The Statute of Limitations: A Deadline You Can’t Afford to Miss

In California, you might have an accident or injure yourself. When that happens, you may feel that someone else caused it. Maybe a person did, or perhaps you blame a company instead.

If so, you may decide that you'll file a lawsuit. You can retain a lawyer who will help you. They can give you advice and represent you if you must make some courtroom appearances.

You should also know the deadlines to file civil actions in California if you decide you'll move forward and sue someone. We will talk about this in the following article. You should understand how this works so you don't lose the money you could potentially get.

What is a Statute of Limitations?

A statute of limitations means that you have a set time amount during which you can file a lawsuit. If someone injures you, you must move forward and file that suit during the time that the law stipulates.

Every state has different statutes of limitations. Each state has a system in place, so if you injure yourself and you're going to sue someone, you must first learn all about your state's policies.

If you ignore that limitations statute and file too late, you can't get your money. Even if you're certain someone else caused you harm, they can get away with it with no legal repercussions on your part.

How Long is California's Statute of Limitations?

In California, you generally have a two-year deadline for accident or personal injury lawsuits. In other words, you have two years following the event's actual date.

You should mark when the accident occurred. If you can't remember the exact date, that's potentially a problem. If you decide within a month or two that you will file a lawsuit, you should have no issues. What if you decide many months later that you should sue this person or entity, though?

If so, you must try pinpointing the exact date the injury or accident occurred. Maybe you can check doctor bills or the date when you filed a claim with your insurance company if a car accident caused the injury. If you're up against the two-year deadline, this becomes crucial.

What Common Situations Usually Become Lawsuits?

Personal injury lawsuits happen all the time in California. That's because things like car accidents frequently occur on California's many highways and local roads.

Car accidents often cause injuries, and lawsuits can come from those. You might also sue a doctor if they harm you and they feel what they did constitutes medical malpractice.

You might sue someone if you slip and fall in a store, hurting yourself. Maybe that store did not put out adequate signage mentioning the wet floor.

You might also sue a company if their product harmed you. Defective products make it onto store shelves in California all the time. Companies should test them rigorously, but that doesn't mean they all do.

You might also sue a pet owner. Maybe someone's dog bites you, and you experience trauma, pain, and suffering. That can certainly cause a lawsuit.

Can You Get Around that Two-Year Statute of Limitations?

Usually, you must file that lawsuit within two years, but what about if you experience some mitigating circumstances? For instance, maybe someone hits you with their car, and you're in a coma. You might stay that way for years.

When you wake up, the two-year clock usually starts. You might get a lawyer who can argue that for you in court. The opposing lawyer might try getting the case dismissed, but they probably will not succeed.

You might also have a situation where someone or something harms a child. As the child's parent, you might file a lawsuit on their behalf. You may feel that's the most logical move, and no law prevents that action.

The child might also file a lawsuit two years or less after their eighteenth birthday. If they still have some lingering effects years later, and you didn't file a lawsuit for them, they can probably still do it. If they file within two years after their eighteenth birthday, they might still collect the money the person or entity who harmed them owes them.

Should You File a Lawsuit?

Most people don't like filing lawsuits. You might occasionally find someone who's litigious, and they go around slipping and falling, hoping they'll get some money. These professional con artists can sometimes collect some cash, but other times, the court will dismiss their case if they feel that it's meritless.

If someone or something legitimately harms you, though, you should keep that two-year statute of limitations in mind while you're recovering. Maybe at first, you don't feel you should file a lawsuit. You know it's a long, potentially annoying process. You must hire a lawyer, appear in court, fill out paperwork, and do seemingly limitless other chores.

It's tedious, and you must essentially hold up your whole life till you can resolve the situation. Your family must go through it along with you.

You might feel eventually like you have no other choice, though. Perhaps you still experience some pain and suffering months later, and you feel like the money you've received does not equal what you're enduring. Maybe you got no money at all yet.

Keep that two-year deadline in mind, and make sure you move decisively before time runs out. If you can, you should start the lawsuit process before the time elapses. That way, if you have begun the process, you can move forward knowing the person or entity that harmed you won't escape without paying you, both literally and figuratively.

Sometimes, filing a lawsuit can change your whole life. You can get the money you need if you can't work anymore or if you have many large medical bills.

Just recall that two-year statute of limitations if you're a California resident. If you live elsewhere, you must quickly learn that state's deadline and act accordingly.