Statute of limitations in Connecticut

Connecticut sets a two-year window for filing most personal injury lawsuits, under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584. That figure is the headline number on this page, and it applies to claims for harm to a person caused by another party's negligence or malpractice. Miss it, and a court can dismiss the case no matter how strong the underlying facts appear.

A statute of limitations is the legal deadline for starting a lawsuit. It exists so disputes are heard while memories are fresh and records still exist. Once the period passes, the defendant can raise the expired deadline as a defense, and that usually ends the matter.

The two-year figure covers the general personal injury category shown in the table below. Other kinds of civil claims, such as contract disputes or defamation, carry their own separate deadlines that are not listed here. Because a single incident can raise more than one type of claim, confirming which period applies is worth doing early, ideally with a licensed Connecticut attorney.

The clock on a Connecticut deadline usually starts when the claim accrues, meaning when the injury happens or is first sustained. For many personal injury claims, that date lines up with the event itself, such as a fall or a collision. From that point, the two-year period under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 begins to run.

Some harms are not obvious right away. Connecticut law recognizes this by letting the period run from when the injury is discovered or, with reasonable care, should have been discovered. This discovery approach matters in cases where symptoms or damage surface later than the underlying act. The exact starting point can be fact-specific, and reasonable people sometimes read the same timeline differently.

Connecticut law also sets an outer limit measured from the date of the wrongful act or omission, separate from the discovery date. That backstop can cut off a claim even when the injury was found late. The precise way these dates interact is spelled out in the statute, and the official code text controls.

Certain circumstances can pause, or toll, a Connecticut deadline, though the details depend on the specific claim and statute. When the injured person is a minor, the law may treat the timeline differently until that person reaches adulthood. Similar handling can apply when someone is under a legal disability that keeps them from managing their own affairs.

A defendant's absence from the state can also affect the running of time. Connecticut has a statutory mechanism addressing periods when a person who could be sued is out of the state, which may extend the window in some situations. These provisions are narrow and technical, so the statutory language rather than a general summary decides how they apply.

Claims against government bodies follow their own path. Suits against the State of Connecticut generally move through a separate claims process before any court action, and cases against cities or towns often carry notice requirements that differ from ordinary lawsuits. These government-related deadlines and notice windows are not part of the table on this page. Anyone weighing such a claim should check the official code and consider speaking with a licensed Connecticut attorney, because missing a notice step can bar an otherwise valid claim.

This page currently lists a single claim type, and its deadline comes straight from the table. Personal injury claims carry a two-year filing period under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584. That statute reaches injuries to a person caused by negligence or by the malpractice of certain health care providers, and it also covers reckless or wanton misconduct.

In practical terms, this category covers many of the everyday situations people picture when they think of an injury case, from motor vehicle collisions to slip-and-fall incidents. The common thread is a physical injury tied to someone else's failure to use reasonable care.

Other claim types are not shown in the table above, and their periods differ. A contract dispute or a defamation claim runs on its own schedule set elsewhere in the Connecticut General Statutes. Rather than assume the two-year figure applies across the board, check the specific statute for the claim you have in mind, or ask a licensed Connecticut attorney to identify it.

While the deadline is still open, keeping good records helps preserve the details of what happened. Medical records and photographs of the scene can fade or go missing over time, so gathering them sooner rather than later is worthwhile. Save anything that shows when the injury occurred or when you first noticed it, since those dates can shape which deadline applies.

Confirming the applicable period is a second sensible step. The two-year figure under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 covers general personal injury, but your situation may involve a different claim type with a different deadline, or a government body with its own notice rules. Reading the specific statute, or having someone read it with you, lowers the chance of relying on the wrong date.

A licensed Connecticut attorney can review the facts and identify the correct filing period, then explain how any exceptions might apply to your circumstances. This guide offers general legal information, not legal advice about any particular matter. If a deadline may be close, raising the question early beats discovering a missed window after the fact.