Minors
Children injured in Wyoming get a tolling rule: the statute does not begin running until the minor reaches the age of majority. This means a five-year-old injured in a car accident generally has until age 18 + the standard SOL years to file.
Statute of limitations · Wyoming
You have 4 years to file a personal-injury lawsuit in Wyoming.
The clock starts on the date of injury. The controlling statute is Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105. Filing one day late dismisses the case with prejudice.
What the Wyoming statute of limitations actually says
In Wyoming, the personal-injury filing deadline is not a recommendation. It is a substantive bar. File one day late and the defendant's lawyer wins automatically, regardless of who actually caused the accident or how badly you were hurt.
Wyoming's personal-injury deadline is 4 years from the date of injury (Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105). Medical-malpractice claims run separately at 2 years, often with a discovery-rule trigger. Wrongful-death claims run from the date of death, with a 2-year deadline.
The statute itself, Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105, is the controlling authority. Interpretive decisions come from WY Sup. Ct., which has repeatedly enforced the deadline against late-filed plaintiffs.
When does the clock start in Wyoming?
Wyoming treats the date of injury as the trigger. Settlement negotiations, insurance adjuster calls, and pre-litigation demands do not pause the running of the statute , only proper filing in a Wyoming court does.
Discovery rule
The discovery rule in Wyoming is narrowly applied. Courts generally require evidence that the injury was inherently undiscoverable, not merely that the plaintiff was unaware. Routine soft-tissue injuries from a car accident almost never qualify.
What happens if you file late
A late-filed complaint in Wyoming is dismissed on the pleadings. The court does not hear evidence, does not weigh fault, does not consider damages. The motion is purely procedural and almost never denied.
Exceptions that pause or restart the clock
Mental incapacity
Wyoming 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 Wyoming cases.
Defendant absence from state
If the at-fault party leaves Wyoming 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 Wyoming insurance commissioner have narrowed this rule.
Fraudulent concealment
If the defendant actively concealed the cause of action, Wyoming 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.
Claims against Wyoming government entities
If your injury was caused by a Wyoming state or local government entity , a city bus, a police officer, a public-school employee , you generally must file a separate "notice of claim" within a much shorter window (typically 60 to 180 days) BEFORE filing a civil suit. Missing the notice deadline bars the lawsuit even if the longer SOL has not yet expired.
Comparative-fault rule that applies once you file on time
Filing on time gets you into court. Winning at trial is a separate question, and Wyoming's comparative-fault rule is the next major hurdle.
Wyoming applies modified comparative fault (50% bar). Wyoming uses modified comparative fault with 50% bar. Authority: Wyo. Stat. § 1-1-109.
All Wyoming civil-injury deadlines at a glance
| Claim type | Deadline | Statute | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury (negligence) | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105 | Date of injury |
| Medical malpractice | 2 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105 | Discovery or treatment end |
| Wrongful death | 2 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105 | Date of death |
| Property damage | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105 | Date of damage |
Wyoming auto-insurance framework you will encounter
Wyoming is a pure at-fault (tort) state for car-accident claims. That means injured parties can sue the at-fault driver directly. The minimum liability coverage required under Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-401 is 25/50/20.
Wyoming requires UM coverage at a minimum of 25/50 (Wyo. Stat. § 31-10-101). Stacking treatment: limited.
Wyoming damage caps that affect what you can recover
Wyoming does not cap non-economic damages in medical-malpractice cases. Punitive damages are uncapped. Authority: Wyo. const. prohibits caps.
Wyoming statute-of-limitations FAQ
Does Wyoming extend the SOL if the at-fault driver leaves the state?
Wyoming 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 Wyoming insurer.
What if the insurance company is still negotiating when the deadline approaches?
Insurance negotiations do not toll the statute. Wyoming 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.
Does filing a workers' compensation claim extend the personal-injury SOL?
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 Wyoming SOL.
What is "tolling" and when does it apply in Wyoming?
Tolling pauses the clock. Wyoming recognizes tolling for minority, mental incapacity, defendant absence, and (in narrow cases) fraudulent concealment of the cause of action by the defendant.
If I was hit by a Wyoming-registered driver but the crash happened in another state, which SOL applies?
Choice-of-law principles generally apply the SOL of the state where the injury occurred (the lex loci delicti rule), but Wyoming courts also look at the borrowing statute and the parties' connections. Cross-state cases benefit from early counsel.
Can the SOL be extended by a written agreement with the defendant?
Yes, in limited circumstances. Wyoming 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.
Does sending a demand letter to the insurance company stop the clock?
No. Only proper filing of a civil complaint in a Wyoming court stops the SOL. Demand letters, pre-suit mediation, and adjuster negotiations have no legal effect on the statutory deadline.
Are there different deadlines for car accidents, slip-and-falls, and dog bites in Wyoming?
In most states the personal-injury SOL applies uniformly to negligence-based claims regardless of accident type. Wyoming does have separate deadlines for medical-malpractice, wrongful-death, and certain intentional-tort claims, addressed on dedicated pages.
Related Wyoming personal-injury topics
Statute of limitations in nearby states
Sources cited on this page
- Wyoming personal-injury statute: Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105. Primary authority for the 4-year deadline.
- Comparative-negligence rule: Wyo. Stat. § 1-1-109. Establishes modified comparative fault (50% bar) in Wyoming.
- Auto-insurance / financial-responsibility: Wyo. Stat. § 31-9-401. Minimum liability 25/50/20.
- Uninsured-motorist coverage: Wyo. Stat. § 31-10-101.
- Damage caps: Wyo. const. prohibits caps.
- Court verification: Decisions of WY Sup. Ct., accessed via Cornell Legal Information Institute and the CourtListener PACER archive.
Last verified against primary sources on 2026-05-16.