The general rule: two years
Under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, an action for assault, battery, or injury to, or death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another must generally be filed within two years. This covers most negligence-based claims: car accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and premises liability.
Medical malpractice: a shorter, two-part deadline
Medical malpractice claims follow a genuinely different structure under Code of Civil Procedure § 340.5: the deadline is whichever comes first — one year from the date the injury is discovered, or three years from the date of the malpractice itself. In practice, this often means the effective deadline is considerably shorter than the general two-year rule, since the one-year discovery clock frequently expires well before the three-year outer limit would.
Government claims: a much shorter first step
This is the detail that catches the most people off guard. Before suing any California government entity — a city, county, school district, or state agency — a formal claim must first be presented to that entity within just 180 days (six months) of the injury, under Government Code § 911.2. This isn't the lawsuit itself; it's a mandatory administrative first step, and missing it can permanently bar the underlying claim even though the familiar two-year period most people have heard of hasn't come close to running out. See our full guide to California's government claims process for what happens after that initial claim is filed.
Wrongful death: two years from the date of death
A wrongful death action generally must be filed within two years, measured from the date of death rather than the date of the original injury, under the same general framework as Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1.
Minors and other tolling situations
California tolls — pauses — the two-year clock until a minor turns 18, and in several other real situations as well. See our guide to California's discovery rule and tolling for the full list of when the clock pauses.