The clock starts on the date of injury. The controlling statute is Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years). Filing one day late dismisses the case with prejudice.
Florida's civil-procedure code sets one of the strictest deadlines in tort litigation: the personal-injury statute of limitations. Miss it, and the doctrine of laches plus the statute combine to extinguish your claim permanently.
Florida applies the same 2-year limitations period to personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful-death claims (Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years)). Property-damage claims run separately, with a 4-year deadline.
The statute itself, Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years), is the controlling authority. Interpretive decisions come from FL Sup. Ct., which has repeatedly enforced the deadline against late-filed plaintiffs.
For most personal-injury claims in Florida, the clock starts the day the wrongful act causes harm. A car crash victim, for example, has the limitations period running from the moment of impact, not from the day the medical bills are tallied or the insurance company denies the claim.
Florida's discovery rule is most useful in toxic-tort, products-liability, and certain medical-malpractice cases where the harm manifests years after exposure. Outside of those categories, courts generally hold plaintiffs to the date-of-injury rule.
Once the deadline passes, the defendant has an absolute defense. They can ignore settlement demands, refuse to mediate, and simply wait for the dismissal motion to be granted. There is no leverage left.
Florida, like nearly every U.S. state, tolls the statute of limitations for plaintiffs who are minors at the time of injury. The clock does not start until the minor turns 18 (or, in some states, the age of majority specified by statute), at which point the standard limitations period begins to run.
Florida courts have recognized tolling for plaintiffs whose mental condition prevents them from understanding or pursuing their legal rights. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. Temporary impairment after the accident, such as pain medication or short hospitalizations, does not qualify in most Florida cases.
If the at-fault party leaves Florida after the injury, the SOL is typically tolled for the period of absence. Modern long-arm statutes and the increasing availability of service via the Florida insurance commissioner have narrowed this rule.
If the defendant actively concealed the cause of action, Florida courts can extend the SOL until the concealment is discovered or could have been discovered with reasonable diligence. Passive non-disclosure does not usually qualify.
Government-defendant claims in Florida carry a two-deadline trap: a short administrative notice period (often six months) AND the general civil SOL. Both must be met. Personal-injury attorneys treat the notice deadline as the operative one.
In March 2023, the Florida Legislature passed HB 837, signed by the Governor. The personal-injury SOL was cut from four years to two. The bill applies prospectively to causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Florida also shifted from pure comparative negligence to modified 50% comparative fault under the same statute.
Once your complaint is filed within the deadline, the case moves to the merits. Florida jurors apply the state's comparative-fault doctrine to allocate responsibility, and that allocation drives the final award.
Florida applies modified comparative fault (50% bar). Florida switched from pure to modified 50% comparative negligence in 2023 (HB 837). Plaintiff is now barred if 50% or more at fault. Authority: Fla. Stat. § 768.81 (amended 2023, was pure).
| Claim type | Deadline | Statute | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury (negligence) | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years) | Date of injury |
| Medical malpractice | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years) | Discovery or treatment end |
| Wrongful death | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years) | Date of death |
| Property damage | 4 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (amended 2023 to reduce PI SOL from 4 to 2 years) | Date of damage |
Florida is a true no-fault state for car-accident claims. That means PIP coverage pays for medical bills regardless of fault. To sue the at-fault driver beyond PIP, you generally must clear a tort threshold of serious injury defined by Fla. Stat. § 627.736.
Florida does not mandate UM coverage but insurers must offer it (Fla. Stat. § 627.727). Most policies include it at a minimum of 10/20.
Florida does not cap non-economic damages in medical-malpractice cases. Punitive damages are limited per statute (3x compensatory or $500K). Authority: Fla. Stat. § 768.73 (medmal cap struck down by Estate of McCall).
Florida tolls the running of the SOL while the defendant is absent from the state. The defense bears the burden of proving the dates of absence, and tolling typically does not apply to defendants who can be served via long-arm statute or through their Florida insurer.
Insurance negotiations do not toll the statute. Florida courts have repeatedly held that an adjuster's willingness to talk settlement is not a waiver of the SOL defense. Plaintiffs' lawyers routinely file protective complaints in the final 30 days even if talks are ongoing.
No. A workers' compensation claim is a separate administrative remedy with its own deadlines. If a third party (not your employer) caused the injury, you must still file the civil personal-injury suit within the standard Florida SOL.
Tolling pauses the clock. Florida recognizes tolling for minority, mental incapacity, defendant absence, and (in narrow cases) fraudulent concealment of the cause of action by the defendant.
Choice-of-law principles generally apply the SOL of the state where the injury occurred (the lex loci delicti rule), but Florida courts also look at the borrowing statute and the parties' connections. Cross-state cases benefit from early counsel.
Yes, in limited circumstances. Florida permits tolling agreements between the parties that extend the deadline, but they must be in writing, signed by an authorized representative of each side, and entered before the original deadline expires.
No. Only proper filing of a civil complaint in a Florida court stops the SOL. Demand letters, pre-suit mediation, and adjuster negotiations have no legal effect on the statutory deadline.
In most states the personal-injury SOL applies uniformly to negligence-based claims regardless of accident type. Florida does have separate deadlines for medical-malpractice, wrongful-death, and certain intentional-tort claims, addressed on dedicated pages.
Last verified against primary sources on 2026-05-16.