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Personal Injury
Kansas''s general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under K.S.A. 60-513(a)(4). The traps: a 120-day Kansas Tort Claims Act notice to municipalities under K.S.A. 12-105b(d), a modified comparative-fault 50% bar under K.S.A. 60-258a, a 10-year medmal statute of repose, and the Kansas no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) regime.
Personal Injury
Kentucky's general personal-injury statute of limitations is one year under KRS 413.140(1)(a). The combined trap: a very short one-year window plus a no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system under KRS 304.39 that requires Kentucky claimants to either accept basic reparation benefits or formally reject no-fault to preserve traditional tort rights.
Personal Injury
Louisiana's general personal-injury prescription is one year under LA C.C. art. 3492, the shortest in the nation alongside Tennessee and Kentucky. Louisiana uses civil-law terminology (prescription, not statute of limitations) and follows pure comparative fault. Government claims require notice through LA R.S. 13:5106 et seq.
Personal Injury
Maine's general personal-injury statute of limitations is six years under 14 M.R.S. 752, one of the longest windows in the country. The traps: a 180-day notice under the Maine Tort Claims Act (14 M.R.S. 8107) for government defendants, the modified 50% comparative-negligence bar under 14 M.R.S. 156, and a $400,000 MTCA damage cap on most government claims.
Personal Injury
Maryland's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under Md. Code, Cts. and Jud. Proc. 5-101. The traps: pure contributory negligence (any fault by the plaintiff is a complete bar), a one-year MGTCA notice for local-government claims, and a one-year notice under the Maryland Tort Claims Act for State defendants.
Personal Injury
Massachusetts' general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under M.G.L. c.260 s.4. The traps: a two-year MTCA presentment to the public employer under M.G.L. c.258 s.4, a modified 51% comparative-fault bar under M.G.L. c.231 s.85, and the PIP tort threshold under M.G.L. c.231 s.6D that gates pain-and-suffering recovery in auto cases.
Personal Injury
Michigan's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under MCL 600.5805. The traps: a one-year SOL on PIP benefits under MCL 500.3145, the no-fault serious-impairment threshold under MCL 500.3135, a 120-day notice for highway-defect claims, a 60-day Court of Claims notice, a 182-day medmal NOI, and a six-year medmal repose. Kandil-Elsayed v. F & E Oil (2023) narrowed the open-and-obvious doctrine.
Personal Injury
Minnesota''s general personal-injury statute of limitations is six years under Minn. Stat. 541.05, subd. 1(5). The traps: a no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) regime under Minn. Stat. chapter 65B with a strict tort threshold, a 180-day notice for municipal claims under Minn. Stat. 466.05, a four-year SOL for medical malpractice, and a modified comparative-fault 51% bar under Minn. Stat. 604.01.
Personal Injury
Mississippi's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under Miss. Code 15-1-49. The biggest trap is the Mississippi Tort Claims Act 90-day pre-suit notice requirement for claims against state and local government entities. Mississippi applies pure comparative fault under Miss. Code 11-7-15.
Personal Injury
Missouri's general personal-injury statute of limitations is five years under RSMo 516.120, one of the longest in the country. The traps: a 90-day notice requirement for claims against municipalities under RSMo 537.600, pure comparative fault under RSMo 537.765, a two-year medmal SOL with statute of repose under RSMo 516.105, and an affidavit-of-merit requirement under RSMo 538.225.
Personal Injury
Montana's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under MCA 27-2-204. The traps: a one-year notice of claim under the Montana Governmental Tort Claims Act, modified comparative fault with a 50% bar under MCA 27-1-702, and a two-year wrongful-death window under MCA 27-2-204(2).
Personal Injury
Nebraska's general personal-injury statute of limitations is four years under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-207. The traps: a one-year written notice requirement under the Nebraska Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. 13-919) and the State Tort Claims Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-8,212), modified comparative fault with a 50% bar under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-21,185.09, and a separate medmal SOL under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-222.
Personal Injury
Nevada's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under NRS 11.190(4)(e). The traps: a two-year written notice of claim under the Nevada Tort Claims Act, modified comparative fault with a 51% bar under NRS 41.141, and a strict NRS 41.035 statutory damages cap on government claims.
Personal Injury
New Hampshire's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under RSA 508:4. The traps: a 180-day Board of Risk Management (BRM) notice for state-level claims, the modified 51% comparative-negligence bar under RSA 507:7-d, and the discovery-rule overlay that runs from when the injury reasonably should have been discovered.
Personal Injury
New Jersey's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. The traps: a 90-day notice under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8), the modified 51% comparative-negligence bar, and the verbal-tort-vs-unlimited-tort election under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8 that bars most pain-and-suffering claims for verbal-tort drivers.
Personal Injury
New Mexico's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under NMSA 37-1-8. The traps: a 90-day notice of claim under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act (NMSA 41-4-16), pure comparative fault under Scott v. Rizzo, and statutory damages caps on government claims under NMSA 41-4-19.
Personal Injury
New York's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years from the date of injury under CPLR 214(5). The traps are everywhere: a 90-day notice of claim to a municipal corporation under GML 50-e plus a 1-year-90-day suit deadline under GML 50-i, a 2.5-year medmal SOL, a 2-year wrongful-death window under EPTL 5-4.1, Lavern's Law for cancer misdiagnosis, and the serious-injury threshold for no-fault auto cases.
Personal Injury
North Carolina's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under NCGS 1-52(16), with a two-year SOL for wrongful death under NCGS 1-53(4). The defining feature of NC PI practice is the pure-contributory-negligence rule: even 1% plaintiff fault is a complete bar to recovery. State claims go through the Industrial Commission under a $1M cap; medmal requires a Rule 9(j) certificate.
Personal Injury
North Dakota's general personal-injury statute of limitations is six years under NDCC 28-01-16, one of the longest in the country. The traps: a 180-day notice requirement under the State Tort Claims Act (NDCC 32-12.2) and the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (NDCC 32-12.1), modified comparative fault with a 50% bar under NDCC 32-03.2-02, and damage caps on government claims.
Personal Injury
Ohio's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under ORC 2305.10. The big trap: medical-malpractice claims have a one-year SOL under ORC 2305.113, one of the shortest in the country, but the 180-day-letter option can extend it. This post covers the one-year medmal window, the political-subdivision SOL under ORC 2744.04, dog-bite strict liability under ORC 955.28, and the 51% comparative-fault bar.
Personal Injury
Oklahoma's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under 12 O.S. section 95(A)(3). The biggest trap is the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act 1-year notice requirement under 51 O.S. section 156. Oklahoma applies a modified comparative-fault rule with a 50% bar.
Personal Injury
Oregon's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under ORS 12.110. The traps: a 180-day tort claim notice under the Oregon Tort Claims Act (ORS 30.275), modified comparative fault with a 50% bar under ORS 31.600, and PIP no-fault benefits under ORS 742.520.
Personal Injury
Pennsylvania's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years under 42 Pa.C.S. section 5524(2). The traps: the MVFRL limited-tort election barring most pain-and-suffering recovery for auto-injury claimants, a six-month notice to Commonwealth agencies, a seven-year MCARE statute of repose for medmal, the Fair Share Act's end to joint-and-several liability in most cases, and the 51% modified-comparative-fault bar.
Personal Injury
Rhode Island's general personal-injury statute of limitations is three years under R.I. Gen. Laws 9-1-14. The traps: pure comparative negligence under R.I. Gen. Laws 9-20-4 (no comparative-fault bar), sovereign-immunity caps on state and municipal liability, and the discovery rule that runs from when the injury reasonably should have been discovered.