After a serious injury, medical care and day-to-day recovery take priority, and filing a case is not usually the first thing on anyone’s mind. Still, every injury claim in California has a deadline and missing it usually ends your ability to recover compensation, even if negligence was clearly established and your losses are significant.
The statute of limitations begins on the date of the injury in most situations and acting within that window protects your ability to recover for medical costs, lost income, and other losses that are tied to the accident. Tim Mazzela, APC can review your timeline, identify which deadlines apply, and help you move forward before time runs out.
California’s Personal Injury Deadline Is Two Years
The statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death claims in California is generally two years, which starts from the date of injury or in the case of wrongful death, the date of death. In certain cases, the clock may start after the injury is discovered, for example, if there were hidden internal injuries or delayed medical complications.
The two-year timeframe applies to most classes of accidental injury, for example:
- Auto accidents
- General negligence
- Dog bites
- Slip-and-fall injuries
- Defective products
Two years is the statute of limitations for the most common types of injuries, but the deadlines may differ depending on who is at fault. Like most states, California has a different set of rules for injuries caused by medical personnel or government employees.
Deadlines for Intentional Harm and Felony-Related Claims
It is also used for intentional harm caused by criminal behaviors. For example, the two-year timeframe (CCP§335.1) applies to civil actions for:
- Assault
- Battery
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
However, for civil claims filed against a defendant after they have been convicted of a felony, a special statute applies, CCP§340.3, which provides victims with a longer timeline.
- Claims Based on Most Felony Convictions: An action for damages has to be filed within one year after the judgment of conviction is pronounced.
- Claims Based on Serious Felonies: For victims of certain serious felonies (a list that includes murder, voluntary manslaughter, and arson of an inhabited structure), the deadline is significantly extended. A victim may file a civil lawsuit within 10 years from the date the defendant is discharged from parole.
Additionally, if the criminal act involves property damage (like from arson), the statute of limitations to sue for the “injury to real property” is three years under CCP§338.
Medical Malpractice Claims Have Complex Deadlines
Harms caused by medical malpractice are not always detected immediately after they occur. They’re sometimes discovered years later during an X-ray or a routine examination. To account for this, California established a separate statute of limitations for professional negligence by doctors, surgeons, nurses, hospitals, and other medical staff.
According to the California Code of Civil Procedure, plaintiffs are required to file a claim within one year after an injury was discovered or three years after the date of the injury,whichever comes first. For example, if you had a surgery four years ago but only discovered a related injury two months ago, you can no longer file a claim because the three-year deadline has passed.
There are two exceptions:
- Foreign body: If hospital personnel leave surgical instruments or other foreign bodies inside you, you can file a lawsuit within one year of discovery, with no three-year limit.
- Minors under 6: A claim on behalf of a child injured before age six has to be filed within three years or before the child’s eighth birthday, whichever allows more time.
You are also required to give notice to health care providers 90 days before filing a lawsuit. If the intent-to-file notice is filed less than 90 days before the statute of limitations expires, you may be granted an extension of up to 90 days.
Shorter Window for Claims Against Government Agencies
If one of the at-fault parties is a government employee, or your injury occurred on public property, you need to go through additional steps to get compensated. Filing a lawsuit against a government entity, like a school, police department, or transit system, requires you to jump through a few extra hoops, and the process has to be completed on a much tighter timeline.
Under the Tort Claims Act, the injured party has six months from the date of their injury to submit an administrative claim to the agency’s risk management or legal department before filing a lawsuit. The agency has 45 days to investigate your claim and offer you a settlement or reject it. Once the agency sends you a rejection notice, you have six additional months from the postmarked date of the denial notice to file a lawsuit.
If you do not receive a formal rejection letter, the normal two-year statute of limitations will apply.
The Clock May Pause Under Limited Circumstances
In a few narrow instances, the time limit may be paused or “tolled” until a specific condition is met.
- The plaintiff is underage: In most personal injury cases, the filing deadline pauses until the person turns 18, giving them two years from that date to file. This rule does not apply to cases against government entities, where a six-month administrative claim period still runs even for minors.
- The plaintiff is mentally incapacitated: If the plaintiff is in a coma or otherwise legally incapacitated and unable to participate in a lawsuit, the clock does not start until they have recovered.
- The defendant is out of state: California once paused deadlines while a defendant was outside the state, but modern service rules now allow lawsuits to proceed even when the defendant lives elsewhere. Statutes of limitation usually continue to run.
- The defendant has filed for bankruptcy: When a defendant files for bankruptcy, the court may place an automatic stay on any pending lawsuits. If that happens, the clock may stop until the stay is lifted.
- The injury was discovered later: Under the delayed-discovery rule, the two-year timeline starts from the date the plaintiff discovered a harm and identified its source. The delayed discovery rule applies to cases with things like defective medical equipment or exposure to toxic substances, where the injury isn’t a single event.
Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Wait to File
Two years might seem like a long time, but you shouldn’t put off filing your lawsuit. Filing as soon as possible gives you the greatest chance of maximizing any compensation you receive.
1. Build a Stronger Case
Filing your lawsuit earlier will help your personal injury attorney put together a winning case. The faster you hire a lawyer and begin the process of investigating your case, the better. A lawyer can move quickly to prevent evidence from being destroyed and interview witnesses while their memories are still fresh.
2. More Time to Prepare
Depending on the complexity of the case, preparing a lawsuit can take weeks or months in some cases. Your lawyer needs time to identify all the potential parties, assemble the documentation, review relevant case law, and draft the court papers. This work can’t be rushed, and choosing to file at the eleventh hour could jeopardize your entire claim.
3. Preserve Your Settlement
When the statute of limitations expires, you lose any hope of ever recovering the money you’re owed for your medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering. The only way to guarantee that does not happen is to act fast and begin filing your lawsuit as soon as possible.
After an accident, filing as soon as possible gives your case room to develop the way it should. Records stay clear, witnesses are easier to reach, and the evidence that proves fault holds together. When the timeline is still intact, your attorney can build a stronger foundation and push for a better outcome. If you want to know where your deadline falls or what steps make sense now, speak with a personal injury attorney who can look at the facts and guide you forward.
