Mississippi car accident law: deadlines, fault and your claim

Filing deadlines in Mississippi#

Mississippi's general statute of limitationsStatute of limitations. The law that sets the last day to file a lawsuit. After it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case, however strong it is. Glossary for injury and property claims is 3 years, and it covers most car-crash lawsuits. The clock usually starts on the day of the crash.

For an injured child, the time limit starts only after the disability of infancy is removed. In other words, the time while the person is a minor is not counted, a form of tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary. Mississippi's general definition of a minor is anyone under 21 years of age. The Tort Claims Act has its own, similar rule for minors.

Claims against the state, a county, a city or another public body work differently. You must first file a written notice of claim with the government body's chief executive officer, at least 90 days before you file suit. For a county, the notice is served on the chancery clerk; for a city, on the city clerk. The notice must be in writing and briefly state the facts: what happened, the extent of the injury, the time and place, the people involved, the damages you are asking for and where you live. A notice of claimNotice of claim. A written notice that must be sent to a city, county or state agency before you can sue it, often within a few months. Glossary filed within the one-year period pauses that deadline.

How fault is shared in Mississippi#

Mississippi's comparative negligence statute, Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-15, says your own negligence does not bar a claim. Instead, the damages are reduced in proportion to the share of negligence that belongs to you. In states with a modified rule, a share of 50% or 51% ends the claim; in Mississippi it only lowers the amount.

Because both drivers can recover, each percentage point changes both claims. Try the fault-rule explainer to see how Mississippi compares with other states.

Insurance in Mississippi#

Mississippi is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurer, pays for the losses. Drivers must carry at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries, plus $25,000 for property damage. Mississippi does not require personal injury protection.

The Mississippi Insurance Department lists the other common coverages as optional:

• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverageUninsured motorist coverage. Coverage under your own policy that pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, or too little. Glossary: Optional. It pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little.
• Medical payments coverage: Optional. It pays some medical bills whoever caused the crash.

Uninsured drivers are a real risk here. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 28.2% of Mississippi drivers were uninsured in 2023, compared with 15.4% nationally. That is more than one driver in four, which makes uninsured motorist coverage worth checking. Our guide to crashes with uninsured drivers explains how those claims work.

Questions or complaints about an insurer go to the Mississippi Insurance Department: 1-800-562-2957 (Consumer Help Line); 601-359-2453.

After a crash in Mississippi#

If a crash injures or kills someone, or causes apparent property damage of $500 or more, the driver must give notice right away to the city police, or outside a city to the nearest sheriff's office or Highway Patrol station. An officer who investigates must forward a written report within 6 days after finishing the investigation.

To get the report, buy the Mississippi Uniform Crash Report online through the Department of Public Safety's crash report portal on ms.gov. State law limits who can get it: people involved in the crash, their next of kin or estate, their legal representatives and their insurers. After you buy it, the report is emailed to you and stays available for only 24 hours, so save a copy right away. Our guide to police reports explains what the report shows and how to correct mistakes.

Special rules in Mississippi#

Mississippi caps noneconomic damagesNon-economic damages. Losses without a price tag, such as pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life. Glossary, such as pain and suffering, at $1,000,000 in civil cases other than medical malpractice, which includes ordinary car-crash cases filed since September 2004. In practice, the jury is not told about the cap and the judge reduces any award above it. The cap covers noneconomic damages only, not economic losses such as medical bills and lost wages. Our guide to pain and suffering explains how these damages are proven.

Government claims have their own limits. Under the Tort Claims Act, a public body pays at most $500,000 for all claims from one occurrence, and punitive damages are not allowed.

Seat belts are treated differently than in some states. Under Mississippi's seat belt law, failing to wear one is not considered contributory or comparative negligence, so it does not count as a share of fault under that law.

Crashes on Mississippi roads#

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety counted 753 crash deaths in Mississippi in 2024. That is 25.6 per 100,000 people, against 11.5 per 100,000 people for the United States as a whole.

Finding a lawyer in Mississippi#

The Mississippi Bar's website does not list a lawyer referral service. Its Consumer Assistance Program, reachable at (601) 948-2344, helps people with problems involving a Mississippi lawyer but cannot recommend or refer anyone to a specific attorney. To find or check a lawyer, use the Bar's Find a Lawyer directory, which you can search by practice area, keyword or name. The Bar's main number is 601-948-4471.

Our guide on how to check a lawyer's license lists what to look for, and the claim process guide explains each step from the first call to settlement.