Florida Personal Injury Laws and Statutes of Limitations

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 Florida personal injury lawsuit. We'll walk you through the filing deadlines for the most common types of cases. From there, we 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.

Florida's Statutes of Limitations for Personal Injury Lawsuits

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 for most types of PI cases.

The General Rule: Two Years From the Date of Injury

Florida's personal injury general rule is found at Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5) (2025). You have two years to file most 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.

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(5)(a) (2025) gives you two years to sue for these (and other) negligence-based claims:

• auto accidents (when you're allowed to sue under Florida's no-fault auto insurance law)
• slip-and-falls and other injuries on dangerous premises, and
• dog bites.

Medical malpractice cases. In a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit, you have two years to file in court. Most often, this two-year clock starts running on the date the malpractice happened. But Florida's "discovery rule" also applies. If you don't discover the malpractice right away, then instead of running from the date you were injured, the two-year filing deadline starts on the earlier of:

• the date you discovered the medical error, or
• the date you should have discovered it, had you been reasonably diligent to look for signs of an injury.

Note, importantly, that there's a time limit on the malpractice discovery rule. Regardless of when (or if) you discover the malpractice, you can't sue later than four years from the date it occurred.

Finally, special rules might apply to cases involving very young children.

(Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(c) (2025).)

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(5)(e) (2025), 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(5)(h) (2025) puts a two-year deadline on lawsuits alleging defamation of character. This limitation period covers suits for both slander (spoken defamation) and libel (written defamation).

(Here's more information about Florida defamation laws and lawsuits.)

Four-Year Filing Deadline for Intentional Injuries

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:

• assault and battery
• false imprisonment, and
• malicious prosecution.

(Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(n) (2025).)

What If I Miss Florida's Personal Injury Filing Deadline?

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.

Can Florida's Personal Injury Statute of Limitations Deadline Be Extended?

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:

• the date you discovered your injury, or
• the date you should have discovered it, had you been reasonably careful.

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:

• is absent from Florida
• assumes a new name you're unaware of, or
• goes into hiding while in the state.

This exception won't apply if you can arrange to have the defendant served with your lawsuit. Your lawyer will fill you in on the details.

(Fla. Stat. § 95.051(1)(a)-(c) (2025).)

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) (2025).)