Illinois truck accident statute of limitations: check your deadline
The statute of limitations, the legal deadline to sue, is usually 2 years after a Chicago, IL truck crash. Sometimes it is 1.
Free. No name, no phone number, no sign-up. Every rule is printed on this page with its citation.
- Month 6. Driver logs may be deleted.
- Month 12. Deadline against a city or other public body.
- Month 24. Deadline against the driver and the company.
Three questions. Then your dates.
The statute of limitations is the legal deadline to file a lawsuit. Answer 3 questions to see your rule, every date on your timeline and the days left, all at once, with nothing to sign up for.
0 of 3
questions answered.
Your dates appear here.
Answer the 3 questions and press the button. You will see which rule applies and why, the date of each deadline and the days you have left. No name, no phone number.
This tool gives general information, not legal advice. Using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines depend on facts this tool does not ask about.
The rules, in the open.
These are the 4 rules the tool applies. Each gives the plaintiff, the person who files the lawsuit, a fixed time to do it. You do not need the tool, or us, to read them.
2 yearsfrom the crash
An adult who was hurt
The statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit, a claim for harm to your body, is 2 years. The clock starts when your cause of action accrues: the day your right to sue comes into being. In a crash case that is usually the day of the crash.
735 ILCS 5/13-202
1 yearfor a public body
A city or other public body
When the defendant, the party you are suing, is a local public entity, the limitations period is 1 year under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. That covers the City of Chicago, Cook County and park districts, and their garbage and plow trucks. The CTA is outside that Act. It has its own 1-year rule under the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act.
745 ILCS 10/8-101; CTA: 70 ILCS 3605/41
2 yearsfrom the death
A family that lost someone
A wrongful death lawsuit is the claim brought for a family when negligence, a failure to use reasonable care, or another wrongful act causes a death. Under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act it must be filed within 2 years of the date of death. The date of the crash is not the starting point.
740 ILCS 180/2
18 + 2years of age
A child under 18
The law calls a person under 18 a minor. A minor who is hurt may file within 2 years after their 18th birthday. The Code sets this rule beside the one for a person under a legal disability, which this tool does not calculate.
735 ILCS 5/13-211
One more clock runs before any of these. It is not a filing deadline. A carrier has to keep electronic driver logs for only 6 months (49 CFR 395.8(k)).
What can change a deadline.
The 4 rules are the starting point. A few things can move a deadline, earlier or later. None of them is safe to assume.
The discovery rule
Under the discovery rule, a limitations period can in some cases be measured from the day an injury was discovered, or should have been, and not from the day it happened. Whether that applies to you is a question about your facts.
The start, and the deadline with it, could move later
Tolling
Tolling is the legal word for pausing a limitations period. Some circumstances can toll a clock for a time. They are narrow, and they are argued case by case. They are not something to plan around.
A pause could push the deadline later
A public body as a defendant
A city truck, a transit vehicle or a public plow can bring the 1-year rule into a case that looked like a 2-year case. You may not know who owned the truck on day one.
The deadline could move a year earlier
Why sooner is better.
A filing deadline is the last day a court will hear you. The proof of what happened runs on shorter clocks.
A truck crash claim is usually a negligence claim: it says someone failed to use reasonable care, and you were hurt because of it. The plaintiff has to prove that. The defendant holds most of the proof: the driver’s logs, the camera footage, the truck itself. Each one can be gone long before a filing deadline arrives.
Lawyers call the loss or destruction of evidence a claim depends on spoliation of evidence. A preservation letter tells the carrier, in writing, to keep its records. We send it the day you retain us. You can take the time you need after that.
Driver logs
Federal rules require a carrier to keep electronic driver logs for only 6 months. After that they can lawfully go. 49 CFR 395.8(k).
Dashcam video
In-cab cameras record on a loop. New footage replaces old footage unless someone saves it.
The truck itself
A damaged truck is repaired and put back to work. The repair removes what the damage could have shown.
Questions about deadlines.
Do I have to give my name or phone number to see my dates?
No. As soon as you answer the 3 questions, the tool shows which rule applies and why, every date on your timeline, the days left and a written summary. Nothing is held back. After the result there is an optional form if you want a lawyer to confirm the dates. Your result does not depend on it.
If the statute of limitations gives me 2 years, why call now?
Because the evidence runs on a shorter clock. Federal rules require a carrier to keep electronic driver logs for only 6 months (49 CFR 395.8(k)). Video and the truck itself can change sooner than that. The figure beside these questions draws the 2 clocks on one scale.
What if I do not know who owned the truck?
Choose "I do not know". The tool shows both the 1-year and the 2-year limitations period. Plan around the shorter one until someone confirms the owner. Finding the owner is one of the first things a lawyer does.
The tool says my deadline has passed. Is my case over?
Not necessarily. Some rules can extend or pause a deadline, and they depend on facts a calculator cannot see. Do not decide this yourself. Have an attorney look at it today. The call is free.
Does the statute of limitations change if a child was hurt?
Yes. A minor, a person hurt before turning 18, may file within 2 years after their 18th birthday (735 ILCS 5/13-211). If a city or another public body may be responsible, ask an attorney which deadline controls. Do not assume the longer one.
Is this tool legal advice?
No. It applies 4 published Illinois rules to the dates you enter. It gives general information, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Your own deadline depends on facts the tool does not ask about.
Driver logs must be kept 6 months
Statute of limitations 24 months
18 months in which the logs may already be gone.
Not sure which rule is yours? Ask us, free, today.
Sources
- Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/13-202 (statute of limitations for personal injury: 2 years).
- Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, 745 ILCS 10/8-101 (limitations period for a civil action against a local public entity: 1 year).
- Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, 70 ILCS 3605/41 (limitations period for an injury claim against the Chicago Transit Authority: 1 year).
- Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/2 (wrongful death action: 2 years from the death).
- Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/13-211 (minors and persons under legal disability: 2 years after the 18th birthday).
- Illinois Probate Act of 1975, 755 ILCS 5/27-6 (actions that survive a death, known as the Survival Act).
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 CFR 395.8(k) (a motor carrier keeps records of duty status, the driver logs, for 6 months).
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