California’s statute of limitations to sue for personal injury is usually two years after your accident. If you file after this deadline, the court will dismiss your case unless a legal exception caused your statute of limitations to “toll” (pause).1
A common reason for tolling is if there is a gap between your accident and when your injury appears, which often happens with soft-tissue damage and hairline fractures. Under California’s “discovery rule,” the two-year statute of limitation does not start running until you “discover” you have been injured.2
The statute of limitations to sue for certain injuries can be longer or shorter than two years. Therefore, it is important you contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your accident.
Injury type | California statute of limitations |
Personal injury | 2 years |
Property damage / trespass | 3 years |
Wrongful death | 2 years |
Child sex abuse/assault | When you are 40 years old, or 5 years after you discover the abuse (whichever is later) |
Wrongful birth | 6 years |
Defamation | 1 year |
False imprisonment | 2 years |
Fraud | 3 years* |
Medical malpractice | 1 year* |
Legal malpractice | 1 year* |
Veterinary malpractice | 1 year |
Asbestos exposure | 1 year* |
Breach of oral contract | 2 years |
Breach of written contract | 4 years |
Felony victim | 1 year** |
Victim of serious felony | 10 years** |
Mesothelioma and other asbestos claims | 1 year from the date on which you first suffered a disability, or 1 year after the date on which you either knew, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that such disability was caused or contributed to by such exposure 3 |
Dalkon Shield claims | 15 years of the date on which your injury occurred, except that the statute is tolled starting August 21, 1985 4 |
Recovery or conversion of personal property left at a hotel, hospital, or similar temporary lodging | 90 days from when you leave the facility 5 |
*from discovery **from conviction 6 |
When statutes of limitations toll
The “discovery rule” is only one reason that causes a statute of limitations to toll. In California, the statute of limitations also pauses while the defendant (at-fault party) in your case is either:
- under 18 years old,
- outside the state of California,
- in state prison (not county jail), or
- legally insane.
The statute of limitations can resume if and when the condition leading to tolling has ended.7
In cases where you were the victim of a serious felony such as rape, kidnapping, or attempted murder, you have 10 years from the defendant’s discharge from parole to sue. For less serious felonies, you have one year after the defendant’s judgment to sue.8
Medical malpractice cases
In general, California medical malpractice claims must be filed by the earlier of:
- One year after the injury was discovered (or should have been discovered);9 or
- Three years after the injury occurred.10
For veterinary malpractice, the one-year statute of limitations starts running on the actual date of the injury.11
When the victim is a minor
Suppose you were a minor when your accident occurred. The statute of limitations usually does not begin running until you turn 18 – the age at which you gain the legal capacity to make decisions.12 Though if you were a child sex abuse victim, you may sue your abusers anytime
- before your 40th birthday or
- within five years of discovering the abuse (whichever is later).13
In medical malpractice claims, however, minor victims must file lawsuits within the later of:
- three years from the date of the alleged wrongful act, or
- if the minor is under six years old at the time of injury, prior to their eighth birthday.14
If the injury occurred prior or during birth, any lawsuit must be brought within six years of the birth.15
When the government injured you
To sue a California government agency for negligence, you must bring an “administrative claim” within six months of the injury. The government has 45 days to respond:
- If the government denies your claim, you can bring a personal injury lawsuit against the government within six months of their denial.
- If the government fails to respond at all, you have two years from your injury (the standard statute of limitations) to sue the government.
A common claim against government agencies is that they were negligent in maintaining safe roads and clear signage, which contributed to your car accident.16
When the statute of limitations has passed
Your deadline to sue for personal injury has passed? You still may have time to sue on other grounds with a longer statute of limitations.
Example: Kevin injures himself while painting Jack’s California house because the deck was rotting. Kevin misses the two-year deadline to sue Jack for negligence. However, he still has two more years to sue for breaching their written contract where Jack promised to reasonably ensure Kevin’s safety. This is because the breach of a written contract has a four-year statute of limitations.
So even when one claim’s statute of limitations has run, there may be another claim that has a later deadline.
Purpose of statutes of limitations
Statutes of limitations exist out of a sense of fundamental fairness. Memories fade. Evidence is inadvertently destroyed. Witnesses move away.
A limitations period encourages you to pursue your claims diligently. It also protects people from having to defend “stale” claims.17
Additional reading
For more information, refer to our related articles by our California personal injury lawyers:
- 5 situations when the statute of limitations is tolled in California
- What is the statute of limitations for negligence in California?
- What is the medical malpractice statute of limitations in California?
- What is the statute of limitations for wrongful death in California?
- “Delayed discovery rule” in California – How it works
Legal references:
- California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1. See, for example: Litwin v. Estate of Formela (; , 2010) Bullard v. California State Automobile Assn., ( , 2005) .
- California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) 455.
- CCP §340.2(a).
- The date on which the A.H. Robins Company filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization in Richmond, Virginia. See CCP §340.7.
- CCP §341a.
- CCP Title 2.
- See, for example, Brooks v. Mercy Hospital (Court of California, Fifth Appellate District, 2016) ; Alcott Rehab. Hosp. v. Superior Court (; ) Shalabi v. City of Fontana (; ) Arrow Highway Steel, Inc. v. Dubin (. )
- CCP § 340.3.
- See CCP § 340.6.
- CCP 340.5.
- CCP § 340(c).
- CCP § 352(a)
- California Assembly Bill 218 (2019); California Code of Civil Procedure 340.1 & 1002; Patrick McGreevy, “California grants more time for filing child sexual abuse allegations under new law,” LA Times (Oct. 13, 2019).
- CCP § 340.5.
- CCP § 340.4.
- CCP § 341. Statute of Limitations, California Courts.
- See Jolly v. Eli Lilly (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1103.