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Mississippi car accident laws
Mississippi gives you three years to file a personal injury lawsuit (Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1)).
Mississippi is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
The legal minimum liability coverage in Mississippi is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).
If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you can still recover even if you were mostly at fault.
Quoted from Mississippi statutes and official pages, checked October 2, 2026 · not legal advice
The rules in one table
| Rule | Mississippi | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to sue for an injury | Three years next after the cause of action accrued (the residual period that covers negligence injury claims) | Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1) |
| Deadline for a wrongful death claim | Three years; the wrongful death claim is limited by the deadline of the underlying negligence claim, so for a crash count three years from the crash | Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1) |
| Claims against a government body | Before suing the state or a local government you must file a written notice of claim with its chief executive officer at least 90 days before suit, and suit must be filed within one year of the wrongful conduct (the notice tolls the period for 95 days). | Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11(1), (3)(a) (Mississippi Tort Claims Act) |
| Insurance system | at-fault | Triple-I, Background on: No-fault auto insurance |
| If you were partly at fault | pure comparative. If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you can still recover even if you were mostly at fault. | Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15 |
| Minimum liability coverage | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per crash / $25,000 property | Miss. Code Ann. § 63-15-3(j) |
| Dog bites | one-bite (negligence). Mississippi has no dog-bite statute; the owner is liable if the dog showed a dangerous propensity before the attack, the owner knew or should have known of it, and an attack was foreseeable. | No Mississippi dog-bite statute; Justia 50-State Survey (secondary source) |
| Cap on pain-and-suffering damages | $1,000,000 for noneconomic damages in civil actions other than medical malpractice ($500,000 cap applies to medical malpractice actions) | Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-60(2)(b) |
Deadlines can be shorter or longer for minors, for injuries found later, and for claims against a government. A lawyer licensed in Mississippi can tell you the date that applies to you.
Next steps after a Mississippi crash
How to get a Mississippi crash report ($15.00 per Mississippi Uniform Crash Report (mail-in or walk-in at a Highway Patrol district station); $20.00 online (DSB page adds a $5.00 handling fee for other-agency online reports)).
Check your deadline and a rough claim range
A filing date and a rough value range for Mississippi. Both take under a minute.
Questions
How long do you have to sue after a car accident in Mississippi?
Three years for an injury claim (Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1)). Shorter notice rules can apply to claims against a government.
Is Mississippi a no-fault state?
No. Mississippi is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.
Can I recover if I was partly at fault in Mississippi?
Mississippi follows pure comparative. If you were partly at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you can still recover even if you were mostly at fault.
What is the minimum car insurance in Mississippi?
The legal minimum liability coverage in Mississippi is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).
Sources
- Deadline to sue for an injury (Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1)): codes.findlaw.com/ms/title-15-limitations-of-actions-and-prevention-of-frauds/ms
All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.
- Deadline for a wrongful death claim (Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1)): courts.ms.gov/images/Opinions/CO37867.pdf
hold that the statute of limitations on bringing a wrongful death claim is subject to, and limited by, the statute of limitations associated with the claims of specific wrongful acts which allegedly led to the wrongful death. The three year statute of limitations applicable to negligence actions is codified in Miss. Code Ann. Section 15-1-49 (Rev. 2003).
- Claims against a government body (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-11(1), (3)(a) (Mississippi Tort Claims Act)): law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-11/chapter-46/section-11-46-11/
(1) After all procedures within a governmental entity have been exhausted, any person having a claim under this chapter shall proceed as he might in any action at law or in equity, except that at least ninety (90) days before instituting suit, the person must file a notice of claim with the chief executive officer of the governmental entity. [...] (3) (a) All actions brought under this chapter shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the date of the tortious, wrongful or otherwise actionable conduct on which the liability phase of the action is based, and not after
- Insurance system (Triple-I, Background on: No-fault auto insurance): www.iii.org/article/background-on-no-fault-auto-insurance
Twelve states and Puerto Rico have no-fault auto insurance laws. Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania have verbal thresholds. The other seven states—Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota and Utah—use a monetary threshold. Three states have a "choice" no-fault law. In New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, motorists may reject the lawsuit threshold and retain the right to sue for any auto-related injury.
- If you were partly at fault (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15): law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-11/chapter-7/in-general/section-11-7-15/
In all actions hereafter brought for personal injuries, or where such injuries have resulted in death, or for injury to property, the fact that the person injured, or the owner of the property, or person having control over the property may have been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery, but damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person injured, or the owner of the property, or the person having control over the property.
- Minimum liability coverage (Miss. Code Ann. § 63-15-3(j)): law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-63/chapter-15/section-63-15-3/
(j) "Proof of financial responsibility" means proof of ability to respond in damages for liability, on account of accidents occurring subsequent to the effective date of said proof, arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle, in the amount of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) because of bodily injury to or death of one (1) person in any one (1) accident, and subject to said limit for one (1) person, in the amount of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) because of bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident, and in the amount of T…
- Dog bites (No Mississippi dog-bite statute; Justia 50-State Survey (secondary source)): www.justia.com/injury/premises-liability/animal-dog-bites/dog-bite-law-50-state-
There is no Mississippi dog bite statute. In its most famous dog bite case, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff can establish liability if the dog exhibited some dangerous propensity or disposition prior to the attack, the owner knew or reasonably should have known of the propensity or disposition, and the owner reasonably should have foreseen that the dog was likely to attack someone.
- Cap on pain-and-suffering damages (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-60(2)(b)): law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-11/chapter-1/section-11-1-60/
(b) In any civil action filed on or after September 1, 2004, other than those actions described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, in the event the trier of fact finds the defendant liable, they shall not award the plaintiff more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) for noneconomic damages.
Read October 2, 2026. Laws and fees change; the linked page is the authority.