In 2024, 197,449 people in the United States died from unintentional injuries, according to the CDC. In addition, millions more walked away from a fall, a crash, or a workplace accident with medical bills and a decision to make. That decision has a clock attached to it. So missing the deadline is detrimental even when you have a strong case.
Every state sets its own deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, and the range is wider than most people expect. A few states, including Kentucky and Tennessee, allow only one year. Others, including Maine and North Dakota, allow six.
State statutes define these deadlines, and they differ immensely, making it vital to understand the rules in your state. Determining who is liable in a slip and fall accident is necessary. The answer to this question will clarify who pays the costs of damages and treatment.
What a Statute of Limitations Actually Does
A statute of limitations is not a suggestion. Miss it, and the defendant can raise it as a complete defense. The case can end before a judge ever looks at whether the injury was real or who caused it. Once the deadline passes, the merits stop mattering.
States justify these deadlines a few different ways. It’s normal for evidence to decline. Memories of witnesses fade with time. Witnesses can also become hard to find.
A statute of limitations keeps old claims from being filed at all, partly because evidence and memories fade and a case becomes harder to prove.
Louisiana even has its own word for the concept. The state uses the term “prescription” instead of “statute of limitations,” and the rules changed in 2024. Consider two Louisiana drivers hurt in separate crashes a day apart. The one injured on June 30, 2024, had until June 30, 2025, to file suit. The one injured on July 1, 2024, had until July 1, 2026. Same state and nearly the same day, but the second driver got a full extra year.
The Law Offices of Richard R. Kennedy, a Lafayette firm, handle personal injury claims across Louisiana, where knowing which deadline applies to a given injury now matters.
When Does the Clock Actually Start?
Usually, the clock starts on the day of the injury. Special circumstances can move it, so the facts of each claim matter, and someone hurt in a particular state should read that state’s rules before deciding whether to file.
The discovery rule is the biggest exception. Not every injury announces itself. A patient can leave surgery feeling fine, then months later a scan shows an instrument that was left behind. Many states count from the day the patient found the problem, or reasonably should have, and not from the day of the operation.
Children get different treatment. In most states, the clock stops while a child is a minor and starts again at eighteen, though some states make exceptions.
Government entities work differently. A majority of states require a formal notice of claim before a lawsuit over something like a fall on poorly maintained government property or an injury on a public bus. Notice periods vary, and in some places notice is due within 90 days, often before an injured person has decided whether to sue. The deadline to file the lawsuit itself is separate and also tends to be shorter than the usual one.
Why Property and Premises Cases Add a Layer
Filing deadlines only get you to the courthouse door. They don’t answer who actually has to pay once you’re inside, and that question runs on entirely separate legal rules.
States divide fault in different ways. Some bar recovery once the injured person is 50% or 51% at fault, as Louisiana now does for injuries on or after January 1, 2026, while others, including California, only reduce the award by the injured person’s share.
Property cases add a second question. The injured person has to show the owner knew about the hazard, or should have, and failed to fix it in a reasonable time. Under California law, for example, that means proving the owner’s knowledge and enough opportunity to fix the hazard.
Filing deadlines and liability are two separate problems, and solving one does not solve the other. A person can meet the deadline and still lose on the facts. A person with a strong case can lose it by waiting too long.
What Actually Happens If You Miss the Deadline
An open insurance claim usually buys no extra time. Filing deadlines come from statute, and an insurer’s review has no say in them. While filing deadlines can be extended in some situations, having an insurance claim reviewed usually is not one of them. For instance, in situations where an injury occurred in March of 2025 and the filing deadline was two years later, March 2027 would still be the last day to file a lawsuit, regardless of how long the insurer took to review the case. Once the deadline passes, any potential lawsuits filed after can be dismissed, although there are a few rare exceptions, like tolling.
What This Means in Practice
The safest move after any injury is treating the deadline as much closer than it looks. Medical records take time to compile. Accident reports take time to obtain. Expert opinions, when a case needs them, take longer still. A deadline that seems distant on the day of the injury has a way of arriving faster than expected once the practical work of building a claim gets underway.
State rules shift too. Louisiana changed its injury rules twice in two years. The deadline for tort claims doubled from one year to two for injuries on or after July 1, 2024. Then, the comparative fault statute changed again in 2026. For example, take a personal injury on January 15, 2026, where the plaintiff’s damages total $100,000 and the plaintiff is found 50% responsible. Under the new comparative fault statute, the plaintiff would be awarded $50,000. However, if the claimant is found to be 51% responsible, the claimant receives nothing. Under the old law, the same claimant would have received $49,000. Individual states establish these rules on their own schedules. Thus, the law that applies is the one in place when the injury occurs.
