The injured person must file the complaint within the statute of limitations for the state in which they reside. The statute of limitations is a strict time limit by which all claimants must process their lawsuits, or else they will be barred from doing so. Although the courts may allow for a few exceptions, these cases are rare, and usually only occur in situations when there was a delayed discovery of damages.
The statute of limitations for product liability cases is typically three years from when the injury, damage, or death occurred. However, speak to an experienced defective product lawyer to ensure that your state has the same time limitations.