If you've been injured in North Dakota, you might be considering a personal injury (PI) claim or a lawsuit. Chances are, though, that you don't know much about the North Dakota PI laws that will control your case. We'll fill you in on the basics.
We start with North Dakota's statutes of limitations. From there, we'll discuss some of the special rules that apply if you want to sue the government, what happens if you're partly to blame for the accident that injured you, limits on the compensation you're allowed to collect in a PI case, and much more.
A law that limits your time to file a lawsuit is called a "statute of limitations." North Dakota, like all states, has enacted a number of these laws. First, let's review North Dakota's six-year general rule for PI cases. Then we'll take a look at a few more specific filing deadlines, as well as laws that might give you more time to file in some situations.
As a general rule, you have six years to file a North Dakota personal injury lawsuit in court. (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16(5) (2024).) The six-year clock usually starts running on the day you're injured. Unless you find a more specific statute of limitations for your case, this is the deadline you must follow. This six-year limitation applies to cases involving:
North Dakota has several statutes of limitation that are tailored to specific cases. Here are some examples.
Medical malpractice. N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-18(3) (2024) gives you two years from the date of your injury to sue a doctor or a hospital for malpractice.
What happens if you don't discover your injury right away? For instance, suppose your surgeon accidently leaves a surgical sponge inside you during a surgery. You don't discover it for three years. At that point, the normal two-year limitation period has expired, But it wouldn't be fair to penalize you by denying you the opportunity to seek compensation for an injury you couldn't have discovered sooner.
If you don't discover your malpractice-related injury when it happens, North Dakota's "discovery rule" might give you more time to file. You have two years from the earlier of the date you discover your injury, or the date you should have discovered it, to file your lawsuit. Importantly, there's a deadline on the discovery rule, too. You can't file suit later than six years from the date of the malpractice, unless the doctor or hospital fraudulently conceals it from you.
(Learn more about North Dakota medical malpractice laws.)
Intentional injuries. You have two years to sue, typically from the date you're injured, when someone intentionally harms you. (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-18(1) (2024).) This statute of limitations covers injuries resulting from:
When the injuries cause death. When personal injuries cause death, the victim's surviving family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit. In most cases, the deadline to file is two years from the date of death.
But when death results from medical malpractice, the two-year clock doesn't start running until the date you discover (or should have discovered) the malpractice. As with other medical malpractice cases, the latest you can file a medical malpractice wrongful death case is six years from the date of the malpractice, unless it was fraudulently concealed.
(N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-18(4) (2024).)
In some situations, yes, North Dakota law allows an extension of the statute of limitations. Here are some of the most common examples.
Discovery rule. We mentioned North Dakota's discovery rule above, in connection with the medical malpractice statute of limitations. But it's not limited to malpractice cases. The discovery rule applies to PI cases generally. When you don't discover your injury at the time it happens, the statute of limitations clock starts running on the earlier of the date you discover the injury, or the date you should have discovered it had you been reasonably diligent. (See BASF Corp. v. Symington, 512 N.W. 2d 692, 695 (1994).)
Defendant leaves North Dakota. In some cases, the limitation clock doesn't run when the person who's responsible for your injuries (the "defendant") leaves North Dakota. (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-32 (2024).)
Injured person is legally disabled. A person who's legally disabled can't manage their own affairs or engage in certain activities without the help or supervision of a parent, guardian, or court. Under North Dakota law, these people are considered legally disabled:
When a legally disabled person is injured, the statute of limitations is extended, subject to these limits:
(N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-25 (2024).)
Say you've been injured by a North Dakota employee, or maybe by someone who works for a city like Fargo. Can you file a personal injury suit against the government? In many cases, yes. But suing the government isn't like suing a private individual or a business. Special rules and procedures apply. If you think you have a claim against the government, contact an experienced North Dakota government claims attorney right away.
For starters, usually the government can only be held responsible for negligent (careless) acts of employees who were doing their job duties when they caused your injury. Except in certain cases, the government doesn't pay for injuries that its employees intentionally cause.
Claims against North Dakota. You have three years to file a personal injury lawsuit against the state. The clock starts running on the earlier of the date you discover your injury, or the date you should have discovered it had you been reasonably careful. (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-22.1 (2024).) Within 180 days after you discover or reasonably should have discovered your injury, you must notify the North Dakota Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in writing, of:
(N.D. Cent. Code § 32-12.2-04(1)(a) (2024).)
You should use the OMB claim form to provide this notice. Providing notice is a prerequisite to suing North Dakota for your injuries, but it isn't the same thing as filing a lawsuit.
North Dakota law limits the compensation (called "damages") you're allowed to collect from the state. Here are the limits:
On and After | Maximum per Individual | Maximum per Occurrence |
July 1, 2023 | $406,250 | $1,625,000 |
July 1, 2024 | $437,500 | $1,750,000 |
July 1, 2025 | $468,750 | $1,875,000 |
July 1, 2026 | $500,000 | $2,000,000 |
Punitive damages aren't available.
(N.D. Cent. Code § 32-12.2-02(2) (2024).)
Claims against a political subdivision. If you want to sue a North Dakota political subdivision—a city, county, township, school district, or any other unit of local government—you have three years, usually from the date you're injured, to file your case. (N.D. Cent. Code § 32-12.1-10(1) (2024).) The local government might have a law that requires pre-suit notification, so be sure to check local law.
Damages against a municipality are limited to the same amounts as against the state (see table above). (N.D. Cent. Code § 32-12.1-03(2) (2024).)