The Florida car accident statute of limitations now gives most injured people less time to bring a negligence case to court. Florida’s 2023 tort reform cut the deadline from four years to two years for negligence actions. That change can matter long before a case reaches a courtroom, especially when treatment is ongoing or an insurer is still making offers. Missing that deadline can end the right to seek payment through a lawsuit, even when the crash caused real harm.
In plain language, this is the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit. It is not a deadline for getting medical care, reporting a crash, or opening an insurance claim. Those steps can have their own rules. Still, that deadline should be tracked from the start because insurance talks can continue right up to the point when a court claim is no longer allowed. Waiting can also make it harder to verify the collision, the injuries, and the person who caused it.
Florida Car Accident Statute of Limitations After HB 837
Florida Statute 95.11 now gives a person two years to file an action founded on negligence. For a typical crash, this two-year clock starts on the accident date. The official Florida Senate bill page for HB 837 confirms that the 2023 law reduced the limitations period for negligence actions and took effect on March 24, 2023. Whether a particular older claim is affected can depend on its facts and filing history.
The Florida car accident statute of limitations is a court deadline, not a reason to put off the rest of a claim. A driver may need to notify an insurer, use personal injury protection benefits, or respond to a policy requirement much sooner. A car accident claim review can separate those dates and keep a claim from being built around the wrong deadline.
Exceptions to Florida’s Two-Year Filing Deadline
This two-year deadline does not settle every timing question. A fatal crash is handled under Florida’s wrongful death rule, which has its own two-year filing period. A family should not assume that the personal-injury deadline controls a death claim; wrongful death attorneys can review the date that starts that clock and the losses the family may claim.
Claims involving minors can also involve special tolling rules. They are not an automatic invitation to wait until a child turns 18. Florida’s tolling statute makes the exception depend in part on whether a parent, guardian, or guardian ad litem can sue for the child. The filing deadline may also be affected by the type of claim or a narrow statutory exception, so a quick legal review is safer than relying on a general rule.
Why This Filing Deadline Calls for Early Action
This filing deadline is only one reason to act quickly. Evidence often fades sooner than the filing date. A business may record over security video, witnesses may move or forget details, and damaged vehicles may be repaired or sold. Photos, crash reports, phone records, medical records, and data from a vehicle can be far more useful when they are gathered early.
Orlando car accident attorneys can preserve that proof while they assess medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage. A timely personal injury case review also gives an attorney time to identify every possible insurance policy and decide whether a lawsuit is needed. Even when a claim resolves through a settlement, preparing before the Florida car accident statute of limitations expires helps protect the legal options that give an injured person leverage.
Call 407-846-2240 for a free consultation with an Orlando car accident attorney at the Martinez Manglardi personal injury law firm. Convenient locations throughout Central Florida, including Orlando, Kissimmee, Apopka, Palm Bay, Ocala, Haines City, and Davenport.
