A serious truck accident can leave a victim dealing with surgeries, rehab, missed work, and insurance companies for months or years afterward. Somewhere in the middle of all that, a legal deadline is quietly running. In trucking cases, there’s an even faster clock working against you at the same time.
The Direct Answer: Two Years From the Crash
For crashes on or after March 24, 2023, Florida law gives injured victims two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. That’s down from the four-year window that applied for decades before the state’s tort reform law, House Bill 837, took effect. The shortened deadline applies to trucking accident claims the same way it applies to car accidents and most other negligence-based injury cases in Florida. Two years goes by fast once medical treatment, insurance negotiations, and ordinary life get factored in. Knowing exactly when that clock started running matters.
Why Does the Clock Start on the Date of the Crash?
A common misunderstanding is that the deadline starts once treatment wraps up or a claim settles with the insurance company. It doesn’t. Florida’s statute of limitations runs from the date of the crash itself, no matter how long treatment continues or how long settlement talks drag on. A victim still undergoing treatment eighteen months after a serious truck accident may have only a few months left to file suit, even if the medical side of the case isn’t close to finished.
Why Trucking Cases Are Time-Sensitive Well Before the Two-Year Deadline
In a trucking case, the two-year filing deadline is often not the most urgent clock running. Long before that deadline arrives, the evidence needed to prove the case can already be gone. A truck’s black box data, the speed, braking, and throttle information tied to the engine control module, is frequently overwritten within about 30 days if the truck stays in service. Driver logs tracked through Electronic Logging Devices are generally retained by carriers for about six months. Dash cam and inward-facing camera footage on many fleets can loop and overwrite within days.
That means a victim who waits months to consult an attorney, even while comfortably inside the two-year filing window, may already have lost the electronic evidence that would have made the difference in proving fault. In trucking cases, the real deadline that matters most is often measured in days, not years.
What About Crashes Before March 24, 2023?
If your truck accident happened before March 24, 2023, the previous four-year statute of limitations still applies to your case. The two-year rule only governs claims that accrued on or after that date. That means two different deadlines are running in Florida right now, depending on exactly when the crash happened. Confirm which one applies to your situation early.
Why Zarzaur Law Encourages Victims to Reach Out Immediately
We tell trucking accident victims the same thing every time: you don’t need to have decided whether to pursue a claim before you talk to us. Reaching out early lets us send preservation letters to the trucking company and its insurer right away, before black box data, driver logs, and dash cam footage disappear. That happens long before any decision about filing a lawsuit ever has to be made.
Joe Zarzaur is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, a credential held by less than 1% of Florida attorneys, and this firm has taken cases to verdict, including a $50 million jury verdict in 2025 and a $16 million wrongful death verdict in 2023. We move on evidence preservation the same way we’d move on any case headed for trial: immediately, not after a decision gets made.
Waiting rarely helps a trucking case and often hurts it. If you or someone you love has been injured in a truck accident anywhere in Florida, including Pensacola, Destin, Miami, and Tallahassee, call now at (855) Hire Joe or contact us online. The sooner we hear from you, the more evidence we’re able to protect on your behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in Florida?
Two years from the date of the crash for accidents on or after March 24, 2023. Accidents before that date still fall under the previous four-year deadline.
When does the statute of limitations clock start running?
It starts on the date of the crash itself, not when treatment ends or a claim gets resolved with the insurance company.
What happens if I miss Florida’s two-year filing deadline?
In most cases, missing the deadline bars you from filing a lawsuit at all, regardless of how strong the underlying claim is.
How long is black box data preserved after a truck accident?
A truck’s engine control module data is often overwritten within about 30 days if the truck stays in service, so it needs to be preserved quickly through a legal request.
How long do trucking companies keep driver logs?
Carriers generally retain Electronic Logging Device data for about six months, though this can vary by company and equipment.
How long is dash cam footage kept after a truck accident?
On many fleets, dash cam and inward-facing camera footage loops and overwrites within days, making it one of the most time-sensitive pieces of evidence in a trucking case.
Do I need to decide whether to file a lawsuit before contacting a lawyer?
No. An attorney can send preservation letters to protect evidence immediately, well before any decision about filing has to be made.
Does Florida’s two-year deadline apply to truck accidents differently than car accidents?
No. The same two-year statute of limitations applies to most negligence-based injury claims in Florida, including both truck and car accidents. What differs in trucking cases is how quickly the evidence needed to prove fault can disappear.