TL;DR: After you hire an attorney, your lawyer begins handling claim-related communications, gathers and preserves evidence, documents your injuries and losses, and evaluates your claim. Once there is enough information to value the case, your attorney may send a settlement demand and negotiate with the insurer. If negotiations fail or a filing deadline approaches, your attorney may file a lawsuit.
Once you hire an attorney, your lawyer begins protecting and building your claim. Early steps may include notifying insurers and other parties of the representation, preserving important evidence, obtaining accident or incident reports, and gathering medical and financial records. As the evidence develops, your attorney evaluates your damages, communicates with the insurer, and may send a formal settlement demand. If the case cannot be resolved fairly or a filing deadline approaches, your attorney may file a lawsuit. Signing a retainer agreement generally documents the terms of the attorney-client relationship and allows your lawyer to begin handling the agreed-upon aspects of your case.
Key Facts About Hiring an Attorney in California
- Your attorney begins handling claim-related communications. The firm may notify insurers and other relevant parties that you are represented, so communications about the claim can be directed through your legal team.
- Evidence preservation often starts early. Your attorney may send preservation notices and request surveillance footage, electronic data, reports, records, or other evidence before it is lost or destroyed.
- Your attorney starts tracking legal deadlines. For most private personal injury claims, CCP § 335.1 generally provides two years to file a lawsuit, although shorter or different deadlines may apply in some cases.
- Government claims may require earlier action. If a public entity may be responsible, your attorney may need to present a written government claim before filing a lawsuit.
- Your damages are evaluated as the case develops. Your attorney reviews medical records, lost income, future care, pain and suffering, and other losses to assess the value of the claim.
- Contingency fee agreements must follow California law. Under Business and Professions Code § 6147, these agreements generally must be in writing and state the contingency fee rate and how costs and disbursements affect the fee and the client’s recovery.
Table of Contents
California State Bar #249405
Admitted 2007
California Personal Injury Attorney
- September 2026
Immediate Steps: Securing Evidence and Stopping Insurer Contact
After you hire an attorney, the legal team can begin taking over the day-to-day work of protecting and building your claim. Early action often focuses on controlling communications, preserving evidence, and gathering the information needed to determine what happened and who may be responsible. Your attorney may begin by:
- Notifying insurers and other parties that you are represented so that claim-related communications can be directed through the firm.
- Preserving important evidence before it is lost, deleted, altered, or destroyed.
- Requesting records and documents that may help establish what happened, who may be responsible, and the extent of your losses.
- Identifying witnesses and other sources of information that may support your version of events.
- Reviewing the available evidence to begin evaluating liability and damages.
The specific evidence your attorney gathers will depend on the type of case. Examples may include:
- Police, California Highway Patrol (CHP), or incident reports.
- Photographs and videos.
- Surveillance or dashcam footage.
- Witness statements.
- Vehicle or electronic data.
- Property, maintenance, or inspection records.
- Employment or wage records.
- Medical records and bills.
- Other records relevant to liability or damages.
Injury attorneys may send preservation notices and record requests early because some evidence becomes harder to obtain over time. This evidence can help establish liability, document damages, and support the claim as it develops.
Medical Treatment and Case Evaluation
While you continue medical treatment, your attorney tracks your recovery and gathers records that show how the injury has affected you. This helps the legal team evaluate both your current losses and any future care or limitations that may result from the injury.
Your lawyer will usually want a clear medical picture before making a final settlement demand. However, you do not have to reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) before a demand can be sent or a lawsuit can be filed.
MMI generally means your condition has reached a point where significant further improvement is not reasonably expected with additional treatment. Reaching MMI can help clarify long-term limitations and future medical needs. Before making a settlement demand, your attorney may consider:
- Your diagnosis and treatment history.
- Your progress and current symptoms.
- Your prognosis.
- Whether you may need future treatment.
- Any lasting physical limitations.
- Lost wages or reduced earning capacity.
- Other ways the injury has affected your daily life.
Settling too early can make it harder to account for future treatment or long-term problems that are not yet clear. For that reason, your attorney may wait until there is enough medical and financial information to evaluate the claim properly.
Medical records from doctors, specialists, and rehabilitation providers can help document your injuries, treatment, limitations, and future medical needs. Employment and wage records may also support claims for lost income or reduced earning capacity. Together, this evidence helps your attorney evaluate your economic and non-economic damages.
Once there is enough information to assess your injuries, expenses, lost income, and other losses, your attorney may prepare a formal demand package. A demand package may include:
- An explanation of the other party’s liability.
- A summary of your injuries and medical treatment.
- Documentation of your financial and other losses.
- Supporting medical, employment, and accident records.
- The amount of compensation requested.
Developing a Strategy for Your Case
As your attorney reviews the initial evidence, they begin developing a strategy based on the facts of your case. This includes identifying the strongest legal and factual issues, potential challenges, and the steps needed to advance the claim.
Depending on the case, your attorney may evaluate:
- Potentially responsible parties and the basis for their liability.
- Available insurance coverage and other possible sources of recovery.
- Additional evidence or expert analysis that may be needed to support the claim.
- Possible disputes over liability or damages that the other side may raise.
- Current and anticipated losses resulting from the injury.
- The appropriate path forward, including settlement negotiations, litigation, or other necessary legal steps.
Case strategy can change as new evidence, medical information, or defenses emerge. Your attorney uses those developments to adjust the approach while keeping you informed about significant decisions and available options.
The Demand Letter and Settlement Negotiations
Once your attorney has enough information to evaluate the claim, the next step may be sending a formal settlement demand to the insurer. This begins the negotiation stage, where both sides review the evidence, assess liability and damages, and seek a resolution without going to trial.
- Accept the demand
- Deny the claim
- Ask for more information
- Make a counteroffer
Your attorney reviews the response and addresses any disputes about liability, injuries, or damages. Negotiations may involve disagreements over fault, medical expenses, lost income, future losses, or the overall value of the claim.
California follows a pure comparative negligence rule. If you are found partly at fault, your damages may be reduced in proportion to the percentage of fault attributed to you. Your attorney can use the available evidence to challenge an unsupported fault allocation or an undervalued claim.
That evidence may include:
- Accident or incident reports
- Photographs and video
- Witness statements
- Medical records
- Employment and wage records
- Expert analysis, when needed
Settlement negotiations may continue through several rounds of offers and counteroffers. Your attorney reviews each offer with you and explains the potential benefits and risks of accepting it or continuing the claim.
You ultimately decide whether to accept a settlement. If the case does not resolve, your attorney may file a lawsuit and continue pursuing compensation through litigation while settlement discussions remain possible.
Your Role After Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
Hiring an attorney does not mean you can completely step away from the case. Your lawyer handles the legal work, but your cooperation can help the firm document your injuries and protect the claim.
Depending on your case, your attorney may ask you to:
- Continue medical treatment. Keep appropriate medical appointments and follow your treatment plan.
- Report changes in your condition. Tell the firm about new diagnoses, specialists, procedures, or significant changes in your symptoms.
- Provide the requested documents. Send medical bills, wage information, insurance letters, receipts, photographs, and other relevant records.
- Forward insurer communications. Send claim-related calls, letters, emails, or settlement offers to your attorney instead of responding on your own.
- Preserve important evidence. Keep photographs, damaged property, receipts, electronic records, and other evidence in your possession.
- Be cautious on social media. Avoid posting about the accident, your injuries, treatment, physical activities, or the lawsuit while the claim is pending.
- Keep your information current. Update the injury law firm if your address, phone number, employment, insurance coverage, or other relevant information changes.
- Document your recovery. Keep notes about symptoms, limitations, missed activities, and recovery if your attorney recommends it.
If the case enters litigation, your responsibilities may increase. Your attorney may need you to answer written questions, gather documents, attend a deposition or mediation, participate in an examination, or appear for trial.
Past Results in Negotiated and Litigated Cases
Every case follows a different path, but some claims require extensive negotiation, discovery, depositions, mediation, or trial preparation before they resolve. The following Arash Law case results illustrate outcomes obtained in cases involving serious injuries and disputed liability:
$12 Million — Auto Vs. Pedestrian: A 74-year-old pedestrian suffered severe injuries after being struck while crossing the street. The case settled on the courthouse steps just before jury selection was set to begin.
$10 Million — Pedestrian Accident: A client suffered serious injuries after being run over by a speeding vehicle. Arash Law secured substantial compensation and connected them with an exceptional medical team to support their ongoing care.
$8.8 Million — Auto Vs. Auto: A speeding company van was involved in a collision that left our client seriously injured. Evidence developed through key depositions helped move the case forward and supported an $8.8 million resolution.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different, and results depend on the specific facts and evidence involved.
Injured in California? Call Arash Law at (888) 488-1391 for a free case evaluation.
Filing a Lawsuit and California Court Deadlines
If settlement negotiations do not resolve your claim, or a filing deadline is approaching, your attorney may file a lawsuit to protect your rights. The lawsuit begins with a complaint filed in the appropriate California court. After the case is filed and the parties are served, they can use discovery, subject to applicable timing rules, to obtain documents, written answers, testimony, and other evidence.
California also imposes important deadlines that your attorney must track. Missing an applicable deadline can prevent you from pursuing compensation, although tolling rules or other exceptions may apply:
- Standard Personal Injury Deadline: California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 generally gives you two years to file a lawsuit for personal injuries caused by another person’s wrongful act or negligence.
- Government Entity Claims: If a city, county, state agency, or other covered public entity may be responsible, Government Code § 911.2 generally requires a written claim within six months of accrual. This claim is a required step before filing many lawsuits against public entities.
Presenting a government claim does not end the deadline analysis. If the public entity sends a rejection notice that complies with Government Code § 913, § 945.6 generally gives you six months from the date the notice is delivered or mailed to file suit. If no compliant notice is provided, a different deadline may apply.
Once litigation begins, the case may involve discovery, depositions, expert analysis, motions, mediation, and continued settlement negotiations. Mediation allows a neutral third party to help both sides explore a resolution. If the case does not settle, your attorney prepares it for trial.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Legal Process After Hiring an Attorney in California
After you hire a personal injury attorney, you may still have questions about what to expect as your case moves forward. The answers below cover common concerns about court appearances, attorney fees, case updates, changing lawyers, and important filing deadlines.
Do I Have to Go to Court if I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
Usually, no. Hiring a personal injury attorney does not mean your case will automatically go to trial. Many claims are resolved through settlement negotiations, and those negotiations can continue even after a lawsuit is filed. If the parties cannot resolve disputes over liability or damages, your attorney may prepare the case for trial.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in California?
Personal injury lawyers commonly work on a contingency fee basis, meaning the attorney’s fee depends on the recovery rather than an upfront hourly charge. Under California Business and Professions Code § 6147, contingency fee agreements generally must be in writing and explain the fee arrangement and how costs and disbursements affect the fee and the client’s recovery. Review the agreement carefully because the fee terms and cost responsibilities can vary.
How Often Should I Expect Updates from My Attorney?
There is no fixed schedule for attorney updates, but your lawyer must keep you reasonably informed about significant developments in your case. Important updates may include settlement offers, major evidence, a filed lawsuit, depositions, mediation, or other significant events. Your attorney should also respond to reasonable requests for information about your case.
Can I Change Lawyers if I Am Unhappy with My Current Representation?
Yes. You can generally change lawyers during a California personal injury case. If a lawsuit is pending, the change can usually be documented through a Substitution of Attorney when the required parties consent. If consent is unavailable, a court order may be necessary. Changing lawyers can also affect how fees and costs are handled, so discuss those issues with your new attorney.
Does the Two-Year Deadline Apply if the Injured Person Is A Minor?
Usually, not in the same way. For many ordinary private personal injury claims, California tolls the statute of limitations while the injured person is under 18. The usual two-year period generally begins when the minor reaches adulthood. Government claims, medical malpractice cases, and other specialized claims can follow different deadlines.
Should I Rely on General Legal Information I Find Online?
No. General legal information can help you understand the personal injury process, but it cannot determine how California law applies to your specific claim. Deadlines, available damages, liability, and insurance issues depend on the facts of each case. A licensed California attorney can review those facts and explain your legal options.
Talk to Arash Law About Your California Injury Claim
Every day after an accident, evidence fades, and deadlines move closer. Arash Law has recovered over $1 billion for injured clients across California. No attorney’s fees unless we recover.
Call (888) 488-1391 for a free case evaluation with Arash Law. Make ‘Em Pay, Call AK.
Sources
California Legislature. California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 (Two-Year Limitations Period for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death).
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=335.1California Legislature. California Code of Civil Procedure § 352 (Tolling During Minority or Legal Incapacity).
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=352California Legislature. Government Code § 911.2 (Government Claim Presentation Deadline).
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=911.2California Legislature. Government Code § 913 (Notice of Action on or Rejection of Government Claim).
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=913California Legislature. Government Code § 945.6 (Deadline to File Suit After Government Claim).
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=945.6California Legislature. Business and Professions Code § 6147 (Contingency Fee Agreements).
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=6147State Bar of California. California Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules 1.4 and 1.4.1 (Communication With Clients and Settlement Offers).
https://www.calbar.ca.gov/legal-professionals/rules/rules-professional-conduct/current-rules-professional-conduct/chapter-1-lawyer-client-relationshipCalifornia Courts Self-Help Guide. Remove or Add an Attorney to Your Case; Substitution of Attorney — Civil (Form MC-050). https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/substitution-attorney
Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal. 3d 804 (1975) (California Pure Comparative Negligence). https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2458&context=mlr
Arash Law. Case Results. https://arashlaw.com/case-results/
Disclaimer
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different. The information on this page is for general educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Reading or relying on this content does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you were injured, consult a licensed California personal injury attorney about your specific situation.
