California Car Accident Laws: Fault, Insurance, and Your Claim

California is an at-fault (tort) state that follows pure comparative negligence, so the at-fault driver's insurer pays, and your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault but is never barred, no matter how high your share of fault.

Is California a no-fault or at-fault state?

California is a traditional at-fault (tort) state, and it has never adopted a no-fault or PIP system. When a crash happens, liability follows fault: the driver who caused the accident (and their insurer) is responsible for the other party's bodily-injury and property-damage losses. That legal obligation is grounded in Civil Code section 1714, which holds every person responsible for injury caused by their failure to exercise ordinary care.

Because California is a pure tort state, there is no statutory injury threshold that a victim must clear before suing for pain and suffering. You file a claim (or a lawsuit) directly against the at-fault driver's liability carrier. If that driver was uninsured or underinsured, you turn to your own UM/UIM coverage. No-fault and PIP are not part of California's auto-insurance landscape.

One important carve-out affects the uninsured themselves. Proposition 213, codified at Civil Code section 3333.4, bars a driver who was uninsured at the time of the crash, or who was driving under the influence, from recovering non-economic (pain and suffering) damages even if the other driver was primarily at fault. That rule is a coverage-eligibility bar, not a no-fault threshold, but it has real consequences for uninsured crash victims.

How fault is shared: California's negligence rule

California follows pure comparative negligence, the most plaintiff-friendly negligence system in the United States. The California Supreme Court adopted it in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975), replacing the old contributory-negligence bar with a proportional rule: a plaintiff's damages are reduced by their own percentage of fault, but recovery is never eliminated. If a jury finds you 80% at fault and the other driver 20% at fault, you still collect 20% of your proven damages.

This rule matters in everyday crashes. An injured driver who ran a yellow light can still recover from the speeding driver who hit them. A pedestrian who crossed mid-block can still recover from the driver who failed to yield. The at-fault driver's insurer will almost always raise comparative-fault arguments to reduce the payout, so documenting what the other driver did wrong is just as important as documenting your own injuries.

Pure comparative negligence is also why California claims sometimes settle differently than they would in modified-comparative states. There is no 50% or 51% bar that wipes out a seriously injured plaintiff, so insurers have less leverage to deny claims outright when the liability picture is murky.

Minimum car insurance in California

California's minimum liability limits are 30/60/15, effective January 1, 2025. That means $30,000 bodily injury per person, $60,000 bodily injury per accident (total across all injured parties), and $15,000 property damage per accident. Senate Bill 1107 (2022) raised these from the prior 15/30/5 minimums, which had been unchanged for decades. The limits are codified at Vehicle Code section 16056 and Insurance Code section 11580.1b. A second scheduled increase will bring them to 50/100/25 on January 1, 2035.

Drivers who prefer not to carry a liability policy may instead file a $75,000 cash deposit with the DMV, obtain a DMV self-insurance certificate, or post a $75,000 surety bond (Veh. Code sections 16054-16056).

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is not required but must be offered. Under Insurance Code section 11580.2, every bodily-injury liability auto policy sold in California must include UM/UIM coverage matching the policy's liability limits unless the named insured rejects or reduces it in writing. If you never signed a rejection form, your policy almost certainly includes UM/UIM. That coverage becomes your primary recourse when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little to cover your losses.

California does not require personal injury protection (PIP). Optional MedPay coverage is available from many insurers, but there is no statutory minimum or mandate.

How long you have to file: the statute of limitations

The standard deadline for a California personal-injury car accident lawsuit is two years from the date of the crash. That limit is set by Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, which covers actions for injury or death caused by another's wrongful act or neglect. Missing the two-year window almost always means losing your right to sue, regardless of how strong your case is.

Property-damage claims, such as a lawsuit to recover the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle, carry a longer three-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure section 338.

One critical exception applies when a government entity is involved. If the at-fault vehicle was a city bus, county vehicle, state car, or any other publicly owned vehicle, the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code sections 910 and 911.2) requires you to file a written tort claim with the responsible public agency within six months of the injury. Failing to file that claim on time can bar your lawsuit entirely, even if the two-year window has not yet closed. If a government vehicle was involved, consult an attorney immediately.

What a California car accident claim is worth

California allows injured drivers to recover both economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, future care costs, vehicle repair) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). There is no statutory cap on non-economic damages in ordinary car accident cases, unlike California's medical malpractice rules.

Pure comparative negligence shapes every settlement calculation. Insurers will investigate and assign a percentage of fault to every driver involved. If an adjuster concludes you were 30% at fault, expect an initial offer that already has 30% subtracted. Your job is to challenge that allocation with evidence: the police report, traffic-camera footage, witness statements, and accident reconstruction if warranted.

The reality of minimum-limits policies is also a hard constraint. Even a clearly liable driver carrying only the 30/60/15 minimum delivers at most $30,000 for a single injury. Serious fractures, surgeries, and long-term disability routinely exceed those limits. That is exactly why uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy matters: it provides an additional layer of recovery when the at-fault driver's limits are exhausted.

For a personalized estimate, use the California car accident settlement calculator to model how fault percentage, medical costs, and insurance limits interact in your situation.

What to do after a car accident in California

The steps you take in the first hours and days after a California crash can significantly affect your claim.

Move to safety immediately and call 911. California does not have a universal crash-reporting dollar threshold the way some states do, but law enforcement should be called to any crash with injury. A police report is one of the most important documents your attorney and the insurance company will use to establish fault.

Document everything at the scene before vehicles move (if it is safe). Photograph all vehicles, damage, skid marks, signals, and the road layout. Get the other driver's name, license plate, insurance company, and policy number. Collect names and contact information for any witnesses.

Seek medical attention the same day, even if you feel minor pain. Adrenaline masks injury, and a documented exam ties your injuries to the crash in the medical record. A gap in treatment is one of the first things insurers use to argue your injuries were not serious.

Report the crash to your own insurer promptly. Your policy likely includes a cooperation clause, and delay can affect your UM/UIM claim. However, do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurer without first speaking to an attorney. Adjusters are trained to elicit statements that reduce comparative fault to the other side's advantage.

Accept nothing before you know your full medical picture. Once you sign a release and accept a settlement, you cannot reopen the claim even if new injuries emerge. The two-year statute of limitations gives you time to understand your complete damages before resolving your claim.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Car accident law varies by state and changes, and settlement values depend on the specific facts. For advice about a specific crash, consult a licensed attorney in California.

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Sources

• Cal. Veh. Code section 16056 (minimum liability; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Ins. Code section 11580.1b (minimum limits per SB 1107; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Ins. Code section 11580.2 (UM/UIM offer requirement; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Civ. Code section 1714 (negligence standard; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Civ. Code section 3333.4 (Prop 213 non-economic damages bar; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. section 335.1 (2-year PI SOL; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. section 338 (3-year property damage SOL; California Legislative Information)
• Cal. Gov. Code section 911.2 (6-month government claims deadline; California Legislative Information)
• Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975) (California Supreme Court, pure comparative negligence); cite via Cal. Civ. Code section 1714 above

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Related:

• California Car Accident Settlement Calculator
• California Hit-and-Run Laws
• Car Accident Laws by State (Hub)
• California Statute of Limitations