County crash guide
Car accident claims in Kings County
Most Kings County crash claims never see a courtroom. They are settled by letter between the injured person and an adjuster whose job is to pay as little as possible. You can write that letter yourself, and you can file suit here if the offer stays insulting.
Deadlines that end the claim if you miss them
- Two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in California, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Settlement talks do not pause that clock.
- Three years for damage to the vehicle itself, which is a separate deadline from your injuries.
- Six months to file a written claim if a city, county, transit agency, or the state was involved, under Government Code section 911.2. Miss it and the case is usually over before it starts.
Where a Kings County crash case is filed
Courthouse
Kings County Superior Court
Filing window
1640 Kings County DriveHanford, CA 93230
A crash that happened in Kings County, or where the driver who hit you lives there, belongs in this Superior Court. If you file, this is the clerk who takes your complaint, summons, and civil cover sheet.
Which court hears it depends on the money
Small claims
Up to $12,500Property damage and minor injuries. No lawyers at the hearing, on either side, and the hearing is usually set within a couple of months. This is where a denied bumper claim goes.
Limited civil
$12,500 to $35,000A real lawsuit on numbered pleading paper with a summons, filed against the driver. Insurance defense counsel appears for them, discovery is limited, and most cases settle before trial.
Unlimited civil
Over $35,000Surgery, long treatment, permanent injury. Full discovery, no cap on the award. If your case is genuinely here, talk to a trial lawyer before you file anything yourself.
Start with the demand, not the lawsuit
In Kings County, as everywhere in California, the sequence is the same: finish treating, gather the records and bills, then send a written demand that lays out liability, injuries, and one number. A documented demand with records attached is what moves an adjuster off a lowball, and it is the same package a firm sends before it charges you 33% of the result.
What the claim is actually worth
Medical bills and lost wages are the floor, not the answer. On top of those sit pain and suffering, future treatment, and the strength of the liability facts. California is a pure comparative fault state, so being partly at fault reduces the recovery by your percentage instead of erasing it.
Before you call the adjuster back
- How long you have to sue in CaliforniaEvery claim has an expiration date. Here are the ones that catch people.
- What a demand letter after a car accident actually isThe one document that moves an adjuster from stalling to making an offer, and what has to be inside it.
- How much is my California car accident claim worthThe pieces an adjuster adds up, what pushes a case past do-it-yourself, and the two rules that can wipe out value entirely.
Other Kings County cases we handle
Build your Kings County demand package
Answer the intake once and we assemble the demand letter, the damages breakdown, the records index, and the CCP 998 offer where it helps. $299 for the package. If the insurer will not move, the filing upgrade turns it into a filed complaint for $199.
file my case is a self-help document preparation service, not a law firm. Court addresses and deadlines change; confirm yours before you rely on them.