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If someone else was responsible for causing your car accident, you may be able to seek compensation from them for your injuries and other financial losses.
However, you shouldn’t wait to take this action, as the statutes of limitations in the state of California impose deadlines for filing.
Missing this deadline could cost you dearly, leaving you to flounder your way through the debt the other driver negligently caused you to incur.
Understanding how much time you have to file is imperative for getting the compensation you deserve.
What Are Statutes of Limitations?
Statutes of limitations are essentially a fancier way of saying ‘time limits,’ and these are put in place to restrict the length of time a person can bring a legal claim to court.
In Los Angeles and all of California, the statute of limitations for a car accident case is only two years from the date of the accident for personal injuries sustained. If you are filing only for property damage, the time limit is three years.
Having statutes of limitations in place matters as they ensure that legal cases are resolved promptly. They also prevent the courts from becoming weighed down by too many old claims and protect the rights of those who are being sued.
How Do Statutes of Limitations Help Car Accident Victims?
While you may have to hurry to take legal action after your car accident, the statutes of limitations are beneficial to you as the victim in a car accident.
Evidence, particularly physical evidence like skid marks, may deteriorate over time. If traffic cameras or business surveillance footage recorded the accident, these recordings may be automatically recorded over, losing this piece of evidence forever.
By urging car accident victims to file lawsuits in a timely fashion under the law, they have proof of what happened, allowing them to recover compensation.
Another key piece of evidence that can be lost over time is witness testimony. Witnesses may forget important details when too much time elapses after the accident.
Some may move away and be hard to track down, while others may pass away, and their accounts of what occurred will disappear as well.
When Do Los Angeles Car Accident Statutes Start?
The clock for your car accident will start running on the date of your accident, and you will have two years from that date to file a personal injury claim.
If an accident results in the death of a family member, as a surviving family member, you will also have two years starting from the date of their death to file a wrongful death claim.
If your car accident was caused by a state or local government entity, such as a city vehicle, or due to improper maintenance of the roads, you will need to take action even sooner. You will have only six months to file your lawsuit to hold them accountable.
As mentioned, missing this window to file your lawsuit will mean that you are barred from seeking compensation for this event.
It should be noted that the statutes of limitations are different from the amount of time you have to contact the insurance company and file your initial claim, which should be done as soon as possible, ideally within 24 to 72 hours of the accident.
Potential Exceptions to Car Accident Statutes of Limitations in Los Angeles
While it is less common, certain exceptions may apply to your case that could allow you more time than the statute of limitations provides.
Claims Involving Minors Under the Age of 18
When a person who is under the age of 18 is involved in a car accident, the statute of limitations does not start right away. It will only begin on the date of the child’s 18th birthday.
Mental Incapacitation
Any victim who is rendered mentally incompetent will also have the statute delayed until they regain their capacity, as per the law.
Discovery
California’s statutes of limitations also allow for the potential of discovery, such as with delayed onset injuries or additional defendants.
It’s far more complicated, but essentially, if you discovered that your car had a defective part but had no way of knowing about it, and it contributed to the crash, you could hold the manufacturer accountable.
Ultimately, the statute of limitations is something that requires you to quickly get the ball rolling on your case. It is best to avoid issues by speaking with a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to determine how to proceed.