Research/Massachusetts Injury Claim Deadlines and Notice Requirements
Massachusetts Injury Claim Deadlines and Notice Requirements
The time limits for filing injury claims in Massachusetts, and the written notices some claims need first, each tied to the statute it comes from.
At a glance
- Most Massachusetts injury lawsuits must be filed within three years after the cause of action accrues.
- An injury caused by a defect in a public road or sidewalk calls for written notice within 30 days.
- A claim under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act against a public employer, such as a city, a town, the Commonwealth or the MBTA, must first be presented in writing within two years.
- A medical malpractice lawsuit generally needs 182 days’ written notice to the provider first, and cannot be filed more than seven years after the act or omission unless a foreign object was left in the body.
- A consumer protection claim under chapter 93A calls for a written demand at least 30 days before the lawsuit.
Terms used on this page
- Statute of limitations: the deadline for filing a lawsuit.
- Accrues: the word the statutes use for when a claim arises and the clock starts. When that is can depend on the facts of a case.
- Statute of repose: an outer limit that ends a claim after a fixed number of years, whenever the injury was discovered, such as the seven-year limit for medical malpractice.
- Notice: a written message telling the responsible party about an injury, required by some statutes within a set time.
- Presentment: the written claim the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act requires before a lawsuit against a public employer.
- Public employer: the Commonwealth, counties, cities, towns and certain public bodies the Tort Claims Act names, including MassDOT and the MBTA.
What this reference covers
This page collects the Massachusetts time limits that most often apply to injury claims, and the separate written notices some claims require before a lawsuit can be filed. Each entry comes from the text of the Massachusetts General Laws, read on the Legislature’s website on September 23, 2026, and each is tied to the section it comes from.
It is a map of the statutes, not a ruling on any one case. Courts have decided many questions about when a deadline starts and when it pauses, and those decisions are not summarized here. Laws also change, so the date the statutes were checked appears at the top of this page.
Statutes checked
- Chapter 260: §§ 2A, 2B, 4, 5A, 7, 12
- Chapter 258: §§ 1, 4, 10
- Chapter 229: § 2
- Chapter 231: §§ 60D, 60L
- Chapter 84: §§ 15, 18, 19
- Chapter 81: §§ 1, 18
- Chapter 106: § 2-318
- Chapter 93A: § 9
- Chapter 152: § 41
- Chapter 90: § 26
- Read on malegislature.gov, September 23, 2026.
Filing deadlines, claim by claim
For most injury claims, the deadline to file a lawsuit is three years after the cause of action “accrues,” the word the statutes use for when the clock starts. Several kinds of claims follow different rules, set out below.
| Type of claim | Deadline to file | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Most injury claims, such as negligence | 3 years after the cause of action accrues | MGL c. 260, § 2A |
| Assault and battery | 3 years after the cause of action accrues | MGL c. 260, § 4 |
| Motor vehicle injury or death claims that chapter 90 requires to be covered by liability insurance or a bond | 3 years after the cause of action accrues | MGL c. 260, § 4 |
| Injury claims against a county, city or town | 3 years after the cause of action accrues; for claims under the Tort Claims Act, a written presentment within 2 years (see below) | MGL c. 260, § 4; c. 258, § 4 |
| Wrongful death | 3 years from the date of death, or from when the executor or administrator knew, or should have known, the facts behind the claim | MGL c. 229, § 2 |
| Medical malpractice | 3 years after the cause of action accrues, and never more than 7 years after the act or omission, unless a foreign object was left in the body | MGL c. 260, § 4 |
| Medical malpractice, injured child | 3 years after the cause of action accrues; a child under 6 has until the ninth birthday; the same 7-year outer limit applies | MGL c. 231, § 60D |
| Injury from a defect in a public road, sidewalk or other way | 3 years after the injury, and written notice within 30 days (see below) | MGL c. 84, § 18 |
| Breach of warranty for a product | 3 years after the date the injury and damage occurs | MGL c. 106, § 2-318 |
| Defective design or construction of a building or other improvement to real property | 3 years after the cause of action accrues, and never more than 6 years after the improvement opened to use or was substantially completed and occupied, whichever came first | MGL c. 260, § 2B |
| Unfair or deceptive business practices (chapter 93A) | 4 years after the cause of action accrues | MGL c. 260, § 5A |
| Workers’ compensation | 4 years from when the employee first became aware that the disability was caused by the job | MGL c. 152, § 41 |
Private property claims under § 2B are shown; the statute sets different outer-limit dates for public agency projects. Source: Massachusetts General Laws, read September 23, 2026.
Letters that must come first
Some claims cannot go to court until a written notice, demand or presentment has been sent. These steps have their own deadlines, and some are far shorter than the time to sue.
| Situation | What must be sent, and when | To whom | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury from a defect in a road, sidewalk or other public way | Written notice within 30 days, signed by the injured person or someone on their behalf, giving the injured person’s name and address and the time, place and cause of the injury | Whoever must keep the way in repair. For a city: the mayor, city clerk or treasurer. For a town: one of the selectmen, the town clerk or treasurer. For a county: one of the county commissioners or the county treasurer. For a state highway: a member of the state highway division | MGL c. 84, §§ 18–19; c. 81, §§ 1, 18 |
| Claim under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act against a public employer, including the Commonwealth, a county, city or town, MassDOT, the MBTA or a regional transit authority | A written presentment of the claim within 2 years after the cause of action arose | The public employer’s executive officer. For a city or town, the statute also accepts the mayor, city or town manager, corporation counsel, city solicitor, town counsel, city or town clerk, or the chair or executive secretary of the board of selectmen | MGL c. 258, §§ 1, 4 |
| Medical malpractice | Written notice at least 182 days before the lawsuit, shortened to 90 days in some cases | The health care provider, at the last known business or home address | MGL c. 231, § 60L |
| Unfair or deceptive business practices (chapter 93A) | A written demand for relief at least 30 days before the lawsuit, identifying the claimant and describing the practice and the injury | The prospective defendant | MGL c. 93A, § 9 |
| Workers’ compensation | Notice as soon as practicable after the injury | The insurer or the insured employer | MGL c. 152, § 41 |
| Motor vehicle crash in which someone is killed or injured | A written crash report within 5 days, with a copy to the police | The Registrar of Motor Vehicles, and the police department where the crash happened | MGL c. 90, § 26 |
The crash report duty in c. 90, § 26 also applies to some crashes with property damage only, above a threshold the statute sets. Source: Massachusetts General Laws, read September 23, 2026.
After a presentment is sent
A presentment under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act starts its own clock. The public employer has six months to deny the claim in writing, and a denial must be sent by certified or registered mail. If no written denial arrives within six months of the presentment, the law treats the claim as denied.
Only after a final denial, written or by the passing of six months, can a lawsuit be filed. Even then, the three-year limit still applies: the statute bars any lawsuit brought more than three years after the cause of action accrued.
Thirty days, with a few exceptions
The 30-day notice for an injury caused by a defect in a public way is one of the shortest deadlines in Massachusetts injury law. The statutes soften it in a few specific situations:
- If the injury was caused by snow or ice, a missing notice is not a defense unless the city, town or other party shows it was harmed by not receiving one.
- A notice is not thrown out just because it gets the name, address, time, place or cause slightly wrong, if there was no intent to mislead and the recipient was not actually misled.
- If the injured person dies, the executor or administrator may give notice within 30 days after being appointed.
- If a physical or mental incapacity prevented notice, it may be given within 30 days after the incapacity ends.
- Any form of written communication counts as notice if it contains the required information.
When a deadline can pause or start later
A few statutes change when the time to sue runs:
- Children and people with a mental illness: if the person with the claim is a minor, or is incapacitated by mental illness when the right to sue first arises, the time limit runs from when that condition ends. Medical malpractice claims for children follow their own rule in MGL c. 231, § 60D, shown in the table above.
- Hidden claims: if the person responsible fraudulently concealed the claim, the time before the injured person discovered it does not count.
- Wrongful death: the three years can run from when the executor or administrator knew, or should have known, the facts behind the claim, rather than from the date of death.
- Medical malpractice notice: a lawsuit filed within six months of the statute of limitations expiring, or within a year of the seven-year limit expiring, is exempt from the 182-day notice requirement.
Outside the scope of this page
- Court decisions on when a claim accrues, including the discovery rule courts apply when an injury or its cause was not known right away.
- Claims under federal law, or against federal agencies.
- Deadlines written into insurance policies or contracts.
- Claims against a public employer for intentional torts, such as assault or battery, which the Tort Claims Act does not cover.
- Claims against the Massachusetts Port Authority, which the Tort Claims Act leaves out of its definition of a public employer.
- Every exception in every statute. The sections named here contain more detail than a table can hold.
If one of these deadlines may apply to you
Which deadline applies can turn on details: who owns the road, who employed the driver, when an injury was first understood. The same injury can carry two clocks at once, such as a 30-day notice and a three-year limit to sue.
For a broader look at filing deadlines, see the firm’s page on the Massachusetts personal injury statute of limitations. What applies to a particular claim depends on its facts.
Disclaimer: Statute of limitations rules can vary significantly by state, jurisdiction, and the specific type of claim. The information above is general in nature. Please consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation.
Citing this page
Larson Law Boston, “Massachusetts Injury Claim Deadlines and Notice Requirements,” published September 25, 2026. Statutes reviewed September 23, 2026.
The tables on this page may be reproduced with attribution and a link to this page. Press and research inquiries: marketing@dlarsonlaw.com
Sources
- MGL c. 260, § 2A, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 260, § 2B, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 260, § 4, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 260, § 5A, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 260, § 7, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 260, § 12, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 258, § 1, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 258, § 4, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 258, § 10, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 229, § 2, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 231, § 60D, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 231, § 60L, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 84, § 15, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 84, § 18, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 84, § 19, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 81, § 1, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 81, § 18, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 106, § 2-318, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 93A, § 9, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 152, § 41, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- MGL c. 90, § 26, Massachusetts General Laws, malegislature.gov. Read September 23, 2026.
- Mass.gov, Claims Against the Commonwealth. Read September 23, 2026.
If you were hurt and have questions
These pages explain what the public record shows. They are not advice about a specific situation, and what applies to a particular case depends on its facts. If something here raises a question about your own circumstances, you are welcome to get in touch.