For most Florida car accidents, you now have two years to file an injury lawsuit, measured from the date of the crash, under § 95.11(4)(a) of the Florida Statutes. That two-year deadline applies to crashes on or after March 24, 2023, when House Bill 837 shortened the general negligence period from four years to two. Crashes before that date generally still fall under the old four-year rule. Once the deadline passes, the right to sue is usually gone for good.
The deadline is one number, but several other clocks run at the same time after a crash, and people often confuse them. The 14-day window to get medical care for your no-fault benefits is not the same as the deadline to sue, and the short window to report a crash is different again. Here is how the filing deadline works, what changed under HB 837, and the situations that can shift the timing.
Contact the Miami car accident attorneys at Lipcon & Lipcon, P.A. for a free consultation, or call (305) 670-6144. We can confirm exactly which deadline applies to your crash and make sure nothing is missed.
What is the deadline to file a car accident claim in Florida?
The general deadline is two years. Under § 95.11(4)(a), a negligence claim, which is what most car accident injury lawsuits are, must be filed within two years of the date the claim accrues. For a car crash, that date is normally the day of the collision. This is a statute of limitations, so it sets a hard outer limit. File after it, and the other side can have the case dismissed on timing alone, without the court ever weighing who was at fault.
How HB 837 changed the deadline
Until 2023, Florida gave injured drivers four years to file most negligence claims. That changed when House Bill 837 was signed into law on March 24, 2023. The new law cut the general negligence statute of limitations in half, from four years to two, and that shorter period is written into § 95.11(4)(a). The change was one of the most significant parts of a broad tort reform bill, and it means anyone relying on old information about a four-year window can badly miscalculate how much time they have.
Which deadline applies to your crash?
The date of the crash decides which rule applies. If your crash happened on or after March 24, 2023, the two-year deadline applies. If it happened before that date, the prior four-year period generally still governs, because the change applies to causes of action accruing on or after the effective date. This is an area where the exact date matters, and where an honest mistake about which rule applies can cost someone their claim. When there is any doubt, the safe course is to treat the shorter deadline as the one that controls and confirm it with a lawyer.
When does the two-year clock start?
For a standard car accident injury claim, the clock starts on the date of the crash. That is usually straightforward, but it is worth being precise about, because the starting date is what determines the final filing deadline. Waiting to see how injuries develop, dealing with insurance back and forth, and gathering records all eat into the same two-year period. The time does not pause while you recover or while you negotiate with an insurer.
The PIP deadline is separate and much shorter
One of the most common and costly mix-ups is confusing the deadline to sue with the deadline for no-fault benefits. Florida is a no-fault state, and to keep your Personal Injury Protection benefits, you must receive initial medical care within 14 days of the crash under § 627.736. That 14-day rule is about your own PIP benefits, not about suing the other driver, and it is far shorter than the two-year lawsuit deadline. Miss the 14 days and you can lose PIP coverage even though you still have years to file a lawsuit. Both clocks matter, and they run independently.
Do not overlook the crash-reporting window
There is also a short window to report the crash itself. Under § 316.065, crashes involving injury, death, or apparent property damage of at least $500 must be reported, and that reporting happens right away, not years later. A police report created at the scene or shortly after is one of the most useful pieces of evidence in a later claim, so prompt reporting protects both your legal duty and your case. This is separate from the lawsuit deadline, but it is part of doing things in the right order after a crash.
What are the exceptions to the two-year deadline?
A few narrow situations can change the timing, but they are the exception, not the rule, and no one should count on them without confirming they apply. The most common are claims involving injured minors, claims against a government entity, and cases where fraud, concealment, or a defendant leaving the state affected the ability to bring the claim. Each has specific requirements, and getting them wrong can be just as final as missing the deadline outright.
Claims against a government entity
If a government vehicle, a government employee, or a dangerous public road condition contributed to the crash, extra steps apply. Under § 768.28, you generally have to give written notice of the claim to the responsible agency, and usually to the state’s Department of Financial Services, and wait out a required pre-suit period before you can file. These notice rules come on top of the ordinary deadline, and missing them can bar a claim that would otherwise be timely. Any crash that may involve a public entity needs early attention for this reason.
Injured minors
Florida law provides limited protections for the claims of injured minors, which can affect how deadlines apply in those cases. These provisions are narrow and do not extend every deadline connected to a crash, and a parent’s own claim is treated differently from the child’s claim. Because the rules here are specific and easy to misapply, families with an injured child should confirm the applicable timing rather than assume the standard two-year period is the whole picture.
Fraud, concealment, or a defendant who leaves the state
In limited circumstances, the deadline can be affected when a responsible party fraudulently concealed their role or left the state in a way that prevented the claim from being pursued. These are narrow doctrines with real proof requirements, not general extensions, and they depend heavily on the facts. They are worth knowing about, but they should never be relied on as a reason to delay, because proving them is difficult and the ordinary deadline remains the safe assumption.
What if the crash caused a death?
When a car accident results in a death, the claim changes form. It becomes a wrongful death claim, which is a distinct claim with its own two-year deadline measured from the date of death rather than the date of the crash. That means the timing can differ from the injury claim the person might have brought had they survived. If you lost a family member in a crash, the deadline and the process are different, and you can read more on our Miami wrongful death lawyer page.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
If you file a car accident lawsuit after the deadline, the defendant can move to dismiss it as time-barred, and courts routinely grant those motions. It does not matter how clear the other driver’s fault was or how serious your injuries are. There is no general fairness exception that lets a court hear a case filed too late. That is why the deadline is one of the first things to pin down after a crash, well before it becomes a problem.
Why you should not wait until the deadline nears
Even two years goes quickly once you are dealing with treatment, insurance, and daily life. Evidence fades fast after a crash. Vehicles get repaired or scrapped, event data recorders can be lost, skid marks and debris disappear, and witnesses become harder to find and less certain about what they saw. Acting early lets a lawyer preserve that proof, send letters to keep key evidence from being destroyed, and build the claim carefully instead of filing against the clock. The deadline is the outer limit, not the target.
Talk to a Miami car accident lawyer
Lipcon & Lipcon, P.A. has represented injured drivers and passengers across Miami and South Florida since 1993. Founding partner David W. Lipcon has practiced law in Florida since 1992 and handles car accident claims throughout Miami-Dade. If you were hurt in a crash, contact our Miami office for a free consultation or call (305) 670-6144. We can confirm the deadline that applies and protect your right to file.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do you have to file a car accident claim in Florida?
For most crashes on or after March 24, 2023, you have two years under § 95.11(4)(a). Older crashes may still have four years.
Did HB 837 change the car accident filing deadline?
Yes. HB 837 cut the general negligence deadline from four years to two years for causes accruing on or after March 24, 2023.
When does the car accident deadline start in Florida?
The two-year clock generally starts on the date of the crash. That date also decides whether the old four-year rule applies.
Is the PIP deadline the same as the lawsuit deadline?
No. PIP requires initial medical care within 14 days under § 627.736. That benefits deadline is separate from the lawsuit deadline.
What if the car accident caused a death in Florida?
It becomes a wrongful death claim, with its own two-year deadline measured from the date of death rather than the crash.
For more on these claims, visit our Miami car accident lawyer page.
