Time Remaining a Year After a California Accident

Attorney Answer

One year in, the ordinary two-year period for a California injury claim has not run — but a claim that is not yet late is not the same as a claim with room to spare, and the person who can confirm the date that actually governs your case is the lawyer already on it. Ask them for it in writing. A good lawyer will not mind the question.

The general rule is Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1: "Within two years: An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another." That is the period most car-accident injury claims run on, measured from the accident.

Several things can move it, which is why a general rule is not an answer for your file.

Damage to your vehicle runs on a different clock. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1) gives three years for an action for injuring goods or chattels, so the property side of the same crash and the injury side can have different deadlines.

A government defendant is far shorter. Cal. Gov't Code § 911.2(a) requires a claim relating to death or injury to person or personal property to be presented to the public entity within six months after the cause of action accrues. If a city, county, transit agency or state vehicle or roadway is anywhere in your case, that deadline is the one that matters, and it comes long before the two-year mark.

If the person at fault has died, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 366.2 replaces the ordinary period with one year from the date of death. That is a trap precisely because it is shorter than what everyone expects.

If treatment by a health care provider is part of the claim, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.5 sets its own period — three years from the injury or one year from discovery, whichever comes first.

One more thing worth knowing, said neutrally: California puts its own, shorter clock on claims against an attorney. Under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.6(a) such an action generally must be commenced within one year after the client discovers the facts, or four years from the act or omission, whichever comes first. You are not there, and most cases never are. But it is a reason to keep your own copy of the file rather than to rely on memory later.

What you can do

1. Ask your lawyer, in writing, to confirm the exact deadline they have calendared for your case and which statute it comes from.

2. Ask the same question about the vehicle-damage part of your claim, if your car was damaged.

3. Ask whether any government entity, employee or vehicle is involved, because those claims carry the six-month presentation deadline in Cal. Gov't Code § 911.2(a).

4. Keep your own copies of the accident report, medical records and bills, and pass new records to your lawyer as you get them instead of at the end.

5. If you are not getting straight answers about timing, ask a different local attorney for a second look well before the two-year mark rather than after it.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 sets two years for personal-injury claims, but which period governs your case, and the date it started, depend on facts this page does not have — who the defendants are, whether a public entity is involved, and what your claim includes. Get that confirmed by the attorney handling your matter, or by another local attorney, and get it in writing.