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Statute of Limitations In Every U.S. State

SOL in personal injury cases

Every state has a statute of limitations: a drop-dead date for bringing personal injury claims. Below is a list of each state's deadlines.

Huge caveats in using this information. Check the statute (there is a link) to make sure the law has not changed (or that we got it right in the first place). Second, remember that exceptions can shorten or extend the statute of limitations. Literally one-third of legal malpractice cases stem from blowing limitations. True fact: 83.6% of those attorneys thought they could figure out the statute of limitations with a quick Google search. (Okay, not really.) The point is, in a minority of cases, you have to peel the onion beyond just looking at the default personal injury statute of limitations.

statuteoflimitations

The biggest landmines in personal injury claims SOL against governmental entities and claims where you are not sure which state's statute of limitations applies to the claim. On the latter, watch out for states with a borrowing statute. It might say the state has a SOL of 4 years, but if the accident happened in a three-year state, that claim might not fly after year 3.

Enough caveats. You get the point. Here is the list:

Alabama2 yearsAla. Code Sec. 6-2-38
Alaska2 yearsAlaska Stat. Sec. 9.10.070
Arizona2 yearsAriz. Rev. Stat. Sec. 12-542
Arkansas2 yearsArk. Stat. Sec. 16-114-203
California2 yearsCal. Code of Civ. Proc. Sec. 335.1
Colorado2 yearsColo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 13-80-102
Connecticut2 yearsConn. Gen. State. Sec. 52-584
Delaware2 yearsDel. Code Ann. Title 10, Sec. 8119
District of Columbia (D.C.)3 yearsD.C. Code Ann. Sec. 12-301
Florida4 yearsFla. Stat. Ann. Sec. 95.11
Georgia2 yearsGa. Code Ann. Sec. 9-3-33
Hawaii2 yearsHaw. Rev. Stat. Sec. 657.7
Idaho2 yearsIdaho Code Sec. 5-219
Illinois2 yearsIll. Ann. State. Ch. 735, Art. 8, Sec. 13-202
Indiana2 yearsInd. Code Ann. Sec. 34-11-2-4
Iowa2 yearsIowa Code Ann. Sec. 614.1
Kansas2 yearsKan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 60-513
Kentucky1 yearKy. Rev. Stat. Sec. 413.140
Louisiana1 yearLa. Civ. Code Ann. Art. 3492
Maine6 yearsMaine Rev. Stat. Ann. Title 14, Ch. 205, Sec. 752
Maryland3 yearsMd. Ann. Code Sec. 5-101
Massachusetts3 yearsMass. Gen. Laws, Art. 260, Secs. 2A, 4
Michigan3 yearsMich. Comp Laws Sec. 600.5805(9)
Minnesota2 yearsMinn Stat Ann. Sec 541-05 - 541-07
Mississippi3 yearsMiss. Code Ann. Sec. 15-1-49
Missouri5 yearsMissouri Ann. Stat. Title 35, Sec. 516.120

Montana

3 yearsMont. Code Ann. Sec. 27-2-204, 27-2-207
Nebraska4 yearsNeb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 25-207

Nevada

2 yearsNev. Rev. Stat. Sect. 11.190
New Hampshire3 yearsN.H. Rev. State. Sec. 508.4
New Jersey2 yearsN.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 2A:14-2
New Mexico3 yearsN.M. Stat. Ann. Sec. 37-1-8
New York3 yearsN.Y. Civ. Prac. R. Sec. 214
North Carolina3 yearsN.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 1-52
North Dakota6 years (wrongful death is two years)N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 28-01-16, 28-01-18
Ohio2 yearsOhio Rev. Code Sec. 2305.10
Oklahoma2 yearsOkla. Stat. Ann. Title 12, Sec. 95
Oregon2 yearsOre. Rev. Stat. Sec. 12.110
Pennsylvania2 years42 Pa. Con. Stat. Sec. 5524
Rhode Island3 yearsR.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 9-1-14
South Carolina3 yearsS.C. Code Ann. Sec. 15-3-530
South Dakota3 yearsS.D. Comp. Laws Ann. Sec. 15-2-14
Tennessee1 yearTenn. Code Ann. Sec. 28-3-104
Texas2 yearsTex. Civ. Prac.&Rem. Code Sec. 16.003
Utah4 yearsUtah Code Ann. Sec. 78-12-28
Vermont3 yearsVt. Stat. Ann. Title 12, Sec. 512
Virginia2 yearsVa. Code Sec. 8.01-243
Washington3 yearsWa. Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 4.16.080
Washingon, D.C.3 yearsD.C. Code Ann. Sec. 12-301
West Virginia2 yearsW. Va. Code Sec. 55-2-12
Wisconsin3 yearsWisc. Stat. Ann. Sec. 893.54
Wyoming4 yearsWy. Stat. Ann. Sec. 1-3-105
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