Short answer: Georgia gives you two years from the date of the injury. Tennessee gives you one year. Mississippi gives you three years. If you miss the deadline that applies to your case, the court will dismiss it no matter how badly you were hurt or how clearly the other driver was at fault. Some claims carry much shorter deadlines, as little as 90 days or six months, and most people never learn about those until it is too late.
Howe.Law handles injury cases in all three states, so we watch three different clocks every day. Here is how they work and where people get caught.
The three deadlines side by side
| State | Personal injury | Wrongful death | Governing law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2 years from the injury | 2 years from the death | O.C.G.A. 9-3-33 |
| Tennessee | 1 year from the injury | 1 year from the death | Tenn. Code Ann. 28-3-104 |
| Mississippi | 3 years from the injury | 3 years (tied to the underlying tort) | Miss. Code Ann. 15-1-49 |
Those look simple on paper. In practice, the state where you live does not decide which clock runs. The state where the crash happened usually does. A Memphis resident hurt in a wreck outside Southaven is looking at the Mississippi clock, not the Tennessee one, and that difference is two full years.
Tennessee has one of the shortest deadlines in the country
One year is brutal. Medical treatment for a serious injury often takes longer than that, which means the filing deadline can arrive before anyone knows what the case is actually worth.
There is one meaningful extension. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 28-3-104(a)(2), the deadline stretches to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the injury, the prosecution begins within one year of the crash, and the civil suit is filed against that same prosecuted person. That covers a lot of drunk driving and vehicular assault cases. It does not cover everyone else. If you are also pursuing the driver’s employer, a bar that overserved, or a trucking company, the one year deadline still governs those defendants.
Georgia gives you two years, with one important pause button
Georgia’s two year deadline under O.C.G.A. 9-3-33 is the baseline for car wrecks, truck collisions, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian injuries, and premises cases.
O.C.G.A. 9-3-99 pauses that clock when your injury arose from a crime. The limitations period is tolled from the date of the alleged crime until the prosecution becomes final or otherwise terminates, up to a maximum of six years. That matters in hit and run cases, DUI cases, and assault cases where the criminal proceeding drags on for a year or more.
There is also O.C.G.A. 9-3-92, which can toll an estate’s claim for up to five years while a personal representative is appointed. Neither of these is something to lean on. They are safety nets that get argued over in court, not scheduling tools.
Mississippi is the most forgiving, but not unlimited
Mississippi’s general three year statute under Miss. Code Ann. 15-1-49 applies to negligence claims, and Mississippi courts have held that a wrongful death claim carries the limitations period of the underlying tort, which for a negligence death is three years.
The extra time does not make waiting a good idea. Mississippi has the highest uninsured driver rate in the nation, which means many Mississippi cases turn on uninsured motorist coverage, and those claims come with their own policy notice conditions that operate independently of the statute.
The deadlines almost nobody knows about
If a government entity is involved, and that includes a city bus, a county dump truck, a school van, a police cruiser, or a dangerous road maintained by a municipality, the real deadline is far shorter than the statute of limitations. You have to send a formal written notice first, and the notice deadline is the one that kills cases.
Georgia
– City or municipality: written ante litem notice within 6 months of the event, and it must state the specific dollar amount you are seeking (O.C.G.A. 36-33-5)
– County: within 12 months (O.C.G.A. 36-11-1)
– State of Georgia: written notice within 12 months to the Department of Administrative Services, with suit within two years (O.C.G.A. 50-21-26, 50-21-27)
Tennessee
– Any governmental entity under the Governmental Tort Liability Act: 12 months from when the claim arises, and that is a hard limitations period, not a notice period (Tenn. Code Ann. 29-20-305)
– Claims against the State of Tennessee go to the Division of Claims and Risk Management within the underlying limitations period (Tenn. Code Ann. 9-8-402)
Mississippi
– Written notice of claim at least 90 days before filing suit, and suit within 1 year of the conduct (Miss. Code Ann. 11-46-11)
Six months goes fast when you are in a wheelchair. This is the single most common way a legitimate case dies before anyone files anything.
Why waiting hurts even when the clock has time left on it
The statute of limitations is the outer boundary. It is not the point at which a case is still winnable. Evidence disappears on a much faster schedule:
- Commercial trucking companies are only required to keep records of duty status and supporting documents for six months under 49 CFR 395.8. Electronic logging device data can be overwritten well before that.
- Gas station, parking lot, and business surveillance video is routinely recorded over in 14 to 30 days.
- Vehicles get repaired, sold, or crushed, taking event data recorder information with them.
- Witnesses move, change numbers, and stop remembering the sequence of events.
We send evidence preservation letters within days of taking a case for exactly this reason. A letter sent in month seven is a letter about records that no longer exist.
There is also the practical side. Insurance adjusters know when your deadline is. An adjuster who has been slow walking a claim for 22 months in Georgia suddenly has all the leverage, because your only remaining option is to file suit immediately or take whatever is offered.
What to do now
If you were hurt in Georgia, Tennessee, or Mississippi, treat the deadline as much shorter than the statute suggests. Get the police report, keep every medical record and bill, photograph your injuries as they heal, and talk to a lawyer before you give any recorded statement.
Howe.Law offers free case reviews in all three states, and we do not charge a fee unless we recover money for you. Call (844) 876-4357 or contact us here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the deadline start on the crash date or the date I found out I was hurt?
In most Georgia and Tennessee injury cases the clock starts on the date of the collision, because the injury is immediately apparent. Mississippi applies a discovery rule in some circumstances, and latent injury cases in every state can raise discovery arguments. Assume the crash date controls unless a lawyer tells you otherwise after reviewing your facts.
What happens if I miss the statute of limitations?
The defendant files a motion to dismiss and the court grants it. Liability, injury severity, and the strength of your evidence stop mattering. There are narrow tolling exceptions for minors, for people who are legally incompetent, and for defendants who leave the state, but they are exceptions and they are litigated.
Is the deadline different for a minor child?
Yes. All three states toll the limitations period for minors, generally until the child reaches 18, at which point the standard period begins to run. Claims for the parents’ own losses, such as a child’s medical bills, are usually not tolled and follow the normal deadline.
Do I have to file a lawsuit to protect my claim, or is filing an insurance claim enough?
Reporting the claim to an insurance company does not stop the statute of limitations. Only filing suit in the correct court does. Settlement negotiations can run right up to the deadline and then collapse, leaving you with nothing.
Which state’s deadline applies if I live in one state and was hurt in another?
Generally the law of the state where the injury occurred governs, though there are exceptions and both states’ rules can come into play. Because our firm is licensed in Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, we can evaluate a cross border crash without handing you off.
This article is general information about the law in Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi. It is not legal advice, and deadlines depend on the specific facts of your case. Speak with a licensed attorney about your situation.
