You may qualify for pain and suffering damages in California if another party causes an injury that leads to physical pain, emotional distress, or limits on daily life. You do not need a permanent or catastrophic injury. California also does...
Local Accident News: Personal Injury
If an insurer pays your property damage claim but delays your injury claim, your bodily injury claim can remain open. Accepting a property-damage payment does not automatically settle your bodily injury claim. However, before signing a settlement or release, check...
Opening an insurance claim and notifying the California DMV are separate responsibilities. Your insurer may help with the process, but you must ensure the required SR-1 is submitted to the DMV on time. The SR-1, or Traffic Accident Report, applies...
Your priority should be safety and medical care. After that, reporting the accident, documenting what happened, preserving available evidence, and identifying the bus operator can help support any claim you may need to file. Because different procedures and deadlines may...
You can start an injury claim right after an accident, and in most cases, you should. There is no single deadline that applies to every claim. How much time you have depends on who caused your injury: a private individual,...
A personal injury lawyer represents people who have suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm due to someone else's negligence or wrongdoing. Their primary role is to secure financial compensation for losses, such as medical bills, lost income, and pain and...
A serious crash that causes a coma can lead to intensive hospital care followed by months or years of rehabilitation. Treatment may include surgery, neurological monitoring, inpatient rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other long-term care. These cases...
Yes, a minor passenger can recover compensation after a drunk-driving crash in California. A parent, guardian, or other court-approved representative may pursue the claim on behalf of the child, and a court must approve a settlement of the minor's claim...
Yes, you can still make an injury claim in California without a police report. Most personal injury claims do not require police involvement. The main issue is whether you have evidence showing how the injury occurred, who may be responsible,...
Many Fresno personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, where clients generally pay no attorney fees upfront. Under this arrangement, your attorney's payment comes out of any settlement or court award, not in advance from your own funds....
Determining fault in an accident usually comes down to figuring out who violated a duty of care. That means assessing who acted unreasonably or broke a rule that caused the accident. An accident can leave you in pain, scared, and...
If a driver hit you while you were crossing a street in Oakland, you may have a personal injury claim. The driver is often responsible when their negligent driving causes the accident. Oakland crashes can also involve employers, vehicle owners,...
Motor vehicle accidents account for roughly 38% of new spinal cord injury (SCI) cases every year, making them the leading cause of SCIs in the United States. Vehicle crashes are especially dangerous to the spinal cord because they can expose...
Yes. In California, the owner's auto policy may still cover your injuries even if the at-fault driver was never listed on it, as long as that driver had the owner's express or implied permission to use the vehicle. California Insurance...
You do not need the other driver’s insurance details in hand to move forward with a claim after a California crash. If they refuse to share that information, you can still document the collision, report it, and use other records...
Foreign-body injuries are among the most common eye injuries at work. They occur when dust, metal shavings, wood chips, concrete particles, or other debris strike the eye or become lodged in it. Even a small particle can cause serious pain....
There is no fixed dollar amount for a foot injury claim in California. Its potential value depends on the specific facts of the case, including the type and severity of the injury, the treatment required, any permanent limitations, time away...
An injury attorney handles a broad range of personal injury claims, while a car accident lawyer focuses mainly on injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes. Both may represent injured people, deal with insurance companies, gather evidence, negotiate settlements, and file...
To recover damages in California, an injured party must prove the legal elements that apply to the claim. In many personal injury cases, this means proving duty, breach, causation, and damages. Some claims rely on different legal theories, such as...
What happens to your medical bills after a personal injury case settles depends on how the bills were handled during the case. Some medical providers may still be owed money. Others may have a lien against the settlement. Health insurers,...
Speeding, drunk or impaired driving, distracted driving, and failing to yield the right of way are some of the biggest reasons people get hurt in traffic accidents across Los Angeles County. These behaviors cause serious crashes involving drivers, pedestrians, cyclists,...
If you were injured in an accident and are looking for legal help, understanding what it takes to become a personal injury lawyer can help you evaluate the attorneys you're considering. In California, a personal injury lawyer must have completed...
Depending on your situation, it can be too late to make an insurance claim. In California, there’s no actual deadline to file every type of insurance claim. That is why, when gauging if you can still pursue compensation from your...
If you fail to make or cause to be made a required accident report within 24 hours, you may violate California Vehicle Code (CVC) § 20008. The violation can result in a traffic infraction and a fine. For most non-common-carrier...
Yes, California imposes separate time limits for accident reports depending on the circumstances and the type of report required. Some reporting deadlines begin immediately after the accident. One important filing deadline concerns the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) SR-1...
In California, insurers generally must acknowledge a claim, initiate any necessary investigation, and provide the required forms and assistance within 15 calendar days of receiving notice of the claim. Additionally, they typically have to accept or deny a claim, in...
After an accident in California, do not admit fault, delay medical care, or sign any document until you understand what it covers. Also, avoid oversharing with insurance adjusters, posting about the accident online, or waiting too long to report the...
California does not publish an official list naming one intersection as the most dangerous in the state. The answer depends on what is measured. An intersection could be ranked the most dangerous based on: Total traffic accidents. Injury crashes. People...
Our analysis of 408 Altadena-area intersection crash records from the California Crash Reporting System (CCRS) from 2021 through 2025 shows that the most common causes of intersection accidents in Altadena include: Failure to yield Red-light violations Unsafe turns Stop-sign violations...
There is no fixed California settlement for a semi-truck crash involving back pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The amount depends on the seriousness of the back injury, the effect of PTSD, medical costs, lost income, fault, evidence, and available...