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Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Lawsuit in California

November 6, 2019 0 Comment Category: Personal Injury

The state of California has a very strict statute of limitations rules for personal injury cases which is why you should act as fast as possible if injured in any kind of accident. At the same time, you should also have a good understanding of how the personal injury laws work in California so that you can seek the maximum compensation for your damages. That is why you should hire an expert personal injury lawyer to learn about the relevant state laws and abide by them to file a lawsuit.

A professional personal injury lawyer in California can collect all the necessary documents and pieces of evidence to build a strong case for you. They can also negotiate with the defendant’s insurance company to get the rightful compensation that you deserve. However, if the insurance adjuster tries to deny the claim or offers a very small settlement amount that is not enough to cover your damages then your personal injury lawyer would take the case to court to claim for the damages you suffered. This is where the skills and know-how of an experienced lawyer comes into play.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in California

Generally, it is very easy to file a lawsuit for personal injuries in California. If you can prove that the accident happened because of another party’s fault then you are eligible to claim compensation for your losses. When you take the case to the court you need to convince the judge and the jury about the defendant’s negligence or liabilities to get a favorable ruling. However, before all that, you would need to follow the state’s statute of limitations for filing the lawsuit.

Note that the law in the state of California offers a very short window to pursue legal action for personal injury cases. If you want to take the case to the court you would need to follow the two-year deadline as per the California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. As per the statute, any legal “action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another” should be filed within two years starting from the date of the incident. Any lawsuit filed beyond that would not be considered eligible for arbitration in a California court.

Hiring a proficient personal injury lawyer as soon as possible would be the best way to make sure that you file a claim within the deadline. They can help you to calculate all your damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress, to come up with a reasonable figure to compensate for your losses. As the incident would have severely affected your usual routines and quality of life your lawyer will make sure that no additional stress or financial burden is put on your shoulders. Your lawyer would also investigate the accident to build a strong case, and file all the paperwork within the due dates to move forward with the lawsuit. This way, you can focus on your recovery while your California injury lawyer takes care of all the legal concerns.

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit after the Deadline

In most of the cases, you cannot file a lawsuit for personal injuries after the two-year deadline put in place by the state of California. However, there are certain exceptions to this statute of limitations. For instance, in the case of injuries happening due to domestic violence the state laws allow up to three years from the date of the incident to file the claim. Similarly, the statute of limitations is extended in case of childhood sexual abuse or medical malpractice as well. These cases, however, are not directly associated with the personal injury laws in California.

In dog bite cases California law follows the “strict liability” rule which states that the owner of the dog is strictly liable for the injuries caused to the plaintiff. This strict liability law applies even to those dogs that have never bit anyone before and to those owners who did not know that their pet was dangerous. This is termed as the “one bite” rule in California which makes the owner of the dog strictly responsible for the injuries caused by the canine.

When it comes to car accident lawsuits in California the laws here differ a bit from those that apply to personal injury cases. However, the statute of limitations to file a car accident lawsuit is still the same as those under general personal injury law. This means that you have a two-year window to take legal action against the guilty party and to seek compensation for the bodily injuries that you have sustained because of the accident. However, the state law allows three years to claim compensation for property damage that happened as a result of the accident.