How Long Do You Have To File A California Pedestrian Accident Claim?
After a pedestrian accident, most people are focused on medical care, pain, family responsibilities, and getting back to normal life. Filing deadlines may not be the first concern, but waiting too long can affect the ability to bring a claim or lawsuit. California generally gives an injured person two years from the date of injury to file many personal injury lawsuits, but that rule should not be treated as the deadline for every pedestrian accident.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents people injured in pedestrian accidents throughout California. The correct timeline can depend on the driver, vehicle owner, employer, government agency, age of the injured person, available insurance, and other facts. Some reporting or claim requirements can arrive much sooner than the ordinary lawsuit deadline. You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. There are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying pedestrian accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today for a free consultation.
California’s General Deadline For Pedestrian Injury Lawsuits
California Courts states that a person generally has two years from the date of injury to file many personal injury lawsuits. A pedestrian struck by a private driver may therefore fall under the two-year period in a typical case, but exceptions and different rules can apply depending on the circumstances.
The date of the collision is usually important, but identifying the correct people and businesses can be just as important. The driver, vehicle owner, employer, public entity, or another party may be subject to different procedures or timelines.
A lawsuit deadline should also be kept separate from insurance requirements. Reporting a collision, making an insurance claim, or complying with uninsured-motorist provisions can involve deadlines that are different from the time available to file a lawsuit.
For that reason, the general two-year period should be treated as a starting point for understanding California injury deadlines rather than a guarantee that every injured pedestrian can safely wait two years.
Government Claims Can Have Much Earlier Deadlines
Pedestrian accidents involving a government agency can follow a very different timeline. California Courts explains that a person generally must present a claim to the government agency before filing a lawsuit against that agency. For personal injury claims, that initial government claim generally must be presented within six months of the injury.
This issue can arise when a pedestrian accident involves a public bus, government-owned vehicle, public employee, or an alleged dangerous condition of public property. A collision occurring on a public road, sidewalk, or crosswalk does not automatically make a city, county, state agency, or other public entity responsible. The facts must support a connection to the government entity.
Additional deadlines can arise after the government responds. California Courts states that when a government agency rejects a timely claim in writing, a person generally has six months from the mailed rejection to file a lawsuit. Different rules may apply if the agency does not respond.
Because these requirements can begin much sooner than an ordinary personal injury lawsuit deadline, possible government involvement should be identified based on the facts rather than discovered late in the process.
Filing Deadlines Can Be Different When A Child Is Injured
California deadline rules can work differently when an injured pedestrian is a child. California law generally provides that when a person entitled to bring certain civil claims is under the age of majority when the claim arises, the period of minority is not counted as part of the ordinary limitations period.
That general rule does not mean every child pedestrian claim can simply wait until adulthood. Important exceptions exist, and evidence can disappear long before a court deadline arrives. Video may be overwritten, witnesses can become difficult to locate, vehicles may be repaired, and roadway conditions can change.
One important exception involves public entities and public employees. California’s general minority tolling provision specifically does not apply in the same way to claims for which the government-claim process is required.
Families dealing with these issues can learn more through DAG Law Firm’s guide to pedestrian accidents involving children in California.
Hit-And-Run And Insurance Claims Can Have Separate Time Limits
A hit-and-run pedestrian accident can create deadlines that arrive much sooner than the ordinary lawsuit deadline. When the driver cannot be identified, an injured pedestrian may need to determine whether uninsured-motorist coverage is available through a personal or qualifying household automobile policy.
California’s uninsured-motorist law contains specific requirements for certain claims involving an unidentified hit-and-run vehicle. The current law generally requires qualifying physical contact with the unknown vehicle, a report to the appropriate police, sheriff, or CHP office within 24 hours, and a sworn statement to the insurer within 30 days setting out the basis of the claim.
Whether uninsured-motorist coverage actually applies depends on the policy, the injured person’s relationship to the insured, and the circumstances of the collision. Other policy notice requirements may also need to be considered.
The fact that police have not yet identified the driver does not necessarily mean insurance questions should wait until the investigation ends. DAG Law Firm’s guide to hit-and-run pedestrian accidents in California explains these issues in greater detail.
The People And Businesses Involved Can Change The Timeline
The correct deadline can depend on more than the date of the pedestrian accident. A collision may involve a private driver, vehicle owner, employer, commercial business, rideshare driver, public agency, or another person or company connected to the vehicle.
For example, a driver may have been using a company vehicle or performing work at the time of the collision. That can create questions about the driver’s employment relationship, the business involved, and available commercial insurance. A public bus or government vehicle can raise a different set of procedural requirements.
A roadway condition can also raise additional questions when there is information suggesting that a traffic signal, crosswalk, sidewalk, or another public-property condition contributed to the accident. Government responsibility should not be assumed simply because the crash happened on public property.
Identifying the parties can therefore be an important part of identifying the deadlines. Readers can learn more through DAG Law Firm’s guide to who may be liable in a California pedestrian accident.
Medical Treatment And Accident Records Should Be Kept Organized
Deadlines are important, but medical care should remain focused on the injured person’s health. Pedestrian crashes can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal trauma, fractures, internal injuries, pelvic injuries, cuts, and other serious conditions that may require continuing treatment.
Medical records can show when an injury was identified, what treatment was provided, and how the person’s condition changed during recovery. Hospital records, imaging, specialist reports, therapy notes, prescriptions, and follow-up appointments may all become part of that medical history.
Other records can help explain the effect of the injury outside the hospital. Employment information may show missed work or restrictions, while photographs can document visible injuries, casts, braces, scars, and other changes during recovery.
Keeping these records organized does not change a filing deadline, but it can make the history of the injury easier to understand. DAG Law Firm provides additional information about common injuries in California pedestrian accident cases.
Photos, Video And Witnesses Can Disappear Before A Deadline Arrives
A person may still have time to file a lawsuit while important accident information is already disappearing. Surveillance systems can overwrite video, witnesses may move or become harder to locate, businesses can change ownership, and vehicles may be repaired or sold.
Photos taken near the time of a crash can preserve crosswalk markings, traffic signals, signs, debris, vehicle damage, lighting, and roadway conditions. Witness information may help explain the driver’s movement, the pedestrian’s location, or what the traffic signal displayed before impact.
Video can be especially useful when the parties disagree about a crosswalk, turning movement, pedestrian signal, vehicle speed, or right-of-way. Nearby businesses, apartment buildings, homes, buses, or dash cameras may have recorded part of the collision.
This is why the amount of time available to file a lawsuit should not be confused with how long useful records will remain available. DAG Law Firm’s guide to what to do after a pedestrian accident in California provides additional information about preserving accident records.
Insurance Negotiations Do Not Automatically Extend Court Deadlines
An insurance claim and a lawsuit are different processes. An insurance company may investigate the collision, request medical records, discuss responsibility, or make settlement offers while the legal deadline to file a lawsuit continues to approach.
Ongoing negotiations should therefore not automatically be treated as extending a court deadline. The same concern can arise when medical treatment is continuing. A person may reasonably still be learning about future care or long-term limitations while a separate legal timeline continues to run.
Early settlement discussions can create another issue because the full effect of an injury may not yet be known. Additional treatment, rehabilitation, work restrictions, or future medical needs may become clearer over time.
Understanding a settlement offer and understanding the filing deadline are separate questions. Readers can learn more about the factors affecting a claim through DAG Law Firm’s guide to how much a California pedestrian accident case may be worth.
Reviewing A Pedestrian Accident Early Can Help Identify Important Issues
Reviewing a pedestrian accident early does not mean that a lawsuit must immediately be filed. It can help identify the driver, vehicle owner, employer, government agency, available insurance, possible deadlines, and records that may need attention.
The investigation may include police records, photos, video, witness information, vehicle ownership, insurance documents, medical papers, and the location of the collision. Crosswalk markings, pedestrian signals, traffic lights, visibility, and turning movements may also become important when responsibility is disputed.
Early review can be especially useful when the accident involves a child, hit-and-run driver, commercial vehicle, public bus, government employee, or possible public-property issue because those circumstances can create additional timing questions.
The correct deadline should be determined from the actual facts rather than a general statement found online. California Courts itself cautions that statutes of limitation are fact-specific and can be difficult to calculate.
Resources And How DAG Law Firm Can Help
The general filing deadline for many California pedestrian injury lawsuits is two years from the date of injury, but that rule does not apply the same way in every case. Government claims can require action within six months, certain hit-and-run insurance claims can involve much shorter reporting requirements, and claims involving children can raise separate tolling and public-entity questions.
DAG Law Firm provides additional resources about what to do after a pedestrian accident in California, California pedestrian right-of-way laws, who may be liable in a pedestrian accident, and common pedestrian accident injuries.
Additional information is available about how much a pedestrian accident case may be worth, hit-and-run pedestrian accidents, California crosswalk accident claims, and pedestrian accidents involving children.
A pedestrian accident may require reviewing the collision date, police records, insurance information, vehicle ownership, employment relationships, possible government involvement, medical records, and other available facts. Which deadline applies should depend on the actual people, businesses, claims, and insurance involved rather than a generic timeline.
You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case. There are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying pedestrian accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Learn more about California pedestrian accident representation, call (323) 930-2020, or contact DAG Law Firm today for a free consultation.
