North Dakota · Brain injury · Updated
Brain injury cases in North Dakota: the rules and the lawyers
The deadline to file, the fault rule and the other North Dakota rules that matter for a brain injury case, each with the law it comes from. This is general information, not advice about your case.
We don’t list firms in North Dakota that take brain injury cases yet.
At a glance
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · Not legal advice
Deadline to file
6 years
In North Dakota, most injury lawsuits must be filed in court within six years1.
If you were partly at fault
Barred at 50%
In North Dakota, if you are found 50% or more at fault, you generally can’t recover. If you are less at fault, what you get is cut by your share2.
Firms we list
0 firms
None yet for brain injury cases.
Know this first
Step 1: Six years to file in court
6 years(2 for medical mistakes; 2 for a death)
In North Dakota, most injury lawsuits must be filed in court within six years1.
When the clock starts, and whether an exception applies, can depend on the facts. A lawyer can tell you your exact date.
In North Dakota, a negligence claim for personal injury must be commenced within six years after the claim for relief accrues1, while wrongful-death and malpractice claims have two years3. Claims against the state and political subdivisions have their own three-year periods, and claims against the state also need a written notice within 180 days.
The law, as written
Personal injury6 years
In North Dakota, an action “for any other injury to the person or rights of another not arising upon contract, when not otherwise expressly provided” must be commenced within six years after the claim for relief has accrued1.
If a government body was involved
Step 2: Claims against the state or a local government
If a government vehicle, government property or a public employee was part of what happened, a shorter notice or claim step may come first. Ask a lawyer about it early.
The law, as written
Claims against the state: notice180 days (1 year for serious injury)
In North Dakota, a person bringing a claim against the state or a state employee must present written notice to the director of the office of management and budget within 180 days after the injury is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered5, or within one year for a “serious injury” as defined in § 26.1-41-015. The notice must state the time, place and circumstances of the claim, the state employees known to be involved, and the amount demanded5.
Claims against the state: suit3 years
In North Dakota, an action against the state under chapter 32-12.2 must be commenced within the period in § 28-01-22.16, which is three years after the claim accrues, with accrual when the claim “is discovered or might have been discovered in the exercise of reasonable diligence”7.
Claims against political subdivisions3 years
In North Dakota, an action against a political subdivision under chapter 32-12.1 must be commenced within three years after the claim for relief has accrued8.
How fault is counted
Step 3: If you were partly at fault
Barred at 50%
In North Dakota, if you are found 50% or more at fault, you generally can’t recover. If you are less at fault, what you get is cut by your share2.
In North Dakota, a plaintiff's contributory fault bars recovery only if it “was as great as the combined fault of all other persons who contribute to the injury”; otherwise damages are reduced in proportion to the plaintiff's fault2. Liability among defendants is several only, except for persons acting in concert.
The law, as written
Bar to recoveryBarred at 50%
In North Dakota, contributory fault does not bar recovery “unless the fault was as great as the combined fault of all other persons who contribute to the injury”2, so a plaintiff found 50 percent at fault recovers nothing.
More detail
The North Dakota comparison is against the combined fault of all other persons who contributed to the injury, whether or not they are parties, and on request the jury must return special verdicts on damages and each person's percentage of fault2.
Under North Dakota law, “fault” includes negligence, malpractice, absolute liability, dram shop liability, failure to warn, reckless or willful conduct, assumption of risk, misuse of product, failure to avoid injury, and product liability2.
For a two-vehicle collision with property damage up to $5,000 direct and $1,000 indirect, North Dakota does not reduce the property-damage recovery for the claimant's fault if the other driver's fault is over 50 percent; personal-injury damages are not available under that section2.
If they were a minor
Step 4: If the injured person is a child
The clock can run differently for a child’s claim.
The law, as written
Minors' tollingTolled during minority
In North Dakota, if the person entitled to sue is under the age of eighteen when the claim accrues, “the time of such disability is not a part of the time limited for the commencement of the action”9. The statute adds that the period cannot be extended “longer than one year after the disability ceases,” and in professional-malpractice cases “the extension of the limitation due to infancy is limited to twelve years”9.
More detail
A disability counts only if it existed when the claim accrued4.
Next
Step 5: What to do with this
- Write down the datesThe day you were hurt, the day treatment ended, and anything a government body or hospital sent you.
- Ask a lawyer about your factsThese rules have exceptions that depend on details. A lawyer licensed in North Dakota can tell you which ones apply.
- Ask each firmWhich deadline applies to me, does a notice need to go out, and by when?
More North Dakota rules
This page keeps to the rules that matter most for a brain injury case. The North Dakota page has all of them.
Injured in North Dakota: all deadlines and rules
Other case types in North Dakota:
After a brain injury: the general guide
What to do after a head injury from a crash, a fall or another accident: get checked, keep a record of how you feel, get help from family, and why legal deadlines keep running while you recover.
How to check a lawyer’s license in North Dakota
Each state keeps a public list of lawyers. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up by name and read what the listing says about their license. If it isn’t clear, call the office that keeps the list.
How we list firms
How we list firms
We don’t rank firms. Listing is free and doesn’t depend on buying anything.
Firms are listed for free, in A–Z order, when they say they take brain injury cases. Every fact shows its source and date. We don’t recommend lawyers, and we don’t pass on your details.
Sources
Where the legal facts on this page come from
- N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16
- N.D.C.C. ch. 32-03.2Read the source: N.D.C.C. ch. 32-03.2
- N.D.C.C. § 28-01-18Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 28-01-18
- N.D.C.C. ch. 28-01Read the source: N.D.C.C. ch. 28-01
- N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-04Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-04
- N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-02Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 32-12.2-02
- N.D.C.C. § 28-01-22.1Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 28-01-22.1
- N.D.C.C. § 32-12.1-10Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 32-12.1-10
- N.D.C.C. § 28-01-25Read the source: N.D.C.C. § 28-01-25
This is general information, not legal advice.