If you were hurt because someone else was careless, California law may let you recover for what the injury cost you. This guide explains how a California personal injury claim works from the day of the accident to the day money changes hands — including the part most guides leave out, which is what actually comes out of a settlement before you see any of it.
It is general information rather than legal advice for your situation. When you are ready to talk it through, call 650-250-0705. The consultation is free.
How Does a California Personal Injury Claim Work?
Most California claims begin as an insurance claim rather than a lawsuit, and many resolve without one being filed. You generally have two years from the date of injury to file suit under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. California uses pure comparative fault, so a share of responsibility reduces a recovery rather than barring it — there is no percentage at which a claim disappears. From any settlement, attorney’s fees, case costs, and medical liens are paid before the balance goes to you.
Key Takeaways
- Two years is the general filing deadline; the practical deadline for gathering evidence is far shorter.
- California is a pure comparative fault state — being partly at fault reduces a recovery, never eliminates it.
- A settlement is not what you take home: fees, costs, and liens come out first.
- Under the Hospital Lien Act, a hospital lien reaches no more than 50 percent of the money due under a judgment or settlement after prior liens.
- Claims involving a public entity run on a much shorter clock than two years.
What to Do After an Injury
The first days shape a claim more than most people expect.
Get medical attention. Beyond the health reasons, treatment creates the record that connects the injury to the accident. A gap between the accident and the first medical visit is the argument an insurer reaches for most often.
Document the scene while it exists. Photographs of the vehicles, the property, the hazard, the lighting, and the lane configuration — plus any visible injuries. Conditions get repaired and cleaned up quickly.
Get the report and the names. The police or incident report, any citation issued, and contact details for witnesses. Witnesses become unreachable within weeks.
Report the incident, but be careful what you commit to. Notifying an insurer or a property owner is usually necessary. Giving a recorded statement about how the accident happened, before anyone has investigated, is not required by law.
Keep everything. Bills, out-of-pocket receipts, the shoes and clothing you were wearing in a fall, the product that failed, and any correspondence from an insurer.
How a California Claim Moves
- Investigation. Establishing how the incident happened, who may be responsible, and what insurance exists. Preservation letters go out where evidence is held by someone else — surveillance video, trucking records, rideshare app data.
- Treatment and documentation. A claim cannot be valued sensibly until the medical picture is reasonably clear. This is the main reason cases take longer than people expect.
- The demand. A package setting out liability, the injuries, and the losses, sent to the responsible party’s insurer.
- Negotiation. Most claims resolve here, without a lawsuit.
- Filing suit. Where a fair resolution is not offered, or where the deadline requires it.
- Discovery. Records, written questions, depositions, and expert analysis.
- Resolution. By settlement — still possible at any stage — by mediation, or at trial.
Filing a lawsuit does not end settlement discussions. Many cases continue to negotiate afterward and resolve well before trial.
The Deadlines
| Situation | General rule | Source |
| Most injury claims against a private party | Two years from the date of injury | Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1 |
| Claims where a public entity may be responsible | A written claim generally must be presented to the entity before any lawsuit, on a timeline much shorter than two years | California’s Government Claims Act |
| Claims based on a health care provider’s professional negligence | Three years from the injury or one year from discovery, whichever comes first, with statutory exceptions | Code Civ. Proc., § 340.5 |
| Uninsured or underinsured motorist claims | Governed by your own policy, which commonly imposes its own notice and filing requirements | Your policy |
The second row causes the most damage. Public entities appear in far more claims than people expect — a transit vehicle, a pothole, a badly designed intersection, a school bus, a city-maintained sidewalk — and the claim window can close while a family is still dealing with treatment.
The practical deadline is earlier still. Surveillance video is overwritten, commercial vehicle records are disposed of in the ordinary course of business, roadway conditions are repaired, and witnesses become unreachable — all long before two years have passed.
How Fault Works in California
California follows pure comparative fault. Someone found partly responsible is not barred from recovering; the recovery is reduced by that share of responsibility, and there is no threshold at which a claim disappears. A person found mostly at fault can still recover something, reduced accordingly.
That is a meaningful difference from many states. Nevada, for example, uses modified comparative negligence, where a sufficient share of fault ends a claim outright — as our Nevada personal injury page explains. The same facts can produce very different outcomes depending on which state’s law applies.
Because reducing a recovery this way is the most common defence strategy across every practice area, a large part of the work in any claim is investigating and documenting how the incident actually happened rather than accepting the version an adjuster proposes.
What a Claim Can Cover
There is no preset value for any injury claim, and no attorney can responsibly quote a figure. California recognises categories rather than set amounts:
- Past and future medical expenses, including rehabilitation and ongoing treatment
- Lost income and reduced future earning capacity
- Property damage and related costs
- Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium, in claims brought by a spouse
Different rules can apply to particular claim types — for example, claims arising from a health care provider’s professional negligence are subject to statutory limits on certain categories of damages. Where an injury is fatal, certain surviving family members may be able to bring a wrongful death claim, which follows its own rules about who may sue.
What Actually Comes Out of a Settlement
This is the question people ask most and guides answer least. A settlement figure is not what reaches your bank account. In broad terms, the money is applied in this order:
| What comes out | What it covers |
| Attorney’s fee | A percentage agreed in the contingency fee agreement before any work begins |
| Case costs | Filing fees, records, deposition transcripts, expert fees, and similar expenses advanced during the case |
| Medical liens and balances | Amounts owed to providers, health plans, or government programs that paid for treatment |
| Net to you | What remains |
California caps hospital liens by statute. Under the Hospital Lien Act, a hospital that furnishes emergency and ongoing medical care to an injured person has a lien on any judgment, compromise, or settlement, to the extent of its reasonable and necessary charges — Civil Code section 3045.1.
A hospital lien is not automatic. Under Civil Code section 3045.3, it is effective only where the hospital gives written notice to each person known to be liable for the injuries, and to that person’s insurance carrier, before any money is paid to the injured person or their attorney.
And critically, Civil Code section 3045.4 limits what the lien reaches: where payment is made after that notice without paying the hospital, the payor is liable for the lien amount, or so much of it as can be satisfied out of 50 percent of the money due under the final judgment, compromise, or settlement agreement after paying any prior liens. In practical terms, the statute sets a ceiling on how much of a recovery a hospital lien can consume.
Separate rules govern health care plan lien claims under Civil Code section 3040, and government programs that paid for treatment follow their own recovery rules. Reviewing whether a lien was properly noticed, whether the charges were reasonable and related to the injury, and what statutory limits apply is part of what a lawyer does before disbursing a settlement.
Talking to Insurers
An adjuster usually makes contact quickly, often before the extent of an injury is known. A few things are worth understanding.
The adjuster for the other party represents that party’s insurer, not you. A recorded statement is not required by law, and what is said in one can later be used to argue an injury was minor or unrelated. An early settlement offer resolves the claim in full, including future care and lost income not yet quantified. And a request for blanket authorisation to your complete medical history is broader than a claim requires.
None of that means an insurer is behaving improperly. It means the interests are not aligned, and it helps to know that going in.
Guides by Case Type
Each page below explains how that kind of claim works under California law — the deadlines, how fault is decided, and what compensation may cover.
Vehicle and traffic
- California car accident — the 2025 minimum insurance limits, why your own UM and UIM coverage matters, and how fault is decided.
- California truck accident — the federal insurance minimums carriers must hold, the records they must keep and for how long, and who shares responsibility.
- California motorcycle accident — what the lane splitting statute actually says, the helmet requirement, and how insurers use both.
- California bicycle accident — the 2023 passing rule, where a cyclist may ride, and who the helmet law covers.
- California pedestrian accident — unmarked crosswalks, right of way, and what the Freedom to Walk Act changed.
- Uber and Lyft accidents — how the coverage period decides which policy responds.
Other injury claims
- California slip and fall — the notice requirement and the evidence that decides premises cases.
- California brain injury — why these claims are proven differently, and what establishes them.
- California defective products — strict liability, the two design defect tests, and the burden that shifts to the manufacturer.
- California dental malpractice — injuries from dental negligence, including nerve damage from extractions and implants.
- California wrongful death — who may bring a claim, and how it differs from a survival action.
Our California personal injury page covers the practice as a whole, and details about the office are on our San Mateo office page.
Talk to a Lawyer
These guides are a starting point, not legal advice for your situation. The firm’s personal injury practice is led by Alan D. Khalfin and Robert B. Vaksman. We work on a contingency fee: there is no upfront cost, and attorney’s fees are owed only if we recover compensation for you. The first consultation is free.
When you are ready to talk it through, call 650-250-0705 or schedule a free consultation.
This page provides general information about California law and is not legal advice; reading it or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
California Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions
Most lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Where a public entity may share responsibility, a written claim generally must be presented to that entity first, on a much shorter timeline. Claims based on a health care provider's professional negligence follow a different period under section 340.5.
Yes. California uses pure comparative fault, so being partly responsible reduces a recovery by that share rather than barring it, and there is no threshold at which a claim disappears entirely. This differs from states like Nevada, where a sufficient share of fault ends a claim outright.
A settlement figure is not what reaches you. Attorney's fees under the contingency agreement, case costs advanced during the matter, and any medical liens or balances are paid first, and the remainder goes to you. What that leaves depends entirely on the case, and no lawyer can quote it in advance.
Under the Hospital Lien Act, a hospital that provides emergency and ongoing care has a lien on a judgment, compromise, or settlement to the extent of its reasonable and necessary charges (Civil Code section 3045.1). The lien is effective only if the hospital gave written notice to the party alleged to be liable and that party's insurer before payment (section 3045.3). Civil Code section 3045.4 limits what it reaches to 50 percent of the money due under the judgment or settlement after paying any prior liens.
No. Most start as an insurance claim and resolve through negotiation without a lawsuit being filed, and many that are filed settle before trial. Filing suit does not stop settlement discussions.
You are not required by law to give a recorded statement, and it is reasonable to decline until you have spoken with a lawyer. Avoid speculating about fault or about the extent of your injuries before anyone has investigated, since an early characterisation can be used later to argue the injury was minor or unrelated.
Delayed or worsening symptoms are common and do not automatically defeat a claim. A gap in the record can invite an argument from the insurer that the injury is unrelated, which is why records created close in time to the incident tend to carry weight.
A different process applies. Under California's Government Claims Act, a written claim generally must be presented to the responsible public entity before any lawsuit, on a timeline much shorter than the general two-year period. Identifying which entity is responsible can itself take time, so these situations call for prompt attention.
It varies widely. Straightforward claims where liability is clear can resolve in months. Contested liability, multiple defendants, serious injuries whose long-term picture is still developing, and public entity involvement all extend the timeline. A claim generally should not be valued until the medical picture is reasonably clear.
Vaksman Khalfin, PC handles injury cases on a contingency-fee basis: there is no upfront cost, and attorney's fees are owed only if we recover compensation for you. Initial consultations are free.
