How Long Do I Have to Sue After a Car Accident in Northridge?

Arya Firoozmand, Esq.

Local Northridge Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. A Woodland Hills native who attended nearby El Camino Real High School, he graduated from UCLA Law School and has represented injured Northridge residents throughout his career.

California gives you two years from the date of your car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. That is the standard statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1, and it applies to crashes on the 118, on Reseda Blvd, at the Tampa and Nordhoff intersection, and everywhere else in Northridge.

Two years sounds like a lot of time. It is not. Here is why the deadline matters less than the evidence timeline, and why the exceptions to the two-year rule could trip you up.

The Two-Year Rule

The clock starts on the date of the accident. If you were in a crash on the 118 near Balboa Blvd on March 15, 2026, you have until March 15, 2028 to file a lawsuit in court. Miss that deadline by one day and your case is gone. The court will dismiss it. No exceptions for good intentions or extenuating circumstances.

Filing a lawsuit does not mean going to trial. It means your attorney formally initiates the legal case at the Chatsworth Courthouse on Penfield Ave, which is where most Northridge civil cases are filed. Once the lawsuit is filed, the case proceeds through discovery, negotiation, and potentially trial on its own timeline. But if you never file before the two-year mark, you lose the right to sue entirely.

Most car accident cases in Northridge settle before a lawsuit is ever filed. The insurance negotiation process typically takes 3 to 12 months depending on the complexity of the injuries and the cooperativeness of the insurer. But the two-year deadline is the hard backstop that keeps the pressure on, and your attorney uses the approaching deadline strategically in negotiations.

The 6-Month Exception That Catches People Off Guard

If a government entity is responsible for your accident, the deadline is much shorter. If your crash was caused by a pothole on Devonshire St that the City of LA failed to repair, a malfunctioning traffic signal at a City-maintained intersection, or a dangerous road condition on a City or County road, you must file a government tort claim within six months of the accident. Not a lawsuit. A formal administrative claim with the relevant government entity.

This 6-month deadline applies to the City of Los Angeles, LA County, Caltrans (which maintains the 118), and any other government body whose negligence contributed to the crash. If you miss the 6-month window, your claim against the government is dead even though you technically still have time under the general two-year statute to sue other parties.

Road defect cases are more common than people realize. Northridge streets take heavy traffic and not all of them are well maintained. If there is any chance a road condition contributed to your accident, a lawyer needs to evaluate the government liability angle immediately.

Exceptions That Extend the Deadline

Minors. If the injured person was under 18 at the time of the crash, the two-year statute does not begin running until they turn 18. A 16-year-old injured in a Northridge car accident has until their 20th birthday to file. Parents or guardians can still file on behalf of a minor before that, and usually should.

Mental incapacity. If the crash caused injuries that left you mentally incapacitated, meaning you lacked the capacity to make legal decisions, the statute may be tolled (paused) during the period of incapacity. This requires medical documentation.

Delayed discovery. In rare cases where the injury was not and could not have been discovered until after the accident, the clock may start from the date of discovery rather than the date of the crash. This is unusual in car accident cases where injuries are typically apparent relatively quickly, but it can apply in cases involving internal injuries or conditions that develop over time.

Why Evidence Does Not Wait Two Years

Here is the part that actually matters: while the law gives you two years to file, the evidence that supports your case starts disappearing immediately.

Traffic camera footage on the 118 is typically overwritten within one to two weeks. CHP may have access to footage from Caltrans cameras, but if nobody requests preservation quickly, it is gone. The same goes for traffic cameras at intersections along Reseda Blvd, Tampa Ave, and Nordhoff St.

Business surveillance footage from stores and restaurants near the crash site is overwritten on regular cycles, sometimes as short as 72 hours. If a camera at Northridge Fashion Center or a business on Devonshire St captured your accident, that recording is not going to exist in a month, much less two years.

Witness memories fade. A bystander who clearly saw what happened at the Tampa and Nordhoff intersection will have a much weaker memory six months later, if you can even find them. Getting witness statements early is essential.

Medical documentation gaps. If you wait months to see a doctor, the insurer will argue your injuries are not from the crash. Continuous, timely medical treatment starting from Northridge Hospital Medical Center or your primary care doctor creates a chain of documentation that connects your injuries to the accident date.

A Northridge car accident lawyer who gets involved early can preserve evidence, request footage, take witness statements, and build the strongest possible case while the trail is still warm.

What Happens If You Wait Too Long

If you file one day after the two-year deadline, the defendant's attorney will file a motion to dismiss and the court will grant it. Your case ends. It does not matter how strong your evidence is, how serious your injuries were, or how clearly the other driver was at fault. The statute of limitations is not a suggestion. It is an absolute bar.

Even if you file within the two-year window but waited 18 months before seeing a lawyer, your case is weaker. Evidence is gone. Witnesses have moved. Medical records show a gap between the crash and your treatment. The insurance company uses every one of those gaps against you.

Take Action Now

If you were in a car accident in Northridge, the best time to talk to a lawyer is as soon as possible after the crash. Not because the deadline is imminent, but because the evidence is perishable. A free consultation with our Northridge personal injury attorneys takes 15 minutes and tells you exactly where you stand. No obligation. No fees unless we recover for you.