Verified legal reference · Updated August 18, 2026
Car Accident Laws by State (2026)
Statute of limitations, fault system, negligence rule, minimum liability insurance, PIP requirement, and personal-injury damage caps for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Every fact below was researched against the state statute or an authoritative survey (state legislatures, NCSL, III, Justia) — not summarized from secondary blogs. Educators, journalists, and resource pages are welcome to cite or link this table.
| State | Injury lawsuit deadline (SOL) | Fault system | Negligence rule | Min. liability (BI/BI/PD, $000s) | PIP required | PI damage caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | At-fault | Pure contributory | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Alaska | 2 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 50 / 100 / 25 | No | Capped — details ↓ |
| Arizona | 2 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 15 | No | None |
| Arkansas | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| California | 2 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 30 / 60 / 15 | No | None |
| Colorado | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 15 | No | Capped — details ↓ |
| Connecticut | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Delaware | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 10 | Yes | None |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | Choice | Pure contributory | 25 / 50 / 10 | No | None |
| Florida | 2 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 0 / 0 / 10 | Yes | None |
| Georgia | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Hawaii | 2 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 40 / 80 / 20 | Yes | None |
| Idaho | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 15 | No | Capped — details ↓ |
| Illinois | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 20 | No | None |
| Indiana | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Iowa | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 20 / 40 / 15 | No | None |
| Kansas | 2 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | Yes | None |
| Kentucky | 2 years | Choice | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 25 | Yes | None |
| Louisiana | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 15 / 30 / 25 | No | None |
| Maine | 6 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 50 / 100 / 25 | No | None |
| Maryland | 3 years | At-fault | Pure contributory | 30 / 60 / 15 | Yes | Capped — details ↓ |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 30 | Yes | None |
| Michigan | 3 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 50 / 100 / 10 | Yes | None |
| Minnesota | 6 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 30 / 60 / 10 | Yes | None |
| Mississippi | 3 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | Capped — details ↓ |
| Missouri | 5 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Montana | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 20 | No | None |
| Nebraska | 4 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Nevada | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 20 | No | None |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| New Jersey | 2 years | Choice | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 35 / 70 / 25 | Yes | None |
| New Mexico | 3 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 10 | No | None |
| New York | 3 years | No-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 10 | Yes | None |
| North Carolina | 3 years | At-fault | Pure contributory | 50 / 100 / 50 | No | None |
| North Dakota | 6 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | Yes | None |
| Ohio | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | Capped — details ↓ |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Oregon | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 20 | Yes | None |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | Choice | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 15 / 30 / 5 | Yes | None |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| South Carolina | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| South Dakota | 3 years | At-fault | Slight/gross (SD only) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Tennessee | 1 year | At-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 25 / 50 / 15 | No | Capped — details ↓ |
| Texas | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 30 / 60 / 25 | No | None |
| Utah | 4 years | No-fault | Modified comparative (50% bar) | 30 / 65 / 25 | Yes | None |
| Vermont | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 10 | No | None |
| Virginia | 2 years | At-fault | Pure contributory | 50 / 100 / 25 | No | None |
| Washington | 3 years | At-fault | Pure comparative | 25 / 50 / 10 | No | None |
| West Virginia | 2 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 25 | No | None |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 10 | No | None |
| Wyoming | 4 years | At-fault | Modified comparative (51% bar) | 25 / 50 / 20 | No | None |
BI/BI/PD = bodily injury per person / bodily injury per accident / property damage, in thousands of dollars. Deadlines shown are the general personal-injury statute of limitations for a car-accident claim; exceptions (minors, government defendants, discovery rules) can shorten or extend them.
How to read the fault system
At-fault (tort) — the driver who caused the crash (via their insurer) pays; you can sue for full damages. No-fault — your own PIP coverage pays initial medical bills regardless of fault, and you can only sue after meeting an injury or dollar threshold (Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Utah). Choice — drivers elect between the two systems when buying insurance (District of Columbia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania).
The negligence rule decides if you can recover at all
Pure comparative — recover even at 99% fault, reduced by your share. Modified comparative — barred once your fault reaches the 50% or 51% threshold. Pure contributory — even 1% of fault can bar all recovery. Only 5 jurisdictions still use this strict rule: Alabama, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia. If your accident happened in one of them, the fault fight is the whole case.
Damage-cap details (7 jurisdictions cap general injury damages)
Most states cap only medical-malpractice damages, not car-accident damages — those show “None” above. The exceptions:
- Alaska: Noneconomic cap on all injury claims: greater of $400,000 or life-expectancy×$8,000; $1M for severe permanent impairment (AS 09.17.010). Economic uncapped.
- Colorado: Noneconomic cap on general tort ~$1.5M for accidents on/after 1/1/2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Economic uncapped.
- Idaho: Noneconomic cap, base $250K indexed (~$509K for 2025–26); exceptions for reckless/willful acts (Idaho Code 6-1603).
- Maryland: Noneconomic cap $965,000 for causes of action arising 10/1/2025–9/30/2026, +$15K each Oct 1 (CJP § 11-108).
- Mississippi: $1,000,000 noneconomic cap on ALL civil actions incl. car-accident PI (Miss. Code § 11-1-60(2)(b)); med-mal $500K.
- Ohio: GENERAL-PI noneconomic cap: greater of $250K or 3× economic, max $350K/plaintiff ($500K/occurrence); higher for permanent/substantial deformity (R.C. 2315.18). Economic uncapped.
- Tennessee: GENERAL noneconomic cap $750,000/plaintiff; $1,000,000 if catastrophic (Tenn. Code § 29-39-102). Economic uncapped.
Methodology & sources
Each value was verified on August 18, 2026against the controlling state statute (statute citations are maintained per state in our fact base), the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Insurance Information Institute, and Justia’s 50-state negligence survey. Where the III insurance table was stale (e.g., Arizona, California, Utah minimums raised by recent legislation), the current statute controls. Negligence-rule labels: Pure comparative negligence; Modified comparative negligence (50% bar); Modified comparative negligence (51% bar); Pure contributory negligence; Slight/gross comparative negligence (unique to South Dakota).
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Deadlines and thresholds have exceptions — confirm your situation with a licensed attorney in your state. Find a top-rated car accident lawyer near you →