Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer

Los Angeles recorded over 8,100 fatal and injury crash victims in a single year, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety’s crash ranking data, the worst total among the state’s largest cities.

No one leaves the house thinking they’re about to become part of that count. Then one does, and suddenly there’s a list of problems stacking up all at once, an injury that needs treatment, a car that might not be drivable, missed days at work, and somewhere in the middle of all that, an insurance company that’s already working out how little they can get away with paying.

That insurance piece ends up being the part people struggle with the most. It’s usually worth a short conversation with a car accident law firm just to find out whether you actually need a lawyer for your situation, and at Pacific Law Firm, that conversation doesn’t cost you anything.

Book your free call now

How Fault Actually Gets Determined

People assume this part is going to be this huge legal battle, in most cases it really isn’t.

California just asks one question, did the other driver act the way a reasonable person would have. Speeding, running the light, texting, tailgating, if one of those caused your crash, that driver is generally the one responsible. The proof is usually sitting right there already, the police report, what witnesses saw, dashcam clips if anyone had one running, sometimes even a traffic camera near the intersection.

What people get wrong is thinking fault has to land entirely on one side. A lot of cases end up split, both drivers carrying some percentage of it, and that split is exactly what decides how much you end up walking away with.

Common Types of Car Accidents We See in Los Angeles

Rear-end collisions: still the most common type, usually tied to stop and go traffic on freeways like the 405, 101, and 10
Intersection accidents: red light and stop sign violations, especially common at busier surface street intersections
Rideshare accidents: Uber and Lyft crashes come with their own layer of insurance complexity, covered below
Hit and run accidents: LA has a notably high rate of these compared to other major cities
DUI related crashes: weekend nights and holidays see a real spike
Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: a serious concern on busier corridors with heavy foot traffic

Each of these comes with slightly different evidence and insurance issues, but the underlying legal questions, fault, damages, and deadlines, stay the same.

Rideshare Accidents Come With a Different Insurance Picture

If an Uber or Lyft was involved, who actually pays depends a lot on what the driver’s app was doing the moment the crash happened. California sets this out in periods under Public Utilities Code Section 5433:

App off: only the driver’s personal auto insurance applies, Uber and Lyft provide nothing here
App on, waiting for a ride request: a more limited policy applies, $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injury, plus $30,000 for property damage
App on with a matched ride or passenger already in the car: $1,000,000 in coverage applies, including uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

That middle period, where the app is on but a passenger hasn’t been picked up yet, is where people often end up underinsured relative to how serious the crash actually was. Therefore it’s it is worth figuring out exactly what the app showed at the time

What If You Were Partly at Fault

Maybe you were going a little over the limit when someone cut you off, maybe the other driver’s lawyer is going to argue you could’ve braked sooner. None of that necessarily kills your claim.

California follows a pure comparative negligence rule, set in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. of California (1975). You can still recover compensation even if you share some of the blame, your payout just gets reduced by your percentage of fault instead of getting thrown out entirely.

What If the Other Driver Took Off

A hit and run changes how your claim has to get handled. Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, a driver involved in an injury accident is legally required to stop, identify themselves, and render aid. Leaving the scene is a crime, not just a traffic violation, and it can get charged as a felony when someone is seriously hurt.

For your claim, this usually means leaning on the uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy, since there’s no identified driver’s insurance to go after. Witness accounts, nearby security cameras, and a prompt police report all matter more here than in a standard crash.

What You Can Actually Recover

A car accident claim in California can generally cover:

Economic damages: medical bills, future treatment, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, vehicle repair or replacement
Non-economic damages: pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life
Punitive damages: rare, generally reserved for cases involving fraud, malice, or genuinely reckless conduct, like extreme DUI situations

What your case is actually worth depends on the severity of the injury, how clear fault is, and how much insurance coverage is actually sitting on the other side, which in LA traffic is its own issue given how many drivers carry only the state minimum.

Deadlines You Need to Watch

Standard car accident claim: generally two years from the date of the crash, under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1
Accidents involving a government vehicle or government property: if a city bus, a municipal vehicle, or a poorly maintained public road contributed to your accident, you generally only get six months to file a claim with that government entity first, under Government Code Section 911.2, before you can even sue

That second deadline catches a lot of people off guard, especially with how much of LA’s traffic involves Metro buses and city-maintained roads.

Meet the Attorney Handling Your Case

Pacific Law Firm is led by Aria Noosha, the firm’s Founder and Managing Attorney. He’s a Harvard Law graduate who built the firm around personal injury work in California and Washington, car accidents being one of the practice areas he personally handles.

When you call for a consultation, you’re not getting routed through a call center before someone eventually looks at your case. You’re talking to a firm where the person whose name is on the door is actually involved in the work.

Want to know more about who you’d actually be working with?

See Aria’s full profile and the rest of the team here.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Los Angeles

Call the police and make sure a report actually gets filed, even for a crash that seems minor
Get medical care, some injuries don’t show symptoms until a day or two later
Photograph the vehicles, the scene, and the intersection or stretch of road
Get the other driver’s insurance info and collect any witness contacts you can
If a rideshare vehicle was involved, note whether the app showed the driver as active, waiting, or on a trip
Avoid giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company before talking to a lawyer
Keep records of everything: repair estimates, medical bills, missed work

Common Questions

Who determines fault after a car accident in Los Angeles?

Insurance companies make an initial determination based on police reports, statements, and evidence, but that determination isn’t final, and it can get challenged, especially if it doesn’t line up with what actually happened.

What if the other driver didn’t have insurance?

California requires drivers to carry liability insurance, but a lot of them just don’t. If you’ve got uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, that may be your route to compensation.

What happens if I’m hit by an Uber or Lyft driver?

Depends entirely on what the driver’s app was doing at the time. Coverage ranges from just the driver’s personal policy, if the app was off, up to $1,000,000 in liability coverage if they had a passenger or matched ride going at the time of the crash.

Can I still recover damages if I was partly at fault?

Usually yes. California’s comparative negligence rule reduces your payout by your percentage of fault rather than barring the claim outright.

How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Los Angeles?

Generally two years from the crash date. If a government vehicle or government-maintained property was involved somewhere in the mix, that window drops to six months to file a claim first.

Do I need a lawyer if the insurance company already offered me a settlement?

An early offer is often lower than what the case is actually worth, especially before your medical treatment is even finished. Worth a second opinion before signing off on anything.

Talk to a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer

Traffic in LA makes car accidents a near daily reality, and insurance companies know that volume works in their favor if people settle fast without checking what they’re actually owed.

Pacific law firm offers a free consultation to go through what happened and where you stand. Call us at 855-722-5290 or book your free call now.

This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Contacting Pacific Law Firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.