Every crash starts as a moment: a red light missed, a glance at a phone, a slick patch of asphalt. The legal deadlines that follow feel less dramatic, but they decide whether a victim gets to ask for accountability at all. That deadline is the statute of limitations. It is not a suggestion. Miss it, and even a strong claim with clear liability can vanish.
I have sat with clients who came in at month 22 in a state with a two‑year limit, and we pulled the file together like a team under a two‑minute drill. I have also taken calls at month 25, and the conversation turned from strategy to what might have been. Car accident lawyers and their teams live inside these calendars. The rules vary widely by state, and they get even more complicated when a government vehicle is involved, when a death occurs, when the injured person is a minor, or when the at‑fault driver lives across state lines. Knowing the headline number for your state is a start. Knowing the exceptions can save your claim.
What a statute of limitations actually does
A statute of limitations sets the outside date for filing a lawsuit. It does not require you to finish treatment, it does not require you to finish negotiations with an insurer, and it does not extend because a claims adjuster says, “we’re still reviewing.” Filing means submitting a complaint in the proper court and serving the defendants according to that court’s rules. A demand letter is not enough. A recorded statement is not a filing. If you are one day late, most judges will dismiss the case unless a recognized exception applies.
The logic behind these statutes is part fairness, part practicality. Evidence goes stale. Witnesses move. Cars get repaired or scrapped. Legislatures set limits to force timely action and to provide a measure of certainty. Those same legislatures also built in limited tolling rules, the legal term for pausing or delaying the clock.
The headline deadlines by state, with practical notes
States set their own deadlines. Many are in the two to three year range for personal injury. Property damage often has a different clock. Wrongful death claims, which are separate from injury claims, have their own timelines and triggers. Here is how the landscape looks across the country, focusing on car crash claims and the nuances car accident attorneys watch.
Alabama. Two years for injury, six years for property damage. Wrongful death is two years and punitive in nature, which shapes settlement leverage and jury instructions. Claims against cities or counties can require notice within six months.
Alaska. Two years for injury and property damage. For minors, the injury claim usually runs two years from the minor’s 18th birthday, but claims against the state may require a notice within two years regardless.
Arizona. Two years for injury, two years for property damage. Claims against public entities trigger a 180‑day notice of claim, with a one‑year filing deadline. Miss the 180‑day notice, and the claim usually dies.
Arkansas. Three years for injury and property damage. Wrongful death is also three years, generally from the date of death.
California. Two years for injury, three years for property damage. Suing a public entity requires a government claim within six months for personal injury and one year for property damage, with very strict content requirements. If the government claim is denied, you typically have six months from the denial to sue.
Colorado. Three years for injury from vehicle collisions, two years for other negligence. Property damage from a vehicle collision is three years. There is a tolling rule for absent defendants if they leave the state.
Connecticut. Two years for injury, three years for property damage, with a three‑year outer statute from the date of the act or omission. Claims against municipalities can require written notice within 90 days for defects in roads or bridges.
Delaware. Two years for injury and property damage. Claims against the state carry notice requirements that can be shorter.
District of Columbia. Three years for injury and property damage. Suing the District requires notice of a claim within six months for certain municipal incidents.
Florida. Two years for negligence causing injury under current law, four years for property damage. Medical malpractice and other specialized claims have different rules. Claims against state and local governments require pre‑suit notice within three years.
Georgia. Two years for injury, four years for property damage. Loss of consortium has a four‑year limit. Suing a county or city can require ante litem notice within six to twelve months.
Hawaii. Two years for injury and property damage. Government claims require administrative steps before suit.
Idaho. Two years for injury and property damage. Shorter claim notice deadlines apply for public entities.
Illinois. Two years for injury, five years for property damage. Suing a municipality or the state can require shorter notice or different forums.
Indiana. Two years for injury and property damage. Tort claims against government entities require notice within 180 days for cities and counties and 270 days for the state.
Iowa. Two years for injury, five years for property damage. Claims against municipalities and the state often require administrative steps but share the two‑year limit.
Kansas. Two years for injury and property damage. Comparative fault rules can affect strategy if multiple drivers share blame.
Kentucky. Kentucky is an outlier. The limit for vehicle injury claims can be two years from the date of the accident or the last no‑fault payment, whichever is later. Wrongful death claims are generally one year from the appointment of the estate’s personal representative, not from the date of death. Property damage is two years.
Louisiana. One year for injury and property damage, which the Civil Code calls a prescriptive period. It comes fast. Many claims expire before negotiations finish if counsel does not file. Claims against public bodies have special procedures.
Maine. Six years https://earthlydirectory.com/gosearch.php?q=https%3A%2F%2Fmcdougalllawfirm.com%2F&search-btn.x=0&search-btn.y=0 for injury and property damage, among the longest in the country. Claims against the state require a notice of claim within 180 days.
Maryland. Three years for injury and property damage. Claims against local governments often require notice within one year or less.
Massachusetts. Three years for injury and property damage. Claims involving a road defect can require notice within 30 days to preserve liability against a government.
Michigan. Three years for injury and property damage. No‑fault PIP benefits have a one‑year rule for each expense, known as the one‑year back rule. Claims against the state or local road commissions carry harsh notice requirements, sometimes as short as 120 days for highway defects.
Minnesota. Six years for most negligence claims, but two years for injury from an automobile accident by statute for some categories. Minnesota has no‑fault rules with their own filing windows.
Mississippi. Three years for injury and property damage. Claims against government entities require notice within 90 days and carry caps.
Missouri. Five years for injury and property damage. Wrongful death is three years.
Montana. Three years for injury and two years for wrongful death. Property damage is two years.
Nebraska. Four years for injury and property damage. Political subdivision claims require notice within one year and a suit within two years after denial.
Nevada. Two years for injury, three years for property damage. Claims against public entities trigger shorter notices.
New Hampshire. Three years for injury and property damage. Comparative fault rules can bar recovery if the plaintiff is more than 50 percent at fault.
New Jersey. Two years for injury and property damage. Tort Claims Act notice to public entities is 90 days.
New Mexico. Three years for injury. For public entities, the Tort Claims Act requires a notice within 90 days for personal injury and six months for wrongful death, with a two‑year filing limit.
New York. Three years for injury and property damage. Suing a city, county, or public authority often requires a notice of claim within 90 days and a suit within one year and 90 days. Claims against the State of New York go through the Court of Claims with tight filing and service rules.
North Carolina. Three years for injury and property damage. Wrongful death is two years. Claims against the state use the Industrial Commission with separate procedures and a three‑year period.
North Dakota. Six years for injury and property damage, with exceptions for wrongful death at two years. State claims have different notice rules.
Ohio. Two years for injury, four years for property damage. The statute has evolved, so counsel checks the date of loss and controlling law.
Oklahoma. Two years for injury and property damage. Governmental Tort Claims Act requires notice within one year and suit within 180 days after denial.
Oregon. Two years for injury and property damage, with a 10‑year outer limit for some products claims. Public entity claims require a notice within 180 days.
Pennsylvania. Two years for injury and property damage. Political subdivisions require notice within six months.
Rhode Island. Three years for injury and property damage. Certain municipal claims require pre‑suit notice.
South Carolina. Three years for injury and property damage. Suits against the government fall under the Tort Claims Act with a two‑year limit, three years with a verified claim.
South Dakota. Three years for injury, six years for property damage. Claims against public entities have separate steps.
Tennessee. One year for injury, three years for property damage. One year is short. Attorneys in Tennessee file early and often to protect claims.
Texas. Two years for injury and property damage. Notice is required for claims against local governments, sometimes within six months. Suing the state follows the Tort Claims Act.
Utah. Four years for injury, three years for property damage. Claims against government entities are usually one year to provide notice and two years to sue after denial.
Vermont. Three years for injury and property damage. Claims against the state require pre‑suit notices.
Virginia. Two years for injury, five years for property damage. Claims against the Commonwealth require notice within one year.
Washington. Three years for injury and property damage. Suing a county or the state requires pre‑suit claim filing and a 60‑day waiting period before suit.
West Virginia. Two years for injury and property damage. Discovery rules can toll in certain latent injury cases.
Wisconsin. Three years for injury, six years for property damage. Government claims require notice within 120 days for some municipal cases.
Wyoming. Four years for injury and property damage. Claims against governmental entities require a written, itemized claim and have two‑year filing windows in many instances.
These are headline rules. Law moves. Legislatures amend. Courts interpret. For example, Florida’s negligence statute changed in 2023 to two years. Minnesota’s interplay between general negligence and specific auto statutes trips up even experienced counsel. When car accident lawyers take a new matter, the first question in the intake room is not how fast the other driver was going. It is what day this happened and where.
When the clock pauses or shifts
Tolling is not a magic wand. It is a narrow set of rules, applied cautiously. Still, several situations come up routinely.
Minors and incapacitated adults. Most states delay the start of the statute for minors until age 18. Some cap the extension, and claims against government entities may not toll in the same way. For adults without capacity, a guardian can sometimes extend the time. Courts look at medical records and legal determinations, not a family member’s opinion.
Discovery rules. In car crash cases, injuries are typically obvious at the time of the event. Still, a latent brain injury or a defective component claim can raise discovery issues. A handful of states allow filing within a set period from when a reasonable person would have discovered the injury. The safer path is to assume the date of the crash controls unless a lawyer confirms otherwise.
Absent defendants and fraud. If the at‑fault driver leaves the state or hides, some states stop the clock. Others allow service through the Secretary of State or by publication, which avoids the tolling issue altogether. Courts require diligence. You cannot sit on your hands for a year and then raise the absence as a shield.
Bankruptcy stays. If a defendant files bankruptcy, the automatic stay halts litigation. The statute may toll during the stay. Meanwhile, you may need to file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy court. Timing gets technical fast, and missteps can release liability for pennies.
Contractual limitation periods. Insurance policies sometimes set shorter deadlines for uninsured or underinsured motorist claims. Those deadlines can be enforceable if reasonable. I have seen policies require suit within three years against your own carrier, even if the tort statute is four. Calendar both.
The trap of government defendants
Every state protects public entities with notice requirements and shorter timelines. The policies behind these laws are debated, but the practical effect is clear. If a school bus rear‑ends you, if a city garbage truck sideswipes you, or if a pothole swallows your front end, you may have to file a detailed notice in 30 to 180 days, sometimes on a specific form, sometimes by certified mail, sometimes to a clerk no one outside city hall has met. Miss the notice, and the case may be over even if you file a proper lawsuit later.
Car accident attorneys build government notice workflows because the failure points are simple. A client believes the deadline is three years because that is what a general Google search shows. An insurer drags negotiations until day 181. The fix is to assume a government connection until proven otherwise. Ask who owned the vehicle. Pull the police report. If the vehicle is marked or the plates track to a public agency, take the notice steps immediately.
Wrongful death after a crash
When a crash turns fatal, the timeline shifts. Wrongful death statutes often run from the date of death, not the crash, and require filing by the personal representative of the estate, not by individual family members. That means opening an estate, which can take weeks. In Kentucky, for example, that personal representative timeline controls. In Missouri and many other states, there is a distinct wrongful death statute with separate beneficiaries and damages. If a survival claim exists for the decedent’s conscious pain and suffering, that may have a different statute and a different owner, typically the estate.
Families need space, but the law provides little. Lawyers balance compassion with hard dates, often working with funeral homes and probate courts in the first ten days to secure the right party status. A missed estate step can later invalidate a filing, even if you beat the statute.
Cross‑border accidents and choice of law
People live in one state and wreck in another daily. The law that controls the statute of limitations is usually the law of the place of the injury, but not always. Contract claims against your own insurer for UM or UIM coverage might be governed by the law where the policy was issued. Some states borrow another state’s shorter statute for out‑of‑state claims. Federal courts sitting in diversity apply the forum state’s choice‑of‑law rules. That is a mouthful, and it matters more than most realize.
A common scenario: an Ohio resident is hit in Michigan. Michigan’s three‑year negligence statute applies to the tort, but Michigan’s no‑fault rules create a one‑year back rule for PIP benefits. Meanwhile, the Ohio UM policy contains a three‑year suit limitation on UM claims. Three clocks tick at once. If you wait for the tort case to ripen, you may lose a swath of PIP or a UM claim. Experienced car accident lawyers map those clocks from day one and file in the right courts to preserve them.
How insurers use the clock
Adjusters know the deadlines. They do not have to warn you. I have watched negotiations stay friendly until month 23 in a two‑year state. Then the calls slow down. Offers inch forward. A promise to “re‑evaluate with a supervisor next week” pushes you past the deadline. No written agreement to extend means you are out, and the adjuster closes the file with a note about an expired statute.
Insurers also ask for recorded statements or authorizations that create delays. They ask for additional medical records at 45 days, then 60 days, then 90 days. None of that pauses the statute. If the offer is not in range, lawyers file suit and keep talking. It is not an act of hostility. It is how you keep the case alive.
Filing is not enough if you do not serve
Filing the complaint beats the statute only if you perfect service in time. Many states require service within a set period after filing, often 60 to 120 days. Courts can dismiss without prejudice for failure to serve, which does not help if the statute has run. Service rules are technical. Serving an out‑of‑state defendant through a long‑arm statute requires strict compliance. Serving a government entity usually requires service on a designated officer, not a field employee or office receptionist. When a lawyer files close to the deadline, they often pay for a rush process server and use every statutory method available. Mailing the complaint to a P.O. Box rarely counts.
Evidence does not wait for the statute
Legal deadlines protect filing rights. They do nothing to preserve skid marks, vehicle data, or surveillance footage. Most dash cameras loop within days. Gas station cameras often record on a seven to 30 day cycle. Airbag control modules store speed, braking, and throttle data for the final seconds before impact, but once the car is repaired or salvaged, that evidence can be lost.
The smartest calls I get happen in the first week. We send preservation letters to businesses at the intersection. We secure the vehicles to download EDR data. We notify the other driver’s insurer and request a hold on disposal. Even if a state gives you three or six years to file, the practical window for clean evidence is weeks, not months. Strong cases are built early.
Two compact checklists that keep people out of trouble
First, a timeline sanity check to run the day you decide to pursue a claim:
- Record the date of the crash, the city and state, and every involved vehicle owner. Flag any government connection: buses, city trucks, police, state vehicles, or road defects. Identify the wrongful death angle, if any, and whether an estate must be opened. Note the client’s age and capacity, plus any prior or pending bankruptcies. Review UM or UIM policy language for suit limitations that differ from the tort statute.
Second, service and notice steps once a filing decision is made:
- File in the proper court with complete party names and addresses verified against the police report and DMV records. Arrange prompt service through a professional server, including alternative service methods where allowed. For public entities, file statutory notices with proof of delivery to the correct office and person. Calendar all follow‑up deadlines for service, responsive pleadings, and government claim denials. Preserve and collect evidence in parallel: EDR pulls, photos, witness contacts, and video requests.
The special case of hit‑and‑run and uninsured drivers
When the at‑fault driver cannot be identified or carries no insurance, your uninsured motorist coverage becomes the practical path. The underlying injury statute still exists, but the more important deadline may be the contractual limitation in your policy. Some carriers require notice within a short period, police involvement, or independent corroboration of the hit‑and‑run. If you wait two years and then notify your carrier, they may deny for late notice even if you are within the tort statute. Car accident attorneys file a civil suit against “John Doe” where permitted, or they demand arbitration within the policy’s limit, to stop the clock.
What if you already missed the date
There are narrow lanes to explore when a statute seems blown. Maybe the wrong statute was assumed, and a longer property damage period applies to a frame replacement bill. Maybe the defendant lived out of state for a year, pausing the clock. Maybe the claim is actually against your own insurer under a contract limitation that has not expired. Sometimes, the government notice went to the wrong office, but the entity had actual notice and cannot show prejudice. These are hard roads, and courts enforce statutes strictly. The better answer is filing on time. Still, an honest review by an experienced lawyer can sometimes salvage a path.
How car accident attorneys actually protect the deadline
From the outside, clients see medical records, settlement discussions, and maybe a courtroom. Inside a law firm, claims move through a calendar system with redundant alarms. We open a file with three clocks on page one: the tort statute, any government notice, and any UM or UIM contractual limit. A paralegal chases declarations pages within 48 hours to read the suit limitation clause. If liability is clear but the injury is still developing, we negotiate and order follow‑up scans, while a draft complaint sits ready. At 90 days out, a senior attorney decides: settle, extend by written tolling agreement, or file. Tolling agreements are rare with auto carriers, but they happen in complex cases.
When the at‑fault driver is a commercial entity, we confirm the corporate name and registered agent in the Secretary of State database. When the other driver is a resident of another state, we prepare long‑arm affidavits. When a city truck is involved, we file the notice and ask for a stamped received copy. Then we sleep better.
Why this matters for people who feel okay after a crash
Many people do not hurt on day one. Adrenaline masks pain. A herniated disc announces itself two weeks later when you lift a toddler. Memory of the impact is clear, but legal rights fade quietly in the background. I have met hard workers who put off the claim because they did not want to make a fuss or thought they would get better. No one wants to live in a lawyer’s calendar. Still, calling early does not force you into a lawsuit. It gives you options. If you heal fully with minimal bills, we close the file with relief. If you develop serious symptoms, the preserved evidence and clean deadlines help you avoid a rushed filing.
The bottom line for every state
- The statute of limitations is a filing deadline, not a negotiation deadline. Filing is the only reliable way to protect your rights. Headline numbers vary: some states give one year, many give two or three, a handful give four to six. Government claims often compress timelines drastically. Exceptions exist but are narrow. Minors, incapacity, absent defendants, and discovery rules help in limited circumstances, and often not against public entities. Insurance contracts can impose shorter limits for UM or UIM claims. Those provisions can be enforceable even when the tort statute is longer. Service, notice, and evidence preservation have their own clocks. Beat all three, not just one.
Good car accident lawyers are part time litigators and part time air traffic controllers, clearing deadlines, notices, service, and negotiations without a collision. If you are inside six months of your state’s deadline, get specific advice from counsel where the crash occurred. If you are inside six weeks, pick up the phone today. The law rewards the prepared, and it is far easier to keep a claim alive than to resurrect one after the clock hits zero.