You have just been in a car crash somewhere in California. You are not thinking about how long you have to file a lawsuit. Gee, you are not even thinking that you will have to file a lawsuit. It is the other person’s fault and their insurance company is supposed to pay for your medical bills, lost earnings and pain and suffering. But then after the insurance company doesn’t call you back for the fifth straight day and when you actually talk to an adjuster they start telling you what they are going to pay or even if they are going to pay, you start to think, “Hey, I might have to sue the person who hit me.” Well when you get to that point, and it happens more often than not, you will need to know how much time you have to file a lawsuit after a car accident, or any accident in California. The answer is in California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1, §§which states:
“335.1. Within two years: An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another.”
So you have two years before you have to file a lawsuit after a car accident in California, or any other accident. But my advice is not to wait that long. As soon as you are at a point that you don’t need any more immediate medical care after an accident, you should call an attorney who specializes in car accident cases to help make sure that you are fully compensated for all of your losses from the crash, your medical bills, lost earnings and pain and suffering.