Key California rules at a glance
| Topic | California |
|---|---|
| Fault rule | Pure comparative negligence — recovery is reduced by your share of fault with no cutoff (Li v. Yellow Cab, 1975). |
| Injury lawsuit deadline | 2 years from the date of injury for most personal-injury suits (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). |
| Minimum auto liability | 30/60/15 — $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident bodily injury, $15,000 property damage, effective January 1, 2025 (SB 1107). |
| Auto insurance system | At-fault (tort). The driver who caused the crash is responsible; no mandatory personal-injury protection. |
| Workers' compensation | Temporary disability pays roughly two-thirds of average weekly wages, subject to statewide minimum and maximum rates adjusted annually. |
Fault and liability
California follows pure comparative negligence: your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, and there is no cutoff. A driver found 70% responsible for a crash can still recover 30% of their damages. The rule comes from the state supreme court (Li v. Yellow Cab, 1975), not a statute, and it applies across ordinary injury claims. The practical effect: fault percentages are negotiated hard in California, because every point is a direct discount — see how shared fault changes a claim.
Filing deadlines
Most personal-injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). Claims against a government entity — a city bus, a public road defect — carry a far shorter fuse: an administrative claim generally must be presented within six months. Property-damage-only claims have their own three-year track. Miss the deadline and the claim is over regardless of its merits, so treat two years as the outer limit, not the plan.
Auto insurance minimums
California raised its minimum liability limits for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 (SB 1107): $30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 property damage — up from the decades-old 15/30/5. California is an at-fault state: the responsible driver's insurance pays, and there is no mandatory PIP. Minimums remain low relative to real injury costs, which is why underinsured-motorist coverage matters here — and why the at-fault driver's policy limit is the practical ceiling in most claims.
Workers' compensation notes
California requires every employer to carry workers' compensation. Temporary total disability pays roughly two-thirds of average weekly wages, bounded by statewide minimum and maximum rates that the Division of Workers' Compensation adjusts annually. Permanent disability is rated on a schedule that considers the injury, age, and occupation. Settlements take two forms — Stipulated Award (payments plus open medical) or Compromise & Release (a lump sum that closes the case, including future medical) — and both require a workers' compensation judge's approval.
Using ClaimLedge for a California claim
California imposes no cap on general (pain-and-suffering) damages in ordinary auto cases, so the multiplier logic in the Car Accident Settlement Estimator applies unmodified — enter your actual fault share and the tool applies the pure-comparative reduction exactly as California law would. Medical malpractice is the exception: MICRA caps non-economic damages on a schedule that began at $350,000 in 2023 and rises annually, which is why the Medical Malpractice Settlement Calculator includes a state-cap adjustment.