The two-year Illinois personal injury statute of limitations
The Illinois personal injury statute of limitations is two years for most claims (735 ILCS 5/13-202). A lawsuit must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrued. The rule sits in the Code of Civil Procedure and covers car and truck crashes, motorcycle and bicycle collisions, falls, dog bites and nearly every other claim for an injury to the person. If a complaint is not on file with the clerk of the circuit court by the last day, the defendant moves to dismiss, the court grants the motion, and the strength of the case never matters.
"Filed" means a lawsuit. An open claim with the other driver's insurer does not count. Neither does a demand letter, a recorded statement, or an adjuster who says the file is still under review. Insurers know the date. Some negotiate slowly because of it.
This article covers the general rule, the deadlines that are shorter than two years and catch people in the southwest suburbs every year, the situations that give you more time, and where the case is filed in Cook County. Our personal injury page explains how we handle a claim from the first call to the settlement, and a companion article covers whether an Illinois injury settlement is taxable.
When the two years start, and how to count them
For a crash, the cause of action accrues on the day of the crash. Illinois counts a statutory period by excluding the first day and including the last (Statute on Statutes, 5 ILCS 70/1.11). A crash on March 10, 2025 has a filing deadline of March 10, 2027.
If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a holiday fixed by Illinois statute, that day is excluded too, and the deadline becomes the next day that is not a weekend day or holiday (5 ILCS 70/1.11). Do not plan around the extension, though. E-filing is open every day, and a deadline that rests on a holiday calendar is a deadline with an argument built into it. File before it.
Deadlines shorter than two years
The two-year statute of limitations has exceptions that run the other way, and they are the ones that end cases.
| Claim | Deadline | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Injury caused by a local public body or one of its employees | One year from the injury | Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) |
| Injury caused by the State of Illinois or a state university (heard in the Court of Claims, not the circuit court) | Written notice filed with the Attorney General and the Clerk of the Court of Claims within one year, unless the claim itself is filed within one year | Court of Claims Act, 705 ILCS 505/22-1 |
| Dram shop claim against the bar, restaurant or store that served the intoxicated driver | One year | Liquor Control Act, 235 ILCS 5/6-21 |
| Uninsured or underinsured motorist claim under your own auto policy | Whatever the policy says, commonly two years to file suit or demand arbitration. The Illinois Supreme Court enforced a two-year policy deadline in Country Preferred Insurance Co. v. Whitehead, 2012 IL 113365 | Your policy |
A local public body means a city, village, township, park district, school district, county or forest preserve district, and the one-year rule covers their employees too. Think of a crash with a municipal truck, a fall on a park district walkway, or a collision with a police or public works vehicle. The rule surprises people because the driver who hit them was simply driving a truck. Whether that truck belonged to the Village of Orland Park, a school district, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County or a private landscaper decides whether the clock is one year or two. Find out in the first week, not the twentieth month. Some public bodies have their own notice statutes layered on top of this one, so a lawyer checks each defendant's status before calendaring the date. Claims against a public hospital or clinic arising out of patient care have a separate two-year rule under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(b).
Deadlines that are different, not shorter
- Wrongful death. A claim for a death caused by a crash is brought by the personal representative of the estate, within two years after the death, not the crash (Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/2(d)). Where the death resulted from violent intentional conduct, or the defendant is charged with one of the homicide offenses listed in the Act, the clock against that person is longer. It runs five years after the death, or one year after the criminal case ends (740 ILCS 180/2(e)). Opening the estate that appoints the representative is a probate step; see our probate attorney page.
- Damage to the car and its contents. Property damage claims have five years (735 ILCS 5/13-205). That is one reason an insurer may pay the vehicle claim promptly and let the injury claim age.
- Medical negligence by a physician, nurse, dentist or hospital: two years from when the patient knew or reasonably should have known of the injury, but never more than four years after the act itself (735 ILCS 5/13-212). For a child under 18, it is eight years from the act but never past the 22nd birthday. This is the clock that applies when a crash victim is injured again by the treatment.
More time for minors and people under a legal disability
A person who is under 18, or under a legal disability, when the injury happens may file within two years after turning 18 or after the disability is removed (735 ILCS 5/13-211(a)). A child hurt in a crash at age 10 has until age 20. A person who was not under a disability when injured, but becomes disabled before the period runs, has the period stayed until the disability is removed (735 ILCS 5/13-211(b)).
Two cautions. First, a parent's own claim for the child's medical bills is a separate claim on the parent's own two-year clock. The child's extension does not reach it. Second, section 13-211 by its terms covers sections 13-201 through 13-210, and the courts have split on how it meets the Tort Immunity Act's one-year rule. The Fourth District in Bertolis v. Community Unit School District No. 7, 283 Ill. App. 3d 874 (1996), gave a minor two years after turning 18. The Second District in Lee v. Naperville Community Unit School District 203, 2015 IL App (2d) 150143, held that the period is paused during minority and the one-year period then runs from the 18th birthday. Do not plan around either; a lawyer calendars the earliest date.
The discovery rule and injuries that show up later
Illinois courts apply a discovery rule. Where the injury and its wrongful cause could not reasonably have been known at the time, the period starts later: when the injured person knows, or reasonably should know, both that they are injured and that the injury was wrongfully caused. It matters for latent conditions, chemical exposure and some product cases.
It rarely helps after a crash. You know on the day of the collision that you were hurt and who hit you. A herniated disc diagnosed three months later, or symptoms that worsen over the following year, do not restart the clock; they go to the value of the claim, not its deadline. Treat the crash date as the accrual date unless a lawyer tells you otherwise in writing.
Other rules that pause or restart the clock
- Court orders and statutory stays. When an injunction, court order or statutory prohibition prevents a suit from being filed, that time is not counted (735 ILCS 5/13-216). The automatic stay in a defendant's bankruptcy is the common example.
- Fraudulent concealment. If the person liable fraudulently conceals the cause of action, the claim may be brought within five years after the injured person discovers it (735 ILCS 5/13-215). Silence, or an adjuster's optimism, is not concealment.
- Coerced confessions. Section 13-202 itself tolls the period for a plaintiff whose confession or information was compelled by bodily harm or the threat of it and who was prosecuted as a result. The tolling lasts while the plaintiff is incarcerated or until the prosecution ends in the plaintiff's favor. It is a narrow provision, not a general exception for anyone facing criminal charges, and it does not apply to claims against local governments.
- Equitable tolling. The Illinois Supreme Court has recognized equitable tolling where, because of disability, an irremediable lack of information, or other circumstances beyond the plaintiff's control, the plaintiff could not reasonably be expected to file on time (Williams v. Board of Review, 241 Ill. 2d 352 (2011)). Courts apply it sparingly. Being in treatment, being busy, being told by an adjuster that the claim would settle, or not knowing the law does not qualify.
- Refiling after a voluntary dismissal. A case filed on time and later voluntarily dismissed may be refiled within one year or within the remaining limitations period, whichever is greater, under the version of 735 ILCS 5/13-217 that remains in force. That is a safety valve for a case already filed, not a way to file late.
Where an Illinois injury case is filed
The lawsuit is filed in the circuit court, usually in the county where the crash happened or where a defendant lives. In Cook County, the Law Division at the Daley Center hears cases seeking more than $30,000 for crashes in Chicago and more than $100,000 for crashes in the suburban districts. Smaller cases go to the Municipal Department: the First District at the Daley Center for Chicago (up to $30,000), and the suburban districts for the rest (up to $100,000). Crashes in Palos Heights, Palos Park, Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park and the rest of the southwest suburbs fall in the Fifth Municipal District in Bridgeview; the south suburbs go to the Sixth District in Markham. A Will County crash is filed in Joliet.
Illinois requires electronic filing in civil cases, so the stamp that matters is the e-filing timestamp. Keep the confirmation.
What to do in the first weeks after a crash
- Get medical care, and keep the appointments. The gap between the crash and the first visit, and any gap in treatment afterwards, is the first thing an insurer points to.
- Get the crash report. The Illinois Traffic Crash Report prepared by the responding police department identifies every driver, owner and insurer. If the other vehicle belonged to a public body, the one-year clock is already running.
- Notify your own insurer promptly. Auto policies require notice of a crash, and your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage has its own deadlines.
- Preserve evidence. Photographs of the vehicles, the scene and the injuries; names and numbers of witnesses; every bill, record and pay stub; a short diary of symptoms.
- Calendar three dates. Two years from the crash; one year from the crash if any public body may be involved; and whatever your policy says about UM and UIM claims.
- Talk to a lawyer well before the deadline. A complaint takes time to prepare properly, and a lawyer who receives a file in its last month may decline it.
Questions worth asking any lawyer you consult: how many car crash claims have you handled, how are your fees and case costs set out in writing, how will you calendar and meet the deadlines, and how often will I hear from you.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Illinois?
Two years from the date of the crash for an injury claim (735 ILCS 5/13-202), one year if the other vehicle belonged to a local public body (745 ILCS 10/8-101), and five years for damage to the car itself (735 ILCS 5/13-205). The insurance claim can be made at any time, but making it does not stop the lawsuit deadline.
Does the deadline apply if I am still negotiating with the insurance company?
Yes. Only a complaint filed in the circuit court satisfies 735 ILCS 5/13-202. A claim number, a recorded statement, a demand letter or an adjuster's promise to get back to you does nothing to the deadline, and an insurer that is still evaluating the file on the last day owes you nothing the next morning. If the deadline is near and the claim has not settled, the lawsuit is filed and the negotiation continues; many cases settle after filing anyway. The one document that can change the date is a written tolling agreement signed by the insurer, which is rare and which a lawyer should draft.
What if the last day falls on a weekend or holiday?
The deadline moves to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or Illinois statutory holiday (5 ILCS 70/1.11). Illinois counts a statutory period by excluding the first day and including the last, and it excludes the last day as well when that day is a weekend day or holiday. Do not rely on it. Illinois e-filing accepts a complaint at any hour of any day, and a filing that depends on a holiday calendar hands the defendant an argument. File before the weekend.
My child was hurt in a crash. How long does my child have?
Until two years after the child's 18th birthday for a claim against a private driver or property owner (735 ILCS 5/13-211(a)); a child hurt at 10 has until 20. A claim against a public body may have a shorter clock after the child turns 18: the appellate courts have split, and the Second District's decision in Lee v. Naperville Community Unit School District 203 gives one year from the 18th birthday. A parent's own claim for the medical bills runs on the parent's two-year clock, or one year against a public body, and is not extended by the child's age. Treat a child's case like an adult's and file early.
Can the two years be extended?
Rarely. The Code pauses the period while a court order or statutory stay prevents filing (735 ILCS 5/13-216), allows five years after discovery where the defendant fraudulently concealed the claim (735 ILCS 5/13-215), and extends it for minors and people under a legal disability (735 ILCS 5/13-211). The Illinois Supreme Court recognizes equitable tolling for circumstances beyond the plaintiff's control, but applies it sparingly. Each of these is narrow and each is litigated. A diagnosis that comes later, treatment that is still ongoing, or an adjuster who kept talking does not extend the deadline for a crash.
General information as of July 16, 2025, revised October 5, 2026; not legal advice; laws change; consult a lawyer about your situation.