Statute of Limitations

California personal injury actions must be commenced within certain time periods, or the right to do so can be lost forever.  This is called the Statute of Limitations.  California injury laws have many different statute of limitations which may apply depending on the type of injury, damage, and/or defendant involved in the cause of action.  Some periods of limitations are as short as six months.  Some examples of statute of limitations are: 2 years for standard personal injury matters, 1 year for professional negligence of an attorney or medical provider, six months for a governmental claim, 1 year for defamation, and 3 years for fraud.  Further, if the defendant has passed away, procedures within the Probate Code must be followed to properly submit a claim, otherwise, damages could be limited to the amount of available insurance for the accident.  This list is by no means complete.  Accordingly, attorneys knowledgeable regarding the applicable statute of limitations is vital to a personal injury matter.