The general rule: two years
Under Alaska Stat. § 09.10.070(a), most tort actions — including personal injury claims — must generally be commenced within two years from the date the cause of action accrues. In most cases that's the date of the injury itself, though Alaska recognizes real exceptions to that starting point, covered below.
Product liability and medical malpractice follow the same clock
Unlike some states that shorten the deadline for specific claim types, Alaska applies the same two-year period to strict product liability claims and medical malpractice claims, both under the same § 09.10.070(a). There's no separate, shorter statute carving these out the way some other states do.
Wrongful death has no separate deadline either
Alaska has no specific statutory provision addressing when a wrongful death action must be filed. In practice, that means these claims are generally treated as running on the same two-year period as other personal injury actions, measured from the date of death rather than a separately defined wrongful-death accrual date.
Suing a municipality: the same two years, not a shorter one
This genuinely surprises people who've heard that suing a city or town comes with a much shorter deadline — in many states, it does. Alaska is different. The Municipality of Anchorage's own official Notice of Claim form confirms that a personal injury claim against the municipality must be filed within two years of the injury, the same period as an ordinary claim against a private defendant. A sworn, written notice of claim is still required as a procedural step, but the underlying deadline isn't cut down the way it is in many other states. Claims against the State of Alaska specifically, rather than a municipality, can carry their own distinct procedural requirements depending on the type of claim — confirm the specific rules for a state-agency claim with a licensed Alaska attorney.
A 10-year outer limit, with real exceptions
Separately from the two-year rule, Alaska Stat. § 09.10.055 generally bars an action more than 10 years after the last act alleged to have caused the injury, for actions accruing on or after August 7, 1997 — a "statute of repose" that caps how long a claim can theoretically remain viable, regardless of when the injury was actually discovered. This repose period specifically does not apply to claims involving defective products, or to injury resulting from prolonged exposure to hazardous waste.
When the clock doesn't start on the injury date
Alaska recognizes a well-established discovery rule, along with a specific rule for claims involving minors. See our guide to Alaska's discovery rule and tolling for exactly how the Alaska Supreme Court has applied it.