You were hurt eight months ago, the insurer is still reviewing your claim and someone mentions a two-year limit. Is that the only date you need to watch?
Not always. Your California injury filing deadline depends on what kind of claim you have, who caused the harm and when you discovered the injury. Two years is the general rule for many cases.
A claim against a city or county can require written notice in just six months. Medical, product and minor’s claims have their own rules too.
Three Separate Clocks
Each type of time limit runs on its own track, and one does not pause the others:
- Insurance policy deadlines, such as notice terms in your own policy
- Government claim deadlines, which come first with a public agency
- Lawsuit filing deadlines, called statutes of limitations
An open insurance claim does not stop a lawsuit deadline. Filing a complaint with a state agency does not pause it either.
A Two Year Filing Deadline for Most California Injury Claims
Section 335.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure sets two years for an action for injury or death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. That covers many car crashes, falls and dog bites.
Treat it as a starting point, not a final answer, because the type of defendant can change the California injury filing deadline. Exceptions cover public agencies, health care providers and injured minors. You can read Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 on the legislature site.
Shorter Injury Filing Deadlines for California Public Agencies
Claims against cities, counties, school districts, transit agencies and the state follow the Government Claims Act. Under Government Code section 911.2, you must present a written claim for personal injury within six months after the injury.
If the agency sends a written rejection, section 945.6 generally gives you six months from that notice to file suit. Without a rejection notice, the limit is two years from the injury. Section 911.4 allows a late claim application, but only within one year.
Read more on how claims against public agencies work.
Medical Negligence Claims
Section 340.5 of that same code sets the limit for claims against health care providers. You have three years from the injury or one year from when you discovered it, or should have, whichever comes first.
That three-year limit acts as an outer cap with only narrow exceptions. With a public hospital, you face both the six-month claim rule and the medical deadline.
When the Clock Starts Running
Usually the clock starts on the day of the injury. For some claims, it starts when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury and its likely cause.
Courts call this the discovery rule. It matters most for slow-developing harm, like a defective product injury or a missed diagnosis, and its limits are technical.
Injured Children and Adults Who Lack Capacity
Section 352 generally pauses the clock while the injured person is a minor or lacks legal capacity. A child hurt in a crash may have until two years after turning 18 to file.
Two major exceptions apply. Under section 352(b), this pause does not cover claims that require a government claim. Medical claims for children follow section 340.5, which sets its own rule for children’s medical claims, three years, or before the eighth birthday for a child injured under age six, whichever is longer.
A Sacramento Example
Imagine a cyclist who hits a deep pothole on a city street in Oak Park on March 3. Her injury could involve both a driver who swerved into her and the City of Sacramento.
In this hypothetical, she must present her city claim by early September, six months later. Her case against the driver follows the two-year rule. Tracking only the two-year date could cost her the city claim entirely.
What Does Not Pause a Deadline
- Ongoing medical treatment
- Settlement talks with an insurer
- A pending criminal case against the other driver
- An insurer’s request for more records
Insurer response timelines and lawsuit deadlines are different things. Learn about the first kind in insurer response deadlines in California.
How to Check Your California Injury Filing Deadline
- Name the type of claim, such as a crash, fall or product injury.
- List everyone who may be responsible, including any public agency.
- Write down the injury date and the date you discovered it.
- Note whether the injured person was a minor.
- Save every written notice from an agency or insurer.
Record the statute you checked and the date you checked it. Keep that note with your claim papers so anyone reviewing the file later can confirm the math. California’s self-help page on deadlines to sue gives a plain-language overview.
Questions About the Injury Filing Deadline in California
Does an insurance claim extend my filing deadline?
No. Insurers can take months to review a claim, and their timeline does not change your California injury filing deadline. Long talks with an adjuster leave the lawsuit date where it was. Track your own filing date from the start and do not rely on the adjuster to mention it.
What happens if I miss the six month government claim deadline?
You can apply to present a late claim under Government Code section 911.4. Apply within one year of the injury, knowing the agency may deny it. A court can sometimes grant relief, but only on limited grounds, so missing the six-month date is risky.
Is the deadline different for property damage?
Yes. Damage to a car or other property generally falls under a three-year rule in section 338. Injury claims from the same crash still follow the two-year rule, so the two can expire on different dates.
Your safest habit is to find every possible party early and write down each deadline that could apply. Any public agency on that list moves the first deadline to six months. More posts on claims and court steps are in the injury lawsuits hub.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws and deadlines change and every case is different. Talk with a licensed California attorney about your situation.