Accident Records and Documents

1. Accident Records and Documents • What are examples of records you may need to keep as part of the accident investigation process? • Injured employee • Motor vehicle accident • Property damage incident • Liability incidents • Waivers • Hold Harmless Agreements • Certificates of Insurance naming site as additional insured

2. Custody/Access to Records • Who keeps the records involving an accident? • Who is (or is not) allowed to complete accident report forms? • Records retention • Who keeps them? • How long do records need to be kept? • Injured/exposed employee? • Motor vehicle accident? • Property damage? • Liability incident?

3. Statute of Limitations • Criminal • A majority of states have a statute of limitations for all crimes except murder. • Once the statute has expired, the court lacks jurisdiction to try or punish a defendant. • Criminal statutes of limitations apply to different crimes on the basis of their general classification as either felonies or misdemeanors. • Generally, the time limit starts to run on the date the offense was committed, not from the time the crime was discovered or the accused was identified. • The running of the statute may be suspended for any period the accused is absent from the state or, in certain states, while any other indictment for the same crime is pending.

4. Statute of Limitations • Civil • In determining which statute of limitations will control in a civil action, the type of Cause of Action that the claim will be pursued under is critical. • A Cause of Action is the fact or combination of facts that gives a person the right to seek judicial redress or relief against another. • It is the legal theory forming the basis of a lawsuit. • States establish different deadlines depending on whether the cause of action involves a contract, personal injury, libel, fraud, or other claim.

5. Tolling the Statute • Statutes of limitations are designed to aid defendants. • A plaintiff, however, can prevent the dismissal of his action for untimeliness by seeking to toll the statute. • When the statute is tolled, the running of the time period is suspended until some event specified by law takes place. • Tolling provisions benefit a plaintiff by extending the time period in which he is permitted to bring suit.

6. Tolling the Statute • Mere ignorance of the existence of a cause of action generally does not toll the statute of limitations, particularly when the facts could have been learned by inquiry or diligence. • In cases where a cause of action has been fraudulently concealed, the statute of limitations is tolled until the action is, or could have been, discovered through the exercise of due diligence.

7. Age of Majority • Various events or circumstances will toll a statute of limitations. • It is tolled when one of the parties is under a legal disability—the lack of legal capacity to do an act—at the time the cause of action accrues. • A child or a person with a mental illness is regarded as being incapable of initiating a legal action on her own behalf. • Therefore, the time limit will be tolled until some fixed time after the disability has been removed. • For example, once a child reaches the age of majority, the counting of time will be resumed.

8. Age of Majority • The age at which a person, formerly a minor or aninfant, is recognized by law to be an adult, capable of managing his or her own affairs and responsible for any legal obligations created by his or her actions. • A person who has reached the age of majority is bound by any contracts, deeds, or legal relationships, such as marriage, which he or she undertakes. • In most states the age of majority is eighteen, but it may vary depending upon the nature of the activity in which the person is engaged. • In the same state the age of majority for driving may be sixteen while that for drinking alcoholic beverages is twenty-one.

9. Age of Majority versus Statute of Limitations • What does the term “age of majority” mean? • How can it impact your records retention? • What does “statute of limitations” mean? • How can it impact your records retention?