Deadlines to File Your Medical Injury Claim In Every State

Lori Polemenakos

4 years ago

If you experience a medical injury, when is the deadline to claim a cash settlement? In fact, it’s probably the #1 question we get on DrugJustice.com. But in reality, the answer depends on where you live. State law determines what deadlines (also known as the “Statute of Limitations”) apply for medical injury claims. In addition, most cases involving drugs, medical devices and harmful products are called “product liability” claims. Below, we’ve listed product liability filing deadlines for every U.S. state.

States With 1-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims

Once you experience an injury, you have one year to file claims in:

Georgia (only applies for claims filed on deceased person’s behalf and must occur within 1 year from date of death)
Kentucky (must file claim either within 5 years from purchase date or eight years from product’s manufacture date)
Louisiana
Tennessee (must file claim either within 10 years of purchase/use date or 1 year after use-by date expires)

States With 2-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims

You have two years from your injury date to file claims in:

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Colorado
Delaware (However, breach of warranty claims only are valid up to 4 years after injury occurs)
Georgia (Exception: SOL is one year from the date of death for claims filed on a deceased person’s behalf. In addition, you must file within 10 years after product purchase date, which may affect both deadlines.)
Hawaii (deadlines for breach of warranty claims only are 4 years)
Idaho (must file either within 10 years or after product’s use-by date)
Iowa (must file within 15 years or before product’s warranty expires, whichever is longer)
Illinois (must file within 10 years from purchase date)
Indiana (must file within 10 years from purchase date)
Kansas (must file either within 10 years of purchase or product’s use-by date expires)
New Jersey
Ohio (must file within 10 years after purchasing product, unless the warranty’s longer)
Oklahoma
Oregon (must file within 10 years of purchase date; in addition, 3-year deadlines from date of death apply only to wrongful death claims)
Pennsylvania
Texas (must file within 15 years after purchase date)
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia

States With 3-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims

You have three years to file a medical injury claim in:

Arkansas
Connecticut (must file claim within 10 years after purchase date unless warranty covers longer period)
District of Columbia/Washington, D.C.
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
New Hampshire
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina (must file within 12 years after product purchase)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington (must file within 12 years of product purchase date)
Wisconsin (must file within 15 years from product manufacture date)

States With 4-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims

Florida (must file within 12 years of purchase for products with 10-year shelf lives; but if shelf life’s longer, you must file within 20 years of purchase)
Minnesota (Exception: Deadlines extend to 6 years for negligence-based claims only)
Nebraska (must file within 10 years of manufacture date)
Nevada
Wyoming

States With Filing Deadlines 5-6 Years After Your Injury Date

If you live in a state listed below, then congratulations! These states have the longest deadlines to file medical injury claims:

Maine – 6 years
Missouri – 5 years
North Dakota – 6 years

Why Are There So Many Deadline Exceptions Listed In Some States?

While we listed the filing deadlines for product injury claims in every state, it doesn’t stop there. Medical injury cases can include several different claim types, such as:

Negligence
Product liability
Failure to warn
Breach of warranty

In fact, some states have specific deadlines for each claim type shown above. Other states have blanket filing deadlines for all injury claims. What’s more, these statute of limitation deadlines can change at any time. As a result, you should speak with a lawyer to learn which deadlines apply to you.

You May Qualify for Legal Assistance

When you take on Big Pharma, you know they’ll bring the full weight of their legal defense against you. However, an experienced lawyer makes you far more likely to win a cash settlement. Since mass tort lawyers work on contingency, you won’t pay anything unless your case wins. And if you do win, then you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee. We can match you with an experienced nearby lawyer today. To get started, visit our active lawsuits page. Then, choose the drug, device or product that applies to you and complete the online form. Once you’ve submitted your information, an experienced lawyer near you will call to discuss your case. This free, no-obligation consultation is your first step towards getting the justice and compensation you deserve.