The truck accident statute of limitations in Florida appears to be 2 years from the date of the crash (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a)). Wrongful death generally runs 2 years from the date of death. If a government vehicle or entity was involved, formal written notice is generally required first, on its own clock: 3 years to present the claim. The evidence clock is shorter than all of them.
Before you rely on these numbers
The statutory figures on this page have not yet been verified against current statute text by a licensed attorney. They are published with their citations so they can be checked, and they should be treated as a starting point for a conversation with a Florida lawyer — not as a legal conclusion. Statutes change: Florida cut its personal injury period in half in 2023 and Louisiana doubled its own in 2024.
Your deadlines in Florida, calculated
Enter the date of your crash and the tool below will work out both clocks — the legal filing deadline and the much shorter window before the proof can be destroyed. Florida is already selected. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
What makes Florida different
Florida's deadline changed recently and dramatically. For causes of action accruing on or after 24 March 2023, the personal injury period was cut from four years to two — meaning two crashes a week apart in early 2023 can be on completely different clocks. That single date is the most consequential fact about filing deadlines in Florida.
The four Florida deadlines that matter
| Deadline | Period | Runs from | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury lawsuit | 2 years | the date of the crash | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a) |
| Wrongful death claim | 2 years | the date of death | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(e) |
| Notice — state entity | 3 years to present the claim | the date of the crash | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6) |
| Notice — city, county or district | 3 years to present the claim | the date of the crash | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6) |
On the injury period: Florida cut this from four years to two for causes of action accruing on or after 24 March 2023. A crash before that date may still be on the old four-year clock.
Claims against a government entity in Florida
The shortest government notice window found for Florida — 3 years to present the claim (Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6)). This is the deadline that quietly ends claims: it comes due long before the ordinary filing deadline, it is a precondition to suing rather than a suggestion, and missing it usually bars the claim entirely no matter how strong the case is.
Florida's window to present the claim is long, but suit cannot be filed until the agency has had 180 days to investigate — which eats into the limitations period. Claims against counties, cities and school boards also require presentation to the Department of Financial Services.
Public fleets you could realistically be hit by in Florida: FDOT vehicles, county public works fleets, municipal sanitation trucks, school district buses, and regional transit authority vehicles. If you are not certain whether the vehicle that hit you was one of these, work to the shorter deadline until somebody confirms otherwise. The downside is not symmetrical.
If the injured person was a minor
Limited in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 95.051(1)(h) — the clock generally does not start until the injured person turns 18. Florida caps tolling for minors at seven years from the act in most cases, and parents' derivative claims are not tolled at all.
That pause applies to the court deadline. It does not apply to the evidence. A carrier is entitled to destroy a driver's logs six months after the crash whether the injured person is 8 or 38, and in many states a government notice deadline is not tolled for a child either. A tolled filing deadline and an untouched evidence deadline is the most dangerous combination on this page.
When the Florida clock starts
Limited. Florida applies the delayed discovery doctrine narrowly outside specific statutory categories.
Why the evidence clock in Florida is much shorter
Florida's filing deadline is 2 years. The federal retention rules that govern the trucking company are measured in weeks and months:
- Dashcam and telematics video — often 30 days or less. No federal retention requirement — vendor and carrier policy only.
- ECM / black box data — overwritten as the tractor keeps running, and routinely lost when it is repaired or resold.
- Driver logs and records of duty status — six months (49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1)).
- Maintenance and repair records — one year while the vehicle is in the carrier's control (49 CFR § 396.3(c)).
- Annual inspection report — 14 months (49 CFR § 396.21(b)(1)).
The way to stop those clocks is a preservation letter to the carrier — a written demand that specific evidence be kept. Until it arrives, destroying records at the end of a retention period is routine and lawful. Our FMCSA regulations and evidence guide explains what each of these records contains.
Truck traffic in Florida
Florida runs on port and produce freight. PortMiami, Port Everglades and Jacksonville feed containers onto I-95 and I-10, and the I-4 corridor through Orlando is one of the highest-crash truck routes in the Southeast.
The corridors where these crashes concentrate: I-95 down the Atlantic coast, I-75 (Tampa–Ocala–Georgia), I-4 (Tampa–Orlando–Daytona), Florida's Turnpike and I-10 across the Panhandle.
For Florida's comparative fault rules, damages caps and a deeper look at these corridors, see our Florida truck accident lawyer page.
Neighbouring states have different clocks
A crash a few miles across a state line can be governed by a completely different deadline. If you are not certain which state your crash happened in — near a border, on a bridge, or on an interstate you were travelling at speed — check both.
Or use the filing deadline calculator to compare any state, and the full state index for all 50 states and D.C.
What to do next in Florida
- Get a preservation letter to the carrier. This is the most time-critical step and the one almost nobody hears about.
- Confirm whether a government entity was involved. That answer can replace your 2 years deadline with a far shorter notice window — 3 years to present the claim.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company's insurer.
- Request the Florida crash report, which identifies the carrier, the DOT number and the insurer.
- Have a lawyer licensed in Florida confirm the dates above against the current statute.
Sources
- Hours of Service — records of duty status retention — 49 CFR § 395.8 (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration)
- Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance — record retention — 49 CFR Part 396 (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration)
- Accident register requirements — 49 CFR § 390.15 (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration)
- Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Federal regulations and crash statistics are updated periodically. Figures cited on this page reflect the referenced publications at the time of writing; check the source for the current edition.