When you are injured in an accident or due to someone else’s negligence, time is a crucial factor in pursuing compensation. California’s personal injury “statute of limitations” governs how long you have to file a lawsuit after an injury occurs. Missing this window can mean losing your right to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. This legal time limit has other factors like the discovery rule, tolling provisions, and exceptions. This guide covers everything you need to know about California’s personal injury statute of limitations.

What Constitutes a Personal Injury And Statute Of Limitations?

Personal injury law deals with many circumstances where one individual’s carelessness or intentional acts cause harm to another. In California, some of the more common situations that lead to personal injuries are automobile accidents, slips and falls, medical negligence, and battery. The principle on which it is based is that someone else’s actions, or lack of action, have negatively impacted you.

When you are injured, there is a certain time limit within which you can file a claim. California’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the time when your injury occurred to file a lawsuit against the person responsible. Note that after two years, the court will not entertain your case, meaning you will have no legal redress. However, the law realizes that not all injuries are immediately visible. Therefore, some conditions would allow it.

For example, if you are a victim of a car crash, it may appear simple. However, what if the injury does not show symptoms until months later? That is when it becomes tricky, and knowing the time limitations of the case is important. It is advisable to seek legal advice from an experienced attorney to help you decide if you have a case and how long you have to file it.

The Discovery Rule

Not all injuries are also easily seen or observed. Certain injuries, particularly those involving negligence in diagnosing or treating a disease or injury or exposure to hazardous substances, may not surface for years. These cases are covered by California’s “discovery rule,” where the statute of limitations does not start until you know, or should have known, about the injury. This legal principle makes it impossible for you to be locked out of compensation simply because your injury is not apparent at first glance.

For example, you undergo surgery, and for several months after the operation, you feel soreness that cannot be explained. At first, you might dismiss it as part of the healing process, only to find one year later, a surgical instrument was left in your body. In such a case, the discovery rule would mean that the statute of limitations would start running from the time you discover the cause of suffering and not from the time of the surgery.

If it were not for the discovery rule, you could be without any legal recourse because the injury was not discovered within the typical two years. However, this rule is not without restriction. The courts usually require a reasonable person to have assessed signs of possible injury and delay past that might still lead to the statute of limitations running out. As soon as you have a feeling that an injury has happened because of someone else’s carelessness, it is high time to act.

Tolling

Sometimes, life’s complexities can temporarily prevent you from filing a personal injury claim within the statute of limitations. In these circumstances, California law recognizes the concept of “tolling.”

Tolling pauses the countdown, giving you more time to bring your case to court when unusual conditions make it impossible to file within the normal timeframe. These pauses can happen for various reasons, such as when the injured party is a minor, mentally incapacitated, or if the defendant leaves the state.

Consider, for example, a minor who is injured in an accident. The law typically “tolls” the statute of limitations until that child reaches the age of 18. Once the clock starts ticking, the injured individual has the standard two years to file a lawsuit. Similarly, if the defendant deliberately moves out of California to avoid being served, the clock stops until they return, ensuring that their absence does not unfairly prevent you from pursuing your claim.

Tolling can also occur in cases of fraud or when a person is deemed mentally incapacitated, making it challenging for them to handle their legal affairs. In such situations, the law pauses the statute of limitations, recognizing that certain conditions make it impractical or impossible for a person to bring their claim within the original period.

Exceptions to the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injuries in California

These exceptions acknowledge some circumstances that are out of your control, which might prevent you from discovering your injury or filing your claim. Two principal exclusions are the delayed discovery rule and cases when the defendant is no longer in the state.

Delayed Discovery

As highlighted earlier, the delayed discovery rule applies where the injury or its cause was not realized earlier. In such cases, the statute of limitations begins when you knew or should have known of your injury. This rule is crucial in situations where some symptoms of injury manifest a few days or even weeks after the incident or where the link between the injury and the actions of the defendant is not immediately discernible.

For example, you may be involved in a car accident, and you do not have any apparent symptoms after the accident, only to realize months later that you have soft tissue injuries or even a spinal cord injury that gradually worsens. In this case, the running of the statute of limitations does not begin until you discover the injury and its relation to the accident. Without this exception, many victims might lose their right to compensation just because they had no idea that they were injured at that time the standard time was up.

Defendant Left the State

Another important exception arises when the defendant goes out of California after the injury has taken place. If the person or entity that caused your injury is not in the state anymore, the statute of limitation might be tolled or stopped while the said person or entity is out of the state. This exception allows defendants not to be protected by the borders of the state they live in and gives plaintiffs no chance to seek compensation.

Therefore, you can be involved in a car accident, and the other driver who is at fault moves out of California within the shortest time. Even though the statute of limitations would typically be two years, the time they spend out of state does not count against you. As soon as they return to California, the clock starts ticking again, giving you the full statute of limitations period to pursue your claim.

Types of Personal Injury Cases With Different Statutes Of Limitations

The period of limitation depends on the type of injury sustained and other circumstances. In California, every type of injury and claim has its own legal rules that determine when you can file a case and when you cannot, and each type has its own time limit.

Injury to a Person

 Under California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Section 335.1, the general rule of the running of time bar for personal injury cases, which include car accidents, slip-and-fall, or assault cases, is two years.

You have two years from the date of the injury to sue the person or entity responsible for the same. If you fail to file your claim before this period elapses, your claim will be dismissed, and you will not be compensated for your injuries.

For example, if you are involved in a car accident on the 1st of January, 2024, you would normally have till the 1st of January, 2026 to bring the claim. Also, waiting too long is dangerous as it may lead to the loss of vital evidence, which may reduce the strength of your case.

Medical Malpractice

 Healthcare-related negligence claims are more complicated than other negligence claims. CCP 340.5 states that you should file a medical malpractice case within three years from the date of the incident or within one year from the date of discovering or should have discovered the injury, whichever is the earliest.

If the malpractice is considered fraud, intentional concealment, or if a foreign object was left in the patient's body, then these time limits may be adjusted.

Additionally, CPP 364 requires you to notify the healthcare provider of your intent to sue at least 90 days before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. This notice period aims to encourage settlement discussions before litigation. Failure to provide this notice could result in a delay or dismissal of your case.

Child Sexual Abuse

 Child sexual abuse claims are subject to special rules under California law, and the time within which an action may be commenced has been recently changed with regard to the time it takes the victim to recover from the effects of the abuse.

Now, due to California law changes, victims of sexual abuse during childhood have the chance to sue within 40 years after the abuse happened or within 5 years after they realize what was done, whichever is later. This time frame enables the survivors to seek justice irrespective of the fact that the abuse happened many years back. This change is meant to factor in the psychological condition that may cause a delay in the acknowledgment or recognition of such a trauma.

For example, you might have been abused as a child and only dealt with the effects of the abuse in your adulthood. By the time you are 35 years old, you can still have five years from that age to seek legal redress, irrespective of the time when the abuse occurred. The law understands that such memories can sometimes remain dormant for some time and give you an opportunity to claim compensation even after the actual occurrence.

In addition, California’s Child Victims Act extended the limitation period in the cases under discussion for three years, abolishing it altogether from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022. During that window, anyone—irrespective of their age or when the abuse occurred—could file a claim. This window has closed, but extended limitations remain for finding the abuse while offering essential legal rights for survivors.

Domestic Violence

 California law also has timelines that victims of domestic violence have to use in filing civil claims for damages. According to the CPP section 340.15, you have three years from the last act of domestic violence to file a lawsuit. This is different from other personal injury cases that are in one way or another related to the victim and the perpetrator because domestic violence is usually a continuous act of violence by one member of the family on the other.

Domestic violence entails the use of force, psychological abuse, and, at times, economic abuse. This is because sometimes the victims may need time to escape from the abuser before they can seek any legal redress.

Since it is common for the victims of domestic violence to delay seeking justice, it may be because of fear, emotional blackmail, or continued control from the abuser. However, the statute of limitations for these claims guarantees that you have a chance to make a claim once you are out of the violent relationship. Unlike other civil cases of personal injuries, domestic violence cases also enable you to claim compensation for the mental and emotional trauma you went through.

In some cases, the time for filing is a little tricky, depending on the period that the domestic violence was happening. For example, if the abuse stopped some years back but only became emotionally or psychologically clear to you recently, then the statute may still work, depending on your case.

Government Defendant

When it comes to suing a government entity in California, the rules of the statute of limitations are not only different but strict as well. California Government Code section 911. 2, the law also provides that cases against government agencies should be filed much earlier than cases against a private individual or business.

Normally, you are supposed to present your claim to the concerned governmental department within six months after the accident. This means that once you have filed your claim, the government has 45 days to react to your claim. In case your claim has been denied, you then have six months from the date of denial to sue in the civil court. However, where the government has failed to respond, the period of limitation is two years.

Libel or Slander

Defamation, which also encompasses libel and slander, is governed by California CCP 340(c). A person or organization can sue for libel or slander one year from the date of the statement. This means that you must file your claim one year after the defamatory words were published or spoken.

For example, if you were subjected to a false and defamatory article on the web, you would have one year from the date of the article’s posting to file the defamation case. Unlike some other personal injury claims, defamation claims are very much tied down to this period of one year, and this makes it very important to act as soon as possible in order to protect one’s reputation and also to look for any compensation that is legally possible.

Damage to Property

In situations where the person has injured you or your personal or real property, California law provides you with a longer period in which to sue. According to CCP Section 338, you have three years from the date of the property damage to sue. This can range with any type of situation, for example, a car accident in which your car was a write-off or the negligence of your neighbor damaged your house.

The three-year window allows appropriate time to evaluate the totality of the property damage and proceed to seek legal redress in order to recover the cost of repair or replacement.

If You Miss the Statute of Limitations Deadline

If you fail to file your claim before the statute of limitations in California lapses, it will be detrimental to your personal injury case. Any failure to bring a claim normally leads to a dismissal of your case, so you cannot claim for damages. That is usually when your claim is frozen, and the courts cannot entertain it, no matter how strong your case is.

For example, you had been involved in a car accident, and you never sued the other party until three years later. In accordance with California CCP Section 335.1, the time bar for filing any personal injury case is two years from the time of the incident. If you attempt to file your claim after those two years, then the court will most likely throw out your case. The defendant can state that the case is time-barred, and the judge will, more often than not, agree with the defense and shut the door to your monetary claim.

Find a Los Angeles Personal Injury Law Firm Near Me

When dealing with the physical and emotional aftermath of an accident, remember that time is of the essence. You want to observe the statutes of limitations to secure the compensation you deserve. Missing deadlines, misinterpreting exceptions, or underestimating proper legal representation could jeopardize your claim. That is why you should seek professional legal advice as early as possible.

At The LA Personal Injury Law Firm, we handle personal injury cases throughout the Los Angeles area. We are dedicated to guiding you through every step of the claim process, ensuring that you meet all necessary deadlines. Do not let time slip away! Contact us at 310-935-0089 to schedule your consultation and start building your case.