If you experience a medical injury, when is the deadline to claim a cash settlement? In fact, it’s probably the #1 question we get on DrugJustice.com. But in reality, the answer depends on where you live. State law determines what deadlines (also known as the “Statute of Limitations”) apply for medical injury claims. In addition, most cases involving drugs, medical devices and harmful products are called “product liability” claims. Below, we’ve listed product liability filing deadlines for every U.S. state.
Related: Get Answers to Your Own Claim Questions
States With 1-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims
Once you experience an injury, you have one year to file claims in:
- Georgia (only applies for claims filed on deceased person’s behalf and must occur within 1 year from date of death)
- Kentucky (must file claim either within 5 years from purchase date or eight years from product’s manufacture date)
- Louisiana
- Tennessee (must file claim either within 10 years of purchase/use date or 1 year after use-by date expires)
States With 2-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims
You have two years from your injury date to file claims in:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Delaware (However, breach of warranty claims only are valid up to 4 years after injury occurs)
- Georgia (Exception: SOL is one year from the date of death for claims filed on a deceased person’s behalf. In addition, you must file within 10 years after product purchase date, which may affect both deadlines.)
- Hawaii (deadlines for breach of warranty claims only are 4 years)
- Idaho (must file either within 10 years or after product’s use-by date)
- Iowa (must file within 15 years or before product’s warranty expires, whichever is longer)
- Illinois (must file within 10 years from purchase date)
- Indiana (must file within 10 years from purchase date)
- Kansas (must file either within 10 years of purchase or product’s use-by date expires)
- New Jersey
- Ohio (must file within 10 years after purchasing product, unless the warranty’s longer)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (must file within 10 years of purchase date; in addition, 3-year deadlines from date of death apply only to wrongful death claims)
- Pennsylvania
- Texas (must file within 15 years after purchase date)
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
States With 3-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims
You have three years to file a medical injury claim in:
- Arkansas
- Connecticut (must file claim within 10 years after purchase date unless warranty covers longer period)
- District of Columbia/Washington, D.C.
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina (must file within 12 years after product purchase)
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Washington (must file within 12 years of product purchase date)
- Wisconsin (must file within 15 years from product manufacture date)
States With 4-Year Deadlines to File Medical Injury Claims
- Florida (must file within 12 years of purchase for products with 10-year shelf lives; but if shelf life’s longer, you must file within 20 years of purchase)
- Minnesota (Exception: Deadlines extend to 6 years for negligence-based claims only)
- Nebraska (must file within 10 years of manufacture date)
- Nevada
- Wyoming
States With Filing Deadlines 5-6 Years After Your Injury Date
If you live in a state listed below, then congratulations! These states have the longest deadlines to file medical injury claims:
- Maine – 6 years
- Missouri – 5 years
- North Dakota – 6 years
Why Are There So Many Deadline Exceptions Listed In Some States?
While we listed the filing deadlines for product injury claims in every state, it doesn’t stop there. Medical injury cases can include several different claim types, such as:
- Negligence
- Product liability
- Failure to warn
- Breach of warranty
In fact, some states have specific deadlines for each claim type shown above. Other states have blanket filing deadlines for all injury claims. What’s more, these statute of limitation deadlines can change at any time. As a result, you should speak with a lawyer to learn which deadlines apply to you.
You May Qualify for Legal Assistance
When you take on Big Pharma, you know they’ll bring the full weight of their legal defense against you. However, an experienced lawyer makes you far more likely to win a cash settlement. Since mass tort lawyers work on contingency, you won’t pay anything unless your case wins. And if you do win, then you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee. We can match you with an experienced nearby lawyer today. To get started, visit our active lawsuits page. Then, choose the drug, device or product that applies to you and complete the online form. Once you’ve submitted your information, an experienced lawyer near you will call to discuss your case. This free, no-obligation consultation is your first step towards getting the justice and compensation you deserve.
Related: DrugJustice.com’s Most Frequently Asked Questions
Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.