When you suffer an injury in California and it happened because of someone else’s negligence, you may want to pursue a claim against the person or entity responsible. You may feel particularly inclined to do so if your injury resulted in hefty medical bills or substantial time out of work, because you may find yourself struggling to stay afloat in the aftermath.
According to the Judicial Branch of California, you need to follow a strict timeline if you wish to pursue a personal injury claim against a person or business responsible for your injury. How long do you have to make such a claim in California?
Understanding the statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is the deadline to which you must adhere if you wish to file a particular type of lawsuit. When it comes to a personal injury claim, you have exactly two years from the date you suffered your injury to file a claim against the party you believe is responsible for it.
Understanding “delayed discovery”
In some cases, you may not realize right away that you suffered harm in a particular incident, or because of your use of a particular product. If a reasonable investigation would not have uncovered that your injury was the result of specific circumstances, the “delayed discovery” rule may apply. If this rule applies to your situation, you may have a longer time to file your personal injury claim than you would otherwise. Under these circumstances, you may have one year from the date you discovered or should have discovered your injury to file a lawsuit.