The general rule: two years
Under Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l), a lawsuit for any injury to the person must generally be filed within two years. The clock normally starts on the date of the injury itself, not the date you first spoke to an insurance adjuster or started negotiating a settlement — negotiations do not pause this deadline.
Wrongful death uses the same two-year clock
Unlike many states, Alabama does not give wrongful death claims their own separate timeline. Under § 6-2-38(a), a wrongful death suit follows the same two-year deadline as an ordinary personal injury claim.
Product liability: a shorter, one-year window
A claim against the original seller of a dangerous or defective product runs on a much shorter clock: one year under Ala. Code § 6-5-502(a)(1). Where the injury developed gradually from exposure to a substance rather than a sudden event, and couldn't reasonably have been discovered sooner, the one-year clock can instead start from the date of discovery. Either way, a separate 10-year "statute of repose" under § 6-5-502(c) caps how long after the product's first use a suit can ever be filed, regardless of when the injury was discovered.
Suing a city or county runs on a much shorter clock
This is the detail that catches the most people off guard. A personal injury claim against a city or town requires a sworn statement filed with the city clerk — covering the manner, date, time, and place of the injury — within just six months of the injury, under Ala. Code §§ 11-47-192 and 11-47-23. A claim against a county instead must be presented for allowance within 12 months, under §§ 6-5-20 and 11-12-8. Both of these deadlines run out long before the ordinary two-year window would, and missing them can end the claim before the two-year clock would have mattered at all.
The discovery rule: when the clock doesn't start on day one
Most people know they're injured right away. When that's not true — an injury that develops over time, or isn't reasonably discoverable at the moment it happens — the deadline can instead start running from the date the injury was discovered, or reasonably should have been. See our guide to the discovery rule and tolling in Alabama for exactly how that works and what else can pause the clock.