Every injury claim has an expiration date. It is called the statute of limitations, and when it passes, an otherwise strong case is usually gone for good — no matter how clearly the other side was at fault.
The current deadline
Florida changed this in 2023. For most negligence claims arising on or after March 24, 2023, the deadline is two years from the date of the injury. Claims that arose before that date were generally governed by the previous four-year period.
That change caught a lot of people out, and it still does. Anyone relying on a half-remembered "four years in Florida" may be working from a rule that no longer applies to them.
Different claims, different clocks
The two-year negligence deadline is not universal:
- Wrongful death claims generally run two years, measured from the date of death rather than the date of the incident.
- Medical malpractice has its own framework, including rules about when the clock starts and an outer limit that can cut claims off entirely.
- Claims against government entities — a city, county, or state agency — require written notice well before suit, and missing that notice requirement can end the claim regardless of the general deadline.
- Product liability cases can also involve a statute of repose, which can bar a claim a set number of years after the product was delivered, even if the injury happened later.
Why waiting hurts even when the deadline is far away
The filing deadline is the outer boundary, not a target. Cases get harder as they age. Witnesses move and forget. Vehicles are repaired or scrapped. Surveillance footage is overwritten within days or weeks. In trucking cases, electronic logging and black box data can be purged on ordinary retention schedules long before a lawsuit is contemplated.
Meanwhile the insurance company began building its file the day after the crash.
Do not guess at your deadline
Which limitation period applies depends on the type of claim, when it arose, who the defendant is, and sometimes on when the injury was reasonably discoverable. These rules interact in ways that are genuinely complicated, and the consequence of getting it wrong is total.
If you are unsure how much time you have, call 850-215-2195. Confirming your deadline takes one conversation and costs nothing.
Injured in the Florida Panhandle?
The Price Law Firm handles personal injury claims and other injury cases from our office in Panama City. The consultation is free and there is no obligation.