Delaware car accident law: deadlines, fault and your claim

Filing deadlines in Delaware#

Delaware's 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 an injury lawsuit is 2 years, counted from the date the injuries were sustained. Claims for damage to your car and for wrongful death fall under a separate section with the same length, counted from when the claim accrues.

Children are a gray area. Delaware's infancy rule (§ 8116) pauses the deadline while the injured person is a minor, but by its terms it covers only claims under §§ 8101-8115 and not the two-year injury statute (§ 8119). Whether a child's injury claim gets extra time, a form of tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary, is a question for a licensed Delaware attorney.

Claims against the government start from sovereign immunitySovereign immunity. The rule that governments cannot be sued unless a law allows it. Tort claims acts allow some claims, with limits. Glossary, with exceptions set by statute. Under Delaware's County and Municipal Tort Claims Act, counties, cities and other local governments are generally immune from tort claims, but not for negligence in their ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle. Damages for all claims from one occurrence are limited to $300,000, or more if the county or city bought more insurance. On notice, there is no general notice-of-claim deadline for claims against counties and cities; a local ordinance may require notice, but it cannot bar a suit if notice is given within 1 year of the crash. Claims against the State itself are different: the State cannot raise sovereign immunity as a defense to any risk or loss covered by the state insurance coverage program.

How fault is shared in Delaware#

Under 10 Del. C. § 8132, your own negligence does not bar recovery as long as it was not greater than the negligence of the defendant. Your share of fault is compared with the defendant's, or with the combined fault of all defendants you sue. Your damages are then reduced by your percentage of fault.

Try the fault-rule explainer to see how Delaware's rule compares with other states.

Insurance in Delaware#

Delaware drivers must carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries, plus $10,000 for property damage. Delaware is an at-fault state that also requires first-party coverage:

• Personal injury protection: Required: $15,000 per person / $30,000 per accident, including up to $5,000 for funeral expenses. It pays reasonable and necessary expenses incurred within 2 years of the crash.
• Uninsured motorist coverageUninsured motorist coverage. Coverage under your own policy that pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, or too little. Glossary: Included unless rejected in writing.
• Underinsured motorist coverage: Must be offered (up to $100,000/$300,000, not above your liability limits).

The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 17.6% of Delaware drivers were uninsured in 2023, above the national estimate of 15.4%. The Delaware Department of Insurance takes consumer questions at 302-674-7300.

After a crash in Delaware#

Delaware law says that after a crash you must stop at the scene, make reasonable efforts to find out whether anyone was hurt or killed, and give your name, address and vehicle registration number and show your license to the other people involved. In addition, the driver must immediately report the crash to the police agency for that location if anyone is hurt or killed, if property damage on a public highway appears to be $2,000 or more, or if a driver's ability is impaired by alcohol or drugs.

To get a copy of the report, request a Delaware State Police report by mail from the Traffic Operations Section in Dover, with a copy of your collision information exchange form and a check or money order; walk-in requests are not accepted. The fee is $25 for a standard report and $60 for a fatal crash report. If a city or town police department handled the crash, ask that department. Our guide to police reports explains how insurers use them.

Special rules in Delaware#

PIP pays first and shapes the lawsuit

PIP pays your own medical bills and lost earnings up to its limits, through your own insurer. The trade-off is in Delaware's PIP statute: you cannot claim from the at-fault driver the losses your PIP coverage is available to pay, even if you chose lower PIP limits or never collect them. Losses that PIP does not cover, such as pain and suffering, can still be claimed from the at-fault driver.

Our guide to who pays medical bills explains how PIP and health insurance fit together.

Seat belts

Delaware keeps seat belt use out of the courtroom: not wearing a seat belt is not evidence of negligence and cannot be introduced at the trial of a civil case or insurance claim.

Crashes on Delaware roads#

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety counted 126 crash deaths in Delaware in 2024. That is 12.0 per 100,000 people, above the US rate of 11.5 per 100,000 people. Speeding played a part in 25% of the deaths, 40% happened on rural roads, and IIHS estimates that 33% of the passenger vehicle drivers killed had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher.

Finding a lawyer in Delaware#

The Delaware State Bar Association runs an Online Lawyer Referral Service, which takes requests only through its online form; the bar asks people not to call its office. A lawyer who responds sets up a first interview (30 minutes) for $35. Read how lawyer referral services work before you use one.

The Delaware Supreme Court keeps the list of active attorneys and links a Public Lawyer Database from its website. Our guide on how to check a lawyer's license explains what to look for.