Alabama's Statute of Limitations for a Personal Injury Wreck

Car accidents sometimes result in personal injury actions.

Alabama, along with all other states, has adopted statutes of limitations, which define the time period by which a person must bring a law suit after he is injured. In addition to property damages, car accidents often lead to personal injuries, which may be litigated as a type of tort and must be brought within a certain time frame.

Alabama Statutes of Limitations

Alabama statutes of limitations can be divided into categories. Different time frames apply to different types of cases. Those categories are professional negligence or malpractice, personal injury, fraud, libel or slander, personal property, contracts and products liability. As for car accidents, claims injury to personal property must be filed within six years, but personal injuries must be filed within two years.

Generally Two Years

In most cases in Alabama, including personal injury arising from a car accident, the statute of limitations is two years. However, that time frame changes can change in medical malpractice against children. It can also be influenced by the incapacity of an individual. For example, a child who is injured may have up to three years after his eighteenth birthday to bring a case for injuries that happened when he was a minor.

Code of Alabama

The Alabama statute of limitations can be found in the Code of Alabama, Title 6, Chapter 2.

References

• Parker Waichman Alonso: Statutes of limitation: Alabam
• FindLaw: Alabama civil statutes of limitation
• Code of Alabama 1975: Title 6, Chapter 2