Personal Injury Statutes of Limitations

A statute of limitations sets the time in which a person must bring a lawsuit. The specific statute of limitations for personal injury actions varies from state to state and can range from one year to six years. If a personal injury lawsuit is filed beyond the statute of limitations, the court is likely to dismiss the lawsuit. The Discovery RuleThe statute of limitations for a personal injury suit generally begins to run from the time the person sustains an injury. Some personal injuries are not immediately evident. Under the "discovery rule", the statute of limitations begins to run when the person, through the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known he was injured. Read more