You were injured in Florida—hit by a careless driver, fell on a neighbor's dangerous sidewalk, or hurt by a negligent doctor—and you're considering a personal injury (PI) insurance claim or lawsuit. Chances are that like most Floridians, you don't know much about your state's personal injury laws. We'll get you up to speed on the basics.
One of the first things you need to know is how long you have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Florida. We'll walk you through the filing deadlines for the most common types of cases. From there, we'll explain where your lawsuit will be filed, some of the rules that apply if you're suing the government, what happens if you're partly to blame for your injuries, and more.
A "statute of limitations" is a law that limits your time to file a lawsuit in court. Starting with Florida's two-year general rule, here are the filing deadlines that apply to the most common kinds of PI cases.
Florida's personal injury general rule is found at Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4) (2024). You have two years to file most kinds of PI lawsuits in court. The clock usually starts running on the date you were injured. In some cases—like when you don't know right away you've been hurt—it might begin later, giving you more time to sue. (See "the discovery rule," below.)
These are some of the PI cases that are covered by Florida's two-year general rule.
Injuries caused by negligence. Most personal injuries happen when the defendant (the party you're suing) doesn't act as carefully as they should under the circumstances. The law calls this "negligence." Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a) (2024) gives you two years to sue for these (and other) negligence-based claims:
Medical malpractice cases. In a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit, you still have two years to file your case. But Florida's "discovery rule" applies. Instead of running from the date you were injured, the two-year medical malpractice filing deadline starts on the earlier of:
(Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(c) (2024).)
Wrongful death lawsuits. When personal injuries cause death, the victim's surviving relatives might decide to bring a wrongful death action. Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(e) (2024), the lawsuit must be filed within two years from the date of death.
(Learn more about Florida wrongful death lawsuits.)
Defamation of character. Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(h) (2024) puts a two-year deadline on lawsuits alleging defamation of character. This limitation period covers suits for slander (spoken defamation) and libel (written defamation).
(Here's more information about Florida defamation laws and lawsuits.)
Personal injuries sometimes result from intentional misconduct. When the defendant purposely or intentionally harms you, the law calls it an "intentional tort." You have four years to sue for these (and other) intentional torts:
If you don't file your PI lawsuit before the statute of limitations deadline expires, and if no extension is available, your claim is legally dead. There's nothing you can do to bring it back to life. File a lawsuit and the court will dismiss it. Worse still, the court might sanction (penalize) you for filing a frivolous case.
Make sure you're absolutely certain about the lawsuit filing deadline in your case. If you aren't, contact a Florida lawyer right away.
In limited circumstances, yes, Florida law allows the filing deadline to be extended. Here are a few examples.
The discovery rule. In most cases, the statute of limitations clock starts running on the date you were injured. But what if you don't know right away that you've been hurt? Your filing time could be ticking away while you're unaware that you have a possible claim. That's not fair.
To address this situation, Florida has adopted the "discovery rule." When you don't know you've been hurt, and there's no way you could discover your injury even if you were reasonably careful to look for signs and symptoms, this rule might give you more time to file. Instead of running from the date you were injured, the clock starts on the earlier of:
Note, importantly, that the discovery rule doesn't apply in all cases. Before you rely on it, talk to a Florida personal injury lawyer.
Defendant leaves Florida or goes into hiding. When the defendant leaves Florida or goes into hiding to prevent you from suing them, Florida law might give you some relief. The statute of limitations doesn't run as to a defendant who:
If you can arrange to have the defendant served with your lawsuit, this exception won't apply.
(Fla. Stat. § 95.051(1)(a)-(c) (2024).)
Injured person is legally disabled. Legally disabled persons—minors and those who've been found "insane" by a court—usually get more time to file a personal injury lawsuit. But the filing deadline can't be extended by more than seven years from the date of injury. (Fla. Stat. § 95.051(1)(d), (i) (2024).)
Unless you're planning to sue in Florida small claims court—where your damages are limited to $8,000—you'll want to have an attorney prepare, file, and handle your personal injury lawsuit. Here's an overview of where your lawyer will file your case.
Florida operates a two-tiered court system, consisting of circuit courts and county courts. The circuit court is Florida's court of general jurisdiction, meaning the court that's authorized to hear most kinds of criminal and civil cases. If you're asking for personal injury damages of more than $50,000, your case belongs in the circuit court.
Each of Florida's 67 counties has a county court. These courts are only authorized to hear civil cases (like personal injury lawsuits) involving up to $50,000. If you think your damages are more than this, you should file in the circuit court.
Your lawyer will choose the proper "venue" (location) for your case. Most often, it will be in the circuit or the county where:
Depending on the facts of your case, you might have other venue options.
Suing the government—state or local—isn't like suing a private person or a business. You have to follow special rules and procedures. Even if you win, the damages you can be awarded are likely limited by law.
(Learn more about injury claims against the government in Florida.)
Before you can file a PI lawsuit against the State of Florida or a Florida county or municipality, you must provide written notice of your claim to:
You have three years, usually from the date of your injury, to send this notice. If you're planning to sue for wrongful death, the notice deadline is two years. The lawsuit filing deadline is also three years for injury cases and two years for wrongful death suits.
(Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)(a) (2024).)
If you win your case against the government, the total damages you can collect are limited to:
(Fla. Stat. § 768.28(5)(a) (2024).)