Indiana Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations on personal injury suits in Indiana are generally two years from the date of the injury.

In Indiana, the statute of limitations for most law suits are two years. These include personal injury, injury to property, professional malpractice, character attacks such as libel, employee contracts, and product liability. However, if a state agency is named as the defendant then there are special procedures that must be undertaken within 270 days of the perceived loss.

Injury torts against individuals and private companies

In Indiana, lawsuits must abide by a two-year statute of limitations to be filed. This encompasses claims of personal injury against an individual, claims of professional malpractice, damage to personal property, slander, defamation of character, and libel.

If an injury is the result of a consumer product the statute is still two years regardless of whether the injured or plaintiff has reached the age of 18 or not.

Torts where the defendant is a state agency

If the defendant of a civil tort is a state agency, the two-year statute of limitations for filing the suit still applies. However, before it can proceed the suit must be preceded by a notice filed with the Office of the Attorney General within 270 days of the injury or loss, as defined in the Indiana Code (34-13-3).

Similarly, claims of property loss incurred during criminal proceedings must be made within 180 days. Even suits filed within the two year statute of limitations may be dismissed if these steps are neglected.

Statutes involving fraud

As defined at IC 34-11-2-7, personal injury related to fraud has a statute of limitations of six years.

Claims involving contracts

If a tort claim is brought against an individual or private agency where a contract is involved and there is not an employer/employee relationship, the statute of limitations are extended to six years for oral contracts or for any contract regarding payment and 10 years for other written contracts.

Contracts made with an employer maintain the two-year statute of limitations. However, these statutes may be shortened if the contract itself includes a statement of limitations on when a civil suit can be filed.

Exceptions to the general statutes of limitations

In some cases, a civil tort can be filed beyond the normal statute of limitations if there is a legitimate reason why the tort was not filed earlier. These include mental or financial incapacitation (defined as bankruptcy), or a reasonable excuse for not knowing about the injury.

When the discovery of the injury is delayed for legitimate reasons, the statute may be "tolled." This normally happens when an injured party is not able to be informed of the nature or presence of the injury within the statute of limitations, such as when the defendant has concealed or obfuscated the nature of the injury, or the plaintiff was not reasonably able to find out about the injury. In these instances, the statute of limitations begins to accrue from when the injury was discovered or when it reasonably could have been discovered.

References

• Indiana Code (torts against the State)
• Indiana Code (General tort statutes)

Resources

• Indiana Code:Title 34, Article 11