The general rule: three years
Under D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(8), most personal injury claims must be filed within three years of the date the claim accrues — genuinely longer than the two-year window most states use. This covers car accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death.
Intentional injuries: a much shorter, one-year window
Several intentional torts — deliberate misconduct that causes injury — carry a deadline of just one year from the date of injury, under D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(4), far shorter than the general three-year rule.
Medical malpractice: 90 days of advance notice required
Medical malpractice claims still fall under the general three-year rule, but with a genuinely distinctive procedural requirement: written notice of intent to sue must be given at least 90 days before filing, under D.C. Code § 16-2802(a). A malpractice lawsuit "shall not be commenced" unless this notice requirement has been satisfied first — meaning the effective deadline to start the notice process is really 90 days earlier than the three-year filing deadline itself.
Claims against the District government: notice within six months
Personal injury claims against the District of Columbia government also fall under the general three-year rule for filing the lawsuit itself, but written notice must reach the Mayor within just six months of the injury, under D.C. Code § 12-309(a). See our full guide to DC's District government notice requirement for a genuinely convenient detail: how a police report alone can often satisfy it.
Minors and other exceptions
See our guide to DC's discovery rule and tolling for how the clock pauses for minors, and for how the discovery rule applies to injuries that aren't immediately apparent.