Statutes of limitations restrict the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit. In California, the statute of limitations for negligence is two years. However, if your injury was caused by a public entity such as a city or county government, California law requires that you file a claim with the appropriate government agency within six months from the date of the injury.
The statute of limitations for products liability cases in California is two years. The statute of limitations begins to run when the plaintiff has knowledge of the injury and suspects wrongdoing. The existence of such knowledge is a factual determination for a jury to decide. To do so, a jury will consider the facts of the case and decide when the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the injury. If the plaintiff did not have actual knowledge, then the jury must decide when a reasonable person “should have known” or suspected wrongdoing.
For a wrongful death action, California law requires a plaintiff to bring a cause of action within two years of accrual. For this sort of action, the date of accrual is the date of death. However, if the plaintiff is under the age of eighteen (a minor), the statute of limitations is tolled (suspended) until the plaintiff’s eighteenth birthday.
While two years may seem like a long time, it can actually pass very quickly. A person who is seriously injured may spend many months recovering, and when the injured person returns to "normal life," he or she finds that the pressures of everyday life have piled up. Readjusting to work or home life can absorb one’s attention for many more months.
A wrongful death situation presents similar difficulties. Following the loss of a loved one, people are likely to enter into a period of intense mourning and grief, during which time it is difficult to make important decisions and attend to affairs related to the departed family member. Family members likewise may be tied up in attending to business such as administering the probate and execution of the estate, which itself can take many months or a year or more.
In either case, if negotiations with an insurance company are on-going, the insurance company may drag out settlement talks until the statute of limitations period has passed.
If you or a loved one are injured by somebody’s negligence or by a defective product, you must contact an attorney immediately to preserve your legal rights. Once the statute of limitations has passed, a lawsuit cannot be filed. An experienced attorney will act quickly to investigate the facts of an accident, secure evidence which otherwise could be lost or destroyed, and take statements from witnesses who could disappear or whose memories could fade.
