By Jacob Gordon, Esq. | Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer
One of the most important deadlines in any Florida personal injury case is the statute of limitations. This is the window of time you have to file a lawsuit. Miss this deadline and you generally lose your right to recover compensation entirely, regardless of how strong your underlying claim is.
Florida’s Two-Year Deadline
Florida shortened its personal injury statute of limitations from four years to two years in 2023. For most negligence-based personal injury claims, including car accidents, slip and falls, and premises liability cases, you have two years from the date of the injury to file suit in circuit court. This change applies to causes of action that accrued on or after March 24, 2023.
Wrongful Death Cases
Wrongful death claims in Florida carry a two-year statute of limitations running from the date of the decedent’s death, not the date of the underlying accident or negligent act. These cases also have specific rules governing who may bring the claim. If the death occurred as a result of medical malpractice, additional pre-suit requirements apply.
Claims Against Government Entities
If your claim is against a Florida government entity (a city, county, state agency, or public school), different procedural rules apply. Florida Statutes section 768.28 requires you to file a written notice of claim with the appropriate agency before filing suit. Failure to comply with this pre-suit notice requirement can bar your claim. Government entity cases require prompt attention for this reason.
Why You Should Not Wait
The statute of limitations is the hard legal deadline, but evidence deteriorates long before it expires. Surveillance footage is overwritten. Witnesses become unavailable. Accident scenes are repaired or altered. Starting the legal process early preserves the evidence your case depends on. Consulting an attorney as soon as possible after an accident gives your claim the strongest possible foundation.
Medical malpractice has its own clock
Medical malpractice claims generally must be brought within two years from when the injury was discovered or should have been discovered, and no more than four years from the incident, with limited exceptions. Florida also requires a presuit investigation and notice before you can file, and that process eats into your time. If you think a doctor, nurse, or hospital made a mistake, read more about Florida medical malpractice claims and call early.
Uninsured motorist claims can follow different rules
A UM claim is a claim against your own insurance policy, and the deadline can be different from the deadline for suing the at fault driver. Do not assume one date covers both. Learn how uninsured motorist claims work in Florida.
The deadlines that hit before the filing deadline
The two year clock is the outside limit. Other deadlines come much sooner:
- PIP: you must get medical treatment within 14 days of a car crash or you can lose your PIP benefits. See Florida PIP insurance explained.
- Video: stores, apartment complexes, and businesses often record over footage within days. In a slip and fall or negligent security case, that footage can decide the outcome.
- Truck data: logs and black box data from a commercial truck can be overwritten. See truck accident claims.
- Witnesses: memories fade and people move. Names and numbers are easiest to get in the first week.
What I saw on the defense side
When I defended insurance companies, a late claim was the easiest kind to beat. The evidence was gone, the treatment had gaps, and the deadline put pressure on the injured person instead of the insurer. Calling early flips that. The time works for you, not against you.
If you are unsure whether your claim is within Florida’s filing deadline, contact Jacob Gordon Injury Law for a free consultation. jacobgordonlaw.com
This is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Every case is different. Call or text me at (813) 547-4707 to talk about yours.