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Statute of Limitations by State

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Civil & Personal Injury Actions

Georgia

Personal Injury: Professional negligence actions, including medical malpractice lawsuits, must be filed within two years.
Product Liability: Two years
Professional Malpractice: Actions for medical malpractice must be commenced within two years of the date the act giving rise to the injury occurred. If a person was unable to discover the injury during that initial two year period of time, the limitations period will be extended. In cases where a health-care provider leaves an object in a person’s body, the person has one year from the date of discovery to file suit. However, no medical malpractice action may be brought more than five years after the date that act giving rise to the injury occurred.
Injury to Personal Property: Four years
Fraud: Two years
Libel - Slander - Defamation: One year
Contracts: Written: six years; Oral: four years

Hawaii

Personal Injury: Two years
Product Liability: Two years
Professional Malpractice: Medical malpractice actions must be commenced within two years from the act giving rise to injury injury or reasonable date of discovery. In the event that an object is left inside a person’s body, a medical malpractice action may be commenced within one year from the date of discovery. However, all medical malpractice actions must be commenced within six years of the date of the act giving rise to injury. This six-year time limitation is tolled for any period during which the person has failed to disclose any act, error, or omission upon which the action is based and which is known to the person.
Injury to Personal Property: Two years
Fraud: Two years.
Libel - Slander - Defamation: Two years.
Contracts: Six years

Idaho

Personal Injury: Two years
Product Liability: Two years
Professional Malpractice: Professional negligence actions, including medical malpractice lawsuits, must be filed within two years.
Injury to Personal Property: Three years
Fraud: Three years
Libel - Slander - Defamation: Two years
Contracts: Written: five years; Oral: four years

Illinois

Personal Injury: Two years
Product Liability: Two years from the date of injury. If the injury cannot is not discovered during the initial two year period, the action may be filed within eight years of the time the injury occurred.
Professional Malpractice: Medical malpractice actions must be commenced within two years of the date of the act giving rise to the injury. If the injury cannot reasonably be discovered during that two year period, the lawsuit must be filed within four years of the date of the act giving rise to the injury.
Injury to Personal Property: Five years
Fraud: Fraudulent concealment: five years; Fraud by a decedent: two years
Libel - Slander - Defamation: One year
Contracts: Written: ten years; Oral: five years

Indiana

Personal Injury: Two years
Product Liability: Two years, regardless of the age of the victim.
Professional Malpractice: Professional negligence actions, including medical malpractice lawsuits, must be filed within two years.
Injury to Personal Property: Two years
Fraud: Six years
Libel - Slander - Defamation: Two years
Contracts: Written: ten years; Contract for payment of money: six years; Oral: six years; Employment Contracts: two years

Iowa

Personal Injury: Two years
Product Liability: Two years (with some complex exceptions).
Professional Malpractice: Actions for medical malpractice must be filed within two years of reasonable discovery of the act giving rise to the injury. All actions must be filed within six years of the wrongful act or omission. These time limits apply to minors aged eight or older.
Injury to Personal Property: Five years
Fraud: Five years from the date the injury was or should have been discovered.
Libel - Slander - Defamation: Two years
Contracts: Written: ten years; Oral: five years

Kansas

Personal Injury: Most intentional torts, one year. Most actions for negligence, two years. No cause of action may be filed more than ten years after the date of injury.
Product Liability: For claims based on negligence, an action must be filed within two years of the date the plaintiff suffers a substantial injury. For claims based on strict liability, an action must be filed within two years after the injury occurs.
Professional Malpractice: Professional negligence actions, including medical malpractice lawsuits, must be filed within two years from reasonable discovery, to a maximum of four years from the date of the wrongful act or omission.
Injury to Personal Property: Two years
Fraud: Two years. The cause of action does not accure until the fraud is discovered.
Libel - Slander - Defamation: One year
Contracts: Written: five years; Oral: two years

Kentucky

Personal Injury: One year
Product Liability: One year
Professional Malpractice: Actions for professional negligence, including medical malpractice, must be commenced within one year of the date of the act or omission giving rise to the injury. In the event that the malpractice cannot reasonably be discovered within that time, the lawsuit may be filed at a later time not to exceed five years after the date of the act or omission giving rise to the injury.
Injury to Personal Property: Two years
Libel - Slander - Defamation: One year
Contracts: Written: fifteen years; Oral: five years.

Louisiana

Personal Injury: One year
Product Liability: One year
Professional Malpractice: Professional negligence actions must be filed within one year of the date of the act or omission giving rise to injury, or one year from the date of discovery. No medical malpractice action may be filed more than three years after the date of the act or omission giving rise to the injury.
Injury to Personal Property: One year
Fraud: One year
Libel - Slander - Defamation: One year
Contracts: Ten years

All States

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA D.C. WV WI WY