# Medical malpractice · California — Civil statute of limitations by state and type of claim

For Medical malpractice · California, limitation period is three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first; section is 340.5; how the statute describes it is In an action for injury or death against a health care provider based upon such person’s alleged professional negligence, verified against its source on 2026-08-25.

- **Type of claim:** Medical malpractice _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **State:** California _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Limitation period:** three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **How the statute describes it:** In an action for injury or death against a health care provider based upon such person’s alleged professional negligence _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Section:** 340.5 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> 340.5. In an action for injury or death against a health care provider based upon such person’s alleged professional negligence, the time for the commencement of action shall be three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first.

## Source

- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&division=&title=2.&part=2&chapter=3&article=

Last verified: 2026-08-25. Review by: 2027-08-25.
Part of [Civil statute of limitations by state and type of claim](https://referencesource.org/state-civil-statute-of-limitations/).