What is the deadline to sue for medical malpractice in California?

Under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5, a California medical malpractice suit must be filed by the earlier of three years from the injury or one year from when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, it. The one-year discovery rule controls most cases, and a section 364 notice served in the final 90 days extends the deadline.

The shorter of two clocks: three years from the date of injury, or one year from the date you discovered — or reasonably should have discovered — the injury. Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 runs both periods simultaneously, and whichever expires first controls, which makes the one-year discovery rule the operative deadline in most cases. Three tolling doctrines extend the three-year outer limit: fraud, intentional concealment, and a foreign object left in the body with no therapeutic purpose. Children get special treatment — a minor injured before age six may sue until age eight or within three years, whichever is longer, with birth-injury claims measured from birth. One procedural overlay changes the math: section 364 requires 90 days' advance notice of intent to sue, and a notice served within the last 90 days of the limitations period extends the deadline. Given the interplay, the practical rule is simple: once malpractice is suspected, the one-year clock is likely already running.

Authority: Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.5