Rear End Collision
$2,300,000
Insurer offered$85,000
Spinal cord injury after a rear end crash. The insurer offered $85,000.
Serving Alabama
Ala. Code 6-2-38: The Two Year Deadline to File an Alabama Car Accident Lawsuit
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In Alabama, you have two years from the day of the crash to file a car accident injury lawsuit. Once that date passes the claim is gone. A death claim also has two years, and a crash with a city or county vehicle needs a sworn claim much sooner. Top USA Law tracks every date from day one.
What does Ala. Code 6-2-38 mean for a car accident claim?
It means you have two years. The statute sets the filing time for most Alabama injury lawsuits, and a car crash claim falls squarely inside it. The count begins on the day of the collision and ends on the second anniversary, and by then a complaint has to be on file with the Circuit Court. An open insurance claim does not stop the clock.
The text of Ala. Code 6-2-38 reaches every action for an injury to the person not arising from contract, and a claim against a careless driver is exactly that. Two years is shorter than it sounds. Treatment for a disc injury or a fracture can run most of a year before a doctor can say what is permanent, and adjusters know the date. Some keep a claim talking until it is too late to sue.
Other Alabama clocks run differently. A wrongful death claim has its own two years, counted from the death rather than the crash, and is filed by the personal representative of the estate. A claim involving a city or county vehicle requires a sworn written claim with the clerk within months, long before any lawsuit. Policy notice terms come sooner still.
How is the two year Alabama deadline counted?
Count from the date of the crash, not from the last doctor visit. A collision on the first of March is in suit by the first of March two years later, and the safe practice is to file months ahead. Alabama pauses the clock for a minor or a legally incapacitated person, but an adult driver should treat the anniversary as fixed.
Which situations carry a different deadline?
- Death: two years from the date of death, brought by the personal representative of the estate. Alabama measures those damages by the wrongdoer's conduct, so how the crash happened matters most.
- City or county vehicle or roadway: a sworn written claim with the clerk within months of the crash, then the lawsuit inside the two years. A defective claim can end the case before it begins.
- The State of Alabama: sovereign immunity limits these claims and routes them through a separate process.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage: governed by your policy, which requires prompt notice and consent before any settlement.
Two worked examples
A nurse is rear ended on I-65 in Montgomery in October. She treats for ten months, has a spinal injection, and the insurer makes a low offer the following spring. Her lawsuit must be on file by that same October date two years after the crash. Negotiation does not extend it, and the low offer is the signal that suit is coming.
A student is struck by a county road department truck near Tuscaloosa. Two clocks start at once: the sworn claim with the county clerk is due within months, and the lawsuit against the county must follow within the two years. A private driver who shared the blame is sued under the plain two year rule with no sworn claim.
If the date passes, the insurer raises the statute and the court dismisses the case, with no exception for a claim still under negotiation. Top USA Law opens every Alabama file with a written deadline sheet: the two year date, any death claim, any sworn claim against a public body and each household policy's notice terms. We file early when an insurer stalls.
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Results in cases like this
T Bone Accident
$1,800,000
Insurer offered$120,000
Broken pelvis and internal bleeding at an intersection. The insurer offered $120,000.
Drunk Driver Victim
$1,500,000
Insurer offered$50,000
Traumatic brain injury caused by an impaired driver. The insurer offered $50,000.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict a similar outcome.
Where we help in Alabama
Where Alabama car accident lawsuits are filed
An Alabama injury lawsuit is filed in the Circuit Court of the county where the crash happened or the defendant lives, most often Jefferson County in Birmingham or Bessemer, Madison County in Huntsville, or Montgomery, Mobile or Tuscaloosa County. Top USA Law has no Alabama office. Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan is licensed in Alabama and meets clients by phone, by video, at home or at the bedside at the state's Level I trauma centers, UAB Hospital, Huntsville Hospital and USA Health University Hospital in Mobile. Read the Alabama car accident lawyer page or call (877) 411-5291 to confirm your filing date.
We serve Alabama clients by phone, video and in person appointments arranged case by case.
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Alabama filing deadlines and insurance notice rules can be short. A free call tells you where your clock stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ala. Code 6-2-38 apply to passengers, pedestrians and cyclists?
Yes. The statute covers any lawsuit for an injury to a person, so a passenger, a pedestrian, a cyclist and a motorcyclist all have the same two years from the date of the crash. A city or county vehicle adds a sworn claim requirement that arrives within months.
When does the two year clock start in Alabama?
On the date of the collision. It does not restart when treatment ends, when the insurer denies the claim, or when you hire a lawyer. The clock pauses for a person who was a minor or legally incapacitated at the time of the crash, and adults should not count on either.
What is the deadline for an Alabama wrongful death claim?
Two years from the date of death, which may be later than the crash date. The claim is brought by the personal representative of the estate, so the estate must be opened first, and the damages are measured by the wrongdoer's conduct rather than the family's financial loss.
Does negotiating with the insurer extend the Alabama deadline?
No. An open claim, a pending offer or an adjuster's promise to review the file changes nothing. Only a complaint filed with the Circuit Court stops the clock. When an insurer keeps a claim open past the second anniversary without settling, the claim against its driver is over.
What if a city bus or county truck caused the crash?
A sworn written claim must be filed with the city or county clerk within a period measured in months, before any lawsuit and long before the two year date. The claim has to be sworn and accurate, because a defective one can end the case. We identify every public owner at intake.
What happens if I file after two years in Alabama?
The defense raises the statute of limitations under Ala. Code 6-2-38 and the court dismisses the case. There is no exception for a claim that was being negotiated. Medical payments coverage on your own policy is a separate contract claim, but the claim against the driver is gone.
Last reviewed by Andranik "Andy" Boyadzhyan, Esq., September 2026.
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