Statute of repose
An absolute deadline tied to the underlying event (often product manufacture or service rendered) that runs even when the injured person has not yet discovered the harm.
What it means in practice.
Most common in US product-liability and construction-defect contexts. Unlike a limitation period, a repose statute can bar a claim before the cause of action has accrued.
A statute of repose is an outer deadline that runs from the negligent act itself, not from when you were hurt or found out. Once it passes, the claim is gone even if you could not have known about it.
It usually sits on top of an ordinary limitation period. A malpractice claim might have to be brought within one or two years of discovering the injury, but never more than a fixed number of years after the treatment. Because it is a repose period, the usual extensions for late discovery do not stretch it.
Repose periods are common for medical negligence and for defects in buildings. Courts sometimes strike them down: Washington’s Supreme Court held its eight year medical repose limit unconstitutional in 2023.
How it works in different places.
| Where | How it works | Source |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | A malpractice action can be commenced only within two years after the alleged malpractice; tolling does not extend it. | S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-14.1 |
| Tennessee | Three years from the negligent act, whatever you knew, unless the provider fraudulently concealed it. | Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116(a)(3); Gardner (Tenn. 2023) |
| Connecticut | Two years from injury or discovery, never more than three years from the act or omission. | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 |
| Kentucky | For medical negligence, one year from discovery and never more than five years from the negligent act. | KRS 413.140(1)(e) and (2) |
| Washington | The eight year medical repose limit, as enacted in 2006, violates the state privileges and immunities clause. | Bennett v. United States (Wash. 2023) |
| Wisconsin | A ten year repose period for improvements to real property barred a worker’s claim over a freight elevator with no safety gate. | Garrido-Crisanto v. Heritage Relocation Services (Wis. Ct. App. 2014) |
A worked example.
One day late: Paulsen v. Avera McKennan (S.D. 2025)
- Treatment
- Hysterectomy for a ruptured uterus after childbirth, early on 14 December 2021
- Repose period began
- 15 December 2021
- Repose period ended
- 14 December 2023
- Lawsuit filed
- 15 December 2023
- Result
- Summary judgment for the hospital affirmed
She said she never agreed to the hysterectomy. Under South Dakota’s two year repose rule for malpractice, filing one day after the period ended was fatal to the claim.