How Long After a Car Accident Can You Claim Injury in California?

In the majority of car accidents that occur in California, your statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury in which to file your personal injury lawsuit. However, that does not mean you should wait until two years after an injury before filing your claim. The notice provisions contained in your insurance policy may be far shorter than two years, and there may be shorter time periods that apply if your car accident involves a governmental agency, an underaged party, or a discovery rule injury.

It all comes down to what actual deadline applies to your situation. “Claiming an injury” can mean making your report to your insurance company, filing your claim against the governmental agency, or filing your lawsuit in court.

How Long After a Car Accident Can You Claim Injury in California?

Here is an overview of the primary deadlines that you will need to consider:

• Personal Injury: Two years from the date of the injury to bring a lawsuit, pursuant to CCP § 335.1.
• Damage to Property: Three years from the date of damage to your automobile or any other personal property. These are two separate limitations periods.
• Injuries Involving Public Entity: In cases involving a governmental agency, a claim must generally be made within six months of the accident.
• Minors: In some circumstances, some deadlines are tolled during the period of minority of the injured person, but this is subject to many exceptions.
• Delayed Discovery: The clock only starts ticking in some instances after an injury has been or reasonably should have been discovered.
• Insurance Notice: The requirements of your insurance policy to give notice may be separate from filing the lawsuit.
• Negotiations with Insurance Company: In negotiations with an insurer, there is no tolling of the lawsuit deadline.

The California Courts self-help site discusses the statute of limitations period rules generally.

Is Filing an Insurance Claim the Same as Filing a Lawsuit?

No. That is among the most frequent misconceptions following an accident.

Insurance Claim: A claim submitted to the insurance company for compensation. This can be initiated relatively soon after the accident occurs.

Lawsuit: Civil proceedings brought to court against the party at fault.

Both claims can be initiated separately without conflicting with any deadlines to file a lawsuit.

Opening a claim protects your relationship with the insurer. It does not protect your right to go to court.

What If Your Car Accident Injury Appears Days or Weeks Later?

Not all accidents are accompanied by immediate injuries. For example, neck pain, back pain, head injury, concussion, and soft tissue injuries may occur days or even weeks later once the effect of adrenaline wears out.

That does not necessarily mean that you will not be able to file a lawsuit. It is possible to report an injury that occurs a few days after the accident took place.

What will change is the burden of proof. The greater the time difference between the accident and seeking medical help, the greater the possibility of the insurance company asking whether some other cause might have been behind your injury.

Does the Discovery Rule Extend the Deadline?

Sometimes, but rarely in ordinary car accident cases.

The discovery rule states that there are circumstances under which the time limit may begin when someone learned about his/her injury or when he/she reasonably could have known about it, not from the date the injury occurred.

For almost all car accidents, individuals are aware immediately that they had been involved in an accident and that they were injured as a result. In general, pain that develops over time does not extend the date from which the time limit begins; however, the discovery rule will play a role when the injury itself or the link between the injury and the accident was not reasonably discoverable before.

Since this exception is dependent on the facts of each case, it’s a dangerous gamble to rely on it. When the discovery rule applies, get legal advice before the time limit of two years expires.

What If the Accident Involved a Government Vehicle or Public Agency?

This is one of the most important exceptions to the two-year rule.

If a city bus, police car, public works truck, or county or state vehicle was involved, or if a dangerous public road contributed to the crash, you generally must file an administrative claim with the government agency before you can sue.

According to the California Courts guide to suing a government agency:

• Initial Claim: For personal injury or property damage, the claim generally must be submitted within six months of the accident.
• After Rejection: If the agency rejects the claim in writing, you generally have six months from that notice to file a lawsuit.

Late-claim procedures and other rules can apply, so don’t assume you have more time. If any public agency may be involved, act quickly.

How Do the Rules Change for Minors?

Minors: California law may pause or toll some limitation periods while the injured person is under 18.

In many ordinary injury cases, that can mean the two-year period doesn’t begin until the child turns 18. But it isn’t safe to assume every child has the same deadline.

Government claims are a key example. The six-month claim requirement can still apply to children, though special late-claim procedures may help in some cases. Other types of claims may also follow their own rules. Parents should get the specific deadline confirmed rather than relying on the general tolling idea.

Does Waiting to Get Medical Treatment Hurt Your Injury Claim?

There’s no California rule that says you must see a doctor within a specific number of days to have a valid claim.

But a long gap in treatment can create problems:

• The insurer may argue your injury came from something else.
• It may say the injury must not have been serious.
• It becomes harder to show when symptoms actually started.

Medical records made close to the accident are often the clearest proof connecting an injury to the crash. You don’t need treatment just for legal reasons, but if you’re hurt, getting checked promptly helps your health and your claim.

What Evidence Helps Support a Delayed Injury Claim?

When symptoms start later, timeline evidence matters most. Helpful records include:

• The accident or police report
• Photos of vehicle damage
• Photos from the scene
• Witness statements
• Medical records
• Notes of your first complaints of pain
• Follow-up treatment records
• Diagnostic records, like X-rays or MRIs
• Work absence records
• Insurance letters and emails
• Your own notes about when symptoms began and how they changed

A simple journal written at the time, noting dates, symptoms, and appointments, can help fill gaps that formal records leave.

What If the Insurance Company Says You Waited Too Long?

An insurer may raise several different timing issues:

• Policy Notice: Your own policy may require prompt notice of an accident.
• Delayed Treatment: The insurer may question a gap in medical care.
• Disputed Causation: It may argue the crash didn’t cause your injury.
• Statute of Limitations: It may claim the lawsuit deadline has passed.
• Evidence Gaps: Missing photos or records can weaken parts of the claim.
• Coverage Disputes: The insurer may deny that the policy applies.

An insurer’s denial isn’t the final word on the law. Whether a deadline actually passed, or whether a delay truly hurt the claim, depends on the facts and California law, not just the adjuster’s position.

What Happens If the Two-Year Deadline Is Approaching?

This is where many claims run into trouble.

Settlement talks with an insurance company generally do not stop the statute of limitations. Don’t assume your deadline is extended just because:

• You have an open insurance claim
• You’re in ongoing negotiations
• You received a settlement offer
• The adjuster seems friendly or says there’s no rush

If the two-year date passes without a lawsuit being filed, you may lose the right to recover through the courts, even if negotiations were going well. If your deadline is within a few months and the claim isn’t resolved, get legal advice right away.

Talk to a California Car Accident Lawyer About Your Deadline

Not every crash needs a lawyer. Legal review may be helpful when:

• A deadline is approaching
• A government vehicle or agency was involved
• Your injury appeared later
• The insurer disputes that the crash caused your injury
• The injury is serious or needs long-term treatment
• More than one party may be at fault
• Your claim was denied
• A child was injured
• An insurer wants you to sign a broad release or settlement

The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti helps people after crashes throughout Southern California, including as a Los Angeles car accident lawyer. If your accident happened in the Burbank area, our Burbank car accident lawyer team can review your timeline.

For broader injury questions, our Los Angeles personal injury lawyer team explains how California injury claims generally work.

Free consultation. No fee unless we recover compensation for you. Call (626) 793-8607, available 24 hours a day. Se habla español. Falamos português.