Attorney Practice Guide
Managing Statutes of Limitations Across a Personal Injury Caseload
A blown SOL isn't a bad outcome — it's a malpractice claim. Here's the system that keeps every limitations deadline visible across every open matter, so the clock never beats you.
Updated
There is no worse way to lose a personal injury case than to a calendar. The facts can be perfect, liability clear, damages substantial — and none of it matters if the statute of limitations ran while the file sat. A blown SOL isn't a bad outcome; it's a malpractice claim. And the thing that makes it dangerous isn't difficulty — it's that the deadline is months or years out, so it's never urgent until suddenly it's too late.
The actual limitations period is a legal determination, and it's yours to make: it varies by state, by claim type, by who the defendant is (a government defendant can carry a much shorter notice requirement), and by when the clock started running. This isn't about that analysis. It's about making sure the date you've determined never slips, across every case at once.
Record the SOL date the moment you open the matter
Whatever period applies, the controlling date should be captured at intake — not carried in your head, not "I'll figure it out later." You determine it; the system holds it. Every other piece of SOL management depends on that date existing somewhere reliable from day one.
Watch the whole caseload, not one file at a time
The risk isn't the case you're actively working — it's the one you're not. A single view of every open matter sorted by SOL date turns the most dangerous deadline in the practice into something you can see coming across the entire caseload, so the quiet file with a date approaching is as visible as the active one.
Alert early, and alert more than once
A deadline you find out about a week ahead is an emergency; one you're reminded of months ahead is a plan. Set the warnings far enough out that there's time to file, investigate, or refer — and repeat them as the date nears. The goal is to never be surprised by an SOL, ever, on any case.
Mind the dates that are shorter than the SOL
On some claims the limitations period isn't even the first deadline — a government defendant may require a notice of claim far earlier. Track those tighter, claim-specific deadlines with the same discipline, because they're easier to overlook precisely because they come so early.
Make it a system, not a discipline
"Be careful about deadlines" is not a system; it's a hope. The protection comes from the date being captured at intake, surfaced across the whole caseload, and alerted on a schedule — so that catching an approaching SOL doesn't depend on anyone remembering to look. The determination is yours. Whether it ever slips shouldn't depend on your memory.
DocketBuddy tracks the SOL date you set on each PI matter, surfaces approaching deadlines across your entire caseload, and sends escalating alerts as they near — so the date you've determined is on a system, not in your head. It does not determine the limitations period for you; that stays your call.