How long you have to file an injury claim in North Carolina

Three years is the general period for a personal injury lawsuit in North Carolina, and two years from the date of death is the period for a wrongful death action. The date that controls a particular claim depends on facts this page cannot see. Have an attorney confirm your own deadline.

The statutes below measure the time for bringing an action. None of them mentions insurance claims or settlement talks, and this page is general information rather than advice about any one claim.

What does G.S. 1-52 say about personal injury?

G.S. 1-52 begins with the words "Within three years an action." Subsection (5) applies that period to an action "for any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract and not hereafter enumerated."

Subsection (16) controls when the period begins for personal injury or physical damage to the claimant's property. Unless otherwise provided by law, the cause of action does not accrue until bodily harm or property damage becomes apparent or ought reasonably to have become apparent to the claimant, whichever event occurs first.

Subsection (16) also sets an outer limit. No cause of action accrues more than 10 years from the last act or omission of the defendant giving rise to the claim.

In a crash the harm is usually apparent at the scene or in the days that follow. Some injuries surface later, and that is the situation the accrual language in subsection (16) speaks to. Applying it to a late injury takes the medical records and an attorney's review.

How long does a family have for a wrongful death claim?

G.S. 1-53(4) gives two years for an action for damages on account of a death caused by the "wrongful act, neglect or fault of another" under G.S. 28A-18-2. The cause of action does not accrue until the date of death.

The statute adds a proviso. If the person who died would have been barred from bringing an action for bodily harm under G.S. 1-15(c) or 1-52(16) had he lived, no action for his death can be brought.

G.S. 28A-18-2 says the action is brought by the personal representative or collector of the person who died. The wrongful death page covers who brings the claim and what the statute lists as damages.

Is there a separate deadline for damage to my car?

G.S. 1-52(4) gives three years for an action for "taking, detaining, converting or injuring any goods or chattels." Subsection (16) uses the same accrual language for physical damage to the claimant's property that it uses for bodily harm.

If the property claim settles before the injury claim, read any release before signing it and confirm it covers only the vehicle, because a release written broadly can reach the injury claim too.

What if a State employee or a school bus was involved?

Claims against the State go to the North Carolina Industrial Commission under the State Tort Claims Act. G.S. 143-291 makes the Commission the court for tort claims against the State and its agencies. The claim has to arise from the negligence of a State officer, employee, involuntary servant or agent acting within the scope of that role.

G.S. 143-299 requires those claims to be filed with the Industrial Commission within three years after the claim accrues. When the injury causes death, the personal representative files within two years after the death.

The Commission also hears tort claims against county and city boards of education arising from negligent acts of school bus drivers, under G.S. 143-300.1. NCDMV's 2024 Traffic Crash Facts counts 106 school bus crashes in Wake County that year. G.S. 143-291 also conditions an award on a finding of no contributory negligence by the claimant, and the contributory negligence page explains that rule.

What about a crash with a city, town or county vehicle?

A claim against the City of Raleigh, another Wake County town or Wake County itself raises governmental immunity before it raises a deadline. Under G.S. 160A-485 a city waives its tort immunity by purchasing liability insurance, and only to the extent the insurance indemnifies it. G.S. 153A-435 sets the same structure for counties.

G.S. 1-53(1) sets two years for an action against a local unit of government upon a contract, obligation or liability arising out of a contract. That subsection concerns contracts, and it is not a crash deadline.

I do not give a deadline for claims against local governments on this page. Whether immunity applies and what the insurance covers depend on the government body and the facts.

Why does an early start matter for a Wake County claim?

A civil case in Wake County is conducted at the Wake County Courthouse at 316 Fayetteville St. Mall in Raleigh, in District Court District 10 or Superior Court District 10. A deadline that is close to running is a problem with the case, because the records and the medical picture still have to come together before anything is filed.

Treatment is often still under way as a deadline approaches. Settling to beat a date carries a cost, since once you settle the case you have no opportunities to get treatment for problems that arise down the road.

The first meeting with a Wake County family is by phone or video, from the Graham office, and there is no Raleigh office. The contact page has the phone number, 336-221-8900, and the office hours.