though he did not file for the personal injury, but onlly for the damages done to his car? And can I sue him back for possible fraud?

If the statute of limitations is 2 years then the person has two years from the date of the accident to file a claim or law suit. After 2 years and 1 day - the statute has run. They way they preserve the statute is to get the suit filed -it does not have to be served on you with in the two years. Depending on the laws of your state, they may be able to file in the county where they live, you live or accident happened. Some states have large cities that are their own venue.

It would be helpful if I knew which person you are.

If you are the at fault driver - if the other person files a law suit contact your insurance company immediately. They will need to know when you got the papers and how you got them (process server or certified mail). They will hire an attorney to defend you - in accordance with your policy provisions. However they have a limited amount of time to get an answer on file and the clock starts to run when you get served.

If you think the other driver is trying to serve you - don't doge it. Then they will just serve through publication and most likely you will not know when that happened and end up with a default verdict against you.

The defense attorney the insurance company hires may think a counter suit is a good idea - sometimes the best defense is a good offense. That is something you would have to speak with him/her about.

How do I evaluate my settlement claim for an auto accident in which I suffered permanent personal injury?

An uninsured, unlicensed driver rear-ended me on the freeway. I had under-insured and uninsured coverage. I broke my little finger and injured the adjacent ring finger on my left hand. These two fingers had previously had surgery to release from a contracture. The accident destroyed the surgical results and my two fingers are now collapsed into my palm giving me
a three finger grip. The hand can never be repaired since the
previous two surgeries resulted in enough vascular compromise that any more surgery would have a 20% chance of amputation. I was put into a cast. There was intense swelling and pain immediately. The swelling eventualy went down after 10 weeks. I was in a cast for six weeks. I did not lose work days. My car was totalled causing me to have to spend 26,000 for a replacement. The insurance company would like to settle - my old car was settled for 3,500; my hosp. bills totalled 5,000. My hand is permanently damaged. I am over 60 years of age.

Get a lawyer, go to a courthouse, and file a complaint

If you get a personal injury lawyer for an accident but end up going to small claims court.?

Do you still need to pay him?

He is not allowed to represent us in small claims court (lawyers are not allowed)
But he still filed all the papers for court because the insurance we are suing wouldnt pay.
He prepared us for court (telling us what to say)
but if we win do we still need to pay him?

It depends on the agreement you have signed with him/her. Or, if you even signed an agreement with the attorney. If the contract says you have to pay him, you may have to pay him. However, this also depends on the percentage fee in the contract.