Key facts
- Personal injury deadline
- 3 years
- Jurisdictions in this group
- 17
- States
- Arkansas, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin
- When the clock starts
- Generally the date of injury. Most states apply a discovery rule that delays the start when the injury was not, or could not reasonably have been, discovered at the time it occurred.
- Last verified
- 2026-05-22 (each state row cites the primary source)
Three years is the most common deadline in the second tier, more generous than the two-year norm but less than four-plus. New York's deadline runs from the date of injury under C.P.L.R. § 214; some 3-year states like Vermont use a discovery rule by statute that delays accrual until the injury was or should have been discovered.
The 17 3-year jurisdictions
Informational only and not legal advice. Notice deadlines for medical malpractice, claims against government entities, and intentional torts run on separate tracks and can be much shorter. Confirm the controlling rule with a licensed attorney.