The general rule: just one year
Under KRS § 413.140(1)(a), an action for an injury to the person must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued. This is genuinely shorter than what most states allow — many give two, three, or even four years for the same kind of claim, making Kentucky's deadline one of the tightest in the country.
Medical malpractice: the same year, with discovery built in
Claims against a physician, surgeon, dentist, or licensed hospital for negligence or malpractice also follow the one-year rule — but the statute itself specifies that the clock starts when the injury is first discovered, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered, rather than automatically on the date of the malpractice itself.
Wrongful death: measured from a very different date
Kentucky's wrongful death deadline doesn't simply run from the date of death. It generally runs one year from the date the deceased's personal representative is formally appointed — but if no representative is appointed within the first year after death, the law treats that appointment as having happened on the one-year anniversary of death anyway, creating a hard outer cap of two years from the date of death. See our full guide to Kentucky's discovery rule and tolling for exactly how this works.
Government claims: a genuinely different system entirely
Claims against the Commonwealth of Kentucky don't go through the ordinary court system at all — they go to a special body called the Board of Claims, with its own one-year filing deadline. See our full guide to the Kentucky Board of Claims.