Do not rely on this date
Limitation periods depend on facts this tool cannot see: who exactly the defendant is, when the claim legally accrued, whether anything tolled the clock. Getting it wrong ends a case permanently. Use the output to understand roughly where you stand, then confirm it with an attorney — today, if the date is anywhere close.
The reference table
| Claim | Period | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury | 2 years | Date of injury |
| Wrongful death | 2 years | Date of death |
| Property damage | 3 years | Date of damage |
| Written contract | 4 years | Date of breach |
| Oral contract | 2 years | Date of breach |
| Defamation | 1 year | Date of publication |
| Fraud | 3 years | Discovery of the facts |
| Medical malpractice | 1 year from discovery, 3 years outer limit | Whichever expires first |
| Claim against a public entity | 6 months | Administrative claim, before any suit |
The three things that most often move the date
-
The defendant turns out to be a public entity
A city bus, a pothole, a county hospital, a school, a police interaction. People routinely do not realise this until months have passed, by which point the six-month administrative claim window may already be gone.
-
The claim did not accrue when you think it did
The discovery rule can delay the start where you could not reasonably have known about the injury or its cause. Courts read it narrowly, and "I did not know I could sue" is not discovery.
-
Something tolled the clock
Minority, legal incapacity, or the defendant being out of state can each suspend the running of time. Each is fact-specific and argued more often than granted.