When you have been injured in a serious car accident, handling the legal side of the aftermath may be the furthest thing from your mind. Especially if your injuries are severe and you must remain in the hospital or stay in a rehabilitation facility for some time, you may not quite feel up to going to court. Paperwork might not seem so important when you are in pain and unsure whether your injuries will fully heal. Ideally, you would have plenty of time to physically and emotionally recover before needing to race down to the courthouse to file a lawsuit. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. California, like every other state, imposes rather strict time limits for filing a lawsuit related to a car accident. These time limits are referred to as “statutes of limitation.” These limits are one of the reasons that it is best to reach out to an attorney as quickly as you are reasonably able to after a crash. 

What is California’s Statute of Limitations After a Car Accident?

Under California state law, you will generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. This may sound like quite a lot of time, but in practice, it really is not. A lot of factors can slow you down after a crash. Anything from drawn-out efforts to negotiate without judicial intervention to difficulty in procuring evidence related to future expenses can delay filing for some. People with brain injuries or PTSD may need significant time to regain their memories of the accident or ability to testify. 

Are There Any Circumstances Where the Statute of Limitations Might be Different?

The statute of limitations can differ depending on the situation. Circumstances that can affect the time limit for filing a lawsuit after a car crash include: 

A little less than half of California residents rent their homes or apartments. Although many people choose to rent due to the costs of owning a home, renting can also be expensive. In fact, California has some of the highest rents in the country, responsible for seven out of the top ten expensive cities to rent in the United States. Many residents are considered rent-burdened, with 30 percent or more of their monthly income going to pay their rent. California does have a rent control law that some renters are fortunate enough to benefit from, but as a recent lawsuit shows, the law can frustrate landlords required to obey the law, and this can cause a great many landlord/tenant disputes.

San Francisco Lawsuit

The lawsuit involved a couple renting an apartment in San Francisco. The city has some of the highest rents in the state, with the rent for a two-bedroom apartment averaging $3,500. The couple filed the lawsuit in May 2015, accusing their landlord of subjecting them to months of harassment and erratic behavior. The landlord had purchased the property about a year before the lawsuit was filed.

According to the details of the lawsuit, the husband originally moved into the building in 1994. The two-bedroom apartment was under rent control, so this meant the rent could only be raised 1.5 percent each year. While the husband’s rent had only increased about 30 percent over the past 25 years, San Francisco’s rental average for a two-bedroom has increased more than 250 percent.