In West Virginia, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit for personal injury or property damage after a car crash. That deadline is the statute of limitations, and courts enforce it strictly: once it passes, your claim is barred no matter how strong it was.
Your insurance company has its own, much shorter reporting window. Most policies say to report a crash “as soon as possible”; some insurers, Liberty Mutual among them, require certain claims within 20 days of the collision. West Virginia also gives you five days to report an accident with injuries or property damage to the police.
This page covers each of those deadlines, the exceptions that can move the two-year clock, what to do if your deadline is close, and how to file. If you were injured in West Virginia, the car accident lawyers at Miley Legal offer a free consultation.
How Much Time Do You Have to File an Insurance Claim After a Car Accident?
Every car insurance company has some verbiage dictating how much time you have to file an insurance claim after an accident. Most insurance companies imply you should file “as soon as possible” or “immediately,” but rarely stipulate a specific car accident insurance claim time limit. Realistically, you have one to six years from the collision date to file a personal injury or property damage claim, but you should file sooner rather than later.
An auto insurance company would prefer for you to file a car accident claim at the scene of the accident or within 24 hours from the car crash. While significantly delayed claims of one or two years might be suspicious, insurance companies must allow for a bit of wiggle room in the claims time limit since certain injuries and property damage may not be seen right away.
Despite this grace period, accident victims should not hesitate to file a police report as quickly as possible. In most states, accident victims are legally required to contact the authorities and file a police accident report right away if there’s any property damage or someone has been injured or killed. If you have any questions, call our car accident lawyers in West Virginia.
What Happens if You Don’t Report a Car Accident or Miss the Filing Deadline?
You cannot receive compensation for accident injuries or property damage if you do not report a car accident to your insurance company. Without an accident claim, the insurance company has no way of knowing that you’ve been injured or your vehicle needs repairs.
If you miss the filing deadline, the insurance company will likely deny your accident claim, and the car accident damages will be considered your responsibility. However, if you are within the statute of limitations in your state, you can still file a lawsuit.
You should file a police report as soon as possible after an accident with personal injuries or property damage. In West Virginia, you have five days from the date of the accident to report the incident to the police. Failure to report the accident can negatively impact your insurance claim because insurance adjusters refer to a police report to help determine who was the at fault driver.
Failure to file a police report after an accident with bodily injury or property damage in West Virginia can result in steep penalties, including:
- A $1,000 fine
- One year in jail
- Temporary license suspension
Exceptions That Can Change Your West Virginia Filing Deadline
The two-year statute of limitations is the general rule, but several exceptions can move the deadline. They are not widely known, which is why some accident victims assume they have more time than they do, and why others give up on valid claims that could still be filed.
- Claims against a government entity. If a city, county or state vehicle or agency is involved, the notice requirements are far shorter, often 30 to 180 days depending on the government body.
- Minors. A child injured in a crash has the statute of limitations tolled until age 18; the standard two-year clock starts then.
- Wrongful death. A wrongful death claim arising from a car accident must be filed within two years of the date of death, which may differ from the accident date.
- The discovery rule. In limited circumstances, West Virginia courts start the clock when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, an injury rather than on the accident date. This can apply to injuries such as whiplash, soft tissue damage or a traumatic brain injury whose symptoms appear days or weeks later. The exception is narrowly applied and needs medical records showing when symptoms began and how they connect to the crash.
What to Do If Your Deadline Is Close
Contact a lawyer now, not after the next insurance call. Hiring an attorney does not change the deadline, but it is the fastest way to get the claim filed correctly before it passes. Insurance companies know the West Virginia deadlines and may slow a claim as the date approaches: extra document requests, repeated recorded statements, a low offer timed just before the cutoff, or an adjuster who becomes hard to reach. Do not treat “you have plenty of time” from an adjuster as legal advice.
Even with time left, waiting costs you. Skid marks, vehicle damage, surveillance footage and witness memories start disappearing within days, and statements made to an insurer in the first week can shape the whole claim.
Statutes of Limitations for Accident Claims by State
In addition to a car accident insurance claim time limit, there’s also a car accident lawsuit time limit. This time limit is referred to as a statute of limitations. Each state is responsible for establishing its own deadlines for personal injury and property damage lawsuits.
Look at the following chart for the statute of limitations for accident claims by state and the District of Colombia:
| State | Bodily Injury | Property Damage |
| Alabama | 2 years | 2 years |
| Alaska | 2 years | 2 years |
| Arizona | 2 years | 2 years |
| Arkansas | 3 years | 3 years |
| California | 2 years | 3 years |
| Colorado | 3 years | 3 years |
| Connecticut | 2 years | 2 years |
| Delaware | 2 years | 2 years |
| Florida | 4 years | 4 years |
| Georgia | 2 years | 4 years |
| Hawaii | 2 years | 2 years |
| Idaho | 2 years | 2 years |
| Illinois | 2 years | 5 years |
| Indiana | 2 years | 2 years |
| Iowa | 2 years | 5 years |
| Kansas | 1 year | 2 years |
| Kentucky | 1 year | 2 years |
| Louisiana | 1 year | 1 year |
| Maine | 6 years | 6 years |
| Maryland | 3 years | 3 years |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | 3 years |
| Michigan | 3 years | 3 years |
| Minnesota | 6 years | 6 years |
| Mississippi | 3 years | 3 years |
| Missouri | 5 years | 5 years |
| Montana | 3 years | 2 years |
| Nebraska | 4 years | 4 years |
| Nevada | 1 year | 1 year |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | 3 years |
| New Jersey | 2 years | 6 years |
| New Mexico | 3 years | 4 years |
| New York | 3 years | 3 years |
| North Carolina | 3 years | 3 years |
| North Dakota | 2 years | 2 years |
| Ohio | 2 years | 2 years |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | 2 years |
| Oregon | 2 years | 6 years |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 2 years |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | 10 years |
| South Carolina | 3 years | 3 years |
| South Dakota | 3 years | 3 years |
| Tennessee | 1 year | 3 years |
| Texas | 2 years | 2 years |
| Utah | 4 years | 3 years |
| Vermont | 3 years | 3 years |
| Virginia | 2 years | 5 years |
| Washington | 3 years | 3 years |
| Washington, D.C. | 3 years | 3 years |
| West Virginia | 2 years | 2 years |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | 3 years |
| Wyoming | 4 years | 4 years |
The statute of limitations for an auto accident begins on the date of the crash. In West Virginia, this means you have two years from when the collision occurred to file an accident claim. If a car crash occurred on March 2, 2021, the victim would have until March 2, 2023, to legally file a claim.
Who Should You File Your Claim With?
Who you should file your claim with after an auto accident will vary depending on if the state where the accident occurred was a no-fault state or an at-fault state:
In a no-fault state like Florida, each driver’s personal injury protection (PIP) insurance covers their own medical bills and property damage, up to $10,000. An accident victim will file an injury claim against their own insurance first before going after the at-fault driver.
In a fault state like West Virginia or Texas, an accident claim should be filed with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. The at-fault driver’s bodily injury (BI) liability insurance will cover the victim’s medical bills, and the driver’s property damage liability will cover property damage.
In West Virginia, the at-fault driver compensates the car accident victim for their injuries and property damage. If you were at little or no fault for a recent accident, you should file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company. If you exchanged insurance information at the scene of the accident, your insurance company could file with the at-fault driver’s company for you.
If the other driver doesn’t have insurance or only has very little coverage, you can file a claim with your Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage. If you do not have PIP coverage, check if you have a similar coverage called medical payments (MedPay) in your auto insurance policy. MedPay can be used to cover the injury costs for you and your passengers after a wreck.
How to File a Claim with Your Car Insurance Company
The aftermath of a car accident can be incredibly stressful but filing an auto insurance claim with your car insurance company is fortunately not as difficult. Once you’re physically able to contact your insurance company, you can initiate the claims process over the phone or through the claims center portal on your company’s website.
When you file with your auto insurance company over the phone, you will be assigned a claims adjuster who will help you through the claim process. Typically, this process involves sharing key details of the accident, including when and where it occurred. You should provide the contact and insurance policy information for the at-fault driver, as well as the police report and any images you took at the scene.
Throughout this process, never admit fault or make a recorded statement. There are several things to never say to your insurance company, and prematurely making any conclusions about fault, your injuries, or the cause of the crash are some of them. Simply provide the facts of the case, and the insurance company will begin the claims process for you.
What to Do Before Filing a Claim
There are several important steps to take after an accident before filing an insurance injury claim. If possible, you should gather the contact information of the other driver(s) and any witnesses at the scene of the accident, along with images of the crash site. You should write down the responding police officer’s name and learn how you can acquire the official accident report.
In terms of documentation, gather items such as the at-fault driver’s:
- Full name
- Phone number
- Insurance company
- Insurance policy number
- Driver’s license number
- License plate number
- Vehicle identification number (VIN)
- Vehicle make and model
Before you contact your insurance company to file a claim yourself, consider obtaining a car accident attorney first.
The experienced attorneys at The Miley Legal Group are incredibly knowledgeable on how to speak with claims adjusters, so they won’t run the risk of saying anything that can be used against you and your injury claim. If you’ve already filed an injury claim, still contact an attorney before agreeing to any settlement.
How a Car Accident Attorney Can Help with Your Claim
There are several details to keep straight after a car accident, from auto insurance policy requirements to state-specific statute of limitations. . This includes what not to say when filing personal injury claims. Rather than suffer through this process alone, seek the help of a qualified car accident lawyer who can argue for fair compensation after a car crash.
An attorney will not let you settle for the bare minimum compensation the insurance company is bound to offer. Instead, they will gather all documentation necessary, like medical expenses and costly vehicle repairs, to form a solid case against the at-fault driver. They will negotiate with the insurance company and file a lawsuit if necessary to help you recieve what you’re owed.
A car accident can incur steep costs, but you don’t need to struggle with hefty medical expenses and repair shop bills alone. Remember, time is of the essence to file personal injury and property damage claims. Contact The Miley Legal Group today for a free consultation and learn how we can help. From our West Virginia truck accident lawyers to attorneys for work injuries, we can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two years from the accident date, for both bodily injury and property damage claims. Claims against a government entity can carry notice requirements as short as 30 days. Miss the deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case regardless of its merits.
Potentially. West Virginia recognizes the discovery rule in limited circumstances, so the clock may start when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury, for example a herniated disc, a traumatic brain injury or an internal injury that was not apparent at the scene. The exception is applied narrowly and requires strong medical documentation of when symptoms first appeared.
Your claim is almost certainly barred permanently. The court will dismiss the case at the defendant’s request no matter how strong the evidence is. Exceptions are rare and limited to extraordinary situations, such as a defendant leaving the state or fraudulently concealing information.
