How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in California?
In most cases, you have two years from the date you were hurt to file a personal injury lawsuit in California.
That deadline comes from California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, and courts enforce it strictly. Miss it by even a day, and you can permanently lose your right to sue, no matter how clear the fault or how serious your injuries. Some claims run on a much shorter clock, especially those involving a government agency, so knowing which deadline applies to your case matters from day one.
At Knez Law Group, LLP, our Riverside personal injury lawyers help injured clients understand exactly how much time they have and make sure nothing slips past the deadline. Call us at 951-742-7681 or fill out our confidential contact form to get a clear answer about your timeline.
The Two-Year Rule Under CCP Section 335.1
California law gives injured people two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit against the person or company responsible. This deadline covers most of the claims our firm handles, including car and motorcycle crashes, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, and assault or battery cases. The clock starts on the date you were hurt, not the date you finished treatment or the date an insurance company finally responds to your claim.
This deadline keeps running even while you’re still negotiating with an insurance adjuster. Insurance companies know this, and a slow, drawn-out negotiation sometimes works in their favor if it pushes you closer to the deadline without a lawsuit on file.
That is one reason it helps to have a personal injury lawyer track your deadline from the start, rather than relying on the adjuster to keep you informed.
Shorter Deadlines You Need to Know About
Not every case follows the standard two-year rule. A few common exceptions change the timeline significantly:
- Claims against a government agency, such as a crash involving a city bus, a county vehicle, or a dangerous condition on public property, require a claim to be presented within six months under the Government Claims Act.
- Medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within one year of discovering the injury, or three years from the date it occurred, whichever comes first
- Claims involving a minor are typically paused, or tolled, until the child turns 18, giving them two years from their 18th birthday to file in most cases
- Property damage claims, such as vehicle repair costs, follow a longer three-year deadline under a separate statute, which can create confusion when a crash involves both a damaged car and a bodily injury
Why the Government Claims Deadline Catches People Off Guard
The six-month government claims deadline is the exception that trips up the most people.
If a Riverside city vehicle, a county road crew, or a public transit bus was involved in your crash, you don’t get two years. You have six months from the date of the incident to present a formal written claim to that government entity, and if you miss it, you generally lose the right to sue entirely, even if you’re still well within the standard two-year window for private parties.
This distinction matters most in multi-vehicle crashes, where one driver might be a private citizen, and another might be operating a government vehicle. A single accident can carry two very different deadlines depending on who you’re pursuing a claim against, which is exactly the kind of detail a car accident lawyer should flag for you immediately after the crash.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
If the statute of limitations expires before you file, the defendant can raise it as a complete defense, and the court will almost always dismiss the case. It doesn’t matter how strong your evidence is or how serious your injuries are.
This is why our firm treats the filing deadline as one of the very first things we calculate when a new client walks through our door, well before we discuss settlement value or negotiation strategy.
A personal injury attorney who reviews your case early can also spot claims you might not realize you have, such as a product defect or a property owner’s negligence, before those separate deadlines quietly pass.
Beyond the legal deadline, waiting also hurts your case in practical ways. Evidence at the scene disappears, witnesses move away or forget details, and surveillance footage from nearby businesses is often erased within days or weeks.
A car accident attorney who gets involved early can send preservation letters, gather photos, and lock down witness statements while memories are still fresh, which strengthens your case regardless of how much time is technically left on the clock.
Rideshare and Multi-Party Crashes Add Complexity
Crashes involving rideshare drivers, delivery vehicles, or multiple defendants can involve overlapping insurance policies and, occasionally, different filing deadlines for different parties. Our Riverside rideshare accident attorneys regularly untangle these layered claims so that no potential defendant, and no applicable deadline, gets missed.
Common Questions About the Filing Deadline
Clients often ask whether starting a claim with an insurance company counts as meeting the deadline. It does not. Only filing a lawsuit in court stops the clock, so even a claim number and an open file with an adjuster offer no legal protection once two years have passed. If settlement talks are dragging on as your deadline approaches, your attorney can file suit to preserve your rights while negotiations continue.
Contact Our Riverside Personal Injury Attorneys
The safest approach after any injury in California is to talk to a lawyer as soon as you’re able, even if the two-year deadline feels far away.
If you or someone you love was injured in California and you’re worried about a filing deadline, the personal injury law firm team at Knez Law Group is ready to help. Call us today at 951-742-7681 or fill out our confidential contact form for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Matthew J. Knez graduated from the University of Redlands in California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing. He then pursued his law degree at the University of La Verne College of Law in Ontario, California, where he earned various awards, including the CALI Award in Torts, and was on the Dean’s List. During his time in law school, Mr. Knez was a member of the Justice and Immigration Clinic, working with individuals seeking asylum in the United States from countries where they faced persecution or threats of persecution. Additionally, he was an Associate Editor for the Law Review and published an article on California family custody move-away cases. Learn more here.