Miss the filing deadline and the claim is gone, however strong it was. Courts dismiss late claims on the merits of the calendar, not the merits of the injury, and no amount of evidence rescues a case filed a day after the period expires.
It depends on the claim, not just the state
Every state sets its own limitation periods, and within a state the period varies by the type of claim. Ordinary negligence, medical malpractice, product liability, wrongful death, claims against government bodies and intentional torts frequently carry different clocks. A single incident can produce two claims with two deadlines.
Because of that, the only safe approach is to establish the deadline for your specific claim in your specific state at the start, rather than assuming a general figure applies.
When the clock starts — the discovery rule
Usually the period runs from the date of injury. But some harms are not apparent immediately: a retained surgical item, an occupational disease, a slow-developing condition from a toxic exposure. Many states apply a discovery rule so the clock starts when the person knew, or reasonably should have known, both that they were injured and that someone else’s conduct may have caused it.
“Should have known” is the contested part. Defendants argue the person had enough information earlier than they claim. Symptoms mentioned to a doctor, a conversation, or a news report can all become evidence about when the clock started.
Things that pause or shorten it
- Minors — the period is commonly tolled until the child reaches majority, though malpractice and government claims often have exceptions.
- Incapacity — tolling may apply while a person is unable to manage their affairs.
- Concealment — if a defendant hid the wrongdoing, the period may be extended.
- Government defendants — typically require a formal notice of claim within a very short window, months rather than years, and missing that notice can bar the claim even inside the ordinary period.
- Statutes of repose — a separate outer limit running from a fixed event such as a product’s sale or a building’s completion. A repose period can expire before the injury happens, and the discovery rule does not save it.
Filing is not the same as serving or settling
The deadline is for commencing the action, not for finishing it. Negotiating with an insurer does not stop the clock, and an adjuster who is still “reviewing” the file has no obligation to warn anyone that the period is about to run out. Claims are lost this way regularly. Separately, once a suit is filed there are service deadlines, and missing those can undo a timely filing.
Why waiting costs more than time
Even well inside the period, delay damages a case. Vehicles are repaired, surveillance footage overwrites, witnesses move and memories blur, and a gap between the incident and the first medical visit becomes the defence’s argument that the injury came from somewhere else. Evidence decays on its own schedule, which is shorter than the statute’s. See what evidence actually proves damages and Litigation.
General information only, not legal advice. Limitation and repose periods are state-specific and claim-specific — confirm yours with a lawyer licensed in your state before relying on any general figure.