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There is a time limit on injury claims in California, and the insurance company knows exactly when it runs out. Answer five questions and we will connect you, free, with an independent attorney licensed in California.
Limited
Time to file most injury claims in California. Miss it and the claim is gone
Shorter
Government vehicle and public entity claims run on their own, tighter clock
Varies
Coverage carried by the at-fault driver is often well below the real cost
Pure
California follows pure comparative negligence
This page describes California law in general terms only. It is not legal advice, deadlines and rules change, and exceptions apply. Confirm anything affecting your own claim with an attorney licensed in California.
California runs on pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame but never wiped out, so even a driver found mostly responsible recovers something. That rule is why the early conversation with an adjuster is almost always about fault, and why what you say in the first week matters more than people expect.
The state raised its minimum liability limits to 30/60/15 in 2025, but plenty of policies written before that still sit at the old 15/30/5 floor. Either way, a single night at a Los Angeles trauma centre can exhaust the policy before treatment properly begins, which is why uninsured and underinsured coverage on your own policy often decides what is recoverable.
California also has no general cap on damages in ordinary motor vehicle cases. Caps exist in medical malpractice and, under Proposition 213, uninsured drivers can be barred from recovering non-economic damages. Which of those applies changes a case’s value substantially.
Venue matters enormously here. Los Angeles County Superior Court is among the busiest civil court systems in the country, and the time from filing to resolution there looks nothing like Kern, Fresno or Shasta County. An attorney who works your venue knows which carriers settle before a trial date and which ones make you earn it.
Traffic patterns create distinct case types. The I-405 and I-5 corridors produce high-volume rear-end and lane-change collisions; tule fog in the Central Valley produces multi-vehicle pileups where fault is contested between a dozen drivers at once; and canyon and coastal roads produce single-vehicle and motorcycle cases where road maintenance itself can be an issue.
Claims against a public entity run on a separate administrative deadline far shorter than the ordinary one. A collision with a city bus, a school district vehicle, a Caltrans truck or a county vehicle triggers that shorter clock, and missing the government claim ends the matter long before the statute of limitations would.
Each one is common, and each one is avoidable.
California adjusters move fast on clear-liability rear-end cases because early settlements are cheap ones. Sign before an MRI has been read or a surgical consult has happened and the later cost is yours. There is no reopening a released claim.
Every percentage point of fault assigned to you comes directly off the recovery. A recorded statement is where those points are manufactured, usually through friendly questions about speed, distance and what you were looking at. You are under no obligation to give one to the other driver’s insurer.
Public entity claims run on their own, far tighter deadline. People hit by a Metro bus or a municipal truck routinely assume they have the usual window and discover the government claim expired while they were still in physical therapy.
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A firm deadline applies to most injury claims, and a much shorter one where a public entity is involved. The clock starts on the date of the collision, not the day the pain became serious.
We match you with an attorney licensed in California who handles your type of collision and works the county where it happened. We are not a law firm and do not assess your claim.
Calls from the carrier, recorded statement requests and paperwork go to them. In a pure comparative state, that alone protects the value of the claim.
Valuation waits until the treatment plan is known. In California that often means waiting fora specialist opinion rather than accepting the adjuster’s read of an ER chart.
Fault percentage is contested with evidence: scene photographs, vehicle damage patterns, and in dense urban collisions, the surprisingly good camera coverage on commercial frontage.
Most California accident attorneys work on contingency. Our service costs you nothing at any stage, because attorneys pay us for the connection.
We match you with someone licensed in California who works your area.
Not on the list? We cover the whole state, including rural counties where fewer firms compete.
California sets a firm deadline running from the date of the accident, and a separate, considerably shorter one where a government vehicle or public entity is involved. Both are strict, and missing either generally ends the claim no matter how strong it was. An attorney can confirm which applies to your situation before anything expires.
California follows pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, but it is never wiped out. Someone found 90% responsible can still recover the remaining 10%. Insurers know this, which is why so much of the early conversation is about shifting blame onto you.
It can. Proposition 213 generally bars uninsured drivers from recovering non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, even where the other driver was entirely at fault. Economic losses like medical bills and lost wages are usually still recoverable. Whether it applies to you is a question for an attorney who has seen your policy status.
It varies by county as much as by case. A straightforward claim with clear liability can resolve in months; a disputed case filed in a congested venue such as Los Angeles County can run well past a year. Getting matched takes about a minute.
Possibly. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy may apply, including in hit-and-run cases where the driver was never identified. Many people do not realise they carry it.
Our service is free to you — attorneys pay us for the connection. Most California accident attorneys work on contingency, so their fee comes from any recovery rather than from you upfront. Confirm the arrangement directly before signing anything.
Free, about a minute, no obligation. We connect you with an independent attorney licensed in California.
ClaimMVA Now is a free matching service, not a law firm.