Statute of limitations for California injury claims

The statute of limitations is the deadline to file a lawsuit. If you file one day late, the court dismisses the case and the merits never matter. This is the first thing to confirm in any claim, because some of the deadlines are far shorter than people expect.

It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the deadline that applies to you with a lawyer.

The general rule: two years

For most California personal injury claims — car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian crashes, falls and other premises injuries, dog bites, assaults — the deadline to file suit is two years from the date of the injury.

Sources: Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1 (two years for injury to or death of an individual).

Medical negligence: a different clock

A claim for injury from medical care runs on two limits at once, and the earlier one controls: three years from the date of the injury, or one year from when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury. There are extensions for fraud, for intentional concealment, and for a foreign object left in the body with no therapeutic purpose. Notice to the provider is also required before filing.

Sources: Code Civ. Proc., § 340.5 (medical negligence limitations period). Whether a claim is "medical malpractice" or ordinary premises negligence at a hospital matters — see what I take and what I don't.

Government defendants: six months, not two years

When a city, county, transit agency, school district, or the state may be responsible — a government vehicle, a dangerous public road, a public building — you must present a written claim to the agency within six months, long before the two-year lawsuit deadline. This is the deadline people miss most, because they assume the two-year rule still applies.

Deeper: claims against a government entity.

When the clock starts: accrual and the discovery rule

Usually the clock starts on the day of the injury. When the harm or its cause is not obvious right away, the discovery rule can delay the start until you knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, both that you were harmed and that someone's wrongdoing may have caused it. Two points matter:

• The discovery rule delays accrual. It does not revive a deadline that has already expired.
• You are charged with the knowledge a reasonable investigation would have turned up. Suspecting something is wrong can be enough to start the clock, even without a diagnosis.

Tolling: when the clock pauses

• Minors. For most injury claims, the limitations period is tolled while the injured person is under 18, so it generally does not begin to run until the 18th birthday (Code Civ. Proc., § 352). Medical malpractice has its own narrower minor rule.
• But not against a government. Section 352 says in terms that it does not apply to a claim that has to go through the government-claims process. A child injured by a city, county, school district, or state agency gets no tolling for being a minor. The six-month claim deadline runs from the injury the same as it would for an adult. What a minor gets instead is the late-claim route: an application to the entity for leave to present a late claim, which the board must grant if the claimant was a minor for the whole six months, and if that fails, a petition to the superior court (Gov. Code, §§ 911.4, 911.6, 946.6). Those have their own deadlines. This is the single most dangerous assumption in this area.
• Incapacity. A person who lacks the legal capacity to make decisions when the claim accrues may have the period tolled while that lasts (Code Civ. Proc., § 352).
• Defendant out of state. Time a defendant is absent from California can be excluded in some circumstances.
• Estate administration. A short extension can apply when a potential defendant dies.

Sources: Code Civ. Proc., § 352 (tolling for a plaintiff who is a minor or lacks legal capacity; subd. (b) excludes claims for which a government claim must be presented); Gov. Code, § 911.4 (application for leave to present a late claim), § 911.6 (the board must grant it where the claimant was a minor throughout the six-month period), and § 946.6 (petition to the superior court for relief).

Wrongful death

A wrongful death claim generally runs two years from the date of death, which may be later than the date of the injury. A government-entity death claim still runs on the six-month presentation track. The rules for a minor heir's share differ.

More: wrongful death claims.

What to do

• Assume the shortest possible deadline until a lawyer confirms otherwise.
• If a government agency might be involved, raise it immediately — the six-month clock is already running.
• Do not wait for treatment to finish to have the deadline checked. Those are separate.
• Bring the date of the incident, the type of claim, and the identity of everyone possibly at fault to the first call.

Common questions

How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in California?

Generally two years from the date of the injury (Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1). Miss it and the claim is barred no matter how strong it is.

Is the deadline different for medical malpractice?

Yes. A medical negligence claim must be filed within three years of the injury or one year after you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury — whichever comes first (Code Civ. Proc., § 340.5). Different rules extend it for fraud, concealment, or a foreign object left in the body.

What if I did not know I was injured right away?

The clock generally starts when you knew or should have known both that you were harmed and that someone else may have caused it — the "discovery rule." It delays accrual; it does not restart a deadline that has already run.

Does a child have longer to sue?

For most injury claims, the deadline is paused while the injured person is under 18 (Code Civ. Proc., § 352), so the two years generally do not start until the 18th birthday. Two exceptions matter. Medical malpractice has its own narrower minor rule. And against a government, section 352 does not apply at all — a child gets no tolling, and the six-month claim deadline runs from the injury. Relief there comes only through the late-claim route (Gov. Code, §§ 911.4, 911.6, 946.6).