California Personal Injury Laws and Liability Rules
Let's look at a few California laws that could have a big impact on any personal injury settlement or lawsuit after an accident.
The Filing Deadline for Personal Injury Lawsuits in California
All states set limits on the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit in civil court after you've suffered some type of harm. This kind of law is called a statute of limitations, and there are different deadlines depending on the kind of case you're filing.
In California, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases gives an injured person two years from the date of the injury to go to court and file a lawsuit against those who could be at fault. Basically, if you fail to file a personal injury lawsuit within this two-year period, the court will likely refuse to hear your case at any time in the future, and your right to compensation will be lost. There are special situations that might extend the deadline or affect when the statute of limitations "clock" starts to run.
The California statute of limitations for personal injury cases can be found at California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
California Shared Fault Laws
In some personal injury cases, the defendant may make the argument that the injured person is actually to blame (at least partially) for causing the underlying accident.
If you do share some level of liability, it can end up affecting the total amount of compensation you'll end up receiving from other at-fault persons and businesses.
In shared fault injury cases, California follows a "pure comparative negligence" rule. In basic terms, the amount of compensation you're entitled to receive will be reduced by an amount that is equal to your percentage of fault for the accident.
So, let's say you're in a car accident where the other driver blatantly ran a stop sign, but you happened to be driving a few miles an hour above the posted speed limit at the time. You might share 10 percent of the blame for the accident, while the other driver is 90 percent at fault. Let's say your losses (damages) add up to $10,000. How does your shared fault for the accident impact your compensation? Under California's pure comparative negligence rule, your compensation will be reduced to $9,000 (or the $10,000 total minus the $1,000 that represents your share of fault for the accident.)
Keep in mind that, while courts in California are obligated to follow this rule in an injury lawsuit that makes it to trial, it may be a different story if you're dealing with an insurance adjuster outside the court system. Don't be surprised if the adjuster raises the issue of California's comparative negligence rule during settlement talks, but you're free to negotiate what the impact of that rule should be on your claim.
Learn more about shared fault in personal injury cases.
"Strict" Liability for Dog Bites in California
In many states, dog owners are protected (to some degree) from injury liability the first time their dog injures someone if they had no reason to believe the dog was dangerous. This is often called a "one bite" rule. In California however, a specific statute (California Civil Code section 3342) makes the owner "strictly liable", meaning the dog owner is legally responsible in most situations where their dog bites someone, and no amount of fault or negligence needs to be shown. Specifically, the statute reads:
"The owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness."
Limits on Injury Damages in California
Here's a look at a few California laws that set limitations on the amounts (or types) of damages that are recoverable in personal injury cases.
No non-economic pain and suffering damages for uninsured drivers. California law prevents most uninsured drivers from recovering "non-economic" damages after a car accident, even if the other driver is completely at fault for the accident.
Non-economic damages include compensation for things like pain and suffering (this is typically the largest category of non-economic compensation), scarring, emotional distress, and inconvenience.
One key exception to this rule: The uninsured driver will be able to recover non-economic losses if he or she is in an accident with a driver who is operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and that driver is in fact convicted of DUI in connection with the accident. You'll find this law at California Civil Code section 3333.4.
Cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. Another key California law that places a limit on certain kinds of damages is the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), which places a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. California Civil Code section 3333.2.
加州人身伤害法和责任规则
让我们看一下加利福尼亚州的一些法律，这些法律可能会对事故后的任何人身伤害解决方案或诉讼产生重大影响。
加利福尼亚州人身伤害诉讼的提交截止日期
在您遭受某种伤害后，所有州都对您必须在民事法庭提起诉讼的时间设置了限制。这种法律称为诉讼时效，根据您提交的案件类型，有不同的截止日期。
在加利福尼亚州，人身伤害案件的诉讼时效规定，从受伤之日起两年内，受伤者可以上法庭，对可能有过错的人提起诉讼。基本上，如果您未能在这两年内提起人身伤害诉讼，法院很可能在未来的任何时候拒绝审理您的案件，您将失去获得赔偿的权利。有些特殊情况可能会延长期限或影响时效“时钟”何时开始运行。
加利福尼亚州人身伤害案件的诉讼时效可在《加利福尼亚民事诉讼法》第 335.1 节中找到。
针对市、县或加利福尼亚州政府机构的索赔。向政府实体提出伤害索赔的时限为六个月，索赔人必须遵守一套严格的程序规则。（加利福尼亚州政府法典第 911.2 节。）了解有关针对政府实体的伤害索赔的更多信息。
加利福尼亚州共同过错法
在一些人身伤害案件中，被告可能会辩称，受伤的人实际上应该(至少部分)对造成潜在事故负责。
如果您确实分担某种程度的责任，最终可能会影响您最终从其他有过错的人和企业那里获得的赔偿总额。
在共同过错伤害案件中，加州遵循“纯粹的比较过失”规则。基本上，您有权获得的赔偿金额将减少相当于您对事故的过错百分比的金额。
因此，假设您发生车祸，另一位司机公然闯入停车标志，但您当时的行驶速度恰好超过了公布的限速几英里。您可能会分担事故 10% 的责任，而其他司机则承担 90% 的责任。假设您的损失（损害）加起来为 10,000 美元。您对事故的共同过错如何影响您的赔偿？根据加利福尼亚州的纯粹比较过失规则，您的赔偿将减少到 9,000 美元（或总计 10,000 美元减去代表您在事故中的过失份额的 1,000 美元。）
请记住，虽然加利福尼亚州的法院有义务在进行审判的伤害诉讼中遵循此规则，但如果您与法院系统之外的保险理算员打交道，情况可能会有所不同。如果理算员在和解谈判中提出加州比较过失规则的问题，请不要感到惊讶，但您可以自由协商该规则对您的索赔的影响。
详细了解人身伤害案件中的共同过错。
加州狗咬伤的“严格”责任
在许多州，如果他们没有理由相信狗是危险的，狗主人在他们的狗第一次伤害某人时（在某种程度上）受到保护，免于伤害责任。这通常被称为“一口”规则。然而，在加利福尼亚州，一项特定法规（加利福尼亚州民法典第 3342 条）规定狗主人“负有严格责任”，这意味着狗主人在狗咬人的大多数情况下负有法律责任，无需证明有过错或疏忽。具体而言，该法规如下：
“任何狗的主人对任何人在公共场所或合法的私人场所被狗咬伤所造成的损害，包括狗主人的财产，无论其先前的恶毒行为如何，均应承担责任。狗或主人对这种恶毒的了解。”
加利福尼亚州的伤害赔偿限制
以下是加利福尼亚州的一些法律，这些法律对人身伤害案件中可追回的损害赔偿金额（或类型）进行了限制。
没有保险的司机没有非经济的痛苦和遭受的损失。加州法律禁止大多数没有保险的司机在车祸后追回“非经济”损失，即使其他司机对事故负有完全责任。
非经济损失包括对疼痛和痛苦（这通常是非经济赔偿的最大类别）、疤痕、情绪困扰和不便等事物的赔偿。
该规则的一个关键例外：如果他或她与在毒品或酒精影响下驾驶车辆的司机发生事故，并且该司机实际上是因与事故有关的酒驾被定罪。您可以在《加州民法典》第 3333.4 节中找到该法律。
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