District of Columbia car accident law: deadlines, fault and insurance

What the cited provisions say

D.C. D.C. D.C. Code § 16-2702 requires an action under its chapter to be brought by and in the name of the deceased person's personal representative within 2 years after the injured person's death.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

D.C. Code § 12-309(a) requires written notice to the Mayor within six months after injury or damage for an action against the District seeking unliquidated personal or property damages, except for claims excluded by § 12-309(b). Under § 12-309(a), the claimant, agent or attorney must provide the approximate time, place, cause and circumstances; a written Metropolitan Police Department report prepared in the regular course of duty suffices. D.C. Code § 12-309(b) excludes claims brought under § 2-1403.16 or § 1-615.54.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Who and what the provisions cover

D.C. Code § 31-2403(a) requires owners of vehicles requiring District registration or reciprocity stickers to maintain the referenced insurance continuously throughout registration or reciprocity. D.C. Code § 31-2403(b)(1) prohibits nonresident owners from operating, or permitting operation of, their vehicles in the District without the referenced insurance maintained while the vehicles are present.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

D.C. D.C. Code § 31-2404(a)(1) requires each insurer to offer optional personal injury protection to each person required to have insurance under the chapter, covering injuries arising from accidents resulting from the insured's operation or use of a motor vehicle or use of the insured vehicle, within or outside the District; eligible victims must be insureds or occupants of the insured's vehicle or a vehicle the insured is driving. D.C. Code § 31-2404(a) limits eligible victims to insureds or occupants of the insured's vehicle or a vehicle the insured drives, and permits selection of individual benefit coverages or combinations. D.C. Code § 31-2404(b) provides those benefits without regard to fault. D.C. Code § 31-2404(c) requires reasonable, reasonably necessary medical or rehabilitation charges and licensed or approved providers complying with applicable requirements; semiprivate-room limits yield when special or intensive care is required.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Conditions and exceptions

D.C. Code § 12-302(a) permits the person or proper representative to bring an action within the prescribed time after removal of a disability existing at accrual: being under 18 years of age, non compos mentis or imprisoned. D.C. Code § 12-302(b) instead specifies 5 years after removal for land-recovery and sealed-instrument actions, except where otherwise specified there. D.C. Code § 12-301(b) excludes sales-contract breach actions governed by § 28:2-725 and actions brought by the District government.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

D.C. Code § 50-2204.52(a) prevents a qualifying plaintiff's negligence from barring recovery unless it proximately caused the injury and exceeds the combined negligence of defendants who proximately caused it. D.C. Code § 50-2204.52(a) covers pedestrians or vulnerable highway or sidewalk users colliding with motor vehicles or other vulnerable users, and vulnerable users colliding with pedestrians. D.C. Code § 50-2204.52(b) preserves joint and several liability, last clear chance and the referenced pedestrian and cyclist protections.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Related provisions in the saved sources

D.C. D.C. Code § 31-2405(a), (d) and (e) require the victim to notify the personal injury protection insurer within 60 days of the accident of an election to receive those benefits, require written insurer notice of that period to identifiable victims, and permit extension by mutual written agreement; under subsection (f), if the victim is incapacitated or otherwise unable to elect, the next closest relative may elect, or, if there is no relative, an individual taking responsibility for the victim's affairs may do so; subsection (g) applies mandatory liability coverage when a covered victim fails to elect within the applicable period.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

D.C. Code § 31-2405(b) permits an electing victim's liability action only for directly resulting substantial permanent scarring or disfigurement; substantial, medically demonstrable permanent impairment significantly affecting professional or customary daily activities; medically demonstrable impairment preventing all or substantially all material customary daily acts and duties for more than 180 continuous days; or medical and rehabilitation expenses or work loss exceeding available benefits. D.C. D.C. Code § 31-2405(c) provides that subsection (b) does not prevent survivors from maintaining an action based on another person's liability for loss and noneconomic loss resulting from a victim's death arising out of motor-vehicle maintenance or use, regardless of whether the victim elected personal injury protection benefits before death.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

D.C. Under D.C. Code § 31-2405(h), except as provided in subsection (i), a person with a claim under mandatory insurance required by § 31-2406 or optional insurance offered under § 31-2404 may request arbitration before the Board of Consumer Claims Arbitration; with the other parties' consent, the Board may hear and decide the matter, and arbitration is binding. Section 31-2405(i) requires insurers to arbitrate and settle disputed interinsurer automobile physical-damage claims under the Nationwide Intercompany Arbitration Agreement and its rules unless they mutually agree on another forum for the particular case; mandatory arbitration is limited to liability and damages.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Source date and limits

D.C. Under D.C. Code § 16-2701(a), when an injury done or happening within the District causes death through a person's or corporation's wrongful act, neglect or default, that person or corporation is liable for death damages if, had death not occurred, the conduct would have entitled the injured person, or, if married or domestic partnered, the spouse or domestic partner separately or jointly with the injured person, to maintain an action and recover damages; this applies even when the death occurs under circumstances constituting a felony. D.C. D.C. Code § 16-2701(b) bars an action under the chapter if the injured person recovered damages during life for the wrongful act, neglect or default causing the injury.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The source date is 2026-11-06. This statute-only reference does not examine judicial interpretation or establish how the provisions apply to a particular collision. D.C. Code § 16-2701(c) incorporates a domestic-partner definition from § 32-701(3), and § 31-2403(a) references insurance required by § 31-2406; neither referenced unit is supplied here. Their contents are therefore not reconstructed. The saved materials likewise do not include a vulnerable-user definition. This selective account does not reproduce every administrative insurance provision or benefit detail. It provides general reference information about the supplied District statutes, not legal advice or confirmation of today's law.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

See also

• Hiring a lawyer and understanding contingency fees

On related publications

• District of Columbia truck accident statistics (2020-2024) (truckaccidentlawyers.wiki)