California injury filing deadlines · Updated October 22, 2026
How long do you have to bring a California personal injury case? Many ordinary injury lawsuits have a two-year deadline, but the answer changes with the defendant, the type of claim, the injured person’s age and when the claim legally accrued. Government claims, medical malpractice and insurance proceedings need separate attention.
California deadlines by case type, with everyday examples
This table is a starting point for the injury matters we review. It describes general California rules, not a personalized deadline or a determination that a claim is valid. Unless stated otherwise, the ordinary injury rows concern claims against private parties. Check the children, government and tolling sections before relying on a row.
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to read all four columns.
| Case type | Examples | General deadline | What can change the answer? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car crashes | Rear-end collision, intersection crash, distracted driving or a multi-car pileup. | Generally 2 years from injury. | A public vehicle, minor, delayed discovery or death can change the analysis. |
| Uber and Lyft crashes | An injured passenger, rideshare driver, pedestrian or occupant of another vehicle. | Generally 2 years for the injury lawsuit. | UM/UIM insurance requirements are separate; reporting through the app does not file a lawsuit. |
| Truck and delivery-vehicle crashes | A freeway truck collision, delivery van crash or commercial vehicle turning into a cyclist. | Generally 2 years from injury. | Identify every responsible company; government and workplace issues may add other deadlines. |
| Motorcycle crashes | An unsafe left turn, lane-change collision or roadway hazard that causes a rider to fall. | Generally 2 years from injury. | A dangerous public roadway can also require a government claim within 6 months. |
| Pedestrian injuries | A driver hits someone in a crosswalk, parking lot or driveway. | Generally 2 years from injury. | A public employee or dangerous public property may trigger government claim rules. |
| Bicycle and e-bike injuries | A door opens into a cyclist, a driver turns across a bike lane or a defective bicycle component fails. | Generally 2 years from injury. | Public road conditions and product-related discovery issues need separate review. |
| Store and restaurant falls | A supermarket spill, slippery restaurant floor, loose mat or cluttered store aisle. | Generally 2 years from injury. | Determine who controlled the area; a store incident report does not preserve the lawsuit deadline. |
| Apartment, hotel and parking-area injuries | Broken stairs, missing handrails, uneven private walkways or inadequate lighting. | Generally 2 years from injury. | Ownership, maintenance responsibility and public-property involvement matter. |
| Public sidewalks, parks and facilities | A fall on a city sidewalk, injury at a public park or a hazard in a government building. | Generally a government claim within 6 months of accrual, followed by a separate lawsuit deadline. | Ownership and responsibility must be checked; being outside does not by itself make property public. |
| Private bus and passenger-transport crashes | A private charter bus crash or injuries caused by a private transportation operator. | Generally 2 years from injury. | Public transit follows government claim rules; other transportation systems may have different laws. |
| Public buses and government vehicles | A city bus collision or crash involving a public employee driving within the scope of work. | Generally a government claim within 6 months of accrual, then a separate lawsuit deadline. | Identify the correct entity and present a legally sufficient claim; a routine accident report is different. |
| Dog bites and animal-related injuries | A delivery driver bitten at a home, a visitor bitten in a yard or a dog knocking someone down. | Generally 2 years from injury for an ordinary private-party injury action. | Children, work-related injuries and public-entity involvement require additional analysis. |
| Defective products | A failing ladder, defective appliance, unsafe vehicle part or malfunctioning consumer product causes injury. | Generally 2 years from injury, subject to accrual and discovery rules. | Latent injuries, specialized statutes and claims against different defendants may need different analysis. |
| Serious and catastrophic injuries | A traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, fracture or burn after a crash, fall or unsafe product. | Usually the deadline for the underlying type of case; often 2 years. | Severity alone does not pause the clock. Legal incapacity is a separate, fact-specific issue. |
| Worksite injuries involving another company | A worker struck by an outside delivery truck or injured by a third-party contractor or defective equipment. | Generally 2 years for an ordinary third-party injury lawsuit. | Workers’ compensation has separate notice and filing rules; this is not a deadline for that benefits claim. |
| Wrongful death | A fatal crash, fatal fall or death caused by a defective product. | Generally 2 years from death for an ordinary wrongful-death action. | Medical negligence, government defendants and estate survival claims can follow different rules. |
| Medical malpractice | A surgical error, negligent treatment or failure to diagnose by a healthcare provider. | For adults, generally the earlier of 1 year after actual or reasonably discoverable injury, or 3 years after injury. | CCP § 340.5 has special exceptions and minor rules; § 364 generally requires 90 days’ advance notice. |
| Vehicle and other personal-property damage | Repair or replacement of a damaged car, bicycle, phone or other personal belongings. | Generally 3 years for an ordinary private-party property-damage action. | This does not extend the injury deadline. Government claims for personal-property damage generally require presentation within 6 months. |
Core sources: CCP § 335.1 (ordinary injury and death actions), CCP § 338(c) (personal-property damage), CCP § 340.5 (medical negligence) and Government Code § 911.2 (claim presentation).
Children’s injury claims: when does the clock start?
For many ordinary injury claims against private parties, CCP § 352(a) excludes the time the injured child is under 18. An ordinary two-year injury period will therefore generally run after adulthood, often described as a deadline around the child’s 20th birthday. Exact date computation still matters. A parent can pursue the child’s case earlier through the proper court procedures; waiting is not required.
- Child bitten at a neighbor’s home: minority tolling may apply to the child’s ordinary private-party injury claim. Preserve photographs, animal-control information and insurance details now.
- Child injured in a private-car crash: the child’s deadline may differ from an injured parent’s deadline. A parent’s own claims do not automatically receive the child’s extension.
- Child hurt on public-school property or by a city vehicle: do not assume the claim can wait until age 18. Required government claim procedures generally still apply.
- Child injured through medical negligence: use the special medical-malpractice rules below, rather than the ordinary age-18 rule.
Medical malpractice involving a child
Under CCP § 340.5, minors generally have three years from the alleged wrongful act. For a child under six, the statute provides three years or until the eighth birthday, whichever gives the longer period. The statute also addresses tolling when a parent or guardian and the provider or insurer commit fraud or collusion in failing to bring the child’s action. Prenatal injuries, public providers and other specialized claims need individual analysis. “All children have until age 20” is not a safe rule.
Government injury claims: two separate deadlines
A city bus collision, a dangerous public sidewalk, a public-school injury or negligence involving a public employee can require a formal claim to the correct public entity before a lawsuit. Responsibility and statutory exceptions must be examined; the location alone does not decide who is liable.
- Present the government claim: for most claims for injury, death or personal-property damage, Government Code § 911.2 requires presentation no later than six months after accrual. Six months is not automatically interchangeable with 180 days.
- Calendar the lawsuit deadline separately: under Government Code § 945.6, a compliant written rejection notice generally starts a six-month period measured from personal delivery or mailing of that notice. If no compliant written notice is given, the statute generally provides two years from accrual, subject to applicable exceptions. The claim-presentation requirement still must be satisfied.
Keep the claim, proof of presentation, the envelope and every rejection notice. A bus company complaint, school incident report, police report or email to a city employee does not necessarily satisfy formal claim requirements. California’s state and local government framework is also different from federal-government claims.
What if the six-month claim deadline has passed?
Government Code § 911.4 provides a late-claim application process in qualifying cases: apply within a reasonable time, generally no more than one year after accrual, and attach the proposed claim. This is not an automatic extra six months. The statute includes specific time-computation exceptions for certain incapacity and dependent-child circumstances.
If the application is denied or deemed denied, Government Code § 946.6 provides a court-petition process, generally within six months of that denial, with particular grounds and requirements. If court relief is granted, the statute generally requires suit within 30 days of the order. Minority or qualifying incapacity may support relief, but does not justify ignoring the initial claim deadline.
Tolling, delayed discovery and other reasons a deadline may change
Accrual is when a claim becomes legally actionable. Delayed discovery can postpone accrual in qualifying circumstances. Tolling pauses or excludes time under an applicable rule. An extension or an estoppel argument may operate differently. These concepts are not interchangeable, and an exception to one deadline may not extend another.
1. The injured person was under 18
Minority can pause many ordinary private-party injury periods under CCP § 352. Government claims and medical malpractice are important exceptions. The child’s claim and a parent’s separate claim require separate calendars.
2. Legal incapacity when the claim accrued
CCP § 352(a) also addresses a person who lacked legal capacity to make decisions when the claim accrued. A severe brain injury or coma may warrant this review, but physical injury, hospitalization, stress or difficulty managing paperwork alone does not automatically establish the legal standard. Required government claims have different rules.
3. An injury or its wrongful cause could not reasonably be discovered
The discovery rule can matter where harm or its cause was hidden and a diligent person could not reasonably have discovered the claim earlier. Waiting for a definitive diagnosis or learning the full cost of known injuries does not necessarily restart the clock. Suspicion of injury and wrongful cause may be enough to require investigation. Not knowing the defendant’s name alone generally does not postpone accrual. See the Judicial Council’s CACI 455, delayed discovery.
4. Medical-negligence fraud, concealment or a nontherapeutic foreign body
CCP § 340.5 specifically identifies fraud, intentional concealment and a foreign body with no therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect as possible grounds affecting its three-year outside limit. Each requires proof. A retained surgical item needs different analysis from an implant intentionally placed for treatment. The one-year discovery rule and other requirements must still be assessed.
5. Timely pursuit of another legal remedy
Equitable tolling can apply in some circumstances when a person reasonably and in good faith pursues another available remedy. Courts examine timely notice to the defendant, prejudice and the claimant’s conduct. A workers’ compensation proceeding, administrative claim or earlier court case does not automatically protect every related injury lawsuit. See the Judicial Council’s CACI 457, equitable tolling.
6. An enforceable tolling agreement or misleading conduct
A valid agreement may affect a specified deadline for specified parties and claims. An estoppel argument may also arise if a defendant’s conduct caused reasonable reliance and delay. Routine settlement discussions, an adjuster saying a claim remains open or a request for more records are not a safe substitute for a clear, legally effective agreement. Preserve the exact communications and obtain a review before relying on them.
7. Qualifying imprisonment
CCP § 352.1 provides up to two years of excluded time for qualifying imprisonment existing when a covered claim accrued. It has important limits, including exceptions involving required government claims and certain confinement-related actions. It is not a blanket rule that every incarcerated person receives two additional years.
8. A defendant’s absence, death or other specialized circumstance
CCP § 351 addresses absence from California, but constitutional and case-law limits affect when it can be used. Do not simply add every day the defendant was out of state. Death can create a different clock: CCP § 366.2 generally imposes a one-year period after a defendant’s death for qualifying surviving liabilities, with limited exceptions; probate requirements may also apply. CCP § 366.1 separately addresses a claimant’s death. Military-service protections, bankruptcy stays and specific statutory or court-ordered rules may also require separate research when the facts raise them.
Same kind of injury, different deadline questions
These are hypothetical teaching examples, not client cases or promises that an exception applies.
Adult bitten while visiting a home
An adult visitor is bitten by a privately owned dog and immediately knows of the injury. The ordinary starting point is a two-year injury lawsuit period. An insurance claim does not itself stop that period.
A 10-year-old bitten by the same dog
The child’s ordinary private-party injury claim may receive minority tolling. A parent’s separate losses and deadlines still need their own review. Evidence should be collected while witnesses and records remain available.
A delivery worker bitten on the job
The worker may have a claim involving the dog owner and a separate workers’ compensation matter. The ordinary third-party injury lawsuit may have a two-year period; the benefits process has its own rules.
Supermarket spill versus city sidewalk
An adult slips on a spill in a privately operated supermarket: generally start with two years for the injury lawsuit. A fall attributed to a dangerous city sidewalk may require a government claim within six months, then a separate lawsuit calendar.
Private driver versus public bus
Two pedestrians suffer similar fractures. One is struck by a private driver; the other by a city bus. The injury’s severity does not make the deadlines the same: the bus incident calls for immediate government-claim review.
A child hurt at a public school
A child falls because of an alleged dangerous condition at a public school. The family should investigate ownership and government-claim requirements immediately, rather than assuming the child can wait until age 18.
Later diagnosis after a known crash injury
An adult knows their neck was injured in a crash, then receives a more serious diagnosis months later. That later diagnosis does not automatically supply a new two-year period.
A hidden product-related cause
A person experiences harm but could not reasonably identify a defective product as a contributing wrongful cause despite diligent investigation. Delayed discovery may need review; the investigation timeline and earlier suspicions matter.
A 4-year-old injured during treatment
The ordinary minority rule is not the starting rule for a professional-negligence claim against a healthcare provider. CCP § 340.5’s special under-six rule, advance notice and any public-provider requirements need review.
An uninsured driver hits an Uber passenger
The ordinary negligence lawsuit and an uninsured-motorist insurance proceeding are different tracks. Reporting to Uber or an insurer does not establish that statutory UM preservation steps have been completed.
Insurance claims and medical-malpractice notice have their own requirements
Uninsured motorist claims: Insurance Code § 11580.2(i) generally requires one of specified preservation steps within two years of the accident: a bodily-injury suit against the uninsured motorist, agreement on the policy amount due, or formal institution of arbitration through the statutory written-notice method. Ordinary claim reporting is not the same as a formal arbitration demand. Hit-and-run claims can have additional short reporting requirements. Underinsured coverage has its own conditions, including subdivision (p), and should not be treated as identical to UM in every respect.
Medical malpractice: CCP § 364 generally requires at least 90 days’ notice of intent to sue a healthcare provider for professional negligence. Notice served near the limitations deadline can affect the calculation under subdivision (d) and controlling decisions. Do not add a blanket 90 days to every malpractice case or let notice preparation consume the filing period.
What generally does not stop the deadline?
- Ongoing medical treatment, unpaid bills or uncertainty about the final settlement value.
- An open insurance file, settlement negotiations or a demand letter alone.
- A police report, store report, app crash report or ordinary school incident report.
- Waiting for the other party to admit fault or for a criminal case to finish, without a specific applicable legal rule.
- Assuming a serious injury automatically establishes incapacity, or that all claims belonging to a family share one deadline.
Information to bring for a deadline review
Bring the incident date, injured person’s birth date, first symptoms, dates of any later discoveries, identities of potential defendants, ownership or government involvement, medical records, claim submissions and delivery proofs, rejection notices, insurance correspondence, prior case filings and any written extension agreements. Note any incapacity, imprisonment, death, military service or bankruptcy that could affect the analysis. Each defendant and legal theory may need its own calendar.
Frequently asked questions
Does filing an insurance claim satisfy the statute of limitations?
Generally no. An insurance claim and a court lawsuit are different. Particular insurance proceedings also have their own preservation and notice requirements.
Can I wait until my child turns 18?
Some ordinary private-party claims receive minority tolling, but government claims and medical malpractice can require action much earlier. Evidence preservation should begin promptly even when tolling may apply.
Is it automatically too late if two years have passed?
Not necessarily. The correct statute, accrual date, defendant and any applicable tolling or other exception need review. An exception must be supported; it should not be assumed.
Do I get a new deadline when an insurer denies the claim?
An ordinary liability insurer’s denial generally does not restart the negligence lawsuit period. A formal government claim rejection can trigger a different statutory lawsuit deadline, so identify which kind of notice you received.
What if the last day is a weekend or holiday?
Applicable time-computation rules can affect a filing date. Claim presentation, mailed notices, arbitration demands and court filings must each be checked under their own rules. Do not rely on a general online countdown.
Ask Weiss Attorneys to review the applicable deadlines
We review California accident and injury matters from our Sherman Oaks office, including crashes, falls, dog bites and other injury claims. Phone and video consultations are available throughout California. A consultation request alone does not file a claim, preserve a deadline or create an attorney-client relationship.
Request a free consultation 213-583-0977
Related guides: California car accident claims, California slip and fall claims, Uber coverage, Lyft coverage and lawsuit documents and court deadlines.
Official sources
The statutory links appear beside the rules they support. Also see the California Courts deadline overview and government claim guide. The comparison focuses on common injury matters; specialized claims, federal law, older incidents and later statutory changes may require additional analysis.
General information only, not an individual deadline calculation or legal advice. The law and facts applicable to your claim control.
