Florida Car Accident Statute of Limitations: Deadlines and Exceptions

The Florida car accident statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. That window was cut in half when House Bill 837 took effect on March 24, 2023, and it now applies to any negligence claim arising on or after that date.¹ The governing provision, Section 95.11(5)(a), says plainly that an action founded on negligence must be brought within two years.² Before HB 837, you had four years.

The clock starts on the day of the accident. A crash on June 15, 2024 leaves you until June 15, 2026 to file. Miss it by a day and the court will throw the case out no matter how clear the other driver’s fault was. Two years sounds like plenty, but between medical treatment, insurance negotiations, and gathering records, it moves fast. And the two-year lawsuit deadline is not the only deadline that can end your claim.

The 14-Day Deadline That Catches People First

Long before the lawsuit deadline becomes an issue, Florida’s no-fault insurance system imposes a much shorter one. You must seek initial medical treatment within 14 days of the accident to receive any personal injury protection (PIP) benefits at all.³ Wait 15 days to see a doctor and your PIP insurer owes you nothing. Severity of injury doesn’t change that result.

Within the 14-day window, the amount of coverage depends on what the examining provider finds. A licensed physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse who diagnoses an emergency medical condition unlocks up to $10,000 in medical benefits. Without that finding, benefits are capped at $2,500.³

When the Crash Causes a Death

A wrongful death lawsuit arising from a car accident also carries a two-year filing deadline, set by Section 95.11(5)(e).² The difference from a personal injury claim is when the clock starts: the two years run from the date of death, not the date of the crash.

That matters when someone survives the initial collision and dies weeks or months later from their injuries. A victim hurt on January 1 who passes away on April 1 gives the family until April 1 two years later to file. Under Section 768.20, only the personal representative of the estate can bring the suit, and getting that representative appointed through probate takes time. The filing clock is already running while the appointment is pending.

Property Damage Claims

If another driver’s negligence wrecked your car, you have two years to sue for the damage. Section 95.11(5)(a) covers all actions founded on negligence, and property damage from a crash falls within it.² Before HB 837, property damage claims carried the same four-year deadline as personal injury. Both now share the two-year timeline.

Most of these claims settle through insurance. The deadline matters when an insurer lowballs or denies the claim and you need to take the dispute to court. Document repair estimates and total-loss valuations early so you aren’t scrambling as the two years run out.

Claims Against a Government Entity

If a government vehicle hit you, or if a dangerous road condition maintained by a public agency caused the crash, the ordinary deadline isn’t the whole story. Section 768.28 waives sovereign immunity for these claims only if you first follow a mandatory pre-suit notice process.⁴

You must present a written claim to the responsible agency within three years of the accident. If the agency is a state agency rather than a city or county, a copy also goes to the Department of Financial Services. For wrongful death claims against a government entity, the written notice must be filed within two years.⁴

You can’t file suit until the agency denies the claim in writing. If the agency stays silent for six months (or 90 days for a wrongful death claim), that silence counts as a denial and you can proceed to court. Skipping the notice step is fatal to the case.

Can You Even Sue? Florida’s No-Fault Threshold

Florida’s no-fault system limits when you can bring a lawsuit at all. Your own PIP coverage pays initial medical bills regardless of fault, and under Section 627.737 you can only sue the at-fault driver for non-economic damages (pain and suffering) if your injury involves one of the following:⁵

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

If your injuries fall short of these categories, recovery stays within the insurance process. The statute of limitations only matters once you qualify to sue.

Situations That Pause the Clock

Florida recognizes a narrow set of circumstances that toll (pause) the limitations period. Section 95.051 lists them and expressly says nothing else qualifies.⁶

The Defendant Can’t Be Found or Served

If the at-fault driver leaves Florida or hides within the state to avoid being served, the clock stops until they can be located and served. The same applies if the defendant used a false name that prevents identification. The tolling disappears, however, if you can serve them through alternative methods like service by publication.⁶

Minors and Incapacitated Persons

Tolling for a minor is tighter than many people expect. The clock pauses only when no parent, guardian, or guardian ad litem exists, when the guardian has an interest conflicting with the minor’s, or when the guardian has been adjudicated incapacitated. A minor with a competent parent or guardian gets no extra time. An absolute cap of seven years from the date of the accident overrides any tolling that does apply.⁶

Active Military Service

Federal law adds a separate protection. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the entire period of a servicemember’s active duty is excluded when calculating any filing deadline, whether the servicemember is the plaintiff or the defendant, and without any requirement to prove that military service interfered with the case.⁷

Filing Alone Doesn’t Stop the Clock

Getting the complaint on file before the two-year deadline is only half the job. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j) requires you to serve the defendant with the lawsuit within 120 days after filing. If you don’t, the court can dismiss the case without prejudice, which lets you refile only if the statute of limitations hasn’t already run.⁸

Here is how that becomes a trap. You file on the last day of the two-year window. Service doesn’t happen within 120 days. The court dismisses for lack of service, the limitations period has now expired, and you cannot refile. Filing well before the deadline leaves room for service problems and avoids the whole scenario.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Filing after the statute of limitations has run leads to one result: dismissal. The defense will move to dismiss, and the court is required to grant it. When the complaint itself shows the filing date falls outside the limitation period, the dismissal is with prejudice, permanently barring the same claim.²

The severity of your injuries makes no difference. The clarity of the other driver’s fault makes no difference. Once the deadline passes, the court treats the expiration as an absolute defense. The only way around it is proving that one of the narrow tolling exceptions applied, and courts demand clear evidence before accepting that argument. In practical terms, the statute of limitations is the single most important deadline in any Florida car accident case, which is why building in a cushion rather than racing the clock is the safer approach.

1
Florida Senate. House Bill 837 (2023)
2
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 95.11 – Limitations Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 627.736 – Required Personal Injury Protection Benefits; Exclusions; Priority; Claims
4
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 768.28 – Waiver of Sovereign Immunity in Tort Actions; Recovery Limits; Limitation on Attorney Fees; Statute of Limitations; Exclusions; Indemnification; Risk Management Programs
5
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 627.737 – Tort Exemption; Limitation on Right to Damages; Punitive Damages
6
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 95.051 – When Limitations Tolled
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3936 – Statute of Limitations
8
The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.070