District of Columbia car accident claims
District of Columbia is not a no-fault state. You generally look to the at-fault driver. That is not the same thing as the shared-blame rule below.
A crash is a negligence claim: duty, breach, cause, harm. The numbers below are the published District of Columbia rules, not a ruling on your facts.
Last checked Sep 3, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
- How long you have to file
- Ordinary injury claims in District of Columbia often run 3 years (D.C. Code § 12-301). Tolling and discovery rules can change a date. Confirm the current statute.
- If you share blame
- If you share blame, your recovery is cut by that percentage. You can still recover even if you were mostly at fault.
- No-fault vs the other driver
- The District of Columbia is not a no-fault lawsuit jurisdiction. Optional PIP, if you bought it, pays some bills. The injury claim is still against the at-fault driver, now under pure comparative fault after the 2023 switch. (D.C. Code (optional PIP; no lawsuit bar))
- What usually matters
- · District of Columbia ordinary injury clock: 3 years (D.C. Code § 12-301).
- · If you share blame, your recovery is cut by that percentage. You can still recover even if you were mostly at fault.
- What to save
- Photos of the scene and the cars, the police report number, dashcam or store video, the other driver's insurance card, and your own medical visits in order. Do not post a joke about the crash. Use the preservation letter if a truck or a tape is about to disappear.