Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury: Deadlines by State

What Is the Statute of Limitations and Why Does It Matter?

The short answer — in most states, you have 2–3 years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. California is 2 years under CCP §335.1.

Texas is 2 under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003. Florida dropped from 4 to 2 on March 24, 2023.

Kentucky and Louisiana are 1 year. Once the clock runs out, your case is over — permanently — no matter how strong the liability evidence is.

Courts enforce these deadlines strictly. Exceptions exist but are narrow, so do not rely on them.

Statutes of limitations exist for several reasons. They encourage injured parties to pursue their claims promptly while evidence is fresh and witnesses are available.

They protect defendants from the threat of indefinite liability. And they promote judicial efficiency by preventing courts from having to resolve disputes based on stale evidence. Whatever the policy rationale, the practical effect is simple: if you miss the deadline, your case is over.

The deadline varies by state and by the type of claim. Most states set the personal injury statute of limitations between one and six years, with two to three years being the most common.

But specific types of claims — medical malpractice, wrongful death, and claims against government entities — often have different and sometimes shorter deadlines. Check the statute of limitations tool for your state to find the specific deadline that applies to your case.

State-by-State Personal Injury Filing Deadlines

Here is an overview of personal injury statutes of limitations in the most populous states. In California, the general personal injury statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1.

In Texas, it is two years under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. In Florida, the statute was reduced from four years to two years effective March 24, 2023, under Florida Statute Section 95.11(3).

In New York, the general personal injury statute of limitations is three years under CPLR Section 214. In Ohio, it is two years under Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10.

States with shorter deadlines include Kentucky and Louisiana (one year), and Tennessee (one year for most personal injury claims under Tennessee Code Section 28-3-104). States with longer deadlines include Maine (six years under Maine Revised Statutes Title 14, Section 752) and North Dakota (six years).

Most other states fall in the two-to-three-year range. Use the statute of limitations tool for a complete, state-specific lookup that accounts for your type of injury and any special circumstances.

These deadlines apply to the filing of a lawsuit — not to the settlement process. You can continue negotiating with an insurance company after filing suit, and most cases still settle without going to trial.

But if you have not filed suit before the deadline, you lose most of your bargaining power because the insurance company knows you can no longer threaten to take the case to court. For this reason, many personal injury attorneys file suit well before the deadline expires, even if settlement negotiations are ongoing. See our full personal injury settlement guide for more on how the timeline works.

The Discovery Rule: When the Clock Starts Later

In some cases, the statute of limitations does not begin to run on the date of the injury but rather on the date you discovered (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury and its cause. This is known as the discovery rule, and it is most commonly applied in cases involving medical malpractice, toxic exposure, defective products, and other situations where the harm is not immediately apparent.

For example, if you were exposed to a toxic chemical at work in 2022 but did not develop cancer until 2025, the discovery rule would start the statute of limitations in 2025 (when the injury became apparent) rather than 2022 (when the exposure occurred). Similarly, if a surgeon left a sponge inside your body during a 2023 operation, and you did not discover it until an X-ray in 2026, the statute of limitations would begin in 2026 under the discovery rule.

Not all states apply the discovery rule in the same way. Some states apply it broadly to all personal injury claims, while others limit it to specific categories like medical malpractice or product liability.

Some states impose a statute of repose — an absolute outer deadline that cannot be extended by the discovery rule. For example, a state might have a two-year statute of limitations with a discovery rule but a ten-year statute of repose, meaning that no claim can be filed more than ten years after the wrongful act, regardless of when the injury was discovered.

Tolling Exceptions: When the Deadline Is Paused

Certain circumstances can toll (pause) the statute of limitations, effectively giving you more time to file. The most common tolling circumstances are minority (the injured person is under 18), mental incapacity (the injured person is unable to manage their own affairs), the defendant's absence from the state, and the defendant's fraudulent concealment of the wrongful act.

For minors, most states toll the statute of limitations until the child reaches the age of majority (18 in most states). So if a 5-year-old is injured in a state with a two-year statute of limitations, the deadline would not expire until the child turns 20 — thirteen years after the injury occurred. Some states impose separate, shorter deadlines for minors, so check your state's specific rules. This is particularly relevant in birth injury malpractice cases, where the injured party is a newborn.

Mental incapacity tolling requires proof that the injured person was so mentally impaired — due to the injury itself, a pre-existing condition, or some other cause — that they were unable to understand their legal rights or manage their own affairs. Simply being unaware of the law or too busy to file does not qualify. The tolling typically ends when the incapacity is removed. If the defendant leaves the state after the injury, many states toll the statute of limitations for the period of absence because the plaintiff cannot effectively serve process on an absent defendant.

Government Claims: Shorter Deadlines and Special Notice Requirements

If your injury was caused by a government entity or employee — for example, a car accident with a government vehicle, a slip and fall on government property, or medical malpractice at a government hospital — the deadlines are almost always shorter and the procedures more demanding. Many states require that you file a formal notice of claim or administrative claim before you can file a lawsuit, and the deadline for that notice is often as short as 30 to 180 days from the date of injury.

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. Section 2675), claims against the federal government must be presented to the appropriate federal agency within two years of the accrual of the claim.

The agency then has six months to act on the claim. Only after the agency denies the claim (or fails to act within six months) can you file suit in federal court. Missing the administrative claim deadline bars your lawsuit entirely.

State government claim requirements vary widely. California requires a government tort claim within six months under California Government Code Section 911.2.

New York requires a notice of claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law Section 50-e. Florida requires written notice to the government agency before filing suit under Florida Statute Section 768.28.

Some states require claims to be filed with specific administrative boards. Use our court deadline calculator to track these critical government claim deadlines.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?

If you miss the statute of limitations, the defendant will file a motion to dismiss your case, and the court will almost certainly grant it. The dismissal is with prejudice — meaning you cannot refile the case.

Your right to sue is permanently extinguished. This is true even if your injuries are catastrophic, the defendant's fault is undisputed, and the damages are enormous. No amount of money or legal skill can undo a missed deadline.

There are extremely rare circumstances where a court might excuse a missed deadline — for example, if the defendant actively deceived you about the deadline, or if an extraordinary event (like a natural disaster) prevented you from filing. But these exceptions are almost never granted, and banking on an exception is a recipe for disaster. The only safe strategy is to file well before the deadline.

If you are unsure about the applicable deadline for your case, act now. Check the statute of limitations for your state using our free tool, and consult with an attorney as soon as possible.

Initial consultations with personal injury attorneys are almost always free, and the cost of being wrong about the deadline — losing your entire case — is too high to risk. For more on the overall personal injury process, see our settlement guide.