Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Published · Reviewed
Quick questions
What decides a car accident claim in Los Angeles?
Two questions decide most Los Angeles car accident claims: who is legally responsible, and how much insurance stands behind that person. The number at the end is usually set by the coverage available, not by the injury. We represent people hurt in passenger vehicle collisions in Los Angeles County, and the family members handling the claim while they treat.
Trucks, motorcycles, rideshare vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians raise different rules. Those are on our pages for truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, Uber and Lyft crashes, bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents. Everything below is the passenger car case: fault, the deadlines, which policy pays, what the case may be worth, and what happens when you call.
What should I do in the first 72 hours?
- 1Call 911 and say someone is hurt
Saying it brings paramedics and creates the first record of an injury.
- 2Photograph the cars where they stopped
Both plates, both bumpers, the gap between them, the lane, the signal and the skid marks.
- 3Exchange what the Vehicle Code requires
Name, address, license number, vehicle identification number and proof of insurance, under Vehicle Code 16025.
- 4Get one witness
A first name and a phone number ends a fault argument faster than a diagram.
- 5Get examined the same day
List every part of your body that hurts, not only the worst one. Adjusters measure the gap in treatment.
- 6File the two government reports
The CHP (California Highway Patrol) or city police within 24 hours if anyone was hurt. Form SR-1 to the DMV within 10 days.
Which reports does California require after a crash?
Three reporting duties are often confused. Vehicle Code 20008 requires a written report to the CHP or city police within 24 hours of a crash that injures or kills anyone. Vehicle Code 16000 requires form SR-1, the DMV's accident report, within 10 days when anyone is hurt or damage passes $1,000. Notice to your own insurer carries no statutory deadline. The policy sets it, as our guide on reporting a crash to your insurance company explains.
A fourth duty applies only when the driver is never identified, and it is the tightest: a police report within 24 hours and a sworn statement within 30 days. It is covered on hit and run accidents. For the claim itself, start with how to file a car accident claim in Los Angeles.
Is California a no fault state?
No. California decides who pays by fault, and the at fault driver's liability insurer pays the claim. No state law here makes your own insurer cover treatment first regardless of cause. Bodily injury liability coverage is the part of the at fault driver's policy that pays for harm to other people. Some pages still call California a no fault state, and that error points a reader at the wrong insurance company.
| What is decided | California, at fault | A no fault system |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays the first bills | Health insurance, med pay, or a provider lien | Your own injury protection coverage |
| Pain and suffering | Claimed from the driver who caused it | Only above the state's threshold |
| If the other driver is uninsured | Your uninsured motorist coverage | Your own coverage, within its limit |
How is fault proved after a Los Angeles car accident?
The rule is a single sentence. Civil Code 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for an injury caused to another by want of ordinary care. The traffic statutes give that sentence content, including Vehicle Code 21703 on following too closely and Vehicle Code 22350, the basic speed law.
What evidence proves who was at fault?
A Los Angeles jury hears numbered instructions from the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI): 400 for the elements of negligence, 700 for the driver's duty and 706 for the basic speed law. CACI 418 ends most arguments, because a driver who broke a safety statute is presumed negligent. The evidence usually comes from four places:
- The collision report, which records an officer's opinion and binds nobody.
- Scene photographs, taken in the first minutes, which settle arguments that would otherwise run for months.
- The event data recorder in the car, holding speed, braking and throttle before impact.
- Storefront and doorbell video, which overwrites itself in days.
An officer who arrived afterward writes an opinion from statements and skid marks. We have had files where the report named our client and the video did not. Rear-end impacts are covered in who is at fault in a rear-end collision.
What if I was partly at fault?
You still recover, reduced by your share. Pure comparative fault gives each person a percentage of responsibility and reduces the injured person's damages by that percentage, with no cutoff. California adopted it in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., decided March 31, 1975. CACI 405 and 406 put it to a jury.
The arithmetic is plain. A jury values the harm at $100,000, finds you 20 percent responsible, and the judgment is $80,000. At 60 percent it is $40,000, which still gets paid. No rule bars a claim because the injured person carried most of the blame. An adjuster who assigns you 30 percent is taking a negotiating position, not stating a legal conclusion, and the number usually arrives before anyone has watched the video. Our guide on maximizing a settlement covers what moves it back.
What if more than one driver caused the crash?
With more than one defendant, Civil Code 1431.2, adopted as Proposition 51, splits the verdict. Economic damages stay joint, so any one defendant can be made to pay all of them. Non-economic damages are several, so each defendant pays only its own share of the pain and suffering. That split is why we identify every responsible party before the demand goes out.
Who pays besides the driver who hit me?
When the driver carries minimum limits, the case is only as large as the next defendant you can reach. California supplies several, and one is capped in a way that is often misstated. Finding every responsible party is the first thing we do after the medical records start, because the answer sets the ceiling on the whole claim.
| Who else may owe you | The theory | The ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| The employer, if the driver was working | Respondeat superior (employer liability for an employee), CACI 3720 | The employer's policy, no cap |
| The owner who lent the car | Permissive use, CACI 720 | $15,000 / $30,000 / $5,000, Vehicle Code 17151 |
| The owner who gave keys to an unfit driver | Negligent entrustment, CACI 724 | No cap, the owner's own conduct is the claim |
| A city, a county, the state, or Caltrans | Dangerous condition, Government Code 835 | Six month claim deadline, Government Code 911.2 |
| A parts, tire, or restraint maker | Product liability | Preserve the vehicle before salvage |
Can the owner of the car be made to pay?
Only within a cap, unless the owner was careless with the keys. Vehicle Code 17151 limits an owner's liability for merely lending the car to $15,000 for one person, $30,000 for more than one, and $5,000 for property. A common claim is that the registered owner answers for the whole verdict. That holds only where the owner handed the keys to someone unfit to drive, which is negligent entrustment and carries no cap.
What if a city street or a Metro bus was involved?
Government Code 835 makes a public entity liable for a dangerous condition of its property. Liability requires that the condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of that injury, and that an employee created it or the entity had notice in time to fix it. The claim deadline is six months, not two years. The freeway version is on Los Angeles freeway accidents.
How long do I have to sue in California?
| What you are doing | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Injury crash report to police | 24 hours | Vehicle Code 20008 |
| Form SR-1 to the DMV | 10 days | Vehicle Code 16000 |
| Notice to your own insurer | No statute, the policy controls | Your policy's notice terms |
| Written claim to a public entity | 6 months from accrual | Government Code 911.2 |
| Suit after a written rejection of that claim | 6 months from mailing | Government Code 945.6(a)(1) |
| Suit where no rejection notice was given | 2 years from accrual | Government Code 945.6(a)(2) |
| Lawsuit for the injury or a death | 2 years | Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 |
| Uninsured motorist: sue, settle, or demand arbitration | 2 years from the crash | Insurance Code 11580.2 |
Two years from the crash for the injury or a death, under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. The three Government Code rows are the government claim sequence. Present the claim within six months under Government Code 911.2. The entity's board has 45 days to act, and silence is a rejection on the last day under Government Code 912.4. Government Code 945.6 then allows six months from a mailed rejection.
Why is the government deadline six months?
Which insurance policy pays for my injuries?
What are California's minimum insurance limits?
| Situation | Coverage that responds | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other driver at fault and insured | Their bodily injury liability | $30,000 per person, $60,000 per crash | Vehicle Code 16056 |
| Other driver had no insurance | Your uninsured motorist coverage | Your liability limits unless waived in writing | Insurance Code 11580.2 |
| Their limits are too small | Your underinsured motorist coverage | The difference, not the full amount | Insurance Code 11580.2 |
| Driver fled and was never found | Your uninsured motorist coverage | Contact, 24 hour report, 30 day sworn statement | Insurance Code 11580.2 |
| Bills before settlement | Med pay, health insurance, or a lien | Med pay limits are small | Your policy's declarations page |
Vehicle Code 16056 raised the state minimum on January 1, 2025 to $30,000 for one person, $60,000 where two or more are hurt, and $15,000 for property. It raises those figures again on January 1, 2035 by $20,000, $40,000 and $10,000. An ambulance ride, an emergency department workup and one MRI can exhaust a minimum policy before anyone mentions surgery.
What if the other driver has no insurance or too little?
Your own policy covers that gap. Insurance Code 11580.2 requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at your liability limits unless you signed a written waiver. It also sets a deadline against your own carrier: within two years, sue, agree in writing, or demand arbitration. The mechanics are on uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
Why is the settlement number not what I keep?
Liens are why a gross number is not a take-home number. Civil Code 3040 caps a health plan's lien at one-third of the money due to you when an attorney represents you, and one-half when none does. The lien is reduced further by your comparative fault percentage and by a pro rata (proportional) share of fees and costs. Part of our job at the end of a case is negotiating every lien down before the check is cut.
What if my own car was uninsured?
Civil Code 3333.4, passed as Proposition 213, bars non-economic losses in three situations. You drove in violation of the DUI statutes and were convicted, you owned an uninsured vehicle in the crash, or you drove and cannot establish financial responsibility. The bills and the wage loss survive. The pain and suffering does not. Economic damages are the verifiable losses: bills, lost earnings and repair costs. Non-economic damages are subjective: pain, suffering and emotional distress.
Who does Proposition 213 not reach?
The statute is rarely mentioned, and it can change a case by an order of magnitude. It also reaches fewer people than a careless summary implies. It attaches to owning or operating an uninsured motor vehicle, so a passenger, a person on foot and a cyclist sit outside it. Subdivision (c) gives non-economic damages back to an uninsured owner hurt by a driver later convicted of DUI. Tell us on the first call whether the car you were in was insured, because the answer changes the strategy.
How do I prove the crash caused my injuries?
Liability is rarely the dispute. The dispute is whether an impact that left a scuffed bumper caused what your doctor says it did. Records answer that when they start the day of the crash and run without a three week gap. Delayed onset is a medical fact and an insurance argument at the same time: soft tissue and disc injuries commonly appear on day two or three, and an adjuster reads the delay as proof the crash did not cause them. Treatment is covered in car accident injuries, head injuries on our Los Angeles brain injury page, and a family's options in fatal car accidents.
What is my Los Angeles car accident case worth?
No honest lawyer prices a case before treatment ends. We publish no average, because an average blends a sprained neck with a spinal fusion. Value comes from documented economic loss, argued non-economic loss, and the coverage available to pay either. The ceiling is often the policy limit rather than the injury, which is why we search for coverage first.
| Damage | What it covers | What proves it | CACI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past and future medical | Care given and care ahead | Billing records, a physician's plan | 3903A |
| Past and future lost earnings | Wages and self-employment income | Pay records, tax returns, employer letter | 3903C |
| Loss of earning capacity | The ability to earn that the injury took | Vocational and economic testimony | 3903D |
| Household services | Work at home you now pay for | Invoices and testimony | 3903E |
| Pain and emotional distress | Subjective harm, argued not calculated | Records, and people who knew you before | 3905A |
| Aggravation of a prior condition | A pre-existing problem made worse | Prior imaging against current imaging | 3927 and 3928 |
Property damage is its own line under CACI 3903J, a death claim runs under CACI 3921, and punitive damages need clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression or fraud under Civil Code 3294. To see what moves each category, use our car accident settlement calculator.
What did the insurer offer first in our car cases?
Rear-end crash, herniated disc
Hit at a stoplight by a texting driver on the job. Back surgery, then a real settlement.
Head-on collision, broken elbow
A driver under the influence crossed the center line on a rural road. Careful documentation and witness testimony carried the claim.
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.
The rear-end case opened at $31,500 against a client who went on to have back surgery. A first offer is a negotiating position taken before treatment ends, which is why it is low. Our case results page lists the rest, client accounts are at testimonials, and fees are explained at car accident lawyer fees.
Do I need a lawyer for a minor accident?
Not always, and we will tell you so on the call. If nobody was hurt and the insurance company is paying the repair, there is no fee worth paying. These are the situations where a lawyer adds little:
- Property damage only. With no injury and no treatment, there is no fee worth paying.
- One visit, no ongoing symptoms. An urgent care visit that resolves is a receipt, not a case.
- You were driving your own uninsured car. Proposition 213 removes non-economic damages and changes the arithmetic.
- You already signed a general release. That ends the claim, and no lawyer reopens it because the injury got worse.
- The at fault driver has $30,000 and no assets against $28,000 in bills. That is resolved with a phone call rather than by hiring a lawyer.
When does a minor accident still need a lawyer?
When any of three things happens. Any medical treatment, any dispute over fault, and any offer from the other insurer are the points where people usually talk to a lawyer, because each one is where the value of a claim is decided. The rules also change against you. A government vehicle reduces two years to six months. An unidentified vehicle moves the claim onto your own policy, with a 24 hour and a 30 day condition. A borrowed car caps the owner at $15,000.
How long does a car accident case take?
It depends on how long you treat, because a claim cannot be valued before the treatment ends. A soft tissue case with clear fault can settle within a few months of the last visit. A case with surgery, a fault dispute, or more than one insurer runs longer, since each of those adds a round of records and argument. A filed case moves on the court's calendar rather than yours, and trial dates in Los Angeles are set many months out. We tell you which of those paths your case is on after the first review, and again whenever it changes.
Will I have to go to court?
Most car accident claims settle without a trial. Filing a lawsuit is not the same as going to trial, either. Many cases settle after suit is filed, at mediation or before the trial date, because filing is what makes an insurer value the case on the record. We prepare every case as if a jury will hear it, which is what gives the demand its weight. If the case is tried, you testify, and we prepare you for it. You decide whether to accept an offer or go forward, at every stage.
Which court hears a Los Angeles car accident case?
Suit is filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Limited civil means the amount in controversy is $35,000 or less, under Code of Civil Procedure 85 as amended effective January 1, 2024. Unlimited civil is everything above it, with full discovery, the formal exchange of evidence before trial. Personal injury cases filed in the Central District have been assigned to Independent Calendar departments at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse since January 8, 2024, under a court notice dated December 14, 2023. The Los Angeles Superior Court civil division publishes the rules.
A claim against the City of Los Angeles, LA County, LA Metro or the State starts under the Government Claims Act, on the six month clock above. We also handle these cases in Beverly Hills, Calabasas and Santa Ana.
What happens when you call us?
- 1A person answers, 24 hours a day
Tell us what happened, when, where, what hurts, and what the insurance company has said so far. That is the whole first conversation.
- 2An attorney tells you where you stand
Whether you have a case, what it may be worth, and what happens next. No fee unless we recover, and case costs are disclosed in writing before we begin.
- 3You are not committing to anything
Calling does not create an attorney-client relationship. That happens only when you sign a written fee agreement, after you have read it.
Your calls and messages are answered by the people working your file, and an attorney directs every decision. The bar number of Josh Kohanim, Esq., is on the attorney page, and more answers are at frequently asked questions.
What happens after we take your case?
- 1Day one: treatment, and the evidence that expires
We get you to a doctor and send preservation letters for video and vehicle data that week. Storefront video is gone in days.
- 2Week one: the carriers hear from us
We open both claims and take every adjuster's call. You give the other side no recorded statement.
- 3While you treat: the file gets built
Records and billing arrive as generated, and your employer documents the wage loss.
- 4At the end of treatment: the demand package
The whole file, sent with a written valuation: records, bills, wage proof, photographs and the basis for each category.
- 5Negotiation, then your decision
The first offer arrives, we counter with what the record supports, and you decide.
- 6If it does not resolve: suit, inside the deadline
We calendar the two year date in week one, and the six month date when a public entity is involved.
How common are car accidents in Los Angeles?
- 302traffic deaths, City of Los Angeles, 2024Crosstown, LAPD Traffic Division data
- 1,522severe injuries, City of Los Angeles, 2024Crosstown, LAPD Traffic Division data
- 8,116people killed and injured, City of Los Angeles, 2023California Office of Traffic Safety
- 2,549hit and run collisions, City of Los Angeles, 2023California Office of Traffic Safety
Those four are City of Los Angeles figures. Crosstown, using LAPD Traffic Division data, counted 302 traffic deaths in the city in 2024 against 268 homicides through December 28. The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) ranking for 2023 recorded 8,116 victims killed and injured, 2,549 hit and run collisions and 3,515 DUI arrests. None of these numbers values your claim.
What do the county and state numbers show?
| Figure | Number | Geography | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speeding-related deaths | 299 | Los Angeles County | SafeTREC |
| Speeding-related serious injuries | 1,124 | Los Angeles County | SafeTREC |
| Alcohol-impaired deaths | 265 | LA County, highest in the state | SafeTREC |
| Speeding-related deaths, 32 percent of all | 1,303 | California | SafeTREC |
| Alcohol-impaired deaths, 33 percent of all | 1,355 | California | SafeTREC |
Those rows come from UC Berkeley's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center fact sheets on speeding and alcohol-impaired driving. One caveat governs any city ranking: OTS weights raw counts against population and vehicle miles traveled, and a rank of 1 is the worst, per its method page. Granular data is free at TIMS, and the full picture is at Los Angeles car accident statistics.
Talk to a car accident lawyer
You have two years to sue, six months if a public entity is in the crash, and a fault rule that reduces your recovery instead of ending it. If the at fault driver carries $30,000, your own coverage is the next place to look. If you are weeks past the crash, none of it is lost. Start the medical record today and let us take the adjuster's calls. No fee unless we recover.