Personal Injury Statute of Limitations By State
If you’ve been injured in an accident that was not your fault, then you could be entitled to sue for damages under the law. However, you don’t have all the time in the world to make a decision about whether to bring a lawsuit — regardless of the state in which you reside, a statute of limitations deadline period, as dictated by the relevant state statute, will apply to your injury claims. In other words, you have a time limit, and the clock is already ticking.
We encourage you to get in touch with a qualified local accident attorney in our network for a free consultation. Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 to get started.
Of course, if you’d like to learn more about statutes of limitations and how they work, read on for an examination of some of the basics, as well as a reference on the personal injury statute of limitations (by State)!
What is the statute of limitations, and what impact could it have on my personal injury claims?
Every state has various statutes of limitations that apply to individual claims, including personal injury claims. In essence, they operate as a “deadline” for the relevant claims. If you fail to bring a lawsuit before the deadline passes, then courts must automatically dismiss the relevant claims, as you have abandoned or relinquished your right to compensation for those claims under the law, and your personal injury lawsuit will be dismissed.
This could prevent you from securing any compensation whatsoever, so it’s crucial that you do not miss the relevant accident statute of limitations for your claims.
Statutes of limitation exist because they are meant to protect defendants from cases dug up from the distant past. These cases not only disrupt lives and businesses, but they also can make for questionable litigation (from a fairness perspective), as the evidence is likely to be scant and murky, due to the passage of time.
Given the strict consequences of failing to meet the statute of limitations deadline, it’s critical that you consult an experienced personal injury lawyer who can help you navigate your claims in a timely manner.
A Quick Glance at the Personal Injury Statute of Limitations (by State)
The statute of limitations period for your personal injury claim will vary from state-to-state. As such, it’s important to understand how much time you actually have — depending on the state law that applies to your case, you might not have much time left!
It’s important to note that the statute of limitations for car accidents may differ from other types of personal injury claims, so be sure to check the specific time limits for your case.
Consider the following accident statute of limitations periods:
One Year (from the date of injury)
Kentucky (two years for motor vehicle injury claims)
Louisiana
Tennessee
Two Years (from the date of injury)
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado (three years for motor vehicle injury claims)
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Nevada
New Jersey
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
Three Years (from the date of injury)
Washington D.C.
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin
Four Years (from the date of injury)
Nebraska
Utah
Wyoming
Five Years (from the date of injury)
Missouri
Six Years (from the date of injury)
Maine
North Dakota
Is there a way around the statute of limitations?
Yes, there are several exceptions to the statute of limitations that apply in every state. These exceptions essentially “suspend” the statute of limitations period, giving you extra time to file your claims. These exceptions can be particularly relevant in medical malpractice cases, where the injury or negligence may not be immediately apparent. We’ll consider a few major exceptions below.
The Delayed Discovery Rule
The delayed discovery rule is the most commonly used exception in the statute of limitations context. In essence, it suspends the “countdown” of the statute of limitations until you — the injured plaintiff — have discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) that you sustained an injury that could give rise to an actionable legal claim. For example, if you don’t realize that you have suffered a serious back injury after an accident because the symptoms don’t express themselves until a year or two later, then your “delayed discovery” would give you extra time to bring a lawsuit.
The delayed discovery rule is often invoked in medical malpractice claims, where the injury or negligence may not be discovered until much later.
Delayed discovery exceptions are common because many injuries are not immediately diagnosable or symptomatic. In low-speed accidents, for example, plaintiffs with spinal degenerative conditions may not realize the consequences of the accidents until many years later, when their physician begins to notice that their spinal condition is worsening much faster than expected — the low-speed impact caused the degeneration to accelerate. This could give rise to an actionable legal claim, and thanks to the delayed discovery rule, they would be able to bring the lawsuit despite the fact that several years have passed since the inciting accident.
Absent Defendant
If the defendant is absent from litigation, or is otherwise in hiding or making themselves unidentifiable or inaccessible, then the statute of limitations period will be suspended until they are able to be brought in for the lawsuit. This exception is particularly relevant in auto accident claims, where the defendant may be difficult to locate or identify.
Note: as the plaintiff, you have to engage in reasonable efforts to identify and bring the defendant into the lawsuit. To the degree possible, you have to exercise reasonable efforts to notify the defendant of the impending lawsuit and begin proceedings.
Absent defendants are common in hit-and-run car accident disputes, especially ones in which the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the accident (and therefore could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties). That being said, an absent defendant — once they’ve been identified — can be of great benefit to the plaintiff. That’s because courts tend to be biased heavily against those who interfere with the legal process. Active avoidance of the legal process may also give the court reason to believe that the defendant is “guilty,” or at the very least, is untrustworthy.
Disabled Plaintiff
If the plaintiff is disabled at any point before the statute of limitations deadline passes, and this disability renders them “mentally incompetent” — even if only temporarily — then the limitations period will be suspended until they have regained mental competence. This exception ensures that the plaintiff’s rights are protected during judicial proceedings, even if they are temporarily incapacitated.
It may seem complicated, but it’s actually rather simple. We’ll use a quick example to clarify.
Suppose that you’re involved in a serious car accident. As a result, you fall into a coma. It takes you a year to recover and wake up from the coma. Because you are not “mentally competent” in a comatose state, you cannot be expected to sue during that time. Your limitations period will be extended, thus giving you an extra year to file your claims.
Hiring an attorney early on can help you meet your accident statute of limitations requirements
Though popular media portrays attorneys in the courtroom and trial setting, it’s important to understand that attorneys are more than just courtroom advocates. They have a number of duties and responsibilities that go beyond the back-and-forth between the plaintiff and defendant.
One of the duties that a personal injury lawyer owes their client is timeliness. Specifically, it is the attorney’s responsibility to handle the client’s injury claims in a timely manner — which is to say that they cannot delay to the point of “missing” the statute of limitations deadline, or any other relevant procedural deadlines. It is crucial to seek legal counsel to ensure you do not miss any important deadlines.
This responsibility takes a lot of the burden away from plaintiffs. And it empowers you — the injured plaintiff — to rest easy knowing that your case is being handled in a timely manner without your active interference. That way, you can focus on other priorities, like your overall health and post-accident recovery.
Hiring a personal injury attorney doesn’t have to cost you anything out-of-pocket
One very common misperception about legal representation is that it must be expensive. In fact, many people mistakenly believe that you have to be “rich” to afford to hire a personal injury lawyer. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Most plaintiffs’ injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis — simply put, that means that it costs nothing upfront or out-of-pocket to hire them to represent your legal interests.
That’s right; you can have zero dollars in your bank account and it won’t necessarily prevent you from working with an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer. So, how do contingency fee arrangements work?
Well, in a contingency fee arrangement, the attorney offers to represent you without charging any upfront fees. Instead, they agree to take a percentage cut of whatever compensation they’re able to secure on your behalf — this percentage can vary from 25 percent to 40 percent or more, depending on various factors.
If you don’t get a payout, you don’t have to pay anything. That means there’s absolutely zero financial risk for you to reach out to an attorney and engage with them on litigating your accident case.
Contingency fee arrangements lower the barrier-to-entry for obtaining skilled legal representation, making it accessible to everyone. Best of all, contingency fees align the attorney and the client even further. Your attorney will be incentivized to maximize the overall compensation you receive and to do so within a reasonably efficient timeframe — after all, the more that you get paid, the more they get paid.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a Free Legal Consultation
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, or any other type of accident (i.e., slip and fall, civil assault, etc.), then you could be entitled to significant damages under the law. That being said, navigating the legal process isn’t necessarily straightforward or simple, especially for a first-time plaintiff. You might not realize, for example, that your claims are subject to various personal injury statutes of limitations, and that these deadlines could affect your ability to secure compensation. If you are dealing with a wrongful death claim, it is especially important to understand the statute of limitations, as the time limit for filing such claims begins from the date of the individual’s death. That’s why it’s so important to connect with an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you move forward with your case.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a free legal consultation with a qualified local personal injury lawyer in our network. During this initial consultation, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the details of your case and learn more about what next steps you should be taking to secure the compensation you deserve. If you decide that you’d rather not move forward with our network attorney, that’s okay — there’s no obligation to continue. So pick up the phone and call us today to get started.
We look forward to assisting you.
