California law gives extra time to someone who lacks the legal capacity to make their own decisions, and most families never learn that it exists.
Under Code of Civil Procedure 352, where a person was either under the age of majority or lacking the legal capacity to make decisions when the cause of action accrued, that period of disability does not count toward the deadline. For a family dealing with a serious brain injury, that provision can be the difference between a claim that exists and one that does not.
There is a hard limit on it. Subdivision (b) says the tolling does not apply to a claim against a public entity or public employee. So where a city vehicle, a public road defect or a public employee was involved, the six-month written claim deadline runs regardless of capacity.
But a missed deadline is not automatically the end. Under Government Code 911.4 a written application can be made for permission to present a late claim, within a reasonable time and no more than one year after the claim arose. Under Government Code 911.6 the board shall grant that application on any of several grounds, and two are directly on point: that the injured person was physically or mentally incapacitated during the claim period and for that reason did not present a claim, and that the person died before the six months expired.
Two further grounds matter here and are easy to miss, because they are the ones most people actually fall under. Government Code 911.6(b) also requires the application to be granted where the injured person was a minor for any part of the six months, or was physically or mentally incapacitated for any part of it, provided the application is made within six months of them turning eighteen or of the incapacity ending, or a year after the claim accrued, whichever comes first.
“Shall grant” is the statute’s word, not ours. In computing that one-year window, time during which the person is mentally incapacitated without a guardian or conservator is not counted.
Culver Legal, LLP acts for people with serious brain injuries and their families across Huntington Park on contingency, with case costs advanced. Nothing to pay up front, no fee unless we win. We advance the case costs, and if there is no recovery you are not charged those costs either. We speak Spanish. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour.
The Deadlines, Set Out Plainly
Two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1, in the ordinary case.
Paused during incapacity under CCP 352(a), where the person lacked legal capacity when the claim arose.
Six months to present a written claim where a public entity is involved, under Government Code 911.2, and the capacity tolling does not extend that one, though 911.4 and 911.6 provide the separate late-claim route above. Separately, Government Code 945.4 bars a lawsuit for money damages until the claim has been presented and the entity has either acted on it or is treated as having rejected it. A claim the entity simply ignores is deemed rejected once the 45 days are up, which is what allows the lawsuit to proceed.
And presenting the claim is not the last deadline. Once the entity mails or delivers a written rejection, Government Code 945.6 gives you six months from the date of that notice to file suit. If the entity never sends a written rejection, the period is two years from when the cause of action accrued instead. A claim that is ignored therefore leaves more time than one that is formally rejected, which is the opposite of what most people expect.
A claim against the City of Huntington Park goes to the City Clerk, 6550 Miles Avenue, Huntington Park, CA 90255.
The city’s Ordinance 624-NS, effective 15 December 1999, requires it to act on a claim within 45 days of presentation.
Not sure whether a deadline has passed?
Capacity can pause the ordinary clock, and where the six-month public entity deadline was missed there is a statutory route back.
What These Claims Are Actually Built From
The medical records are the starting point, not the case. What tends to decide a serious brain injury claim is documentation of how daily life changed, and most of it comes from outside a hospital.
Records from before the injury, which is the part people never think to gather. Work appraisals, academic records, pay history, and anything showing what somebody was capable of beforehand. Without a baseline there is nothing to measure a change against, and the other side will supply its own account of what they were like.
Employment records afterwards. Hours reduced, duties reassigned, roles that could not be resumed, absences.
Accounts from the people who see daily life. Statements from family, colleagues, friends and teachers carry real weight, precisely because they describe the person and their routine rather than offering an opinion about the injury, which is the clinicians’ territory.
The cost of what comes next, which where the effects are lasting can include care, equipment, therapy, adaptations and lost earning capacity. What that amounts to is established by expert evidence rather than asserted, and it is one of the case costs we advance rather than ask families to fund.
None of that is medical opinion, and none of it is ours to give. Diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are questions for the treating clinicians. Our job is to make sure what they find is properly documented, properly valued, and presented before a deadline runs.
Why an Early Offer Is a Problem Here Specifically
Every insurer makes early offers. On a brain injury claim the timing does something particular.
A settlement is final. It cannot be reopened because the effects turned out to be longer-lasting or more expensive than anyone expected. On a claim where the long-term picture is the whole value, settling before that picture is understood means settling against the lowest figure the claim will ever carry.
That is not an argument for delay. It is an argument for knowing what you are agreeing to.
Who Might Be Responsible
The responsible party depends on the event rather than on the injury.
- A car or truck collision.
- Being struck as a pedestrian, which in this city is the worst traffic category of all.
- An injury at work caused by somebody other than your employer.
- A fall on unsafe property, where the question is what the owner knew or should have known.
- A public entity, where the deadline is six months rather than two years.
Where Would the Case Be Heard?
Not at the courthouse in Huntington Park. Per the Los Angeles Superior Court’s own filing court locator for this city, an unlimited civil case, meaning a claim seeking more than $35,000, goes to the Norwalk Courthouse, 12720 Norwalk Blvd, Norwalk, CA 90650, and a limited civil case goes to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown. Since October 2022 the court has assigned newly filed personal injury cases to the judicial district where the incident arose.
Supporting someone with a brain injury?
The review costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Start gathering records from before the injury, not only after.
Huntington Park Brain Injury FAQs
My relative cannot manage their own affairs. Have we missed the deadline?
Possibly not, and it is worth asking before assuming the worst. Code of Civil Procedure 352 provides that where a person lacked the legal capacity to make decisions when the claim arose, that period does not count toward the limitation period. The important exception is that this tolling does not apply to claims against a public entity or public employee, where a written claim must still be presented within six months. If that has been missed, Government Code 911.4 and 911.6 allow a written application for permission to present a late claim within a year, and the board shall grant it where the injured person was incapacitated during the period and for that reason did not claim.
Can you sue someone for causing a brain injury?
Yes, where the injury was caused by another party’s negligence, and the claim covers medical costs, lost earnings, the loss of future earning capacity, the cost of ongoing care, and pain and suffering. Who to bring it against depends on how the injury happened rather than on the injury itself: a driver, a property owner, a contractor, or a public entity.
How long do these cases take?
Longer than most, and for a reason that works in your favor rather than against you. The value turns on long-term effects and long-term costs, so a case settled before those are understood is settled for less than it is worth. What drives the timeline is how long the picture takes to become clear, how many parties are involved, whether liability is disputed as well as value, and whether a public entity is a defendant, which adds a claims process before anything is filed. Nobody can honestly give you a number at the start.
What should I not tell an attorney?
Nothing. The conversation is confidential, and the facts that feel damaging, a previous injury, a gap in treatment, a share of the responsibility, are the ones most in need of proper handling. They surface anyway. Be far more careful about what you say to the other side’s insurer.
What does it cost?
Nothing up front. These claims are handled on contingency, so the fee is a percentage of what is recovered and there is no fee if there is no recovery. Case costs, which on a serious brain injury claim can include expert analysis of future care and earning capacity, are advanced rather than billed to the family as they arise.
Does immigration status affect the claim?
No. Under Evidence Code 351.2, evidence of a person’s immigration status is not admissible in a civil action for personal injury or wrongful death, and discovery into it is not permitted either.
Contact a Culver Legal Huntington Park Brain Injury Lawyer
If the injured person lacks legal capacity, the ordinary two-year deadline may be paused. The six-month public entity deadline is not, but where it has already passed a statutory late-claim route may still be open. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour. The review costs nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Culver Legal, LLP is a California law firm. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
