After a serious collision, you may be facing medical treatment, missed work, and insurance questions. In addition, California law limits how long you have to bring a personal injury lawsuit. The Fresno car accident statute of limitations generally gives you two years from the date of the collision to file suit, although different rules can apply if the crash involved a public entity or another statutory exception.
Failing to file within the required time can bar an otherwise valid claim from proceeding in court. Our car collision attorneys can determine which timeline governs your case, preserve evidence, and evaluate whether additional procedural requirements apply. Dunnion Law has represented injured people for over 50 years, giving our team substantial experience assessing accident claims before critical filing dates pass.
California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 generally gives you two years to file a lawsuit for injury or death resulting from another party’s wrongful act or neglect. The statute of limitations for a Fresno car crash will usually begin on the date of the collision.
Two years can seem like ample time, but the strength of a case depends on more than filing paperwork before a deadline. As time passes, records can become harder to obtain, witnesses may be more difficult to locate, and owners often repair or dispose of damaged vehicles. Early investigation gives your legal team more time to assess fault and insurance coverage while documenting the full effect of your injuries before important evidence changes or disappears.
The standard two-year period does not resolve every timing question. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 352 can toll certain limitations periods if you were under 18 or lacked legal capacity when the claim accrued, subject to statutory exceptions. Other rules, parties, and circumstances can also affect the deadline calculation.
For that reason, calculating the applicable deadline requires more than counting two years from the crash date. We will review when the claim accrued, who may be legally responsible, and whether a tolling rule changes the analysis. Our team evaluates the filing deadline for a car accident in Fresno based on the specific facts of the case.
A crash involving a government vehicle or public entity can create a much shorter initial deadline. Under California Government Code § 911.2, you generally must submit a claim involving personal injury or death to the proper public entity within six months of accrual. That requirement can affect a Fresno car wreck claim long before the ordinary two-year lawsuit deadline approaches.
Cal. Gov. Code § 911.4 provides a procedure for seeking permission to present certain late claims, but strict timing and eligibility requirements apply. A late-claim application does not automatically preserve your right to sue. Identifying a liable public entity early therefore matters because the government-claim process can change both the immediate actions you must take and the time available to take them.
Our team treats a filing deadline as part of a broader legal strategy, not as the only date that matters. We evaluate the Fresno car accident statute of limitations in light of the available evidence and the parties who may be responsible, while insurance issues and special claim procedures can further affect our case strategy.
Since 1975, Dunnion Law has represented people injured in serious accidents, and our team brings more than 300 years of combined legal experience to that work. If you sustained injuries in a collision, contact us to discuss how to protect your claim before time limits affect your options.
