When does the two-year injury clock start running in Georgia?
The two-year period usually begins on the date the injury happens. In a typical accident, the cause of action accrues at the moment of the harm, and O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 counts the two years from that point. For most car crashes and falls, the answer is simply the day the incident occurred.
Accrual in the ordinary case ¶
A statute of limitations runs from when the claim “accrues,” which for an immediate, obvious injury is the date of the event. Someone hurt in a collision on a given day generally has two years from that day to file suit. There is no separate grace period built into the rule, and ongoing settlement talks with an insurer do not move the start date or pause the clock once it has begun.
Because the trigger is usually the incident itself, the safest practice is to treat the date of the accident as day one and count forward.
When the harm is not immediately apparent ¶
Not every injury announces itself at once. Some harms are not discoverable right away, and Georgia recognizes that a claim should not be lost before a person could reasonably know they were hurt. In limited circumstances, the law looks to when the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered rather than to the raw date of the wrongful act. This concept tends to arise where the connection between conduct and harm is hidden or delayed.
The discovery principle is an exception, not the default. It applies in particular fact patterns and has its own contours, so it should not be assumed to extend an ordinary accident deadline.
Circumstances that affect the start or length ¶
Several situations change either when the clock starts or how long it runs:
- An injured minor’s period is generally tolled, so the clock effectively waits until adulthood.
- Some statutes impose an outer limit that caps the total time regardless of discovery.
- Death, incapacity, or other specific conditions can alter the accrual analysis.
- Different claims arising from one event may accrue and run on separate schedules.
Each of these can shift the date that actually matters for filing, which is why the start point should be pinned down for the specific claim.
The bottom line ¶
In Georgia, the two-year injury clock generally starts on the date the injury occurs, and the two years are counted from there under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. A narrow discovery rule can delay the start where harm is not reasonably knowable at the time, and tolling for minors and other special conditions can change the calculation. For a straightforward accident, treating the incident date as the starting line is the prudent approach.
This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.