Key Takeaways
- Two years for injury, from the date the cause of action accrued.
- One year if a public body is involved, and that catches people out more often than any other rule.
- Five years for damage to your vehicle, so a property claim can outlive an injury claim.
- A child’s clock generally starts at 18, not at the crash.
- Evidence expires long before the deadline does. The limitation period is the last date to file, not the date to start.
The deadlines, in one table
| Claim | గడువు | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| వ్యక్తిగత గాయం | 2 సంవత్సరాలు | 735 ILCS 5/13-202 |
| Against a local public entity or its employee | 1 సంవత్సరం | 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) |
| Damage to your vehicle or other property | 5 సంవత్సరాలు | 735 ILCS 5/13-205 |
| Injured person was under 18 | 2 years from turning 18 | 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a) |
| అన్యాయమైన మరణం | See the Wrongful Death Act | 740 ILCS 180/2 |
The statute says injury actions “shall be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued.” For an ordinary crash, that is the date of the crash.
The one-year rule, and why it catches people
If a local public entity or one of its employees is a defendant, the period is one year, not two, under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a). Subsection (c) makes clear that “civil action” covers claims based on common law, statute or the Illinois Constitution, so it is not confined to any particular kind of case.
The difficulty is that people rarely realize a public body is involved. A crash looks like an ordinary two-car collision, and the public defendant only emerges later. Common routes include:
- A municipal or county vehicle in the collision, including public works and police vehicles.
- A transit bus, or another vehicle operated by a public transport body.
- A claim about the road itself: signals, signage, sightlines or maintenance.
- A school district or park district vehicle.
By the time an investigation identifies the public defendant, a year can be close. This is the single most common way an otherwise good Illinois crash claim is lost.
Minors, and disabilities that arise later
Under 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a), a person who was under 18 or under a legal disability when the cause of action accrued may bring the action within two years after turning 18 or after the disability is removed. So a child injured at 10 generally has until 20, not until 12.
Subsection (b) covers a situation that matters in severe cases and is rarely discussed: where someone is not under a legal disability when the claim accrues but becomes so before the period runs, the limitation period is stayed until the disability is removed. A catastrophic head injury can therefore affect the running of the very claim it gives rise to.
Neither provision should be relied on without advice. Both interact with other rules, and subsection (b) expressly does not invalidate the statutes of repose listed in the Code.
Two years is the last date, not the start date
The deadline is when the courthouse door closes. It is not the point at which a claim should begin, because the material a claim is built from expires far earlier:
- Camera footage is commonly overwritten within days or weeks.
- Damaged vehicles are repaired or scrapped, taking the physical evidence with them.
- Witnesses move and their recollection fades.
- Gaps in treatment cannot be repaired afterwards, and are used to argue the injury was minor.
A claim filed on the last available day is usually a weaker claim than the same facts brought early. How that evidence shapes the outcome is covered in how fault is decided.
Why your vehicle claim can outlive your injury claim
Damage to property, real or personal, runs for five years under 735 ILCS 5/13-205. That is a genuinely different period from the two years for injury to the person, and the practical consequence surprises people: the claim for the car can remain alive after the claim for the driver has expired.
It is not a substitute. A property claim does not compensate an injury. But it explains why an insurer may still discuss vehicle damage in a case where it will not entertain anything else.
తరచుగా అడిగే ప్రశ్నలు
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Illinois?
Generally two years. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-202 an action for damages for injury to the person must be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued, which for an ordinary crash is the date of the crash. Shorter and longer periods apply in the situations below.
Is the deadline ever shorter than two years?
Yes. Where a local public entity or one of its employees is a defendant, the period is one year under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a). This applies to claims involving municipal, county, transit, school or park district vehicles, and to claims about the roadway itself.
What is the deadline for a child injured in a crash?
Under 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a), a person under 18 when the cause of action accrued may bring the action within two years after turning 18. A child injured at 10 therefore generally has until age 20 rather than age 12.
What if the injured person is left unable to manage their affairs?
735 ILCS 5/13-211(b) provides that where a person is not under a legal disability when the cause of action accrues but becomes so before the limitation period runs, the period is stayed until the disability is removed. It does not invalidate the statutes of repose listed in the Code, so advice should be taken rather than relying on it.
How long do I have to claim for damage to my car?
Five years. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-205 actions to recover damages for an injury done to property, real or personal, must be commenced within 5 years. This is why a vehicle damage claim can still be alive after the deadline for the injury claim has passed.
Should I wait until close to the deadline to file?
No. The limitation period is the last date to file, not the right date to start. Camera footage is often overwritten within days, damaged vehicles are repaired or scrapped, and witnesses become difficult to trace, so the evidence a claim depends on usually disappears long before the deadline arrives.
Talk to an Elmwood Park car accident lawyer
Most missed deadlines in Illinois crash cases are not people ignoring a date in the calendar. They are people who assumed they had two years when a public body made it one, or who waited because the deadline still looked distant while the evidence quietly went away.
If you were hurt in a crash in Elmwood Park, Oak Lawn, Skokie, Niles, Orland Park or anywhere in Cook County, Lawyer Furqan will identify early whether any public defendant is in the case, which is the question that decides whether you have one year or two.
Call 847-800-8978 or contact us online. The consultation is free, there is nothing upfront, and you owe no attorney’s fee unless we win.
Sources and authorities cited
- 735 ILCS 5/13-202 · two years for injury to the person
- 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) and (c) · one year against a local public entity
- 735 ILCS 5/13-205 · five years for injury done to property
- 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a) and (b) · minors, and disabilities arising after accrual
- 740 ILCS 180/2 · Wrongful Death Act limitation periods
This article is general legal information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Which limitation period applies depends on the facts and the parties, and nothing here predicts a result.
