Car Accident Filing Deadlines in Florida and Tennessee

Two states. Two very different clocks. Here is what every crash victim should know before it is too late.

By Kelli Haas, Kelli Haas & Associates — licensed in Florida and Tennessee

Picture two nearly identical crashes. Same rear-end collision, same neck and back injuries, same insurance adjuster who keeps promising the file is “still under review.” One happens on I-75 outside Tampa. The other happens on I-24 outside Nashville. In both, the injured driver waits about eighteen months, finally gets fed up, and calls a lawyer.

The driver in Florida still has a case. The driver in Tennessee almost certainly does not.

Because I am licensed in both Florida and Tennessee, this is the difference I end up explaining most often — and it is the single most expensive thing people do not know about their own claim.

Florida: generally two years

For most car accident claims in Florida, the clock runs like this:

• Injury caused by negligence: 2 years from the date of the crash (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a))
• Wrongful death: 2 years (§ 95.11(5)(e))
• Damage to your vehicle: 4 years (§ 95.11(3)(g))

Worth knowing: Florida shortened this deadline in 2023. It used to be four years. A small number of older claims may still fall under the prior rule, but for practical purposes, every new crash today is a two-year case.

The Florida deadline that arrives first: 14 days

Florida is a no-fault state, which means your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage pays your first medical bills regardless of who caused the crash. But that coverage comes with a deadline most people never hear about until they have already missed it.

To receive PIP benefits at all, you must obtain initial medical care within 14 days of the accident. (Fla. Stat. § 627.736(1)(a).) Miss that window and the benefit is not reduced — it is gone. And if a provider determines you did not have an “emergency medical condition,” your PIP benefits are capped at $2,500 instead of the full $10,000.

Two years to file suit. Fourteen days to protect your medical coverage. People walk away from crashes feeling sore but “fine,” decide to wait and see, and forfeit thousands of dollars in coverage before the bruising has even faded.

Tennessee: one year

Tennessee has one of the shortest personal injury deadlines in the country, and it catches people constantly.

• Injury from a car accident: 1 year from the date of the crash (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1)(A))
• Wrongful death: 1 year
• Damage to your vehicle: 3 years (§ 28-3-105)

There is one narrow extension. The deadline stretches to two years if criminal charges are brought against the driver who hurt you — a DUI or vehicular assault case, for example — the prosecution is commenced within one year by law enforcement, a district attorney general, or a grand jury, and you are suing the person actually prosecuted (§ 28-3-104(a)(2)).

Do not plan around that exception. Whether it applies often is not clear until your civil year is nearly spent.

If a government vehicle was involved, the clock gets shorter still

City buses, police cruisers, public works trucks, school vehicles — these claims follow their own rules, and the rules are unforgiving.

• Tennessee: suit must be filed within 12 months (Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-305(b))
• Florida: you must deliver written notice to the agency, and usually to the Department of Financial Services, before you can sue at all — generally within 3 years, or 2 years in a wrongful death case (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6))

Crashes that cross state lines

A Nashville family is rear-ended on vacation in Naples. A Florida retiree is injured driving through Chattanooga. Which state’s deadline governs is not always obvious, and getting it wrong is not a mistake you can fix later.

If your crash happened outside the state where you live, assume the shorter deadline applies until a lawyer confirms otherwise.

The bottom line

No insurance company is required to remind you that your time is running out, and none of them will. A friendly adjuster who keeps saying the claim is still being reviewed is not pausing anything. When the deadline passes, the claim is over — no matter how badly you were hurt or how obviously the other driver was at fault.

• Crash in Tennessee? Treat the one-year mark as a hard wall, and talk to a lawyer long before you reach it.
• Crash in Florida? See a doctor within 14 days, and do not let the two-year mark sneak up on you.

If you are not sure which deadline applies to your situation, that question alone is worth a phone call. It costs nothing to ask, and it is the one thing that cannot be fixed after the fact.

About the author Kelli Haas A native of the Florida Keys, Kelli Haas has practiced law for more than 32 years and is licensed in both Florida and Tennessee. Her firm, Kelli Haas & Associates, focuses on business law and personal injury. She offers free consultations in accident cases in both states. (615) 567-7300  •  kelli@khalawgroup.com •  www.khalawgroup.com

This article is general information about Florida and Tennessee law and is not legal advice. Filing deadlines have exceptions — including for injured minors and certain other circumstances — and the deadline that applies to your case depends on its specific facts. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult an attorney about your own situation.