Injury Deadlines by State, With a Date Calculator

There is no single national deadline for an injury claim. Each state sets its own, and the general limits we read in state statutes run from 1 year to 6 years for an injury to a person. Claims against a city, county or state can need written notice much sooner, often within 90 days, 6 months or a year. The calculator shows the general rule we read for your state and the type of claim, and it does the date arithmetic. It cannot tell you your own deadline, because exceptions can make it earlier.

This page is general information, not legal, tax or medical advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Injury law and deadlines vary by state and change. Ask a lawyer or the court about your situation.

This page belongs with our other guides on deadlines by state. Every figure below was read in the official statute text on 6 November 2026 and carries its section number. Where we could not read the official text, the row says “not confirmed” rather than repeating a figure from somewhere else. Below the main table are the rules that most often change the answer: government defendants, children, discovery and a death.

How the calculator works

Choose a state, or tick the box for Washington, DC. Choose the type of claim: an injury to a person, a wrongful death (a claim brought for the family or the estate after someone dies), or damage to a car. Then enter the date to count from, usually the date of the injury, or the date of death for a wrongful death claim.

The calculator then shows two things:

• The general rule in years, as written in the statute in the table below.
• The same day and month that many years later. This is arithmetic on the date you entered, nothing more. It is not a deadline. If you start from 29 February and the later year has no 29 February, it shows 28 February, the earlier day.

Where we haven’t read a state’s rule in its official text, the calculator shows no number and says “not confirmed”. It also stops for Florida injuries on or before 24 March 2023 and for Louisiana injury and car damage claims on or before 1 July 2024, because both states changed the limit and only the new rule was read. For Kentucky, Minnesota and Washington, DC injuries and for Louisiana wrongful death it shows the rule in words instead of a number, because none of them fits a single figure.

What it can’t do: know whether a government body is involved, whether the injured person is a child, when the injury was discovered, or whether the claim is really medical malpractice or a product claim with its own limit. Courts also have their own rules for counting the last day, weekends and holidays, which we haven’t covered here. Treat the result as arithmetic, not a date to aim for. An exception can make the real date earlier, and waiting until the last day is never safe.

Injury, wrongful death and car damage limits by state

Each cell is the general time limit to file a lawsuit, with the statute that sets it. “From death” means the text counts from the date of death. Where a statute counts from discovery, or has an outer limit counted from the act, the cell says so.

State	Injury to a person	Wrongful death	Damage to a car or other property	Read
Alabama	2 years, “any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract”, Code 6-2-38(l)	2 years from death, 6-2-38(a), 6-5-410(d)	Not confirmed: the text doesn’t settle whether a crash falls under 2 years (6-2-38(l)) or 6 years (6-2-34)	6 Nov 2026
Alaska	2 years, AS 09.10.070(a)(2)	2 years after death, 09.55.580(a)	2 years, 09.10.070(a)(3)	6 Nov 2026
Arizona	2 years, ARS 12-542(1)	2 years, counted from the death, 12-542(2)	2 years, 12-542(3) to (5)	6 Nov 2026
Arkansas	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
California	2 years, CCP 335.1	2 years, CCP 335.1	3 years, “injuring goods or chattels”, CCP 338(c)(1)	6 Nov 2026
Colorado	Not confirmed: only a 2024 compilation read, and a separate motor vehicle rule (13-80-101) not read	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Connecticut	2 years from the injury, or from when it was or should have been discovered, never more than 3 years from the act, C.G.S. 52-584	2 years from death, never more than 5 years from the act, 52-555(a)	2 years, same terms, 52-584	6 Nov 2026
Delaware	2 years, 10 Del. C. 8119	2 years, 8107	2 years, 8107	6 Nov 2026
District of Columbia	No personal injury paragraph in D.C. Code 12-301. The catch-all, (8), gives 3 years for claims with no other limit; assault, battery, “wounding” and similar claims have 1 year, (4). Which paragraph covers a claim is for the court	2 years after death, 16-2702	3 years, 12-301(3)	6 Nov 2026
Florida	2 years for negligence, Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(a), for claims that arose after 24 March 2023 (Laws of Fla. ch. 2023-15). Earlier injuries: an earlier limit, not confirmed	2 years, 95.11(5)(e); against a person for murder or manslaughter: any time, 95.11(11)	Not confirmed: 4 years for “injuring personal property” (95.11(3)(g)) or 2 years for negligence (95.11(5)(a)); the text doesn’t settle which	6 Nov 2026
Georgia	Not confirmed: only a court opinion read	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Hawaii	2 years, “damage or injury to persons or property”, HRS 657-7	2 years from the date of death, “except as otherwise provided”, 663-3(b)	2 years, 657-7	6 Nov 2026
Idaho	2 years, Idaho Code 5-219(4)	2 years, 5-219(4)	Not confirmed	6 Nov 2026
Illinois	2 years, 735 ILCS 5/13-202	2 years from death, 740 ILCS 180/2(d); longer against the person responsible for some violent intentional acts or charged crimes, 180/2(e)	5 years, 735 ILCS 5/13-205	6 Nov 2026
Indiana	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Iowa	2 years, Iowa Code 614.1(2)	Not confirmed	5 years, “injuries to property”, 614.1(4)	6 Nov 2026
Kansas	2 years, K.S.A. 60-513(a)(4)	2 years, 60-513(a)(5)	2 years, 60-513(a)(2)	6 Nov 2026
Kentucky	Two rules: 1 year for “an injury to the person”, KRS 413.140(1)(a); tort suits under the Motor Vehicle Reparations Act: 2 years after the injury, the death or the last no-fault (reparation) payment, whichever is later, 304.39-230(6). Which applies is for the court	Not confirmed	Not confirmed	6 Nov 2026
Louisiana	2 years, Civil Code art. 3493.1, for claims arising after 1 July 2024 (Act 423 of 2024). Earlier claims: not confirmed	1 year from the death or 2 years from the injury, whichever is longer, art. 2315.2(B); malpractice: 1 year from the death, (F). This is the text as amended by Act 176 of 2025, effective 1 August 2025; the act doesn’t say how it applies to earlier deaths, so for those it is not confirmed	2 years, art. 3493.1, same date rule	6 Nov 2026
Maine	6 years, 14 M.R.S. 752 (the general rule for civil actions)	3 years after death (homicide: 6 years from discovery), 18-C M.R.S. 2-807	6 years, 752	6 Nov 2026
Maryland	3 years, Cts. & Jud. Proc. 5-101	3 years after death, 3-904(g)(1)	3 years, 5-101	6 Nov 2026
Massachusetts	3 years, M.G.L. c. 260 s. 2A	3 years from death or discovery, c. 229 s. 2	3 years, c. 260 s. 2A	6 Nov 2026
Michigan	3 years, MCL 600.5805(2)	3 years, 600.5805(2)	3 years, 600.5805(2)	6 Nov 2026
Minnesota	Two texts: 6 years for “any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated”, Minn. Stat. 541.05 subd. 1(5); 2 years for “libel, slander, assault, battery, false imprisonment, or other tort resulting in personal injury”, 541.07(1). Which covers a claim is for the court	3 years after death, and within 6 years of the act (murder: any time), 573.02	6 years, 541.05	6 Nov 2026
Mississippi	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Missouri	5 years, RSMo 516.120(4)	3 years, 537.100	5 years, “injuring any goods or chattels”, 516.120(4)	6 Nov 2026
Montana	3 years, MCA 27-2-204(1)	3 years (homicide: 10 years), 27-2-204(2)	Not confirmed	6 Nov 2026
Nebraska	4 years, Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-207(3)	2 years after death, 30-810	4 years, 25-207(2)	6 Nov 2026
Nevada	2 years, NRS 11.190(4)(e)	2 years, 11.190(4)(e)	3 years, 11.190(3)(c)	6 Nov 2026
New Hampshire	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
New Jersey	2 years, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a); birth injuries in medical malpractice: before the child’s 13th birthday, same section	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
New Mexico	3 years, NMSA 37-1-8	Not confirmed: the wrongful death section, 41-2-2, could not be re-read in the official text	4 years, “injuries to property”, 37-1-4	6 Nov 2026
New York	3 years, CPLR 214(5)	2 years from death, EPTL 5-4.1	3 years, CPLR 214(4)	6 Nov 2026
North Carolina	3 years, G.S. 1-52(16), counted from when bodily harm becomes apparent; with listed exceptions, no claim accrues more than 10 years after the defendant’s last act	2 years, counted from the death, 1-53(4); no death claim if the injured person’s own claim was already barred under 1-52(16) or the malpractice section, 1-15(c)	3 years, 1-52(16)	6 Nov 2026
North Dakota	6 years, NDCC 28-01-16(5); assault, battery and similar: 2 years, 28-01-18(1)	2 years from death, 28-01-18(4)	6 years, 28-01-16(4)	6 Nov 2026
Ohio	2 years, R.C. 2305.10(A)	2 years after death, 2125.02(F)(1)	2 years, 2305.10(A)	6 Nov 2026
Oklahoma	2 years, 12 O.S. 95(A)(3)	2 years, 12 O.S. 1053	2 years, 95(A)(3)	6 Nov 2026
Oregon	2 years, ORS 12.110(1)	3 years after the injury causing the death is discovered or reasonably should have been, but never later than the earliest of 3 years after the death or any other period that applies to the act, ORS 30.020(1)	Not confirmed	6 Nov 2026
Pennsylvania	2 years, 42 Pa.C.S. 5524(2)	2 years, 5524(2)	2 years, 5524(3)	6 Nov 2026
Rhode Island	3 years, R.I. Gen. Laws 9-1-14(b)	3 years after death, 10-7-2	Not confirmed	6 Nov 2026
South Carolina	3 years, S.C. Code 15-3-530(5)	3 years, counted from the death, 15-3-530(6)	3 years, 15-3-530(4)	6 Nov 2026
South Dakota	3 years, SDCL 15-2-14(3)	3 years after death, 21-5-3	6 years, 15-2-13(4)	6 Nov 2026
Tennessee	Not confirmed: only court opinions read	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Texas	2 years, Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.003(a)	2 years from death, 16.003(b)	2 years, 16.003(a)	6 Nov 2026
Utah	Not confirmed: no injury paragraph found; the 4-year catch-all, 78B-2-307(4), was read, but which limit governs is case law	2 years, 78B-2-304(3)	4 years for motor vehicle property damage from an accident, 78B-2-307(3)	6 Nov 2026
Vermont	3 years, counted from discovery of the injury, 12 V.S.A. 512(4)	2 years from discovery of the death (7 years where a homicide charge is probable), 14 V.S.A. 1492(a)	3 years, 12 V.S.A. 512(5)	6 Nov 2026
Virginia	2 years, Code 8.01-243(A)	2 years after death, 8.01-244(B)	5 years, 8.01-243(B)	6 Nov 2026
Washington	3 years, RCW 4.16.080(2)	Not confirmed	3 years, 4.16.080(2)	6 Nov 2026
West Virginia	2 years, W. Va. Code 55-2-12(b)	2 years after death, 55-7-6(d)	2 years, 55-2-12(a)	6 Nov 2026
Wisconsin	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Wyoming	4 years, Wyo. Stat. 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C)	2 years after death, 1-38-102(d)	4 years, 1-3-105(a)(iv)(B)	6 Nov 2026

Government claims and children’s claims

Two groups of rules change the answer more often than any other. If a city bus, a county road crew, a state agency, a public school or a federal employee was involved, a notice or claim can be due long before the lawsuit limit, sometimes in 90 days or 6 months, and in some states a late notice ends the claim. And if the injured person is a child, many states pause the clock, but not all of them in the same way, and some set an outer limit.

The table covers the rules we read. Many states have more than one government rule (for the state, for counties, for cities, for road defects), and some cities set their own periods in their charters. A row that covers only some bodies says so. For a child’s claim, our page on settlements for minors explains the court approval side.

State	Claims against a government	A child’s own claim	Read
Alabama	Cities: claims presented within 6 months, 11-47-23, with a sworn statement, 11-47-192. Counties and state: not confirmed	Under 19: 3 years (or the normal period, if shorter) after the disability ends; 20-year outer limit, 6-2-8(a)	6 Nov 2026
Alaska	No notice period in 09.50.250 (state). Local rules: not confirmed	Not counted, but no extension more than 2 years after the disability ends, 09.10.140(a)	6 Nov 2026
Arizona	Claim within 180 days, with the facts and a specific amount for which it can be settled, or barred, 12-821.01(A); suit within 1 year, 12-821	Time under 18 not counted, 12-502. Government claims: 180 days after the disability ends, 12-821.01(D)	6 Nov 2026
Arkansas	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
California	Claim within 6 months for death, injury to a person or personal property, Gov. Code 911.2(a); late-claim application within a reasonable time, not over 1 year, 911.4; suit within 6 months of a written rejection, otherwise 2 years from accrual, 945.6	Not counted, CCP 352(a), but not for claims that must first be presented to a public entity, 352(b)	6 Nov 2026
Colorado	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Connecticut	Road or bridge defects: written notice within 90 days to the town, city or borough clerk; suit within 2 years, 13a-149. Other claims: not confirmed	Not confirmed: no general minors’ section found in chapter 926	6 Nov 2026
Delaware	No notice section in the county and municipal sections read, 4010 to 4013. State claims: not confirmed	Not confirmed: 8116 on its face doesn’t cover 8119	6 Nov 2026
District of Columbia	Written notice to the Mayor within 6 months; a police report can count, 12-309(a)	Within the time limited after the disability is removed (under 18), 12-302(a)	6 Nov 2026
Florida	Written claim within 3 years (wrongful death claim to the Department of Financial Services within 2), 768.28(6)(a); suit within 4 years, except wrongful death and malpractice, 768.28(14)	Paused only while there is no parent or guardian, or one with an adverse interest or incapacity; 7-year outer limit; not for malpractice, 95.051(1)(i)	6 Nov 2026
Georgia	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Hawaii	Counties: written notice within 2 years, 46-72. State: suit within 2 years, 662-4	Within the times limited after the disability is removed, “or at any time while the disability exists”, 657-13	6 Nov 2026
Idaho	Claim within 180 days of the claim arising or reasonable discovery (state 6-905, local 6-906); suit within 2 years, 6-911	Not counted, but no tolling for more than 6 years, 5-230	6 Nov 2026
Illinois	Local public entities: suit within 1 year, 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a). State: notice within 1 year to the Attorney General and the Court of Claims clerk, 705 ILCS 505/22-1	2 years after turning 18, 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a)	6 Nov 2026
Indiana	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Iowa	Cities and other municipalities: suit within 2 years, 670.5. State: written claim within 2 years, 669.13	1 year after reaching majority, 614.8(2)	6 Nov 2026
Kansas	Municipalities: written notice before suit; no suit until denial or 120 days, 12-105b(d). No fixed notice deadline in the text read	1 year after the disability is removed, never more than 8 years after the act, 60-515(a)	6 Nov 2026
Kentucky	City street, sidewalk or bridge defects: notice within 90 days to the mayor or clerk, 411.110. Others: not confirmed	The same number of years after the disability ends, 413.170(1)	6 Nov 2026
Louisiana	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed (3493.1 mentions minors only for some product claims)	6 Nov 2026
Maine	Written notice within 365 days (later for good cause), 14 M.R.S. 8107(1); suit within 2 years, 8110	Within the times limited after the disability is removed, 853; government claims: 2 years after turning 18, 8110	6 Nov 2026
Maryland	Local government: written notice within 1 year, 5-304(b), with exceptions in (d) and (e). State: claim to the Treasurer within 1 year, suit within 3 years, State Gov’t 12-106	The lesser of 3 years or the normal period after the disability ends, 5-201(a)	6 Nov 2026
Massachusetts	Public employers: written presentment within 2 years, suit within 3 years, c. 258 s. 4. Road defects: notice within 30 days, c. 84 s. 18	Within the time limited after the disability is removed, c. 260 s. 7	6 Nov 2026
Michigan	State: written claim or notice in the Court of Claims within 6 months for injury or property damage, 600.6431(4). Highway defects: 120 days (180 if under 18), 691.1404	1 year after the disability ends, 600.5851(1)	6 Nov 2026
Minnesota	Cities and other municipalities: notice within 180 days of discovery, 466.05. State: notice to the Attorney General within 180 days, 3.736 subd. 5	“such period, except in the case of infancy, shall not be extended for more than five years, nor in any case for more than one year after the disability ceases”, 541.15(a)	6 Nov 2026
Mississippi	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Missouri	Street and sidewalk defects: written notice within 90 days to the mayor in cities of 100,000 or more and in third- and fourth-class cities, 82.210, 77.600, 79.480	The text speaks of a person “within the age of twenty-one years”, 516.170. Ask the court how it applies	6 Nov 2026
Montana	State claims go to the Department of Administration; no suit until denied, deemed denied after 120 days, 2-9-301. No deadline in that section	Time of minority not counted, 27-2-401(1)	6 Nov 2026
Nebraska	Political subdivisions: written claim within 1 year, suit within 2 years, 13-919(1). State: written claim within 2 years, 81-8,227	The text speaks of a person “within the age of twenty years”, 25-213. Ask the court how it applies	6 Nov 2026
Nevada	Claim within 2 years: state claims with the Attorney General, political subdivisions with their governing body, 41.036	Time under 18 not counted, 11.250	6 Nov 2026
New Hampshire	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
New Jersey	Not confirmed: only a court opinion read	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
New Mexico	Not confirmed: the Tort Claims Act, 41-4-15 and 41-4-16, could not be re-read in the official text. Ask the state’s courts; a notice may be due within months	Extended so that a minor has 1 year after the incapacity ends, 37-1-10. Whether that reaches claims against the state or a local public body is not confirmed	6 Nov 2026
New York	Cities, counties, towns, villages, school and fire districts: notice of claim within 90 days (wrongful death: 90 days from the appointment of the estate’s representative), General Municipal Law 50-e(1)(a); suit within 1 year and 90 days (wrongful death: 2 years after the death), 50-i. State: claim or notice of intention within 90 days, Court of Claims Act 10(3); wrongful death: claim within 90 days of the executor’s or administrator’s appointment unless a notice of intention is served, and in any event within 2 years of the death, 10(2)	If the normal period is 3 years or more, 3 years after the disability ends; 10-year outer limit, except for infants outside medical, dental and podiatric malpractice, CPLR 208(a)	6 Nov 2026
North Carolina	State: claim with the Industrial Commission within 3 years (wrongful death: 2 years), 143-299. Local: not confirmed	Within the time limited after the disability is removed (under 18), 1-17(a); malpractice rules in (b) and (c)	6 Nov 2026
North Dakota	State: written notice within 180 days of discovery (1 year for a serious injury), 32-12.2-04(1). Political subdivisions: suit within 3 years, 32-12.1-10	No extension over 5 years except for infancy, nor over 1 year after the disability ends; malpractice capped at 12 years, 28-01-25	6 Nov 2026
Ohio	Political subdivisions: suit within 2 years, 2744.04(A); Court of Claims: 2 years, 2743.16. No notice section	Within the normal period after the disability is removed, 2305.16	6 Nov 2026
Oklahoma	State and political subdivisions: written claim within 1 year of the loss, or barred, 51 O.S. 156(B)	1 year after the disability is removed (malpractice has its own rules), 12 O.S. 96	6 Nov 2026
Oregon	Notice within 180 days; wrongful death: 1 year; up to 90 days of incapacity or minority excluded; actual notice, a suit within the period or payment also count, 30.275	Paused while under 18, but not more than 5 years, or more than 1 year after turning 18, whichever comes first, 12.160	6 Nov 2026
Pennsylvania	Written statement within 6 months to the government unit (and to the Attorney General for a Commonwealth agency), 5522(a)	Minority not counted; the same time after turning 18, 5533(b)(1)	6 Nov 2026
Rhode Island	Suit within 3 years against the state, cities and towns, 9-1-25(a). Highway or bridge defects: notice within 60 days, 45-15-9(a)	Within the time limited after the impediment is removed (under 18), 9-1-19	6 Nov 2026
South Carolina	Tort Claims Act: suit within 2 years of discovery, or 3 years if a verified claim was filed first (the claim is optional), 15-78-110, 15-78-80(a)	No extension over 5 years except for infancy, nor over 1 year after the disability ends; applies to Tort Claims Act suits too, 15-3-40	6 Nov 2026
South Dakota	Written notice within 180 days to the public entity, 3-21-2, 3-21-3	No extension over 5 years except for infancy, nor over 1 year after the disability ends, 15-2-22	6 Nov 2026
Tennessee	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Texas	Notice within 6 months describing the injury, time, place and incident, 101.101(a); city charter periods can apply, 101.101(b) (charters not read); actual notice exception, (c)	Time under 18 not counted, 16.001	6 Nov 2026
Utah	Notice of claim within 1 year after the claim arises, 63G-7-402; the clock waits until the claimant knew or should have known, 63G-7-401(2)	The limit “may not run” while under 18, 78B-2-108(2)	6 Nov 2026
Vermont	No notice section read. Not confirmed	Within the times limited after the disability is removed, 12 V.S.A. 551(a)	6 Nov 2026
Virginia	Counties, cities and towns: written statement within 6 months, 15.2-209. The Commonwealth: 1 year, 8.01-195.6	Within the prescribed period after the disability is removed, 8.01-229(A)(1); malpractice: 8.01-243.1	6 Nov 2026
Washington	Local: claim to the appointed agent on the standard form within the limitation period, 4.96.020. State: claim to the office of risk management; no suit for 60 days, and the limit pauses for those 60 days, 4.92.100, 4.92.110	Time under 18 not counted, 4.16.190(1)	6 Nov 2026
West Virginia	Political subdivisions: suit within 2 years; under 10 years old, 2 years or before the 12th birthday, whichever is longer, 29-12A-6. No notice section	The same number of years after reaching full age, never more than 20 years after the claim arose, 55-2-15(b)	6 Nov 2026
Wisconsin	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	Not confirmed. Ask the state’s courts.	6 Nov 2026
Wyoming	Itemized written claim within 2 years of the act (discovery exception); a child 7 or younger: 2 years or until the 8th birthday, whichever is greater, 1-39-113(a)	3 years after the disability is removed, or the normal period if longer, 1-3-114	6 Nov 2026
Federal agencies	Written claim to the agency within 2 years; suit within 6 months after the agency mails a final denial, 28 U.S.C. 2401(b)	Not covered here	6 Nov 2026

What else can change the time

The general rule is where the count starts, not where it ends. These are the exceptions we saw most often in the texts we read.

Medical malpractice has its own, often shorter, limit

An injury caused by a doctor, hospital or other health care provider is usually under a separate section. A few we read:

• Ohio: 1 year, R.C. 2305.113, beside a 2-year general limit. A written notice before the year runs out can extend it, 2305.113(B).
• Kentucky: actions against a physician, surgeon, dentist or licensed hospital for negligence or malpractice sit inside the 1-year section, KRS 413.140(1)(e), counted from when the injury was or should have been discovered, but within 5 years of the act, 413.140(2).
• California: 3 years from the injury or 1 year from discovery, whichever comes first, with a 3-year ceiling except for fraud, concealment or a foreign body, CCP 340.5.
• Florida: 2 years from the incident or its discovery, and no more than 4 years from the incident, with exceptions for fraud and for young children, Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(c).
• Texas: 2 years from the breach or the end of treatment, with a 10-year outer limit; a child under 12 has until the 14th birthday, and otherwise the section applies regardless of age, CPRC 74.251.

When the injury was found later

Some statutes count from when the injury was discovered or should have been: Connecticut (52-584, with a 3-year outer limit from the act), Vermont (12 V.S.A. 512(4)), and Kansas, where the time starts when the act first causes substantial injury, or later if the injury isn’t reasonably ascertainable, but never more than 10 years after the act (K.S.A. 60-513(b)). North Carolina counts from when bodily harm becomes apparent, but with listed exceptions no claim accrues more than 10 years after the last act (G.S. 1-52(16)). Courts sometimes apply a discovery rule where the statute is silent. Whether one applies to a particular injury is a question for a lawyer or the court.

When someone has died

A wrongful death claim usually has its own limit, and many statutes count it from the death rather than the injury. Some add an outer limit counted from the act: Connecticut 5 years (52-555(a)), Minnesota 6 years (573.02). Louisiana uses whichever is longer of 1 year from the death or 2 years from the injury (Civil Code art. 2315.2(B), as amended by Act 176 of 2025, effective 1 August 2025; how it applies to earlier deaths is not confirmed). In North Carolina, no death claim may be brought if the injured person’s own claim was already barred when they died under the general injury rule or the malpractice rule (G.S. 1-53(4), 1-52(16), 1-15(c)). The claims the injured person had before dying can be a separate claim with separate rules. Our pages on wrongful death deadlines and wrongful death and survival actions go into both.

No-fault benefits and car claims

A claim for your own no-fault (personal injury protection) benefits can run on a different clock from a lawsuit against the other driver. In Michigan, a suit for no-fault benefits is generally due 1 year after the accident unless notice was given or benefits were paid, with further rules after that (MCL 500.3145). Kentucky’s motor vehicle act sets its own periods for benefits and for tort suits, including 2 years after the last no-fault payment (KRS 304.39-230). Fault rules are separate again: see our state-by-state fault rule lookup.

Other things that pause or shorten the clock

• A defendant who left the state. Some texts stop the count while the person sued is absent, for example Missouri’s wrongful death section (RSMo 537.100), Vermont’s (14 V.S.A. 1492(a)) and New Mexico’s general rule (NMSA 37-1-9).
• Product claims. Florida’s statute has a separate 4-year paragraph for an injury founded on the design, manufacture, distribution or sale of personal property (95.11(3)(d)). Which paragraph covers a claim is for the court.
• Assault and similar claims. Some states set a shorter period: 1 year in DC (12-301(4)) and Wyoming (1-3-105(a)(v)(B)), 2 years in Michigan (MCL 600.5805(3)), Minnesota (541.07(1)) and North Dakota (28-01-18(1)).
• A change in the law. Florida (2023) and Louisiana (2024) changed their limits for new claims only. Which version applies depends on when the claim arose.

The statutes we read set a time to bring a lawsuit (“commenced”, “brought”). Calling or writing to an insurer is not a lawsuit. Don’t assume that talks with an insurer pause the count; ask the court or a lawyer.

Figures you may see elsewhere

You may see the claims below on other pages. We checked each against the statute.

• “You have two years to sue.” Not as a national rule. The general injury limits we read run from 1 year (Kentucky’s 413.140) to 6 years (Maine, North Dakota), and government notice can be due in months.
• “Florida gives you four years.” Out of date for negligence claims that arose after 24 March 2023: the limit is 2 years (95.11(5)(a)).
• “Louisiana gives you one year.” Out of date for claims arising after 1 July 2024: Article 3493.1 gives 2 years.
• “Children can always wait until 18.” No. Florida pauses the clock only when no parent or guardian can act (95.051(1)(i)), several states cap the pause, and California’s pause doesn’t apply to claims that must first go to a public entity (CCP 352(b)).

A worked example

This page is general information, not legal, tax or medical advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Injury law and deadlines vary by state and change. Ask a lawyer or the court about your situation.

This is a made-up example, matching the calculator’s starting values. Someone is hurt in a crash in Texas on 15 March 2026.

1. The calculator shows 2 years, from Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003(a): suit “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”.
2. The arithmetic shows 15 March 2028. That is the same date two years on, nothing more.
3. Now change one fact. If the other vehicle belonged to a city, the Texas Tort Claims Act requires notice within 6 months describing the injury, the time, the place and the incident (CPRC 101.101(a)). Six months from 15 March 2026 is mid-September 2026, and a city’s charter can set its own notice period (101.101(b); we haven’t read the charters).
4. Change another fact. If the injured person was 16, Texas doesn’t count time under 18 (16.001), so the 2 years don’t start on the crash date. The 6-month government notice in 101.101(a) has no such pause in its text.

The same crash can have three different answers. That is why the calculator gives the general rule and stops there. Our Texas page covers that state in full, and there are separate pages for New York after its May 2026 change and for California.

How these rows were read

Each row comes from the state legislature’s or code publisher’s official website, read on 6 November 2026. Illinois links go to the General Assembly site. New Mexico was read at NMOneSource, published by the state’s Compilation Commission. Federal law was read in the Cornell Legal Information Institute’s copy of the US Code. We don’t take figures from law firm pages or form sites.

We could not read the official code for Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Tennessee or Wisconsin: the sites refused us, or the official text sits behind a commercial publisher’s terms page. Colorado was read only in a 2024 compilation, and the texts for Minnesota and Utah don’t settle which limit covers an injury. Those rows say “not confirmed”. That doesn’t mean there is no limit. It means you need the court or a lawyer for that state.

Legislatures change injury rules, as Florida, Louisiana and New York have in the last few years. We recheck every row every three months and after each state’s legislative session, and the read date sits beside each row.

What to do next

• Write down the dates now: the date of the injury, the date it was found if that was later, the date of any death, and the date any no-fault payment was made.
• Ask whether a government body is involved, as a driver, an owner of the road or building, or an employer. If so, find the notice rule today. It may be the shortest deadline of all.
• If the injured person is under 18, look at the children’s column and ask the court how the pause works in that state.
• Read the statute yourself. Each linked state name opens the official text.
• Ask someone who can look at the facts. A court clerk can explain where and how to file but can’t give legal advice. A lawyer, or legal aid if cost is a barrier, can say which limit applies to you.

Sources checked on 6 November 2026.