Like every state, California imposes a statute of limitations — the period of time in which a plaintiff must begin legal proceedings– on filing personal injury lawsuits. Here are some California personal injury statutes of limitation:
Personal Injury – legal claims must be initiated within two (2) years from the date of injury.
Medical Malpractice – must be filed within three (3) years of the date of the injury, or within one year from the date the injury was (or should have been) discovered.
Professional Malpractice – legal claims against professionals (accountants, attorneys, etc.) must be filed within one (1) year of the date of discovery, up to four years from the date of the actual act.
Product Liability – claims must be filed within two (2) years from the date of injury.
Wrongful Death – claims must be filed within one (1) year of the date of death. Exceptions include death from medical malpractice or asbestos exposure.
Fraud – must be filed within three (3) years.
Defamation – intentional tort claims must be filed within two (2) years, and within one (1) year for libel or slander.
Personal Property Injury — must be filed within three (3) years.
Contracts — for written contracts, four (4) years; for oral contracts, two (2) years.
If you or a loved one is involved in an accident that causes death or serious injury, call Callahan & Blaine, California’s Premier Litigation Firm. We are one of the leading catastrophic injury firms in the state of California. In fact, in the last five years alone our lawyers have obtained over $1.2 billion in verdicts and settlements, including a record breaking $50 Million settlement against the City of Dana Point, which has been certified as the largest personal injury settlement in the history of the United States. Callahan & Blaine has also recently obtained a $28 Million settlement for a driver who was hit by a runaway truck wheel on the freeway, a $7 million settlement for a bicyclist who was struck by a newspaper delivery truck, and a $7.25 million settlement for a man who was run over trying to board a city bus.
Our success in litigating and negotiating personal injury cases comes from our uncommon approach; we handle each personal injury case as though it were a complex business litigation case, attacking it from every angle possible. While our firm is located in Orange County, California, we handle serious personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases nationwide.
If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury or died as the result of an accident or negligence, please contact our California law firm for expert legal counsel.