Augment LeadsBy the Augment Leads team. Last verified: November 4, 2026.
This table is for injury law firms setting intake filters. Each row links the statute or source for the filing deadline and the fault rule. Cells marked "verify" weren't checked against a source in this update, so confirm them before you rely on them. Auto insurance systems are from the Insurance Information Institute. Tap a column heading to sort.
Statute of limitations and fault rules by state
| State | Injury filing deadline | Deadline source | Fault rule | Fault rule source | Auto insurance system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | Ala. Code 6-2-38(l) | Contributory negligence | Williams v. Delta Int'l Machinery Corp. (Ala. 1993) | At-fault |
| Alaska | 2 years | AS 09.10.070 | Pure comparative | AS 09.17.060 | At-fault |
| Arizona | 2 years | A.R.S. 12-542 | Pure comparative | A.R.S. 12-2505 | At-fault |
| Arkansas | 3 years | Ark. Code 16-56-105(1); Marcum v. Hodge, 2023 Ark. 103 | Modified: barred at 50% or more | Ark. Code 16-64-122 | At-fault |
| California | 2 years | CCP 335.1 | Pure comparative | Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) | At-fault |
| Connecticut | 2 years (from discovery; 3-year outer limit) | C.G.S. 52-584 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | C.G.S. 52-572h | At-fault |
| Delaware | 2 years | 10 Del. C. 8119 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | 10 Del. C. 8132 | At-fault |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | D.C. Code 12-301(8) | Contributory negligence (exception for pedestrians and other non-motorized users) | D.C. Code 50-2204.52 | Choice: no-fault benefits or fault-based |
| Florida | 2 years (negligence) | Fla. Stat. 95.11(5)(a) | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Fla. Stat. 768.81(6) | No-fault (verbal threshold) |
| Georgia | 2 years | O.C.G.A. 9-3-33 | Modified: barred at 50% or more | O.C.G.A. 51-12-33 | At-fault |
| Hawaii | 2 years | HRS 657-7 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | HRS 663-31 | No-fault (monetary threshold) |
| Idaho | 2 years | Idaho Code 5-219(4) | Modified: barred at 50% or more | Idaho Code 6-801 | At-fault |
| Illinois | 2 years | 735 ILCS 5/13-202 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 | At-fault |
| Indiana | 2 years | Ind. Code 34-11-2-4 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Ind. Code 34-51-2-6 | At-fault |
| Iowa | 2 years | Iowa Code 614.1(2) | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Iowa Code 668.3 | At-fault |
| Kansas | 2 years | K.S.A. 60-513 | Modified: barred at 50% or more | K.S.A. 60-258a | No-fault (monetary threshold) |
| Kentucky | 1 year general (KRS 413.140); 2 years for motor vehicle tort claims | KRS 304.39-230(6); KRS 413.140 | Pure comparative | Hilen v. Hays (Ky. 1984) | No-fault (monetary threshold), choice |
| Louisiana | 2 years (injuries on or after July 1, 2024) | La. C.C. art. 3493.1 | Barred at 51% or more for injuries on or after Jan. 1, 2026; pure comparative before | La. C.C. art. 2323 (Act 15 of 2025) | At-fault |
| Maine | 6 years | 14 M.R.S. 752 | Modified: barred if equally or more at fault | 14 M.R.S. 156 | At-fault |
| Maryland | 3 years | Cts. & Jud. Proc. 5-101 | Contributory negligence | Coleman v. Soccer Ass'n of Columbia (2013) | At-fault |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | M.G.L. c. 260, 2A | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | M.G.L. c. 231, 85 | No-fault (monetary threshold) |
| Michigan | 3 years | MCL 600.5805(2) | Modified: more than 50% at fault bars noneconomic damages | MCL 600.2959 | No-fault (verbal threshold) |
| Minnesota | 6 years | Minn. Stat. 541.05 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Minn. Stat. 604.01 | No-fault (monetary threshold) |
| Mississippi | 3 years | Miss. Code 15-1-49 | Pure comparative | Miss. Code 11-7-15 | At-fault |
| Missouri | 5 years | RSMo 516.120(4) | Pure comparative | Gustafson v. Benda (1983) | At-fault |
| Montana | 3 years | MCA 27-2-204 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | MCA 27-1-702 | At-fault |
| Nebraska | 4 years | Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-207 | Modified: barred at 50% or more | Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-21,185.09 | At-fault |
| Nevada | 2 years | NRS 11.190(4)(e) | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | NRS 41.141 | At-fault |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | RSA 508:4 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | RSA 507:7-d | At-fault |
| New Jersey | 2 years | N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 | No-fault (verbal threshold), choice |
| New Mexico | 3 years | NMSA 37-1-8 | Pure comparative | Scott v. Rizzo, 1981-NMSC-021 | At-fault |
| New York | 3 years | CPLR 214(5) | Pure comparative | CPLR 1411 | No-fault (verbal threshold) |
| North Carolina | 3 years | G.S. 1-52 | Contributory negligence | G.S. 1-139; Sorrells v. M.Y.B. Hospitality Ventures (1992) | At-fault |
| North Dakota | 6 years | N.D.C.C. 28-01-16 | Modified: barred at 50% or more | N.D.C.C. 32-03.2-02 | No-fault (monetary threshold) |
| Ohio | 2 years | R.C. 2305.10 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | R.C. 2315.33 | At-fault |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | 12 O.S. 95(A)(3) | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | 23 O.S. 13 | At-fault |
| Oregon | 2 years | ORS 12.110 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | ORS 31.600 | At-fault |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. 5524(2) | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | 42 Pa.C.S. 7102 | No-fault (verbal threshold), choice |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | R.I. Gen. Laws 9-1-14(b) | Pure comparative | R.I. Gen. Laws 9-20-4 | At-fault |
| South Carolina | 3 years | S.C. Code 15-3-530 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Nelson v. Concrete Supply Co. (1991) | At-fault |
| South Dakota | 3 years | SDCL 15-2-14 | Barred unless plaintiff's negligence was slight compared with defendant's | SDCL 20-9-2 | At-fault |
| Tennessee | 1 year (2 years in some cases with criminal charges) | Tenn. Code 28-3-104 | Modified: barred at 50% or more | McIntyre v. Balentine (1992) | At-fault |
| Texas | 2 years | CPRC 16.003 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | CPRC 33.001 | At-fault |
| Utah | 4 years (catch-all period) | Utah Code 78B-2-307(4) | Modified: barred at 50% or more | Utah Code 78B-5-818 | No-fault (monetary threshold) |
| Vermont | 3 years | 12 V.S.A. 512 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | 12 V.S.A. 1036 | At-fault |
| Virginia | 2 years | Va. Code 8.01-243(A) | Contributory negligence | Supreme Court of Virginia, Record No. 961140 (1997) | At-fault |
| Washington | 3 years | RCW 4.16.080(2) | Pure comparative | RCW 4.22.005 | At-fault |
| West Virginia | 2 years | W. Va. Code 55-2-12 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | W. Va. Code 55-7-13c | At-fault |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | Wis. Stat. 893.54(1m) | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Wis. Stat. 895.045(1) | At-fault |
| Wyoming | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. 1-3-105 | Modified: barred if more than 50% at fault | Wyo. Stat. 1-1-109 | At-fault |
General information, not legal advice. Deadlines have exceptions (minors, discovery rules, claims against public bodies, wrongful death and more). Confirm every deadline with the statute or your counsel.
How to read this table
Injury filing deadline
This is the general deadline to file a lawsuit for personal injury caused by negligence. It's not the deadline for every claim. Claims against a city or state agency, medical malpractice, wrongful death and claims by minors often have their own rules. Some deadlines run from discovery of the injury rather than the accident date, as Connecticut's does.
Fault rule
- Pure comparative: damages are reduced by the injured person's share of fault, even if it's larger than the other driver's.
- Modified, barred if more than 50% at fault: the injured person recovers reduced damages only if their fault isn't greater than the other side's.
- Modified, barred at 50% or more: the injured person must be less at fault than the other side.
- Contributory negligence: any fault by the injured person can bar recovery. North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia and DC are usually listed here; DC has a statutory exception for pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorized users.
Michigan is its own case: under MCL 600.2959, a claimant more than 50% at fault loses noneconomic damages, and economic damages are reduced. Louisiana moved from pure comparative fault to a 51% bar for injuries on or after January 1, 2026, under Act 15 of 2025.
Auto insurance system
The Insurance Information Institute lists 12 no-fault states. Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania use a verbal (injury-type) threshold to sue; Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah use a monetary threshold. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky let drivers choose. DC offers drivers the option of no-fault benefits or fault-based coverage. All other states listed are at-fault.
Using the table to set intake filters
- Set a maximum accident age per state, well inside its filing deadline.
- In contributory negligence states, capture the caller's own account of how the crash happened on the first call.
- In no-fault states, ask about injury severity and treatment, since the threshold to sue depends on them.
- Route each state's leads to staff who know that state's rules.
For state-by-state screening detail, see car accident leads by state. For deadlines on the workers' comp side, see workers' comp deadlines by state.
Cite this table
Augment Leads. "Personal Injury Statute of Limitations by State (2026 Table)." Last verified November 4, 2026. https://augmentleads.com/guides/personal-injury-statute-of-limitations-by-state
Where exclusive cases fit
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most common personal injury statute of limitations?
Two years is the most common general deadline in this table, followed by three years. Always check the statute for your state and the type of claim.
Which states have the shortest personal injury deadline?
Tennessee's is one year under Tenn. Code 28-3-104, or two years in some cases where criminal charges are brought over the same conduct. Kentucky's general deadline under KRS 413.140 is also one year, with a separate two-year rule for motor vehicle tort claims under KRS 304.39-230(6); both are linked in the table.
Which states still use contributory negligence?
North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia and DC are usually listed. In this table, each of those rows is linked to a source. DC has an exception for non-motorized users under D.C. Code 50-2204.52.
How often is this table updated?
The last-verified date is at the top of the page (November 4, 2026). Rows are rechecked when we publish or update a state guide, and cells we haven't checked yet are marked verify.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes. Download the CSV and cite the page using the citation above. It's general information, not legal advice.
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