Florida injury rights, deadlines, and help

If you were hurt in Florida, you probably want one answer first: how long do I have to act? The most important thing to know is that Florida's main deadline was cut in half in 2023, and a lot of advice floating around online is now out of date. This page gives you the current deadlines, what to do right now, and where free help is.

We are the injured person's advocate. Our help is always free to you.

The deadline box: Florida's key time limits

Personal injury lawsuit: 2 years (it used to be 4). Under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a), negligence lawsuits must be filed within 2 years. A 2023 law (House Bill 837) cut the old 4-year deadline in half for claims that arose after March 24, 2023. Injuries from before that date keep the old 4-year clock. If you are relying on an older article that says "4 years," check the date of your injury carefully. (Source)
Work injury, report to your employer: 30 days. Under Fla. Stat. § 440.185(1), you must report the injury to your employer within 30 days. Report in writing and keep a copy. (Source)
Work injury, file the claim: 2 years. Under Fla. Stat. § 440.19, a petition for workers compensation benefits (the state system that pays for work injuries) is due within 2 years after you knew or should have known the injury came from work. If benefits are being paid, the clock pauses, and you then have 1 year from the last payment. (Source)
Injury involving the government: a written claim first. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)(a), before you can sue a government body, you must present a written claim to the agency within 3 years (2 years for wrongful death), and for most agencies also to the Department of Financial Services. The lawsuit is then blocked until the claim is denied or 180 days pass. (Source)

One more caution. Medical claims against doctors or hospitals can run on different, often shorter deadlines. Do not assume the 2-year rule covers a hospital or doctor case.

What to do first

Get medical care now. Your health comes first, and the records also document your injury.
If it happened at work, report it to your employer today, in writing. Keep a copy.
Write down what happened while it is fresh: date, time, place, people, and conditions.
Take photos of the scene, your injuries, and anything involved (a vehicle, a wet floor, a machine, a dog).
Get names and contact information for witnesses.
Do not sign anything from an insurance company before you understand your full costs.
Write down the date of your injury and keep it somewhere safe. In Florida, that single date decides which deadline rules apply to you.

Common situations in Florida

Hurt at work. Florida's system pays medical costs and part of your wages, but it runs on two clocks: the 30-day report and the 2-year petition. People who let the employer "handle it" without a written report are the ones who end up fighting about whether they reported at all. Put it in writing.

Hurt on the road. The same 2023 law changed Florida's fault rule too. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6), Florida now uses modified comparative fault: if you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm, you recover nothing. Before 2023, some fault only reduced your recovery. (Source) This makes early evidence more valuable than ever, because the fault percentage now has a cliff in it.

Hurt on someone's property. Falls and unsafe conditions follow the 2-year clock. For dog bites, under Fla. Stat. § 767.04, the owner is liable even if the dog never bit anyone before, though your own carelessness can reduce the recovery, and a visible "Bad Dog" sign on the owner's property can be a defense, with exceptions for young children. (Source)

A true story: the lawyer who guessed wrong about a Florida deadline

A Florida woman, Mrs. Mitchell, was bitten by a dog in 1970. She hired a lawyer who filed suit for her in 1973. Days before trial, he learned the dog had a history of biting people, which could have strengthened her case. He asked to add the new claim, was denied, and then voluntarily dismissed the whole case, planning to refile it stronger. He believed Florida gave him four years. He was wrong. The applicable limit was three years. When he refiled, the dog's owners raised the missed deadline and won. Her case was thrown out, and the Florida Supreme Court later wrote that the lawyer's mistake could itself be grounds for a negligence case against him. She recovered nothing through the courts. (Source: CourtListener)

That happened decades ago, and the exact deadlines have changed since then. The lesson has not: even a licensed lawyer can misread a deadline, especially in a state where the rules just changed. Ask your attorney to show you, in writing, exactly which time limit applies to your case. That is not rude. It is how you protect yourself.

What we can help with

We are on your side, and our help is free to injured people. We can help you:

Figure out which Florida deadline applies to your injury date, the new 2-year rule or the old 4-year rule
Get your work-injury report in writing correctly, today
Organize your records, photos, and timeline
Find the right next step: medical care, therapy, state benefits, or a licensed attorney when your case needs one
Prepare questions to ask before you hire any lawyer, including confirming your deadline in writing

We do not give legal advice, and we never take money from injured people. We explain your rights in plain language and connect you with licensed help when you need it.

Tell us what happened

If you or someone you love was hurt in Florida, you do not have to sort this out alone. Tell us what happened. It is free, private, and there is no pressure.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-08-16

This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can change or vary with the facts. A licensed attorney can confirm the rule for your situation.