What Does "Accrual" Mean?
In legal terminology, a cause of action "accrues" when all the elements of the legal claim have occurred. It is the specific calendar date on which the plaintiff first has the right to walk into a courthouse and file a valid lawsuit. Determining this date is the single most important step in calculating a statute of limitations.
Different Rules for Different Claims
The accrual date varies significantly depending on the type of case:
Personal Injury (The Injury Rule)
For most accidents, the claim accrues the moment the impact occurs. If you are rear-ended on June 1st, the claim accrues on June 1st. The fact that your neck doesn't start hurting until June 3rd usually doesn't change the accrual date regarding the accident itself.
Breach of Contract
A contract claim accrues at the moment of the breach, not when the financial loss is felt.
Example: A contractor agrees to roof your house by October 1st. They fail to show up. The claim accrues on October 1st. Even if it doesn't rain and damage your interior until December, the breach happened in October.
Defamation
Claims for libel (written defamation) or slander (spoken) usually accrue on the date of publication. This is the "Single Publication Rule." Even if the defamatory article remains online for ten years, the statute of limitations typically starts running the very first day it was posted.
Negligence (The Damage Rule)
In some professional negligence contexts (like accounting or legal malpractice), a claim does not accrue until actual damage occurs. Negligent advice is not enough; the client must suffer a financial loss.
Example: An accountant files a bad tax return in 2020. The IRS doesn't audit and fine the client until 2023. The claim might accrue in 2023 because that is when the "damage" (the fine) became real.
Continuous Tort Doctrine
Sometimes, a harm is ongoing. For example, a factory dumping waste onto a neighbor's land every day for five years. Under the "Continuous Tort Doctrine," the statute of limitations might not start running until the last wrongful act occurs, rather than the first. This prevents the defendant from arguing that the behavior started so long ago that they hold a prescriptive right to continue doing it.