Georgia’s statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits is generally two years. This means you have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. Once the two years pass, any legal claim you have to financial damages will become null and void. If you file a lawsuit after two years, the court will summarily reject it.
You have two years, but you shouldn’t wait until the last minute to get started. By talking to an Atlanta personal injury lawyer, you can get started early and maximize your chances of a successful claim.
Personal Injury Statute of Limitations in Georgia
Every state has a law that establishes a time limit for taking legal action after an injury. This law is called the statute of limitations, and it tells you how long you have to file a personal injury lawsuit.
In Georgia, the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is outlined in Ga. Code 9-3-33, which sets a two-year time limit on most lawsuits for personal injury. In other words, if you’ve been injured in an accident, you have two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit. This time limit applies in most kinds of personal injury cases in Georgia, such as:
- Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
- Dog bites
- Slip and fall accidents
- Premises liability accidents
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Intentional injuries (e.g., assault and battery)
Why Is There a Statute of Limitations on Personal Injury Lawsuits in Georgia?
States put time limits on personal injury lawsuits for purposes of efficiency, practicality, and closure. If the state allows claims from any time, it could quickly become bogged down in past cases from several years ago. Old cases may be impractical to litigate as there may no longer be any available evidence.
Time limits also prompt parties to resolve their issues promptly. Without a time limit, defendants could be sued for things that happened decades ago, which could create great financial and legal instability.
Exceptions to Georgia’s Personal Injury Statute of Limitations
The two-year timer is applicable in most types of personal injury cases. That said, there are some instances where the time limit can be paused or extended.
Discovery Rule
Normally, the statute of limitations starts counting on the date you received the injuries in the accident. However, accidents can create hidden injuries that aren’t initially detectable. In these cases, the two-year timer won’t start counting until the date you discover your condition.
This “discovery rule” exists to promote fairness. It will keep your legal claim from expiring when you couldn’t have known you had injuries. The discovery rules start the countdown on the date you could’ve known about your injuries through reasonable diligence.
Medical Malpractice
Most medical malpractice claims follow the general two-year rule, but there are two important exceptions:
- Foreign object left in the body. If a doctor or medical professional left a foreign object inside the body during a medical procedure, the time limit is one year.
- The patient was under five years old. When the victim is a minor under five years old, the statute of limitations expires when they are ten years old.
Wrongful Death
The time limit for filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Georgia is two years, the same as other personal injury lawsuits. However, the timer for wrongful death cases starts from the date of the victim’s death, which may be different from the date the initial injury event happened.
For instance, say someone gets into a car accident on January 1, 2025, and they later pass away from their injuries on June 1, 2025. In this case, the deadline for filing a wrongful death lawsuit would be June 1, 2027, two years after the person’s death.
Product Liability Lawsuits
Lawsuits for injuries from defective products follow the typical two-year timer. However, there is an additional time limit in product liability cases. You can’t file a product liability lawsuit if it’s been more than ten years since the defective product was first sold. This statute of repose applies regardless of whether you knew you had injuries or not.
What Happens if I Miss the Statute of Limitations?
The statute of limitations represents an absolute limit on your ability to file a lawsuit for personal injury. Once the timer runs out, your right to financial damages will expire.
You won’t be able to pursue a lawsuit, and any lawsuit you try to file will be rejected by the courts. You technically can still file an insurance claim, but it’ll likely be rejected without the possibility of legal action.
These time limits are extremely strict, so being just one day late will ruin your chances. Instead, you should start as early as possible to minimize delays and payment complications. A lawyer can start investigations promptly and ensure you meet the relevant filing deadlines.
Contact Our Offices to Speak to a Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer
Do you have more questions about Georgia’s personal injury statute of limitations? If so, contact Van Sant Law online or call today to discuss things with a personal injury attorney in Atlanta. Consultations are free, so you have nothing to lose by getting in touch.
