The short answer to that question is that it depends on what part of the case you are referring to.For the third-party liability portion of the case, it depends on who you are suing and what your theory of negligence is for your construction accident. These are the basic rules:
- When you are suing a local public entity such as a city, county, or special district such as a school district or water reclamation district, the statute of limitations is 1 year from the date of the construction accident, regardless of what your theory of negligence is for the construction accident.
- When you are suing a private person or entity, the statute of limitations is 4 years from the date of the construction accident when your theory of negligence involves negligent supervision of the work being done.
- For all other theories of negligence against a private person or entity, including unsafe construction work practices, defective construction equipment, or unsafe conditions on the construction site, the statute of limitations in a construction negligence case is 2 years from the date of the construction accident.
To be safe, you should plan on the statute of limitations for your construction accident case being 2 years from the date of accident (unless of course, the one year statute applies).
For the worker’s compensation portion of the construction accident case, it is three years from the date of accident or two years from the last receipt of benefits, whichever is later.