Deadlines to File an Injury Lawsuit in Massachusetts

Three years. Tort actions, and contract actions to recover for personal injuries, must be filed within three years after the cause of action accrues, unless another law provides otherwise.

Three years. Property damage claims are tort actions subject to the same three-year limit.

Three years after the cause of action accrues, but in no event more than seven years after the act or omission that caused the injury, except when the claim is based on a foreign object left in the body. This applies to physicians, surgeons, dentists, optometrists, hospitals and sanitoria.

Within three years from the date of death, or within three years from when the executor or administrator knew or reasonably should have known the facts supporting a claim (or later where certain tolling provisions of chapter 260 apply).

Under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act, a written claim must be presented to the executive officer of the public employer (for a city or town, for example the mayor, city manager, city solicitor or clerk; for the Commonwealth, the Attorney General) within two years after the cause of action arose. The claim must be finally denied (a failure to respond within six months counts as denial) before a lawsuit is filed, and the lawsuit must be filed within three years after the cause of action accrued. Public employers are not liable for punitive damages, interest before judgment, or more than $100,000 (except serious bodily injury claims against the MBTA).