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

Arya Firoozmand, Esq. — Founding Partner

Local Tarzana Injury Attorney · UCLA Law

Arya Firoozmand is the founding partner at L&F Brown. He grew up in Woodland Hills, up Ventura Boulevard from Tarzana, graduated from El Camino Real High School and UCLA Law School, and has spent his career representing injured clients across the San Fernando Valley.

The deadline to file a lawsuit after a Tarzana car accident is not something you can afford to guess about. Miss it and you lose your right to sue permanently, regardless of how strong your case is. Here are the deadlines that apply and the situations where they are shorter than you expect.

The Standard Rule: Two Years for Personal Injury

California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If your crash on Ventura Blvd or at the Reseda Blvd and US-101 interchange happened on a specific date, you have exactly two years from that date to file your complaint in court.

Two years sounds like a long time. It is not, especially once you factor in how long it takes to complete medical treatment, gather records from Providence Tarzana Medical Center and any specialists, investigate the crash, build a demand package, negotiate with the insurance company, and prepare a lawsuit if settlement fails. Cases that seem manageable on day one can run close to the deadline without anyone noticing until it is too late.

The Critical Exception: Claims Against Government Entities

If any part of your claim involves a government entity, the deadline is dramatically shorter and the process is different.

Tarzana is part of the City of Los Angeles. If a pothole, failed signal, defective crosswalk, or other road condition on Ventura Blvd, Reseda Blvd, or another Tarzana street contributed to your crash, the City may share liability. Before you can sue the City of Los Angeles, you must first file a government tort claim with the City Clerk within six months of the accident. This is a hard deadline with very limited exceptions.

For crashes on the US-101 near Tarzana, Caltrans may be the responsible government entity for freeway design or maintenance issues. Claims against Caltrans also require a government tort claim filed within six months, this time with the California Victim Compensation Board or directly with Caltrans depending on the claim type.

Missing the six-month deadline typically bars your government entity claim entirely, even if you are well within the two-year personal injury statute. The six-month clock starts running the day of the crash, not the day you hire an attorney.

Insurance Negotiations Do Not Pause the Clock

This is one of the most common and costly misconceptions about car accident timelines. Many Tarzana accident victims spend months negotiating with the at-fault driver's insurance company, believing that active negotiations somehow extend or pause the filing deadline. They do not.

The two-year statute of limitations runs independently of whether you and the insurer are talking, whether the adjuster has promised a decision by a certain date, or whether a settlement seems imminent. If negotiations drag on past the two-year mark without a settlement signed and money paid, you lose the right to file suit and the insurance company knows it. Some adjusters deliberately slow negotiations near the deadline to use this leverage.

The solution is simple: if your claim is approaching the two-year mark without resolution, a lawsuit must be filed to preserve your rights. You can continue negotiating after the suit is filed. Filing a lawsuit does not mean your case goes to trial at Van Nuys Courthouse West. It preserves your options while giving the insurance company a concrete reason to resolve the claim.

Special Rules for Minors

If the accident victim is a minor, the two-year statute of limitations does not begin running until the minor turns 18. A child injured in a Tarzana car accident has until their 20th birthday to file. However, the six-month government entity claim deadline is not tolled for minors in the same way. If a government entity is involved, the claim should be filed within six months regardless of the victim's age, or you need specific legal advice about applicable exceptions.

Tolling for Incapacity or Discovery

In limited circumstances, the statute of limitations can be tolled (paused) for a period of mental or physical incapacity, or when the injury was not and could not reasonably have been discovered at the time of the crash. These exceptions are narrow and require specific factual showings. Do not assume they apply to your situation without legal advice.

The Van Nuys Courthouse West Filing Process

If a lawsuit needs to be filed for your Tarzana car accident, it goes to the Los Angeles Superior Court, specifically Van Nuys Courthouse West on Erwin Street in Van Nuys. This is the civil courthouse serving the Tarzana area.

Filing requires a complaint, summons, and civil case cover sheet, along with the applicable filing fee. The defendant must then be formally served. Once served, the defendant has 30 days to file a response. The case then proceeds through a structured litigation schedule, typically involving discovery, depositions, expert disclosure, and eventually a trial date, though the overwhelming majority of cases settle before trial.

The filing itself is not complicated for an experienced attorney. What matters is that the deadline is met and that the lawsuit is properly served so the clock does not simply expire while the defendant claims they were never properly notified.

Do Not Wait to Get Legal Advice

The closer you get to the deadline, the fewer your options. An attorney consulted in the first weeks or months after a crash on Ventura Blvd or at the Reseda and 101 interchange has time to investigate thoroughly, build the best possible demand, and negotiate from a position of strength. An attorney consulted a month before the deadline is in crisis mode, trying to file a lawsuit before the window closes.

A Tarzana car accident lawyer can tell you exactly which deadlines apply to your specific case, including any government entity claims that may shorten your window. Our Tarzana personal injury attorneys offer free consultations. Call now so the deadline is never something you have to worry about.