Can I Switch Car Accident Lawyers in California?

You can change lawyers in the middle of a car accident case

A car crash case belongs to you, not to the firm you hired. In Fracasse v. Brent, California’s highest court ruled that a client may discharge a lawyer at any time, with or without cause. A contingency lawyer who is let go does not get the full contract percentage. The lawyer can only claim the reasonable value of the work done, and only if you end up recovering money.

Most people who call us are not angry at anyone. They have waited months for a call back, or they found out the claim never moved past the first letter to the insurer. If that sounds like you, tell your lawyer what is bothering you first. If nothing changes, our California guide to switching injury lawyers walks through the steps.

What a new lawyer has to catch up on in a car crash file

A car accident file looks simple from the outside. In practice the new lawyer has to rebuild the whole picture quickly. Here is what we check in the first days after we take over:

• The traffic collision report from CHP or the local police, and whether anyone asked for a supplemental report or the officer’s notes.
• Every claim number, adjuster name and recorded statement already given to an insurance company.
• Your own policy declarations page, so we know if you have MedPay or uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage that was never claimed.
• Photos, repair estimates, the total-loss valuation and rental records for each vehicle.
• Medical records and bills from every provider, plus any lien a doctor, hospital or health plan has filed.
• If a lawsuit was filed: the court calendar, discovery answers that are due, and any defense medical exam that has been scheduled.

A missed discovery deadline can cost you an argument you would otherwise win. That is why we calendar everything before we do anything else.

Evidence from a California crash that can disappear

Part of the proof in a California crash case can be lost within weeks. Many newer cars store crash data, such as speed and braking in the seconds before impact, in a module tied to the airbag system. Once a car is repaired, sold at a salvage auction or crushed, that data is usually gone. Tow yards charge daily storage, and insurers move totaled cars to auction fast.

Video is the other weak spot. Gas stations, shops and homes with doorbell cameras often record over their footage on a short cycle. People who saw the crash get harder to reach every month. A new lawyer should send preservation letters right away and not wait for the old file to arrive.

One more item: California Vehicle Code § 16000 requires a driver involved in a crash with an injury, a death, or more than $1,000 in property damage to report it to the DMV within 10 days. We check whether your report was filed, because a missing one can create license problems that have nothing to do with fault.

California rules that change what your car case is worth

California uses pure comparative fault. Under Li v. Yellow Cab Co., your own share of blame does not bar recovery. It reduces your damages by your percentage of fault. So if the insurer says you were 30 percent at fault for a lane change, the case is still worth pursuing, and the fight is over that number.

Insurance status matters too. Civil Code § 3333.4 says an injured person cannot recover non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, if they owned a vehicle in the crash that was not insured as the law requires, could not show financial responsibility as the driver, or were convicted of driving under the influence for that crash. There is an exception: an uninsured owner hit by a driver later convicted of DUI can still recover those damages. A new lawyer needs your insurance history at the start, because this one statute can change the whole strategy.

Deadlines that keep running while you switch

A switch puts no deadline on hold. In California, most car accident injury lawsuits must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. If a city bus, a county vehicle or a dangerous public road was involved, a written government claim is usually due within six months under Government Code § 911.2. If your lawyer has not filed anything and you are close to either date, call a new firm this week. A lawyer coming in late needs time to draft and file.

What switching costs you

Hiring us mid-case will not raise your fee. The percentage in our agreement is the total attorney fee you pay. Whatever your former lawyer can fairly claim for their work is paid out of our share, not added on top of it. Costs the first firm advanced, like the police report fee or medical record charges, are normally repaid from the settlement the same way costs are on any case. Lose the case and you owe us nothing, fees or costs. You can read more about how car accident lawyer fees work.

Our help has one firm limit. If you already signed a release and the insurer paid the settlement, that release generally ends the claim, and a new lawyer cannot reopen it.

How Beverly Law takes over a car accident case

You sign with us and we do the rest. We send your former lawyer a short notice, ask for the complete file, and tell the insurer that we now represent you. If a lawsuit is pending, we prepare the substitution of attorney form for the court. Any fee claim from the old firm comes to us in writing, so you never have to argue about money with them. Reviews are free, in English or Spanish, and you can reach us any time at (310) 552-6959.

Sources

1. Fracasse v. Brent (1972) 6 Cal.3d 784 (scocal.stanford.edu)
2. Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 (scocal.stanford.edu)
3. Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.4
4. Cal. Veh. Code § 16000
5. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
6. Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2
7. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 284
8. Judicial Council Form MC-050, Substitution of Attorney (Civil)
9. Cal. Civ. Code § 1541