Personal Injury Statute of Limitations: Florida vs Georgia (2026)
Current as of 2026
If you were hurt in an accident, the single most important date in your case is the filing deadline. Miss it and the court will almost certainly dismiss your claim, no matter how strong your evidence is. Florida and Georgia now both give most injury victims two years, but the details differ in ways that can quietly end a case.
First things first: get medical care. Call 911 if you haven't, see a doctor, and keep your records. The legal clock matters, but your health comes first.
This guide compares the 2026 deadlines in both states, side by side. Aleksandr "Alex" Shkolyar is a former criminal prosecutor licensed in both Florida and Georgia (as well as Mississippi, Texas, New York, and New Jersey), so if you're not sure which state's rules apply to your accident, he can evaluate your claim under either one. Learn more on the Boca Raton office page.
01
What is the general personal injury deadline in Florida vs Georgia?
Florida and Georgia both give injured people two years from the date of the accident to file most personal injury lawsuits in 2026.
In Florida, the two-year deadline applies to negligence claims (car accidents, slip and falls, most injury cases) that accrued on or after March 24, 2023, under Florida Statute 95.11. In Georgia, the two-year deadline comes from O.C.G.A. 9-3-33 and has been the rule for decades.
One important Florida wrinkle: the state cut its deadline from four years to two in 2023 under a tort reform law called HB 837. That change was not retroactive. If your Florida accident happened before March 24, 2023, the old four-year deadline still applies to your claim. Anything after that date gets two years.
For most people reading this in 2026, the practical answer is the same in both states: you have two years, and the clock is probably already running. If your accident involved a car crash in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, or anywhere in South Florida, see the car accidents page for what to do next.
02
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim in Florida vs Georgia?
Both Florida and Georgia require wrongful death lawsuits to be filed within two years of the date of death, not the date of the accident.
This distinction matters when a loved one survives for days, weeks, or months after the injury before passing away. The clock starts on the day they died.
In Florida, the two-year wrongful death deadline existed before the 2023 tort reform and did not change. In Georgia, wrongful death follows the same two-year period as other injury claims, and state law sets a strict order of who may file, starting with the surviving spouse, then children, then parents, then the estate representative.
Both states also limit who can bring the claim, which trips up grieving families more often than the deadline itself. Talking to an attorney early prevents both problems.
03
What are the deadlines for claims against government entities in Florida vs Georgia?
Claims against government entities in both Florida and Georgia require special written notice on a much shorter timeline than a normal lawsuit, and missing the notice deadline can end the claim entirely.
This applies when your injury involves a government vehicle, a public building, a city sidewalk, a county road, or a public employee on the job.
In Florida, you generally must present a written notice of claim to the responsible agency (and, for state agencies, the Florida Department of Financial Services) within three years of the incident, or two years for wrongful death. The agency then gets an investigation period before you can sue. Sending the notice does not pause the underlying two-year lawsuit deadline, so both clocks run at once.
In Georgia, the notice windows are shorter and are called ante litem notices. A claim against a city must be presented in writing within six months under O.C.G.A. 36-33-5. Claims against a county or against the State of Georgia must be presented within 12 months. These notices must contain specific details about the time, place, and nature of the injury, and getting the format wrong can invalidate the notice.
The trap
The safe rule in both states: if any government body might be involved in your accident, treat your deadline as months, not years, and get legal help immediately.
04
What is the medical malpractice deadline in Florida vs Georgia?
Both Florida and Georgia give medical malpractice victims two years to file, but each state adds an outer cutoff called a statute of repose that can bar a claim even before you know you were harmed.
A statute of repose is a hard final deadline measured from the date of the medical error, regardless of when you discovered the injury.
In Florida, the two years generally runs from when you discovered, or should have discovered, the malpractice, but no claim can be filed more than four years after the incident itself. That extends to seven years if the provider committed fraud or concealed the error. There is also a special protection for young children that can preserve a claim until the child's eighth birthday. Florida also requires a pre-suit notice and investigation process before a malpractice lawsuit can be filed, which adds its own timing rules.
In Georgia, the deadline is two years from the injury or death, with a five-year statute of repose.
The trap
In other words, five years after the negligent treatment, the claim is gone in Georgia even if the harm only surfaced later.
Malpractice deadlines are among the most complicated in either state. If you suspect a medical error harmed you or a family member, do not try to calculate this yourself.
05
What is the product liability deadline in Florida vs Georgia?
If a defective product injured you, both Florida and Georgia expect you to act within roughly two years of the injury, and both states impose an outer repose deadline measured from when the product was first sold.
The repose period is 12 years in Florida and 10 years in Georgia.
In Georgia, the injury lawsuit itself follows the general two-year personal injury deadline, and O.C.G.A. 51-1-11 bars most claims once 10 years have passed since the product's first sale, with limited exceptions such as failure-to-warn claims and willful manufacturer misconduct.
In Florida, the picture after the 2023 tort reform is less uniform. Claims based on negligence now carry the two-year deadline, while some product liability theories may still carry a longer period, and legal sources currently differ on exactly where the line sits. Because of that, the only safe assumption is the shortest one: aim to act within two years of the injury. Florida's separate 12-year repose period, counted from the product's delivery to its first buyer, can bar older-product claims regardless.
The practical takeaway is identical in both states. Keep the product, keep your purchase records, and get a legal evaluation quickly, because the age of the product can matter as much as the date of your injury.
06
Does Florida or Georgia have a discovery rule that extends my deadline?
Neither Florida nor Georgia applies a broad discovery rule to ordinary injury cases, so in both states the two-year clock usually starts on the date of the accident, not the date you realized you were hurt.
Anyone counting on an "I didn't know" extension for a car accident or fall is likely to be disappointed in either state.
Florida does apply discovery-based timing in specific categories, most notably medical malpractice and certain product injury claims, where the clock can start when you discovered or should have discovered the harm. Even then, the statutes of repose described above put a ceiling on how far discovery can stretch a deadline.
Georgia's discovery-based extensions are similarly narrow. They tend to appear in latent injury situations, such as harm that develops over time or a surgical object left in the body, and each carries its own strict outer limit.
Both states also pause the clock in limited circumstances, such as when the injured person is a minor, is legally incapacitated, or when the defendant conceals their role or leaves the state. These exceptions are real but narrow, and no one should assume one applies without a lawyer confirming it.
07
Which state's deadline applies to my case?
The deadline that applies to your injury claim is almost always set by the state where the accident happened, not the state where you live.
If you live in Georgia but were hurt in a crash on I-95 in Palm Beach County, Florida's two-year rule and Florida's government notice rules govern your case. If you live in Boca Raton but were injured while visiting Atlanta, Georgia's deadlines and Georgia's six-month city notice rule apply.
This is where border-crossing lives create real risk. Snowbirds, interstate truckers, families with relatives in both states, and anyone who travels the I-75 or I-95 corridor can easily assume the wrong state's rules. Guessing wrong on a government notice window can end a claim months before the "main" deadline arrives.
There can also be cases with a genuine choice of state, for example when the at-fault company operates in both. Where you can file, and which state's law gives you the stronger position, is a legal judgment call.
Because Alex is licensed in both Florida and Georgia, he can evaluate your claim under whichever state's law actually applies, or under both, in a single free consultation. You can reach the firm through the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I miss the statute of limitations?
If you file a lawsuit after the deadline, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case, and you lose the right to compensation permanently. It does not matter how badly you were hurt or how clear the other side’s fault is. Insurance companies check the deadline first, and once it passes they have no reason to offer you anything. This is the single most unforgiving rule in personal injury law in both Florida and Georgia.
Does filing an insurance claim stop the clock?
No, an insurance claim and a lawsuit are separate, and negotiating with an insurer does not pause the statute of limitations in Florida or Georgia. Some insurers deliberately slow down negotiations hoping the deadline will pass. If your deadline is approaching and the insurer has not paid fairly, a lawsuit must be filed to preserve your rights, even if settlement talks continue afterward.
I was partly at fault. Do the deadlines still apply to me?
Yes, the same filing deadlines apply regardless of fault, and being partly at fault does not automatically bar you from recovering in either state. Both Florida and Georgia use comparative fault systems that reduce your recovery by your share of blame, and both bar recovery if you are found more than 50 percent at fault. Fault is an argument for later. The deadline is not.
My accident was on a cruise ship leaving a Florida port. Do these deadlines apply?
Probably not, because most major cruise lines use ticket contracts that shorten the deadline to as little as one year and require written notice even sooner, often within six months. Cruise injury claims follow maritime law and the fine print of your ticket rather than the Florida or Georgia statutes described above. If you were hurt at sea, treat your deadline as one year at most and see the cruise ship injuries page for more.
Should I wait until I finish medical treatment to contact a lawyer?
No, contact a lawyer as soon as you reasonably can, because evidence disappears far faster than legal deadlines expire. Getting medical care always comes first. But surveillance footage gets erased, witnesses move, and vehicles get repaired within weeks. An attorney can preserve evidence and track every deadline while you focus on recovery, and a contingency arrangement means it costs nothing up front.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines have exceptions, exceptions have exceptions, and small facts change outcomes. Only a consultation about your specific situation can tell you the deadline that actually applies to your case.
If you were injured in Florida, Georgia, or anywhere Alex is licensed, call for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win, and Alex handles your case personally, in English or Russian.
or reach out through the contact page
Alex's Law Firm, 7000 W Palmetto Park Rd Suite 210, Boca Raton, FL 33433