Washington Statute of Limitations

Wrongful Death

A cause of action for wrongful death accrues on the date of death and must be filed within three years of that date.

Personal Injury Actions

These actions must be brought within three years of the date that the injury occurred.

Medical Malpractice Actions

Actions against health care providers must be filed within three years of the date that the act giving rise to the injury occurred or within one year after the date the injury was, or should have been, discovered, whichever is later. Only in cases involving fraudulent concealment or presence of a foreign body may a medical malpractice action be filed more than eight years after the act giving rise to the injury occurred. A parent’s knowledge of a medical malpractice injury to his or her minor child is imputed on the parent.

Products Liability Actions

Products liability actions must be brought within three years after the plaintiff suffers the injury or within three years of the date when the injury was, or should have been, discovered. Furthermore, no suit may be brought outside the "useful" life of a product as defined by state statute.

Special Rules for Minors

Except in cases or wrongful death or where a parent has knowledge of a medical malpractice injury, the statute of limitations begins to run on the minor’s 18th birthday.

Workers' Compensation

A workers' compensation action must be filed within one year of your workplace injury or within two years from the time that your doctor informs you that you have a work-connected illness.

Need more information on state laws? Learn more about the laws where you live.

Note: Our attorneys are licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and Virginia. This information is not intended to solicit clients for matters outside of the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia, although if you are injured in an accident, we have relationships with other personal injury attorneys and lawyers throughout the United States.