What Is a Statute of Limitations?

Everyone knows that when something bad happens to them, they typically have the ability to take legal action. This allows them to get compensation to take care of any bills that might have encountered due to the incident. What many people do not realize, is that there is a time limit for when they can seek legal compensation for different crimes.

This is referred to as a statute of limitations. Every single crime in the state of California has a statute of limitations. This means that a person has a set amount of time a person can seek legal compensation. After the time has passed, a person can no longer seek legal compensation for that incident.

The length of the statute of limitations is dependent on the crime or incident. Since the statute of limitations varies from case to case, it can be hard to give specifics. However, here are a few general examples.

• 2 years for injuries caused by negligence.
• 3 years for injuries that resulted from domestic violence.
• 3 years for medical malpractice.
• 4 years for a breach of a written contract.

Those are just a few examples of different statute of limitations within the state of California. For more specific information about certain crimes or incidents and their statutes of limitation, a person should consider seeking advice from an experienced lawyer.