Indiana injury rights, deadlines, and help

This page covers Indiana injury deadlines and what to do right now.

Are you in an emergency right now?

• Check yourself and others for injuries, breathing, and bleeding.
• Call 911 if anyone is hurt or the road is not safe.
• Get somewhere safe if you can do it safely.
• Get medical care even if you feel fine. Some injuries hide for days.
• This page is for after you are safe.

We are the injured person's advocate. We connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves. Always free. Talk to an advocate. We usually reply within minutes, at most one business day.

The deadlines that matter in Indiana

• Personal injury lawsuit: 2 years. Indiana's statute of limitations (the legal deadline to file a lawsuit) for injury cases is generally 2 years. Ind. Code 34-11-2-4(a)(1). Law text
• Work injury, tell your employer: within 30 days. Give written notice as soon as practicable. If your employer has no notice or knowledge within 30 days, your compensation is put on hold until you give notice. Ind. Code 22-3-3-1. Law text
• Work injury, formal claim: 2 years. File your claim within 2 years after the accident. If certain benefits were paid, the clock generally runs 2 years from the last payment. Ind. Code 22-3-3-3. Law text
• Claim against the State of Indiana: notice within 270 days. Ind. Code 34-13-3-6. Law text
• Claim against a city, county, school, or other local body: notice within 180 days. This is one of the shortest local deadlines in the country. Ind. Code 34-13-3-8. Law text

Warning: don't wait! Indiana's 2-year injury clock is a trap, because a claim against a city, county, or school drops to just 180 days, so people wait, and waiting kills cases. The longer you wait, the fuzzier memories get and documents get lost. Collect and save what you can, then talk to an advocate immediately. And important: medical claims can have different, often shorter deadlines. Do not assume the standard rule covers a hospital or doctor case. Minors and some other people may get extra time. Laws change, so treat these as starting points, not legal advice for your exact case.

Protect your case

1. Talk to an advocate at WeHelpInjured. It is free.
2. Report the injury in writing. Work injury: tell your employer in writing today, not on day 29. Crash: call the police and get the report number. Fall or dog bite: tell the property owner or dog owner and keep proof you did.
3. Save everything. Photos of the scene, names of witnesses, receipts, and every letter or text about the incident.
4. Ask one question early: was the government involved? A fall at a public school, a crash with a county plow, a defect in a city sidewalk. If yes, your notice window may be only 180 days.

Talk to an advocate. Not sure which deadline applies to you?

Never do these

• Never sign a release or accept a first settlement offer without talking to an advocate first. Once you sign, you may not be able to undo it.
• Never give a recorded statement to an insurance company, even your own. Talk to an advocate first.
• Never assume the modified fault rule protects you if a government vehicle or road is involved. Indiana switches to a stricter rule there, so gather your evidence early.
• Never post about the incident or your recovery on social media. Insurers use these posts against you.

Common situations in Indiana

Hurt at work

Indiana workers' compensation (the no-fault system that pays for work injuries) puts your benefits on hold if your employer gets no notice within 30 days. Report in writing the same day anyway, and keep a copy. The formal 2-year claim clock is separate from the report deadline, and missing either one can cost you.

Hurt on the road

Car, motorcycle, bike, and pedestrian injuries generally fall under the 2-year lawsuit deadline. Indiana normally uses a modified comparative fault rule: your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing if your share passes 50 percent. Ind. Code 34-51-2-6.

But here is the Indiana trap: that rule does not apply to claims against government bodies. In those cases the old contributory negligence rule still controls, which means any fault on your part, even a small share, can bar your recovery completely. Talk to an advocate early if a government vehicle or road is involved.

Hurt on someone's property, or by a dog

Slip and fall cases follow the same 2-year clock, with the short notice windows if the property is public. For dog bites, Indiana mostly follows the older "one bite" approach: you generally need to show the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous, or was otherwise careless.

A statute gives automatic liability only for people doing official duties, like mail carriers. Ind. Code 15-20-1-3. Law text Start gathering evidence about the dog's history early.

An Indiana story worth knowing

Lloyd Perry believed doctors and hospitals in Indiana had injured him. In 2010, he filed a malpractice complaint with the state on his own, with no lawyer. Indiana law sends these cases to a medical review panel first, and the panel decided the care did not cause his injuries. To keep his case alive, Perry needed his own medical expert to disagree with the panel. Any experienced lawyer would have known that and hired one. Acting alone, he filed only a short brief and his own statement. The trial court threw out his case without a trial, and the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in 2014, noting that self-represented people are held to the same rules as licensed attorneys. His claim ended without anyone ever weighing the evidence. (Pro se medical malpractice claim fails without expert testimony, The Indiana Lawyer) Talk to an advocate before you file anything on your own. They will introduce you to a lawyer who handles cases like yours.

What we can help with

We are not a law firm and we do not charge injured people anything. We are your advocate. Here is what that looks like:

• Explain your rights and the Indiana deadlines above in plain language.
• Help you figure out which situation you are in: work injury, road injury, government property, dog bite, or something else.
• Connect you with a lawyer who handles cases like yours, so you get the full settlement your recovery deserves.
• A nearby hospital, lab, or doctor can document your condition, which supports your claim.

Our help is always free to you. We never take money from injured people.

Talk to an advocate. You do not have to figure this out alone. Start the form or open the chat.

Sources

• Ind. Code 34-11-2-4 (personal injury statute of limitations): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-34/article-11/chapter-2/section-34-11-2-4/
• Ind. Code 22-3-3-1 (work injury notice): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-22/article-3/chapter-3/section-22-3-3-1/
• Ind. Code 22-3-3-3 (workers' compensation claim deadline): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-22/article-3/chapter-3/section-22-3-3-3/
• Ind. Code 34-13-3-6 (notice for claims against the state): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-34/article-13/chapter-3/section-34-13-3-6/
• Ind. Code 34-13-3-8 (notice for claims against local governments): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-34/article-13/chapter-3/section-34-13-3-8/
• Ind. Code 15-20-1-3 (dog bite statute): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-15/article-20/chapter-1/section-15-20-1-3/
• Ind. Code 34-51-2-6 (comparative fault): https://law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-34/article-51/chapter-2/section-34-51-2-6/
• Pro se medical malpractice claim fails without expert testimony, The Indiana Lawyer: https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/35983-pro-se-medical-malpractice-claim-fails-without-expert-testimony

Last reviewed: 2026-08-17

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.