Los Angeles personal injury questionsFifty straight answers before you call.
After a Los Angeles accident you have three jobs: get examined the same day, report the crash on time, and say nothing to the other driver's insurer until you know how hurt you are. Two years is the deadline to sue for an injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, and six months to present a claim if a public agency is involved.
Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Reviewed
The answers below cover California injury claims: deadlines, fault, insurance, fees, medical bills and liens, what a case may be worth, and how a case moves from the first call to the check. They do not cover criminal charges, workers' compensation standing alone, immigration proceedings, or family law. Every legal statement names its source.
| Deadline | What has to happen | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 24 hours | Written report to police or the California Highway Patrol, if anyone was injured or killed | Vehicle Code 20008 |
| 10 days | SR-1 accident report form filed with the DMV, if anyone was hurt or property damage tops $1,000 | Vehicle Code 16000 |
| 6 months | Written claim presented to the city, county, or state agency involved | Government Code 911.2 |
| 45 days | The agency's deadline to act on that claim, after which it is deemed rejected | Government Code 912.4 |
| 6 months after rejection | Lawsuit against the public entity, once written rejection is mailed | Government Code 945.6 |
| 2 years | Lawsuit for an injury or for a death caused by someone's wrongful act | Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 |
| 3 years | Lawsuit for damage to your vehicle and the property inside it | Code of Civil Procedure 338(c) |
| 1 year or 3 years | Medical malpractice: one year from discovery or three from injury, whichever is first | Code of Civil Procedure 340.5 |
| Until the 18th birthday | A child's own injury clock is paused while the child is a minor | Code of Civil Procedure 352 |
The sources, in order: Vehicle Code section 20008, Vehicle Code section 16000 with the DMV's accident reporting page, Government Code section 911.2, section 912.4, section 945.6, Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, section 338, section 340.5, and section 352. A statute of limitations is the outside deadline to file a lawsuit. Miss it and the claim ends, whatever its merits.
The first 48 hours after the crash
What you do in the first two days shapes the next two years. The record you create at the scene and at the first medical visit is the one an insurance adjuster reads six months later. The step by step version is our guide on how to file a car accident claim in Los Angeles.
What should I do in the first hour after a car accident in Los Angeles?
Call 911 and say if anyone is hurt, because that call brings paramedics and creates a record that an injury was reported at the scene. Photograph both cars where they stopped, the plates, the lane, and the signal, then move to the shoulder. Exchange the information Vehicle Code section 16025 requires: name, address, driver's license number, vehicle identification number, and proof of insurance (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Get one witness name and phone number. Then go to an urgent care or an emergency room the same day.
What do I have to report, and how fast?
Two reports are legal obligations and they run whether or not the crash was your fault. Vehicle Code section 20008 requires a written report to the California Highway Patrol, or to the city police department, within 24 hours of any crash that injures or kills someone (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Vehicle Code section 16000 and the DMV require an SR-1, the DMV's accident report form, within 10 days if anyone was injured or killed, or property damage tops $1,000. Your own policy sets a third deadline for notifying your insurer.
What should I photograph and collect at the scene?
Photograph the final resting positions before anything moves. Then photograph both plates, all four corners of both cars, the interior if an airbag deployed, the skid marks, the debris field, the traffic signal, and any camera you can see mounted on a building or a pole. Photograph the other driver's license and insurance card rather than copying the numbers by hand. Get one neutral witness with a phone number. In our cases a single neutral witness settles a fault argument faster than any photograph does.
Should I go to the emergency room if I feel nothing yet?
Get examined the same day. Adrenaline masks pain for a day or two, and the injuries that show up later are the ones insurers contest hardest: whiplash, disc herniations, concussions, and shoulder and knee injuries from bracing. The gap between the crash and your first medical visit is the first thing an adjuster measures, and a three week gap is worth more to the other side than any argument they can make. Report every symptom at the first visit, not only the worst one. See our guide to car accident injuries.
What are the mistakes that cost people the most?
Five, in the order we see them. Skipping the first medical visit because nothing hurt yet. Giving a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer in the first week. Signing a blanket medical authorization that opens every record you have ever had. Posting about the crash or about anything physical you did afterward. Accepting the first offer before a doctor has said where you will end up. None of these can be repaired by argument later, which is why the fix is refusing them now.
Insurance companies and adjusters
The adjuster on the other side works for a company whose interest is opposed to yours. You have a contract with your own insurer that requires cooperation. You have none with theirs.
Do I have to give the other driver's insurance company a recorded statement?
No. You have no contract with the other driver's insurer, so you owe it no duty to cooperate, and nothing in California law requires you to sit for a recorded interview. The purpose of the recording is to lock in your description of the impact and your symptoms in week one, before you know what is wrong with you. Your own insurer is different: your policy's cooperation clause usually does require you to talk to it. We handle the recorded statement so the answers are accurate rather than improvised.
Should I sign the medical authorization the adjuster sent me?
Not the blanket version. A general authorization lets the insurer pull your entire medical history looking for a prior complaint about the same body part, which then becomes the defense. The narrow alternative is to provide the records that relate to this injury, for the relevant period, produced by your side. Insurers ask for the broad form because most people sign it. Ask what records they need and why, then send those.
The adjuster offered me money in the first week. Should I take it?
The first offer is a negotiating position, not a valuation. It arrives before anyone knows whether you need an MRI, an injection, or surgery, and a signed release ends the claim even if you need all three next month. In one truck collision case the first offer was $100,000 and the case resolved for $6,300,000. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and coverage. See our case results.
The insurance company denied my claim. What now?
A denial is a position, not a ruling, and it is usually one of three: they dispute fault, they dispute that the crash caused your injury, or they say the treatment was not reasonable or necessary. Each one is answered with different evidence. Insurance Code section 790.03(h) lists unfair claims settlement practices, including "misrepresenting to claimants pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions" and failing to act promptly on communications (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). The California Department of Insurance takes consumer complaints.
Can I sue the other driver's insurance company directly?
Generally no. Your claim is against the person who hurt you; their insurer pays on their behalf under their policy. Bad faith is a claim about how an insurer treated its own policyholder, so it belongs to that policyholder, not to you. What you can do is complain to the California Department of Insurance about the handling, and file suit against the driver before the two year deadline in Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
What if the at-fault driver has no insurance, or only the minimum?
For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, Vehicle Code section 16056 sets the California minimum at $30,000 for one injured person, $60,000 for two or more, and $15,000 for property damage (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). One night in a Los Angeles trauma center can exceed that. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is what pays the difference, under Insurance Code section 11580.2 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Underinsured coverage is reduced by what the at-fault driver's insurer pays, and you must get your insurer's written consent before settling with the at-fault driver. Details are on our Los Angeles car accident page.
Do I have to pay my deductible if the crash was not my fault?
If you repair through your own collision coverage, yes, you pay the deductible up front. Your insurer then pursues the at-fault driver's insurance company and, if it recovers, returns your deductible to you in whole or in part. That process is subrogation, which means your insurer steps into your shoes to collect what it paid. Going through your own coverage is usually faster than waiting on a liability adjuster to accept fault, and the property damage claim runs on its own three year clock under Code of Civil Procedure section 338(c).
Deadlines that end a claim
There is no single deadline in a California injury case. Several run at different speeds, and the shortest is usually the least known. A missed deadline is the one defect evidence cannot repair.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in California?
Two years from the injury for a lawsuit over an injury or a death caused by another's wrongful act or neglect, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Damage to your car and the property inside it runs three years under section 338(c). Those are outside limits for filing suit, not targets. Evidence disappears long before them: video is overwritten in weeks, and witnesses move.
What if a city bus, a county vehicle, or a state agency was involved?
Six months, not two years. Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim for injury or death within six months of when the claim accrues, which usually means the date of the injury (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). The agency has 45 days to act, after which the claim is deemed rejected under section 912.4, and you then have six months from a written rejection to sue under section 945.6. LA Metro states that claim forms "are only accepted in person or by mail" and that "any claims received by email will be rejected and denied" (metro.net).
How long do I have to report the crash to my own insurance company?
Whatever your policy says, and policies say "promptly" or "as soon as practicable" rather than naming a number of days. Late notice is a coverage defense, so the safe answer is the same week. Reporting a crash to your own insurer is not an admission of fault, and it is what opens your medical payments coverage and your uninsured motorist coverage under Insurance Code section 11580.2. Our guide covers the reporting window in detail.
What is the deadline in a wrongful death case?
Two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, which covers an action for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Who may bring it is set by section 377.60: the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children (their descendants), or those entitled to intestate succession (the people who would inherit without a will), plus certain dependent parents, stepchildren, and putative spouses (a person who believed in good faith that the marriage was valid) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). If a public entity is involved, the six month claim deadline still governs. See our Los Angeles wrongful death page.
What if the injury was medical malpractice?
A different and shorter clock. Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 gives three years from the date of injury or one year from when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury, whichever comes first (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Section 364 requires 90 days' written notice of intent before filing, and serving that notice in the last 90 days extends the deadline by 90 days (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). A malpractice claim runs on that separate track from the day of the treatment, so check the date before anything else.
Fees and what you risk
A contingency fee means the attorney's fee is a percentage of the recovery and is owed only if there is one. Case costs are a separate line, and the difference between the two is the most common source of confusion. The longer discussion is our guide to car accident lawyer fees.
What does it cost to hire a personal injury lawyer in California?
Nothing up front. Injury lawyers work on contingency, and our promise is no fee unless we recover. The percentage is set by your written agreement, not by statute. Business and Professions Code section 6147 requires the agreement to state the agreed rate, to explain how costs and disbursements affect the fee and your recovery, and to state that the fee "is not set by law but is negotiable between attorney and client" (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). An agreement that does not comply is voidable by the client, meaning the client can cancel it.
What do I owe if there is no recovery?
No attorney's fee. That is the fee promise on every page of this site: no fee unless we recover. Costs and expenses are a separate question from the fee. They may apply, and they are disclosed in writing before representation begins. Your written fee agreement is the document that answers it for your case, and section 6147 requires that agreement to spell out how costs affect what reaches you (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Ask the question before you sign, at this firm or any other, and get the answer in writing.
What are case costs, and what do they cover?
Costs are the money spent to build the case rather than the fee for handling it: filing fees, service of process, deposition transcripts, medical records, court reporters, and expert witness fees. In a case that settles early, costs are modest. In a case that goes to trial with treating physicians and a reconstruction expert, they are not. Section 6147 requires your agreement to state how those disbursements affect the fee and your recovery (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov).
Is there a cap on a contingency fee in California?
Only in one kind of case. Business and Professions Code section 6146 sets sliding limits on contingency fees in actions against a health care provider for professional negligence: 25 percent if the case resolves before a complaint or arbitration demand is filed, and 33 percent after (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). There is no statutory cap in a car crash, truck, premises, or dog bite case. In those, the written agreement is the only limit, which is why reading it matters.
Medical bills and liens
A lien is a legal claim on your settlement, held by someone who paid for or provided your treatment. Liens are why a large settlement can become a smaller check, and negotiating them is often the last work in a case.
How do I pay for treatment while the case is open?
In this order, usually. Medical payments coverage on your own auto policy, if you have it, pays medical bills regardless of fault and does not require you to prove anything first. Then health insurance, which will assert a reimbursement claim later. Then, if neither exists, care on a lien, where a provider treats now and is paid from the recovery. Los Angeles County Department of Health Services states that care is available to uninsured county residents "regardless of a patient's ability to pay" and lists a clinic line at 844-804-0055 (dhs.lacounty.gov).
What is a medical lien, and what does it cost me?
It is a claim against your recovery, held by a provider or a payer. Civil Code section 3045.1 gives a hospital a lien on "the damages recovered, or to be recovered" for the reasonable and necessary charges of treating injuries from the accident (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Treating on a lien gets you care with nothing due today, and it means the bill is paid off the top at the end. Liens are negotiable, and negotiating them down is part of the work of closing a case.
Does my health insurance have to be paid back out of my settlement?
Usually yes, and there is a ceiling. Civil Code section 3040 caps a health plan's lien at the lesser of the amount allowed by subdivisions (a) or (b) and "one-third of the moneys due to the enrollee or insured" when you are represented by an attorney, or one-half when you are not (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Being represented cuts the ceiling in half.
What if I am on Medi-Cal or Medicare?
Both have recovery rights and both must be addressed before a case closes. For Medi-Cal, Welfare and Institutions Code section 14124.72 makes a settlement, judgment, or award subject to the director's right to recover, meaning the state's right to be paid back, reduced by 25 percent for attorney's fees when the beneficiary pursued the claim and paid the fees, plus a proportional share of litigation costs (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). For Medicare, the federal Benefits Coordination and Recovery Center recovers claims "where the beneficiary must repay Medicare" (cms.gov).
Should I keep treating after I start to feel better?
Follow the doctor's plan, and tell the doctor when something improves. Two things get read later: gaps and stops. A gap in treatment is argued as proof the injury resolved, and an early stop is argued as proof it was never serious. Neither argument is fair, and both work often enough that insurers keep making them. If money or transportation is the reason you cannot get to appointments, say so, because that problem usually has a solution.
What your case is worth
Value is built from categories that a jury is instructed on, not from a multiplier. The Judicial Council of California's civil jury instructions name them: medical expenses past and future (CACI 3903A), past and future lost earnings (CACI 3903C), lost earning capacity (CACI 3903D), physical pain, mental suffering, and emotional distress (CACI 3905A), and loss of consortium (CACI 3920). The 2026 edition is published by the Judicial Branch of California.
- First offer
$100,000Recovered$6,300,000 - First offer
$31,500Recovered$1,250,000 - First offer
$0Recovered$1,000,000
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts, injuries, and insurance coverage. Amounts shown are gross recoveries before attorney's fees, costs, and medical liens.
How much is my case worth?
Nobody can answer that in week one. The value is the sum of what you can prove: medical bills incurred and reasonably certain to be incurred, earnings lost and earning capacity lost, and the human damages the jury instructions call physical pain, mental suffering, and emotional distress. Civil Code section 3333 sets the measure as "the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused" (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Until a doctor says where you will end up, the number does not exist yet.
Why will you not give me an average settlement figure?
Because an average of unlike cases misleads more than it informs. A herniated disc with surgery, a policy limit of $30,000, and a comparative fault argument produce a completely different outcome from the same disc with a $1,000,000 commercial policy and clear liability. Published averages are built from whatever the publisher happened to collect. We would rather show you the categories, the coverage, and the deductions, and let you do the arithmetic on your own facts.
What actually comes out of my settlement check?
Four things, in order: the attorney's fee set by your written agreement, case costs, medical liens and reimbursement claims, and any unpaid balances you agreed to pay. Health plan liens are capped at one third of the recovery when you are represented, under Civil Code section 3040. Medi-Cal's claim is reduced by 25 percent for fees under Welfare and Institutions Code section 14124.72. Ask for the disbursement sheet, the itemized breakdown of where every dollar goes, in writing before you sign the release.
Can I still recover if the crash was partly my fault?
Yes. California uses pure comparative fault, which means your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility but is never barred by it. Civil Code section 1714 makes everyone responsible for injury caused by want of ordinary care, "except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon" themselves (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Section 1431.2 makes each defendant severally liable for non-economic damages in proportion to fault, meaning each pays only its own share of the pain and suffering award (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). CACI 405 is the comparative fault instruction.
What if I was not wearing a seatbelt or a helmet?
It becomes a comparative fault argument, not an ending. The defense has to prove the belt or helmet would have reduced the specific injuries you have, which requires expert testimony rather than an assertion. Under Civil Code section 1431.2 the effect is a percentage, and under pure comparative fault a percentage reduces the award without barring it (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Riders should read our Los Angeles motorcycle accident page on how the helmet argument is run.
From the first call to the check
Most cases resolve without a trial. That is not a reason to build the file for settlement: a case an insurer believes will be tried settles for more than one it believes will be abandoned.
- 1Treatment first
We get you in front of the right doctors and take the insurer's calls. Nothing about value is knowable until a physician says where you will end up.
- 2Investigation
Photographs, the collision report, video before it is overwritten, witness statements, and the coverage on every policy that could apply, including your own.
- 3Demand
A demand is a written settlement package: liability, the medical record, the wage loss, and the number. It goes out after maximum medical improvement, the point where your doctor says your condition has stabilized, not before.
- 4Negotiation
Offer, counter, and the documented answer to every argument the adjuster raises about fault, causation, or treatment.
- 5Suit, if needed
A complaint filed inside the two year deadline in Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, then written discovery (formal written questions and document requests), depositions, and expert witnesses.
- 6Resolution
Settlement, arbitration, or trial. Then liens are negotiated, costs are itemized, and the disbursement sheet shows every dollar.
What happens after I call you?
We take the facts, tell you whether there is a claim worth pursuing, and say so plainly if there is not. If we take the case, the first work is medical, not legal: getting you seen and getting the treatment documented. We are available 24 hours a day at (424) 235-7879, and we usually respond right away. There is no fee unless we recover, and no attorney-client relationship exists until a written fee agreement is signed by both sides.
How long will my case take?
Medicine drives the timeline more than law does. A case cannot be valued before maximum medical improvement, the point at which your treating physician says your condition has stabilized. A soft tissue case that resolves with physical therapy may settle within months of the last visit. A case with surgery, or a disputed liability fight, or a public entity defendant, runs much longer. Anyone who gives you a date at the first meeting is guessing, and we would rather tell you what controls the clock.
Will my case go to trial?
Most do not. Cases resolve in negotiation, at mediation, or at arbitration, and a filed lawsuit still usually settles before a jury is picked. The reason to prepare a case as if it will be tried is that the settlement value of a file is set by what the other side believes happens if it is not settled. The California Courts self-help guide to civil lawsuits walks through the procedural steps.
Will I have to give a deposition or testify?
If a lawsuit is filed, expect a deposition: sworn questions from the defense lawyer, recorded by a court reporter, usually at a lawyer's office rather than a courthouse. It is the event clients worry about most, and it is usually shorter than they expect. We prepare you for it in detail. Testifying at trial only happens in the small share of cases that are tried, and you will know months in advance.
How is negligence proved?
Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care to prevent harm to others. Civil Code section 1714 states the rule: everyone is responsible for injury caused to another by want of ordinary care in the management of their property or person (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). At trial a jury is instructed on duty, breach, causation, and damages using the Judicial Council's civil jury instructions (courts.ca.gov). If the crash worsened a condition you already had, a separate jury instruction on aggravation of a preexisting condition covers it.
When do I actually get the money?
After the release is signed, the insurer issues the settlement draft (the check), it clears the client trust account (the separate bank account where client money is held), liens and costs are paid, and the balance is disbursed to you with an itemized statement. Insurers commonly take a few weeks to issue the check after receiving a signed release. Lien negotiation is what usually decides whether that takes days or weeks, and it is the last place real money is still on the table.
What working with us is like
Wise Personal Injury & Accident Law, APC is a Los Angeles personal injury firm founded by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California State Bar No. 328609. His background is on the attorney page, and how this site is written and reviewed is in our editorial standards.
Will Josh Kohanim personally handle my case?
Josh Kohanim, Esq., is the founder and trial attorney at Wise Personal Injury & Accident Law, APC, licensed by the State Bar of California under Bar No. 328609, and he is the attorney who reviews the content on this site. His profile is at the attorney page. Our attorneys handle every case from the first call through trial. Ask on your first call who will handle your file day to day and who will try it if it does not settle, then get that answer in your written fee agreement. Ask any firm the same two questions.
Do you speak Spanish?
Se habla español. The Spanish version of this site is at /es/, and you can call (424) 235-7879 or use the contact page in either language. If you would rather write than call, the form takes as much detail as you want to give it, and we usually respond right away.
Do you handle cases outside Los Angeles?
Josh Kohanim is licensed to practice in California only, so nothing on this site is an offer to represent anyone in a state where he is not admitted. Within California, our headquarters are in Tarzana, and the cities we publish pages for are listed on the locations page. Tell us where the crash happened on the first call, because that is what decides whether we are the right firm for it.
Can I change lawyers if I already signed with another firm?
Yes. A client may discharge an attorney, and the choice is the client's to make. What follows is an accounting question, not a permission question. The first firm typically asserts a claim for the reasonable value of the work it did, paid out of the same single fee at the end rather than added on top. Ask the incoming firm to confirm in writing that you will not pay two fees. Our contact page is here.
What should I bring to the first meeting?
Whatever you already have, and do not delay the call to gather more. The useful items are the collision report or the report number, photographs from the scene, the other driver's insurance information, your own insurance declarations page (the summary page of your policy that lists your coverages), the names of every provider you have seen, any letter or email from an adjuster, and pay records if you have missed work. If you have none of it, call anyway. Most of it we can obtain.
When your situation changes the answer
The general rules above are the floor. These situations change the deadline, the defendant, or the coverage, and each has cost people claims they should have won.
What if the person who hit me was driving for Uber or Lyft?
Which policy pays depends on what the driver's app was doing. Public Utilities Code section 5433 requires a transportation network company driver (the legal term for an Uber or Lyft driver) who is logged on but has not accepted a ride to carry at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $30,000 in property damage, backed by at least $200,000 in excess coverage, a second layer that pays above those limits. From the moment the driver accepts a ride request until the ride is complete, the required coverage is $1,000,000 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). See our Los Angeles Uber and Lyft accident page.
What if the driver who hit me was working at the time?
Then the employer's commercial policy usually comes into play alongside the driver's, and commercial limits are typically far above the $30,000 minimum in Vehicle Code section 16056. Establishing that the driver was on the job at the time, which the law calls the course and scope of employment, is the contested point, and the evidence is dispatch records, route data, delivery logs, and phone records. Commercial vehicle and truck cases run on the same principle: see our Los Angeles truck accident page.
What if I was hurt on the job?
You may have two claims running at once. Labor Code section 3600 makes workers' compensation the exclusive remedy against your employer when its conditions are met (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), but a negligent third party is a separate case. Under section 3852 the employer or its carrier may claim against that third party for what it paid (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), which is a lien on the recovery that has to be negotiated. Construction injuries are covered on our construction accident page.
What if the injured person is a child?
The clock and the paperwork both change. Code of Civil Procedure section 352 pauses the limitations period while the child is under 18, so the two year period generally runs from the 18th birthday (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). A settlement is not final on a parent's signature: Probate Code section 3500 provides that a compromise of a minor's claim "is valid only after it has been approved, upon the filing of a petition, by the superior court" (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Section 352 does not extend a government claim.
Does my immigration status affect my claim?
It does not affect your right to recover. Civil Code section 3339 provides that "all protections, rights, and remedies available under state law, except any reinstatement remedy prohibited by federal law, are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status" (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). Labor Code section 1171.5 says the same and bars inquiry into immigration status in discovery absent clear and convincing evidence that it is necessary to comply with federal immigration law (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). We do not practice immigration law and give no advice on immigration consequences.
What if I was hurt on someone else's property instead of in a crash?
The claim is premises liability and the contested point is almost always notice: whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and had a reasonable chance to fix it. The duty comes from the same source as every other negligence claim, Civil Code section 1714 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), and the deadline is the same two years. Sweep logs, inspection records, and store video decide these cases, and video is overwritten fast. See our slip and fall page and premises liability page.
What if a dog bit me?
California is a strict liability state for dog bites. Civil Code section 3342 makes the owner liable for damage caused by a bite in a public place or where the injured person was lawfully on private property, whether or not the dog had ever bitten anyone before (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). The money usually comes from the owner's homeowners or renters policy rather than from the owner. Our Los Angeles dog bite page covers the exceptions.
What if my own car was uninsured when I was hit?
You can still recover your medical bills and lost earnings, but Civil Code section 3333.4 bars an uninsured owner or an uninsured driver from recovering non-economic damages, meaning pain and suffering (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov). That rule is Proposition 213. There is an exception: an uninsured owner is not barred if the driver who hit them was convicted of driving under the influence. Tell your lawyer about the coverage gap in the first conversation.
What to do now
The three jobs from the top of this page do not change: get examined today, meet the reporting deadlines, and give the other driver's insurer nothing recorded until you know how badly you are hurt.
This page is general information about California law, not legal advice about your case, because we do not know your facts. Deadlines are why that matters: the shortest one here is six months, it applies whenever a public agency is involved, and missing it ends the claim. If you are near any date on the deadlines table at the top of this page, or you are not sure which date applies, call today. (424) 235-7879, seven days a week.
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