The Virginia statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the date of the injury, under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A). A lawsuit filed after the deadline is generally dismissed, no matter how strong the claim, so the date matters as much as the facts.
Blank Kim Injury Law checks deadlines at the first conversation for every client who calls our Fairfax office, because the two-year rule is only the starting point. Attorneys Aaron Blank and Robert Kim are licensed in Virginia, Rob speaks Korean, and our paralegal team speaks Spanish.
Virginia injury deadlines in one table
Each row below is a general rule. Exceptions exist, and the facts of your case decide which rule applies.
| Type of claim | General deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury | Two years from the injury | Va. Code § 8.01-243(A) |
| Property damage | Five years | Va. Code § 8.01-243(B) |
| Wrongful death | Two years from the death | Va. Code § 8.01-244(B) |
| Medical malpractice | Generally two years from the act, with limited exceptions | Va. Code § 8.01-243(C) and § 8.01-243.1 |
| Asbestos disease | Two years from when the diagnosis is first communicated | Va. Code § 8.01-249(4) |
| County, city or town | Written notice within six months | Va. Code § 15.2-209 |
| Commonwealth of Virginia | Written notice within one year | Va. Code § 8.01-195.6 |
| United States (FTCA) | Administrative claim within two years | 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b) |
| Workers’ compensation | Report to employer within 30 days; claim within two years | Va. Code § 65.2-600 and § 65.2-601 |
| Federal employee injury (FECA) | Written notice within 30 days; claim within three years | 5 U.S.C. § 8122 |
| Maritime injury | Three years | 46 U.S.C. § 30106 |
| Vaccine injury | Generally three years from the first symptom | 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-16 |
| Childhood sexual abuse | Special provisions; an attorney should check | Va. Code § 8.01-243(D) and § 8.01-249(6) |
The two-year rule for personal injury
Most Virginia injury claims, including car accidents, slip and falls, dog bites and assaults on unsafe property, fall under the two-year rule. The clock generally starts on the day the injury happens, not the day you finish treatment or the day an insurer denies the claim.
Three practical points follow from that:
- The deadline is for filing a lawsuit. Opening an insurance claim, trading letters with an adjuster or receiving a settlement offer does not by itself satisfy it.
- Negotiations take time. Medical treatment, record collection and a demand package can take months, and insurers know when a deadline is approaching.
- Evidence fades first. Security video is often overwritten within days or weeks, long before any statute of limitations runs out.
Deadlines when someone has died
A Virginia wrongful death action must be brought within two years of the date of death, under Va. Code § 8.01-244(B). It is filed by the personal representative of the estate, so a family often needs to have someone appointed before the case can move forward.
When an injured person dies from something other than the injury, their own injury claim survives under Va. Code § 8.01-25. The timing of a survival claim follows its own rules. See Virginia wrongful death claims for how these two kinds of claims fit together.
Medical malpractice deadlines
A medical malpractice claim in Virginia generally has two years from the negligent act. The statute contains limited exceptions: a foreign object left in the body, fraud or concealment that prevented discovery, and certain failures to diagnose cancer. It also has special rules for children, in § 8.01-243(C) and § 8.01-243.1.
Two features make malpractice timing harder than it looks. The clock can start before a patient knows anything went wrong, and before suit is served the plaintiff must have a written opinion from a qualified expert witness supporting the claim, under Va. Code § 8.01-20.1. Getting records reviewed takes time. See Virginia medical malpractice laws and delayed diagnosis claims.
Claims against a government start sooner
When a county, city, town or the Commonwealth is responsible, a written notice deadline arrives well before the lawsuit deadline:
- A county, city or town generally must receive written notice within six months, under Va. Code § 15.2-209. That covers, for example, a crash with a county vehicle or a fall on locally owned property.
- The Commonwealth must receive written notice within one year under the Virginia Tort Claims Act, Va. Code § 8.01-195.6.
- A claim against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act must be presented to the agency in writing within two years, under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b). Suit follows a denial, or six months without a decision. See Federal Tort Claims Act claims.
Our government claim notice guide explains these rules in more detail.
Work injury deadlines
A Virginia worker hurt on the job should report the injury to the employer within 30 days, under Va. Code § 65.2-600, and file a claim with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission within two years of the accident, under § 65.2-601. Reporting to a supervisor is not the same as filing with the Commission.
Federal employees follow FECA instead: written notice within 30 days and a claim within three years, under 5 U.S.C. § 8122. A lawsuit against a negligent third party, such as the driver who hit a delivery worker, follows the ordinary two-year personal injury rule. See Virginia workers’ compensation and federal employee FECA claims.
Claims with special timing rules
- Children. Claims for injuries to a minor follow different timing rules than claims by adults. Do not assume a child’s claim has the same deadline as a parent’s.
- Asbestos disease. The two-year period runs from when the diagnosis is first communicated to the person, under Va. Code § 8.01-249(4). See asbestos and mesothelioma claims.
- Sexual abuse. Virginia’s statute of limitations contains special provisions for childhood sexual abuse claims, in § 8.01-243(D) and § 8.01-249(6), which can differ from the ordinary two-year rule. An attorney should check how they apply. See the Virginia sexual abuse statute of limitations page.
- Vaccine injury. Claims in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program generally must be filed within three years of the first symptom, under 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-16. See vaccine injury claims.
