This website gives general legal information, not legal advice. Deadlines, small claims rules and settlement estimates on this site are general information drawn from published statutes and court rules. They are not a substitute for advice from a lawyer licensed in your state who knows the facts of your case.
No attorney–client relationship
Reading this website, using its calculators or writing to our contact address does not create an attorney–client relationship with anyone. We are not a law firm. We do not employ lawyers to answer questions, we cannot review your case, and we do not refer anyone to lawyers. Do not send us confidential information about a legal matter.
Why a deadline from this site may be wrong for you
- Accrual is a legal question. A limitation period runs from the day the claim “accrues”. That is often the day of the injury, but it can be the day of death, the day a contract was breached, the last payment on an account, or the day the harm was discovered. Courts decide accrual on the facts.
- Tolling and exceptions. Minority, mental incapacity, the defendant’s absence from the state, fraud or concealment, bankruptcy, and many claim-specific rules can pause or extend the clock. Statutes of repose can cut it off regardless of discovery.
- Claim labels matter. The same facts can support several claims with different deadlines (for example negligence, breach of warranty and fraud). Which statute applies is decided by the court.
- Government defendants. Claims against a state, city, county, school district or public hospital often require a written notice of claim within months, long before the ordinary deadline.
- Federal and special rules. Federal claims (for example under the Federal Tort Claims Act, civil rights statutes or employment laws), maritime and aviation claims, and claims in other states’ courts can follow different deadlines.
- Laws change. Legislatures change limitation periods, small claims limits and court fees. Every page shows when we last checked it, but a change can take effect after that date.
Settlement and benefit estimates are not predictions
Our settlement calculators use the multiplier and per-diem methods that insurers and lawyers commonly use as a starting point, adjusted for the comparative fault rule in your state. They show a range, never a single number, because real results depend on liability evidence, medical records, insurance limits, the venue and negotiation. A calculator cannot tell you what your claim is worth. Workers’ compensation figures follow each state’s published benefit formula and maximums; the agency or judge decides the actual benefit.
The blood alcohol calculator is not a safety or legal test
The BAC calculator applies the Widmark formula to average values. Real blood alcohol varies with food, medication, health, genetics and drinking pattern. Never use it to decide whether you are safe or legal to drive. If you have been drinking, do not drive.
How we build and check the pages
- We read each limitation period, small claims limit and benefit rate in the statute, court rule or agency publication itself, on the official website of the legislature, court or agency. We link to that source next to the number.
- We record recent changes with the bill or act number and effective date, and we keep the older rule visible where it still governs older claims.
- Calculators are tested against hand-worked examples, and every result shows the rule it applied.
What to do if a deadline may be close
If a deadline may be close, contact a licensed attorney in the state where the claim arose, your state or local bar association’s lawyer referral service, a legal aid office, or the self-help center of your local court. For small claims, your court clerk can explain filing steps but cannot give legal advice.
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