California Personal Injury Settlement Rules
California gives you 2 years from the date of injury to file, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. California uses pure comparative negligence, set by the 1975 case Li v. Yellow Cab Co., so your fault share reduces your award but never bars you. To an adjuster, that is the friendliest fault rule there is: a plaintiff found 80% at fault on a 50,000 dollar claim still recovers 10,000 dollars, and even a 99%-at-fault plaintiff keeps 1%. There is no cap on pain-and-suffering damages in ordinary cases. The one cap that bites is in medical-malpractice cases under MICRA (Civil Code 3333.2, as amended by AB 35). For 2026 the non-economic cap is 470,000 dollars for an injury that is not a death and 650,000 dollars where the malpractice causes death. Those figures rise every January 1 through 2033, then adjust 2% a year. The old 250,000 dollar cap still applies to cases filed before January 1, 2023. California is an at-fault state, not no-fault. The deadline that catches people out is the government one: a claim against a city, county, school district, transit agency or the state must be presented in writing within 6 months, not 2 years. The figures here cover ordinary negligence, and a serious or contested case needs a lawyer licensed in California.
California rules at a glance
- Statute of limitations
- 2 yr
- Fault rule
- Pure comparative negligence
- No-fault (PIP) state
- No
- General damages cap
- No cap on general damages.
- Medical-malpractice cap
- Medical-malpractice non-economic damages capped at 470,000 dollars in 2026 (MICRA), rising yearly.
The rules an adjuster applies in California
Statute of limitations: 2 years
You have 2 years from the date of injury to file, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. The 2 years run from the injury, not from the point of maximum medical improvement, so treatment that drags on eats the filing window instead of extending it. (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=335.1.) Two years is the ordinary negligence figure only. Medical malpractice runs on a different and shorter rule under section 340.5, and any claim against a public entity is gated by a 6-month presentment deadline long before the 2 years is up. Treat the 2-year figure as the outer boundary of the least urgent version of your claim, not as the deadline that actually governs it.
Negligence rule: pure comparative
California reduces your award by your fault share and never bars recovery, established by Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). At 10% fault you keep 90%, at 50% you keep half, and at 99% fault you still recover 1%. That is the comparative negligence rule in its purest form, and the personal injury calculator makes the same reduction once you select California. (source: https://bhlflaw.com/blog/how-comparative-fault-works-in-california-car-accident-cases/) Because there is no bar, a California fault dispute is always an argument about a percentage rather than about whether a claim exists. That changes negotiating posture: conceding you were partly at fault costs you a proportion of the value, it does not hand the insurer a complete defence the way it would in a contributory state such as Virginia or North Carolina.
Worked example: a 60,000 dollar claim at 30% fault
On a claim an adjuster values at 60,000 dollars gross, a 30% fault finding leaves you 70%, which is 42,000 dollars. California keeps paying well past the point where most states stop. At 80% fault you still collect 20% of 60,000 dollars, which is 12,000 dollars, and at 99% fault you would still collect 600 dollars. Compare Nevada next door, which uses a 51% bar: the same 80%-at-fault claimant recovers nothing there, and so does the same claimant at 51%. In California a fault percentage is a discount. In Nevada, past 50%, it is a wall. (source: https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CONTRIBUTORY-NEGLIGENCE-COMPARATIVE-FAULT-LAWS-CHART-2.pdf)
Claims against a public entity: 6 months to present
The Government Claims Act deadline is the one that quietly kills valid California claims. Under Government Code section 911.2, a claim for death or personal injury "shall be presented ... not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action." (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=911.2.) Presentment is a precondition, not a formality: it comes long before any lawsuit. Once the entity gives you written notice rejecting the claim, Government Code section 945.6 gives you only 6 months from the date that notice is delivered or mailed to file suit, and 2 years from accrual if no written notice was ever given. (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=945.6.) This governs city buses, county roads, school districts, transit agencies, public hospitals and state vehicles.
Discovery, and tolling for injured children
Code of Civil Procedure section 352 does not count time while a claimant is under 18 or lacks the legal capacity to make decisions: "the time of the disability is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action." (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=352.) There is a large exception. That tolling does not apply to claims against public entities that must first be presented under the Government Claims Act, so a child injured by a school district or a city bus does not get the benefit of it. Medical malpractice has its own rules: under section 340.5 a minor generally has 3 years from the wrongful act, and a child under six has 3 years or until their eighth birthday, whichever is longer. (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=340.5.)
General damages cap: none
California has no cap on non-economic damages in ordinary personal injury cases. A jury valuing a spinal fusion, a traumatic brain injury or a permanent limp is not working against a statutory ceiling, so the fight is about evidence rather than arithmetic. (source: https://antonyanmiranda.com/personal-injury-lawyer/slip-and-fall-lawyer/) The only cap in California injury law is the medical-malpractice MICRA cap, and even that reaches non-economic damages alone. If your case is an ordinary car crash, slip and fall, dog bite or product injury, no cap applies to it at all, and multiplier-based valuation runs without a ceiling.
Medical-malpractice cap: MICRA, and what it does not touch
For 2026 the non-economic caps are 470,000 dollars for injury (non-death) and 650,000 dollars for wrongful death, under Civil Code 3333.2 as amended by AB 35. They rise every January 1, by 40,000 dollars for injury and 50,000 dollars for wrongful death, through 2033, reaching 750,000 dollars and 1,000,000 dollars, then adjust 2% a year from 2034. On January 1, 2027 they step to 510,000 dollars and 700,000 dollars. MICRA is the only damage cap California applies, and it reaches non-economic damages alone, so medical bills, future care and lost earnings are not limited by it at all. The old 250,000 dollar cap still governs cases filed before January 1, 2023. (source: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-does-the-micra-damage-cap-affect-california-medical-malpractice-case.html) (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=3333.2.)
Medical malpractice: a shorter clock and a 90-day notice
Malpractice does not get the ordinary 2 years. Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 sets "three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first," with the 3-year outer limit extended only for fraud, intentional concealment, or a foreign body left in the body with no therapeutic purpose. (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=340.5.) Separately, section 364 bars any action against a health care provider unless the defendant has had at least 90 days' notice of intent to sue, and serving that notice inside the final 90 days of the limitation period extends the deadline by 90 days from service. (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=364.)
No-fault: no
California is an at-fault (tort) state, so the at-fault driver or insurer is pursued directly and there is no statutory injury threshold standing between you and a pain-and-suffering claim. (source: https://antonyanmiranda.com/personal-injury-lawyer/slip-and-fall-lawyer/) That matters more than it sounds. In Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey a claimant with genuine soft-tissue injuries can be barred from non-economic damages entirely by a threshold test. A California claimant with the same injuries has a claim from day one and argues about its size, which is why car accident settlement valuation in California turns on documentation rather than on qualifying.
State quirk: strict-liability dog bites
Dog bites are strict liability under Civil Code section 3342, so an owner is liable for a bite in a public place or where the victim was lawfully on private property, with no "one bite" defense and no need to prove the dog had ever shown aggression before. (source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=3342.&lawCode=CIV) Unlike Arizona, California does not shorten the filing window for the statutory bite claim, so the ordinary 2 years under section 335.1 applies. Pure comparative fault still operates, so a victim who provoked the animal or ignored a warning sign sees a percentage reduction rather than a dismissal.
Estimate a California settlement
Preset to California rules. The pure comparative negligence rule is applied automatically.
Negotiation range
Low, likely, highWhat the settlement is made of
- Economic damages kept$9,70029%
- Pain and suffering kept$24,25071%
- Removed by fault and caps$00%
The ring is the gross claim of $33,950. The two kept arcs sum to the net figure in the centre, and the red arc is what comparative fault and statutory caps take away.
Settlement breakdown
Gross $33,950| Component | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | $6,500 | 19.1% |
| Lost wages | $3,200 | 9.4% |
| Economic damages | $9,700 | 28.6% |
| Pain and suffering (2.5x economic) | $24,250 | 71.4% |
| Comparative-fault reduction (0%) | $0 | 0.0% |
| Likely settlement | $33,950 | 100.0% |
Share is measured against the gross claim of $33,950. Method: multiplier method, industry standard. Estimate for negotiation, not legal advice.
Rules applied
CA- Negligence rule
- Pure comparative negligence
- Statute of limitations
- 2 years
- Non-economic cap
- None modeled
- Method
- Multiplier, 2.5x
Estimate only, not legal advice. The legal rules this calculator applies, each state's statute of limitations, comparative-negligence rule, and damage caps, are taken from official state statutes and US government sources, and every figure is cited inline so you can check it against the original. The multiplier method itself is the industry-standard approach bodily-injury adjusters use internally to set claim reserves, so treat the result as a negotiating benchmark rather than a promise: a real settlement still moves with insurer behavior, the strength of your evidence, and the jurisdiction you file in. Your figures stay on your device. Nothing you type is sent to a server, logged, or shared, and it clears when you close the tab. Take these numbers to a personal-injury attorney licensed in your state before you accept or reject any offer, especially for catastrophic injury or amounts above $50,000.
California settlement questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in California?
2 years from the date of injury, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. A claim filed after the deadline is time-barred and uncollectable. Medical malpractice and claims against public entities run on shorter, different clocks.
Does partial fault reduce my settlement in California?
Yes, but it never bars you. Under pure comparative negligence a 30% fault finding trims a 40,000 dollar value to 28,000 dollars, and you can recover even if you were 99% at fault.
How long do I have to file a claim against a city or the state of California?
Six months. Government Code section 911.2 requires a claim for death or personal injury to be presented no later than six months after the cause of action accrues. After a written rejection, section 945.6 gives you only six months from that notice to file suit.
What is the MICRA cap in California for 2026?
In 2026 the medical-malpractice non-economic cap is 470,000 dollars for injury and 650,000 dollars for wrongful death. It only applies to malpractice claims, not ordinary injury, and it rises each January 1, reaching 510,000 dollars and 700,000 dollars on January 1, 2027.
Does the MICRA cap limit my medical bills or lost wages?
No. MICRA caps non-economic damages only. Medical bills, future care costs and lost earnings are recoverable in full in a California malpractice case regardless of the cap.
How long do I have to sue a doctor in California?
Three years from the date of injury or one year from when you discovered or should have discovered it, whichever comes first, under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5. You must also give the provider at least 90 days' notice of intent to sue under section 364.
Is there a cap on pain and suffering in an ordinary California injury case?
No. Outside medical malpractice, California has no cap on non-economic damages, so a jury can award pain-and-suffering in any amount it finds reasonable.
Does the deadline pause for an injured child in California?
Usually. Code of Civil Procedure section 352 excludes the time a claimant is under 18 from the limitation period, but that tolling does not apply to claims that must first be presented to a public entity, and malpractice claims by minors follow section 340.5 instead.
About the editorial team
The PersonalInjuryCalculator.us editorial team documents how US insurance carriers value personal-injury claims and turns that into plain-English calculators and explainers. Every dollar range, multiplier, filing deadline, and damages cap published here is traced back to a named source. The team is not a law firm and includes no attorneys, so nothing on this site is legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney in your state for serious or contested cases.
Sources
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 335.1 (statute of limitations)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 340.5 (medical malpractice limitations)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 364 (90-day notice of intent)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 352 (minority and incapacity tolling)
- Cal. Gov. Code 911.2 (6-month claim presentment)
- Cal. Gov. Code 945.6 (time to sue a public entity)
- Cal. Civ. Code 3333.2 (MICRA)
- Nolo: MICRA cap explained
- Cal. Civ. Code 3342 (dog bites)
- Matthiesen Wickert and Lehrer 50-state comparative fault chart
- Comparative fault in California car accident cases
- California no-cap overview (ordinary injury)