Section 1-52 of the North Carolina General Statutes sets a 3-year statute of limitations on legal actions “for personal injury or physical damage to claimant’s property.” The legal action referred to in the law can be an insurance claim or a civil lawsuit. The personal injury can result from a traffic crash, medical malpractice or slip and fall.
Section 1-50 of the NCGS, however, sets a 6-year statute of limitations for a personal injury claim arising from the use of a dangerous or defective product.
Note that the 3-year or 6-year statute of limitations applies either from the day on which the injury occurred or from the date on which the injury became known. The later start of the statute of limitations clock most often applies in personal injury cases related to occupational diseases, medical malpractice or product liability in which knowing that an injury can be blamed on someone else’s negligence or reckless requires a medical diagnosis.
EJL