Truck Accident Statute of Limitations in District of Columbia

In District of Columbia, the statute of limitations for a truck accident injury claim is generally 3 years from the date of the crash, and wrongful death claims run on a separate 2 years clock. If a government vehicle or entity was involved, a claim notice of roughly 180 days applies first — and missing that notice usually bars the claim regardless of the other deadlines. District of Columbia's 3 years is somewhat longer than the national median — but that extra room applies only to filing the lawsuit, not to preserving the proof.

Two years from death — a full year shorter than the personal-injury period. A detail that catches families out: in District of Columbia the wrongful death period is 1 year shorter than the injury period. A family working from the 3 years figure they saw online is using the wrong statute entirely.

Written notice to the Mayor within six months is mandatory for any claim for unliquidated damages against the District. District of Columbia's 180-day notice window is within the usual range, though it still expires long before the ordinary deadline does.

Tolled during minority for the underlying claim. If the injured person was under 18, the clock in District of Columbia is generally paused until their 18th birthday. The evidence is not paused, and in many cases the government notice is not either.

Concretely: in District of Columbia the ordinary legal window is roughly 6 times longer than the six months federal law requires driver logs to be kept. Someone injured here can be 3 years from their filing deadline and weeks from losing the proof that would carry the case. Federal rules require motor carriers to retain driver Records of Duty Status for six months. Dashcam and telematics data typically overwrite within 30 days, and engine control module data has no retention requirement at all.

In District of Columbia the personal injury period is 3 years. Nearby: Maryland 3 years, Virginia 2 years, Delaware 2 years, West Virginia 2 years. That matters more than it looks in trucking cases, because interstate freight crosses state lines as a matter of routine — the driver, the carrier, the trailer and the crash can sit in four different states, and which state's law governs can change the deadline. If you were hit far from home, get that question answered early.