Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer

The I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass, the I-10 from Santa Monica to Downtown, the I-110 Harbor Freeway, the US-101 through Hollywood and the I-5 through the northeast Valley carry some of the heaviest traffic in the country, and stop-and-go conditions produce chain-reaction rear-end crashes every rush hour. On surface streets the worst corridors are the long north–south arterials — Figueroa, Western and Vermont — and east–west streets like Sunset, where speed, red-light running and unprotected left turns meet dense pedestrian traffic.

The California Office of Traffic Safety counted 8,116 people killed or injured in Los Angeles crashes in 2023, including 1,432 pedestrians, 553 motorcyclists and 2,549 injury hit-and-run crashes; 1,508 victims were in alcohol-involved crashes and 1,104 crashes were speed-related (OTS Crash Rankings, 2023 data).

Hit-and-run is a Los Angeles problem of its own: 2,549 injury hit-and-run crashes in 2023 alone. Alcohol was involved in crashes that hurt 1,508 people, and nighttime crashes (9 pm–3 am) injured or killed 1,498. Those numbers are why we check every client’s own policy for uninsured-motorist coverage on day one.

• Two people hospitalized after a crash involving an LAPD patrol car on Exposition Boulevard
• Four injured in a multi-vehicle crash involving an LAPD patrol car on Vernon Avenue
• Driver killed after a car goes off the Grand Avenue overpass in Downtown Los Angeles
• Woman killed and a second driver hurt in a suspected DUI crash on 8th Street in Koreatown
• Fatal two-vehicle crash on the 5 Freeway at Los Feliz Boulevard

All Los Angeles accident news · Law Blog

Serious injuries from Los Angeles crashes go to the county’s trauma centers: Los Angeles General Medical Center (formerly LAC+USC) in Boyle Heights, Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Grove, Ronald Reagan UCLA in Westwood, Harbor-UCLA near Torrance and Northridge Hospital in the Valley. Which hospital you were taken to tells us which records to request first.

If a claim has to be filed, it goes to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Central District cases are heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street, Downtown; a crash in the Valley, the South Bay, the Pomona Valley, Compton or the Westside can be assigned to the Van Nuys, Torrance, Pomona, Compton or Santa Monica courthouse instead. More on where Los Angeles cases get filed

Civil Code § 1714 makes every driver responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care: speeding, running a red light, an unsafe lane change, following too closely or looking at a phone. Violating a Vehicle Code section is “negligence per se” — the violation itself proves the breach, and the police report usually names it.

California uses pure comparative negligence (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). Fault is split in percentages and your recovery is reduced by your share — never eliminated. If your damages are $200,000 and you were 25% at fault, you recover $150,000. Adjusters know this and try to inflate your percentage; a recorded statement is their main tool for doing it.

Two years from the crash to file for injuries (CCP § 335.1), three years for property damage (CCP § 338). If a City of Los Angeles vehicle, an LAPD or LAFD unit, a Metro bus or a dangerous road condition was involved, you must present a government claim within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2) before you can sue. Several of the crashes in our Los Angeles coverage involved city vehicles — those cases run on the short clock.

As of January 1, 2025, every California driver must carry at least $30,000 per person / $60,000 per accident in liability coverage and $15,000 for property damage (SB 1107). A hospital stay at Los Angeles General can exceed that in a day. When the at-fault driver has only the minimum, no insurance or fled the scene, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (Ins. Code § 11580.2) often becomes the main recovery. Using it does not raise your premiums for a crash that was not your fault.

Holding a phone while driving violates Veh. Code § 23123.5; driving at 0.08% or above violates Veh. Code § 23152. Phone records and the DUI arrest file are evidence we subpoena. When the other driver was drunk, Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890 allows punitive damages, which the driver pays personally.

Leaving the scene of an injury crash is a felony under Veh. Code § 20001 (§ 20002 covers property damage). Report it to LAPD or CHP immediately, give them any partial plate or description, and open a claim under your own UM coverage — the insurer must treat an unidentified hit-and-run driver as uninsured once the crash is reported to police within 24 hours and you have physical contact with the other vehicle.

The first offer usually arrives before anyone knows how badly you are hurt, and accepting it closes the claim for good. Our team includes former insurance adjusters who know how carriers value car accident claims and what they leave out. We handle every call with the insurance company so you never have to.

• Order the police report and your 911 and dispatch records.
• Send preservation letters for video, data and documents before they are erased.
• Help you get your vehicle repaired or valued, and a rental where coverage allows.
• Refer you to doctors and specialists who treat on a lien, so care does not wait for a settlement.
• In some cases, help arrange pre-settlement funding so bills do not force a bad decision.
• Open the claim with every insurer that may owe coverage, including your own UM/UIM policy.

Most Los Angeles car accident claims resolve by settlement once treatment is finished and a complete demand goes out. A straightforward claim can resolve in a few months. If the insurer will not pay what the case is worth, we file in Los Angeles County Superior Court; litigated cases commonly take one to two years, and the great majority still settle before trial.

Deadlines run from the day of the crash: two years for injury (CCP § 335.1) and only six months to present a government claim if a City of Los Angeles, Metro, County or Caltrans vehicle or road defect is involved (Gov. Code § 911.2).

No attorney fee unless we win. Whether case costs are deducted from a recovery is explained in your written fee agreement. Everything is explained in writing before we start.

Results shown on our About page include a $2,500,000 settlement after an initial offer of $100,000, and Lyft and Uber accident settlements after initial offers of $60,000 and $30,000. Results vary. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Beverly Law was founded in 2008 and has 4.8 stars from 600+ Google reviews. Cases are reviewed by Michael Shemtoub, Esq. (California State Bar #253948, admitted 2007), a former corporate attorney who also worked for a federal judge, named a Super Lawyers Rising Star 2015–2017 and rated 10.0 “Superb” by Avvo.

It depends on the severity and permanence of the injury, the medical bills and future treatment, lost income, how clear fault is and how much insurance is available. A soft-tissue case with a few months of treatment and a minimum-limits driver is valued very differently from a surgery case with a commercial policy. We tell you honestly what the realistic range is after we have the report and the records — not before.

Almost never. First offers arrive before the full extent of treatment is known and are designed to close the file cheaply. Once you sign a release, the claim is over even if you need surgery later. Have the offer reviewed first — the review is free.

Usually not. Most car accident claims in Los Angeles settle with the insurance company before a lawsuit is filed, and most filed cases settle before trial. If a lawsuit is needed, it is filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court (the Stanley Mosk Courthouse for the Central District) and we handle every hearing. You would only testify if the case went to a deposition or trial, and we prepare you for both.

Yes. California follows pure comparative negligence (Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 1975). Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, but it is never cut off — even a person found 60% at fault recovers 40% of their damages. Insurers routinely overstate the victim’s share, which is one reason not to give a recorded statement.

A claim with clear fault and finished treatment can settle in three to six months. Cases with serious injuries, disputed fault or several insurers take longer, and a case that is filed in court commonly takes one to two years. We do not rush a settlement before your doctors know whether you will need future care.

Yes. Beverly Law’s intake team, case managers and attorneys work in Spanish and English every day. Your calls, texts, WhatsApp messages and documents can all be in Spanish, and this page has a Spanish version (the ES button at the top).

Beverly Law is at 4929 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 960, Los Angeles, CA 90010, in Mid-Wilshire. You can come in by appointment, or we can handle everything by phone, video and WhatsApp — many clients never need to visit. Call 1 (877) 427-2752 any time.