The window to file an injury claim is not one number but fifty, and the spread is wide enough to matter: Tennessee and Kentucky cut it off after a single year, while Maine and North Dakota allow six. State law fixes the applicable figure the moment the injury happens, and that number has moved more recently than most people assume. Louisiana rewrote its own deadline in the middle of 2024, doubling a limitation period that had stood for decades.
How long you have to file an injury claim, and where the number just changed
How long you have to file an injury claim sits anywhere between one year and six, depending entirely on the state. Both ends of that range come from statute, not custom. Tennessee gives injured people one year, covering “injuries to the person… within one (1) year” (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1)(A)). Kentucky matches it at one year (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 413.140(1)(a)). Maine’s statute goes further: “All civil actions shall be commenced within 6 years” (14 M.R.S. § 752). North Dakota also allows six (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16(5)), and Missouri splits the difference at five (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120(4)).
Louisiana no longer belongs in the one-year group where many older summaries still place it. Act 423 of 2024, effective July 1, 2024, repealed the former rule in Civil Code article 3492 and replaced it with article 3493.1. The new article states it plainly: “Delictual actions are subject to a liberative prescription of two years.” Most sources understand the change to apply prospectively: an injury that happened before July 1, 2024 keeps the old one-year period. That distinction matters enormously for anyone relying on an outdated source.
When the clock actually starts running
The limitation period does not start on the date of the negligent act. It starts when the injured person discovers both the injury and its cause — a distinction the U.S. Supreme Court drew explicitly. A claim accrues “when the plaintiff knows both the existence and the cause of his injury,” not when the person additionally realizes the conduct behind it was negligent (United States v. Kubrick, 444 U.S. 111, 122 (1979)). That gap matters most for injuries that surface gradually, such as a surgical complication or a chemical exposure, where the harm and its cause are not obvious on day one. How far a state extends this discovery principle, and which categories of claims it covers, varies considerably. Some states apply it broadly; others confine it narrowly to specific claim types such as medical malpractice or latent disease.
Minors get a paused clock, not a shorter one
For an injury to a minor, most states pause the limitation period rather than run it. The clock does not start until the injured person reaches adulthood. California’s statute is direct: the time of disability “is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action” (Code Civ. Proc. § 352(a)). Texas uses nearly identical language: “time of the disability is not included in a limitations period” (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001). New York also tolls its period for infancy under CPLR § 208(a). But it caps the extension and layers on separate rules for medical-malpractice claims specifically. “Minors get more time” is the general shape of the rule here, not a detail-free guarantee that applies identically everywhere.
The deadline that comes before you can file an injury claim against a government agency
Before an injured person can file an injury claim against a city, county, or state agency, most states require a separate step first. The claimant must send written notice on a much shorter clock than the underlying limitation period. Missing it typically ends the claim regardless of how much time would otherwise remain. Four verified examples show how little that notice window has to do with the ordinary filing deadline:
- California: six months from accrual (Cal. Gov’t Code § 911.2).
- Texas: six months (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101).
- New York: 90 days (Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e(1)(a)).
- Colorado: 182 days (C.R.S. § 24-10-109).
None of these notice deadlines match the one-to-six-year filing periods covered above. They run separately, in parallel, and they expire first. A claim against a private driver and a claim against the transit agency that employs him can carry two completely different deadlines for the exact same crash.
Two clocks that run on their own rules
Claims against the federal government
A tort claim against the United States runs on a two-part federal deadline that has nothing to do with any state’s limitation period. It “shall be forever barred” unless the claimant presents it in writing to the responsible federal agency within two years of accrual. Any resulting lawsuit must then begin within six months of the agency’s mailed notice of final denial (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). The Supreme Court has held that both halves of that deadline are ordinary claims-processing rules. They do not limit the court’s jurisdiction. That means courts can equitably toll them in the right circumstances, rather than treat them as absolute (United States v. Wong, 575 U.S. 402 (2015)).
Wrongful death runs from the death, not the injury
A wrongful-death claim generally starts its own clock on the date of death, not the date of the underlying injury. That distinction matters when the two dates are months or years apart. Texas gives two years for an “injury resulting in death” (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(b)). Florida also allows two years (Fla. Stat. § 95.11). Both periods run independently of whatever deadline applied to the injury itself. A family’s clock and an injured person’s own clock are not interchangeable, even when they arise from a single event.
The bottom line
Missing any of these deadlines generally ends the claim. But the law frames that outcome as a defense the defendant has to raise, not a bar the court enforces on its own. The Federal Rules list the statute of limitations among the defenses a party “must affirmatively state” (Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(c)(1)). Most state court rules mirror that structure. That technical distinction rarely helps anyone in practice, since a defendant who wants to enforce the deadline simply raises it. But it explains why the deadline is not a wall that appears automatically the day it passes. It is a fact sitting in the record, waiting for someone to point at it.
Frequently asked questions
It depends entirely on the state, with general limitation periods ranging from one year to six years depending on where the injury occurred.
Tennessee and Kentucky both set the limit at one year from the injury.
Maine and North Dakota both allow six years, among the longest general periods verified.
Yes, a 2024 law replaced Louisiana’s former one-year period with a two-year period, effective July 1, 2024, though the change is understood to apply only to injuries occurring after that date.
Generally when the injured person discovers both the injury and its cause, not necessarily on the date of the underlying incident.
In most states, yes; the limitation period is generally paused during the injured person’s minority rather than running on the usual schedule.
Yes, and it is usually much shorter; several states require written notice within a matter of months, well before the ordinary filing deadline would expire.
A claim must generally be presented in writing to the responsible federal agency within two years of accrual, with a further six-month window to sue after a formal denial.
No, it generally starts its own clock from the date of death rather than the date of the original injury.
The claim is generally barred, but only because the defendant raises the deadline as a defense; it is not something a court enforces automatically on its own.
Keep reading: Can you still sue if you were partly at fault? · What to do after a car accident
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Get MatchedThis article is general information about personal injury claims and filing deadlines and is not legal advice. Laws differ by state and change over time, and the facts of your situation matter. For guidance on your own circumstances, consult a licensed attorney in your state.