How Long Do You Have to File an Injury Claim in Florida? The Two-Year Rule

Ask most people how long they have to sue after an accident in Florida and they'll guess four years. That answer used to be right. It isn't anymore, and the people who learn that too late lose otherwise winnable cases at the courthouse door.

The Rule Today

The Florida statute of limitations for personal injury claims founded on negligence is now two years. Under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes, an action founded on negligence must be commenced within two years. That covers the core of personal injury practice: car and truck accidents, slip and falls, most boating injuries governed by Florida law, and other carelessness-based claims. Wrongful death actions carry the same two-year period under section 95.11(5)(e).

What Changed

Florida's 2023 tort reform legislation cut the negligence limitations period in half, from four years to two, for causes of action accruing after the law took effect in March 2023. Every new accident today falls under the two-year rule. The reason this still trips people up is cultural memory: friends, family, and even older internet articles confidently repeat the four-year figure. Relying on it is how a valid claim dies of old age.

Two Years Is Shorter Than It Sounds

A well-built injury case needs medical treatment to reach a stable picture, records to be gathered, experts consulted where needed, insurance layers mapped, and a demand assembled before anyone talks seriously about settlement. If litigation is necessary, the complaint has to be drafted and filed before the deadline, not merely contemplated. Start at month 20 and your lawyer is triaging. Start at month 2 and your lawyer is building.

The Deadlines Inside the Deadline

• 14 days: initial medical care after a car accident, or PIP medical benefits don't apply (section 627.736, Florida Statutes).
• Days to weeks: surveillance and dashcam footage retention. Preservation letters have to land before the overwrite.
• Without delay: statutory reporting for qualifying boating accidents (section 327.30, Florida Statutes).
• Policy deadlines: notice provisions in your own insurance contracts, which can be far shorter than any statute.

Exceptions Exist. Don't Bet Your Case on One.

Some circumstances alter limitation periods: claims involving minors, defendants who leave the state, claims against government entities with their own presuit notice requirements, and cases governed by federal maritime law rather than Florida law. These are real, fact-specific doctrines, not loopholes to count on. The safe assumption is always the shortest plausible deadline until an attorney confirms otherwise in writing.

If your accident happened within the last two years, you likely still have options, and the earlier you act the better they are. Our personal injury practice handles these cases on contingency, in English and Spanish. A short consultation will get your deadlines confirmed so you're working with facts instead of folklore.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice about your specific situation. Statutory references are to the Florida Statutes as published at the time of writing.