Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability / Slip and Fall in Minnesota

6 min read

Published April 8, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Overview

In Minnesota, the default statute of limitations (“SOL”) for a slip-and-fall / premises-liability lawsuit is 3 years under Minnesota Statutes § 628.26.

That 3-year period typically runs from the date of the injury (for example, the day you slipped and fell). If you wait longer than the SOL, the defendant may seek dismissal as time-barred—even when liability evidence is strong.

Note: This page explains the default SOL framework for Minnesota premises-liability slip-and-fall cases. It isn’t legal advice and may not cover every fact pattern.

Limitation period

The governing rule for this guide is Minnesota Statutes § 628.26, which provides a 3-year general limitation period for many civil actions in Minnesota. Based on the jurisdiction data provided, no claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified for slip-and-fall/premises-liability. So the approach here is to use the general/default 3-year period unless a separate exception or special statutory scheme applies.

What the “3 years” means in practice

Use this timeline model:

Day 0: The date of the slip-and-fall injury
End of SOL window: The date 3 years later (subject to how time is counted and any tolling/suspension issues)
Before deadline: You can generally file your lawsuit within the SOL window
After deadline: The defendant may move to dismiss based on SOL

Inputs that can change the outcome

When you use DocketMath’s Statute of Limitations calculator, the main driver is usually:

Injury/incident date (the slip-and-fall date)

Depending on the calculator’s prompts (and your situation), you may also include additional dates if they relate to:

potential tolling,
suspension of the clock, or
other procedural timing considerations.

Checklist: preparing the dates you’ll need

Gather these dates before you calculate a deadline:

Warning: Some cases involve tolling, exceptions, or special procedural rules. Those circumstances can change how you should measure the SOL deadline.

Summary of the general/default SOL period

Because no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found in the provided jurisdiction data, use the default rule:

General SOL Period: 3 years
General Statute: Minnesota Statutes § 628.26
Premises liability / slip-and-fall: apply the default 3-year period unless an exception or special statutory scheme applies

Key exceptions

Even when the default is 3 years, Minnesota SOL timing can change due to exceptions, tolling doctrines, or special statutes. The most important “exception checks” for slip-and-fall scenarios usually fall into these categories:

1) Tolling or suspension of the clock (when applicable)

Some circumstances can “pause” the SOL or affect when it begins to run. These issues are fact-specific and often depend on statutory language and case law.

Examples to consider (not all apply in every case):

Whether the defendant concealed facts in a way that affected when you could reasonably bring the claim
Whether the plaintiff had a legal disability relevant to SOL timing (details matter)
Whether a required pre-suit or administrative step affected timing (this is especially relevant when government entities are involved)

2) Government defendants and special notice/filing rules

If the property is owned/managed by a government entity, different procedural frameworks may apply. Those frameworks can include:

earlier notice deadlines,
special filing requirements, and/or
timing rules that differ from the private-party § 628.26 baseline.

If your potential defendant is government-affiliated, verify whether a special rule changes the timeline beyond the general 3-year SOL.

3) Multiple injuries and evolving symptoms

A slip-and-fall can involve:

one incident with injury that worsens over time, and/or
treatment and diagnoses that occur months later.

While SOL counting is often anchored to the incident date, certain factual patterns can influence how courts view discoverability and related timing issues. Medical records and the sequence of events can matter.

Pitfall: Don’t assume SOL is delayed automatically just because you later learned the injury was serious. The correct timing analysis depends on the specific legal doctrine and facts.

Practical exception-check before you rely on “3 years from the fall”

Before treating the calculation as simple, ask:

Statute citation

Minnesota’s general/default civil limitation period relevant to this guide is:

Minnesota Statutes § 628.26 — establishes a 3-year general SOL period for many actions.

Per the jurisdiction data provided, no claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified for slip-and-fall/premises-liability. That means the clean starting point for calculating your deadline is the general 3-year period under § 628.26.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s Statute of Limitations calculator helps you turn the rule into a specific filing deadline by applying the 3-year period from Minnesota Statutes § 628.26 to your date(s).

What you should enter

To compute the default deadline, you’ll typically input:

Incident date (the slip-and-fall date)

The calculator may also ask for extra dates if tolling or other timing considerations are part of the computation.

How outputs change

If your incident date moves later by 1 day, the calculated deadline generally moves later by about 1 day (subject to how calendar time is counted).
If additional relevant dates are included (for example, tied to tolling or suspension scenarios), the computed deadline may shift—because the calculator may treat those events as modifying when the SOL clock starts/stops.

Use this primary CTA

Start your timing calculation here: **DocketMath Statute of Limitations tool

If you’re close to the computed expiration date, treat the timeline as urgent and document your next steps (e.g., gathering incident records and medical documentation).

Note: This tool is designed to compute deadlines from statutory timing rules. It may not account for every exception for every fact pattern, so you should confirm whether tolling, special defendants, or procedural prerequisites apply to your situation.

Sources and references

Start with the primary authority for Minnesota and confirm the effective date before relying on any output. If the rule has been amended, update the inputs and rerun the calculation.

Minn. Stat. § 541.05