Deadlines for Filing an Injury Lawsuit in Florida

Like every other state, Florida has a statute on the books that sets a deadline for the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit in civil court against the person or business that might be legally at fault for your injury.

This law is called a statute of limitations.

Under Florida's statute of limitations for personal injury cases, you have four years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit in Florida's civil courts.

(this law can be found in Florida Statutes Annotated section 95.11)

If you don't file your case within this time window, the court will very likely refuse to hear it at all.

In rare cases, you may not “discover” that you actually suffered harm for some amount of time after the incident that caused the injury, and in those instances the lawsuit-filing window will be extended.

For injury claims against a city, county or state government, the time limit is three years.

In most cases, to collect money in Florida after suffering a personal injury, you need to show that the other person involved:

The big exception to Florida personal injury laws is automobile accidents.

Florida is considered a no-fault state, which means each person's own car insurance will pay for injuries and damages resulting from an accident, no matter who was at fault.

Each driver is required to carry a personal injury protection (PIP) policy, covering a minimum of $10,000 per person per crash.

Florida law does allow you to file a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident if the injuries are serious.

Florida law defines serious personal injuries as those resulting in:

Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function

Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement

Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement

Death

It is best to speak with a Florida injury lawyer personally about your automobile accident if you believe you have suffered a serious injury and are eligible to file a personal injury lawsuit.

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