Limitation Periods for Personal Injury Claims in Ontario

In Ontario, you generally have two years to start a personal injury lawsuit, running from the day you knew or reasonably should have known you had a claim. That is the rule most people have heard, and it is correct as a starting point. What catches people out are the exceptions in both directions: several notice deadlines that arrive far sooner than two years and can end a claim within days, and a handful of situations that pause the clock, such as when the injured person is a child. This guide lays out all of it, so you know which deadline actually governs your situation.

The basic rule: two years from discovery

The main deadline comes from Ontario’s Limitations Act, 2002, which sets a basic limitation period of two years for most civil claims, including personal injury. The two years do not always run from the date of the accident. They run from the day the claim was discovered.

Discovery has a specific meaning. Under the Act, a claim is discovered on the earlier of the day you actually knew, and the day a reasonable person in your position should have known, all of the following: that an injury, loss, or damage had occurred; that it was caused or contributed to by an act or omission; that the act or omission was that of the person you would sue; and that a lawsuit would be an appropriate way to address it. In most straightforward accidents, that day is the accident itself, so the practical deadline is two years from the crash or the fall. But discovery can push the start date later when the connection between the harm and its cause was not reasonably knowable right away.

The 15-year backstop

There is also an outer limit. Regardless of when a claim is discovered, the Limitations Act sets a 15-year ultimate limitation period that runs from the day the act or omission took place. In everyday injury cases the two-year rule is what matters, but the 15-year backstop exists to give certainty and to close very old claims.

The short notice deadlines that end claims early

This is the part that surprises injured people, and the reason “I have two years” can be a costly assumption. Several situations require written notice within days, not years, and missing that notice can bar the claim long before the two-year period is near.

• Municipal claims: if you were hurt on a municipal sidewalk, road, or other city property, the Municipal Act, 2001 generally requires written notice to the municipality within 10 days of the incident. There are narrow “reasonable excuse” exceptions, but they are applied strictly and should never be relied on.

• Snow and ice on private property: if you slipped on snow or ice on private property, the Occupiers’ Liability Act requires written notice within 60 days, served on an occupier or the snow-removal contractor, in person or by registered mail, with the date, time, and location.

• Accident benefits: if you were in a motor vehicle collision and intend to claim accident benefits, you must notify your insurer within seven days, and the main application, the OCF-1, is generally due within 30 days of receiving the forms.

These clocks are short, technical, and unforgiving. If your injury involves any of these situations, the safest step is to get advice within days, not weeks.

When the clock pauses

Ontario law also recognizes that some people cannot reasonably be expected to start a claim on time, and it pauses the limitation period in those cases.

For minors, the basic two-year clock does not run while the injured person is under 18, unless a litigation guardian has been appointed to act for them. In effect, the clock generally starts on the child’s 18th birthday, and the 15-year ultimate period is suspended as well. That gives injured children real protection, but it does not mean a family should wait, because evidence fades and it is almost always better to act while the facts are fresh.

For adults who are incapable of managing their own affairs because of their condition, the clock is likewise suspended during the incapacity and resumes when the incapacity ends or a litigation guardian is appointed. These pauses exist to protect vulnerable people, not to encourage delay.

Your own insurance policy can add deadlines too

The statute is not the only source of deadlines. Your own auto policy can impose its own notice and proof-of-loss requirements, separate from the limitation periods in the legislation. Coverage that protects you when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, and family protection coverage, can each carry their own timelines for giving notice and delivering documents. Missing one of these contractual deadlines can affect your ability to access that coverage, even if you are still within the statutory limitation period.

Because these deadlines live in the fine print of a policy rather than in a statute, they are easy to overlook. The safest approach is to have someone review your coverage early, so that every clock that applies to your situation, both statutory and contractual, is identified and met.

Accident benefit disputes have their own timelines

Remember that accident benefits and lawsuits run on different tracks. If your insurer denies or reduces an accident benefit and you cannot resolve it, the dispute goes to the Licence Appeal Tribunal’s Automobile Accident Benefits Service, which has its own deadlines for applying after a denial. These are separate from the two-year limitation on a tort lawsuit, and both can be running at once, which is one more reason not to rely on a single number in your head.

Medical malpractice and late-surfacing harm

Some injuries do not announce themselves right away, and medical cases are the classic example. Harm from a medical error may only become apparent long after the treatment. In those cases the discovery rule matters most, because the two-year clock may start when you knew or reasonably should have known that a provider’s care likely caused your harm, rather than on the date of the treatment. This is nuanced, fact-specific ground, and it is exactly the kind of situation where early legal advice prevents a missed deadline.

What proper notice actually requires

When a short notice deadline applies, it is not enough to have mentioned the incident to someone. Notice has specific requirements, and getting them wrong can be as costly as missing the deadline entirely.

Written notice generally must set out the date, the time, and the location of the incident, and enough detail to identify what happened. For the 60-day snow and ice rule on private property, the notice must be given in writing and served either personally or by registered mail on the occupier or the snow-removal contractor you intend to claim against. Telling a store clerk you slipped, or mentioning a fall to a superintendent in passing, is not the same as serving proper written notice, and a claim can fail on that distinction alone.

Two practical habits protect you. First, put it in writing promptly and keep a copy, along with proof of how and when it was sent. Second, do not try to identify the right party to notify on your own if it is unclear, because on a commercial property the occupier, the property manager, and a separate maintenance contractor may all be involved, and notice may need to reach more than one of them. This is exactly the kind of thing a lawyer sorts out quickly, which is another reason to call early rather than to send an informal note and hope it counts.

Why defendants and insurers rely on limitation defences

It is worth understanding why deadlines are enforced so strictly. A limitation period is a complete defence. If a claim is started late, it can be dismissed no matter how strong it is on the merits and no matter how serious the injury. Because of that, checking the limitation period is one of the very first things a defence lawyer does when a claim arrives, and raising a missed deadline is a straightforward way to end a case before it is ever argued.

Courts do apply the rules seriously, though the discovery test leaves some room to argue about when a claimant reasonably should have known they had a claim. Part of that test asks whether a lawsuit was an appropriate means to seek a remedy, which can occasionally push the start date later, for example where a person was reasonably pursuing another resolution first. But these are arguments made from a position of weakness, after a deadline has already passed. It is far better to treat every deadline as firm and to act well within it than to rely on a court accepting a late claim.

Contribution, indemnity, and multiple defendants

Many injuries involve more than one responsible party, and the deadline to bring each of them into a claim matters. A fall on a commercial property might involve both the occupier and a snow-removal contractor. A collision might involve more than one driver, or a driver and the party responsible for a road hazard. If a responsible party is identified late, the same two-year limitation can bar adding them, even if the main claim was started on time.

This is one more reason that identifying everyone who may be at fault early is so important. It is also why a party already named in a lawsuit will move promptly to bring in others who may share responsibility, through what are called claims for contribution and indemnity, which have their own timing rules. Sorting out who belongs in a claim, and getting them in before the clock runs, is detailed work that rewards early legal advice.

Why “two years” is a dangerous thing to rely on

The theme running through all of this is simple: the two-year rule is real, but it is not the whole story, and treating it as the only deadline is how good claims get lost. A person who waits 18 months to call a lawyer after a fall on a city sidewalk may find that the 10-day municipal notice window closed a year and a half ago. A person confident they have two years may not realize their accident benefits needed attention in the first week. The deadlines are not designed to be intuitive, and insurers and defendants are under no obligation to remind you of them.

The safe approach after any injury is to treat the clock as already running and to get advice early, so the right deadline for your specific situation is identified and protected while there is still time.

What to do next

• Do not assume you have two years; identify the specific deadline that applies to your situation.

• If your injury involves a municipality or snow and ice, treat it as urgent, notice may be due in days.

• If a child was injured, understand that the clock is paused, but act while evidence is fresh.

• Book a free consultation so we can pin down and protect every deadline that applies to you.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to sue for a personal injury in Ontario? Generally two years from when you discovered the claim, under the Limitations Act, 2002. But shorter notice deadlines can apply, and some situations pause the clock. What is the deadline for a slip and fall? The general two-year limit applies, but snow and ice falls on private property require written notice within 60 days, and municipal falls generally require notice within 10 days. Does the clock ever pause? Yes. For minors it generally does not run until age 18, and for incapable adults it is suspended during the incapacity, unless a litigation guardian is appointed. What if I only realized later that I was harmed? The discovery rule may start the clock when you knew or should have known of the harm and its likely cause, which matters most in medical cases. Get advice promptly regardless.

Talk to a lawyer, free. If you are worried about a deadline after an injury in the GTA, do not guess, ask. Get a free case evaluation, with no fee unless we win your case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Call 416-986-3036, or reach us any time at 905-624-4878. Take Back Control of Your Life.® Click or Call, That’s All!®

Merricks Law Group, Injury Lawyers · 191 The West Mall, Suite 110, Etobicoke, ON M9C 5K8

This article is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Every case is different.