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The statute of limitations for a personal injury or wrongful death claim is two years in the state of Illinois. For most personal injury claims, the two-year limit begins on the date the injury occurred. For wrongful death, it begins on the date of death. The statute differs slightly for medical malpractice claims.

Not everyone realizes they have an injury on the actual day the injury occurs, and that's why Illinois has a discovery rule for people who later become aware of an injury that might trace back to someone else's negligence.

Even so, the statute of limitations for negligence/personal injury in Illinois is two years with the Modified Discovery Rule, which states that parties knew or should have known the injury was wrongfully caused even if the plaintiff did not know it was actionable.

Illinois law allows for some latitude in the statute of limitations on personal injury actions through what is commonly known as the "discovery rule." The discovery rule allows the statute of limitations to be extended from the time of the injury to the time of the discovery of the injury.

For many personal injury lawsuits, Illinois gives plaintiffs two years to initiate legal action, ing to 735 ILCS 5/13-202. The statute applies to motor vehicle accidents, product liability, and premises liability. For most cases, the time limit of two years begins on the date of the alleged incident.

Section 13-212(a) of the Code (?discovery rule?) provides that within a four-year statute of repose, any claim of malpractice against a physician or hospital must be filed within two years of the date on which the claimant knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known, of the existence of the ...