You have up to two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit to secure support for your injuries in a California car accident. You have up to three years to file a lawsuit over vehicle damage.
What Determines How Long I Can Wait to File a California Car Accident Claim?
California law sets the statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits at two years. Car accident injuries caused by a careless driver fall under personal injury law.
Victims usually start by filing an injury claim with the at-fault driver’s car insurance provider. A settlement may be reached. But if the insurer refuses to accept liability, victims may have to file a lawsuit and take an insurance company to court.
Generally, victims could only file a lawsuit within two years of the crash. If two years have passed, a judge would usually throw the case out, except in certain situations.
Here are a few things that may affect the California car accident claim deadline:
- If you don’t realize you are injured until days or weeks later, the deadline countdown would start on the day you were made aware of your injury, not necessarily on the date of the accident.
- In the case of a fatal accident, the two-year countdown for the family to file a wrongful death claim could start on the date of the accident. However, if the victim didn’t pass away immediately, the countdown would begin on the day of death.
- If you were struck by a government vehicle, the deadline to file a claim against the city, county, state, or federal government will be much shorter
- The two-year deadline can be extended in certain cases, including when a minor is involved until they turn 18.
Should I Wait to File A Claim After a Thousand Oaks Car Accident?
No. You shouldn’t wait months or a year or more to seek compensation. Acting as soon as possible will always be best when having to take on an auto insurance company.
As you delay on filing a claim, important evidence can disappear and witnesses can become hard to locate.
The sooner you talk to a lawyer, the sooner your attorney gets started collecting evidence and building a strong case. A strong case will hopefully force unhelpful insurance companies to accept responsibility for all of your medical bills and lost income while out of work.
Your legal representative is ready to fight back if insurance adjusters try to blame you for the accident. You must also be ready for their tactics when they try to downplay how badly you are hurt.
Your attorney would demand the most support possible for you and your family. Your lawyer also makes sure you don’t miss important deadlines, especially if your accident involves a city or county vehicle.
Trust a Thousand Oaks Lawyer with Your Car Accident Case
If you or a loved one are seriously hurt in a collision, and another driver is to blame, speak to Quirk Accident & Injury Attorneys, APC. We offer a free consultation to all Thousand Oaks and Ventura County victims. It’s a way to stay informed of the benefits a car insurance company won’t tell you about.
If we can help you earn more for your recovery costs, you won’t need any money to hire our Thousand Oaks car accident attorneys. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee is paid out of the settlement you receive.
Please check out our answers to other frequently asked questions from Thousand Oaks car accident victims.