Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the deadline imposed by state law for filing a civil lawsuit. For personal injury cases the typical window is two to four years from the date of injury, but states vary widely. Texas, for instance, allows two years for most personal injury claims, while Maine allows six. Medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death cases often have their own separate clocks.

Missing the statute of limitations is, in most cases, fatal to the claim. The defense raises the defense at the pleading stage, the court dismisses, and no damages are recoverable. For this reason, personal injury intake teams capture the date of injury immediately and calendar the statute of limitations before any other action.

The discovery rule is a common exception. In injuries that are not immediately apparent, the statute may not begin to run until the plaintiff discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury and its cause. Toxic exposure cases and surgical retained-object cases often rely on the discovery rule.

For pharmacy lien purposes, the statute of limitations sets the outer boundary of how long a CreoRx lien remains an open file. Once the case settles or is dismissed, the lien is resolved or written off accordingly. Cases that approach the statutory deadline without settling typically prompt the firm to either file suit or close the file.