Car Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles cases are close to home for us: our office is in Warner Center, in Woodland Hills. If another driver hurt you anywhere in the city, this page covers what is specific to LA: the streets on the city’s High Injury Network, the trauma centers, how to get the crash report, where injury lawsuits are filed, and the six-month rule for claims against the City. The first consultation is free.
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The Los Angeles Streets With the Most Serious Crashes
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) tracks a High Injury Network. LADOT describes it as the 7.5% of city streets that account for more than 60% of deaths and severe injuries to people walking. Corridors on the network include Venice Boulevard, Normandie Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Whittier Boulevard, and in the Valley, Winnetka Avenue and Saticoy Street.
If you were hit on one of these streets, whether you were driving, biking, or walking, take photos of the crosswalk, the signal, and the lane markings before anything changes. Those details help show who had the right of way.
Your First Week After a Los Angeles Crash
- If someone is injured, call 911. LAPD handles crashes on city streets; on the freeways, the California Highway Patrol has primary responsibility.
- Go to an emergency room the same day if you are hurt. Level I trauma centers in Los Angeles include Los Angeles General Medical Center (formerly LAC+USC), Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Beverly Boulevard, and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood.
- In the west San Fernando Valley, UCLA West Valley Medical Center in West Hills has a full-service emergency department.
- Get the report number before you leave. LAPD has a Request a Traffic Report page on its website. CHP reports are requested through the CHP’s online Crash Portal or with form CHP 190.
- If a Metro bus, a city truck, a pothole, or a broken signal played a part, write down the location and any vehicle numbers right away.
- Before you give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company, call us. Asking costs nothing.
Our office is at 21051 Warner Center Ln, Suite 210, in Woodland Hills. You can meet us there, or talk by phone or video if getting across town is hard after an injury. Our staff speak Spanish.
Where a Los Angeles Injury Lawsuit Is Filed
Injury lawsuits from Los Angeles go to the Los Angeles Superior Court. Under the court’s local rules, an injury lawsuit seeking more than $35,000 must be filed in the court district where the crash happened, and the court’s online Filing Court Locator shows the courthouse for a given address. Inside the City of Los Angeles that can be the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown, the Van Nuys Courthouse East for much of the Valley, or another district courthouse. We check the crash location before we file.
If a City of Los Angeles street, signal, or vehicle was involved, the first step is a written claim to the City, generally within six months of the crash (Government Code section 911.2). The City Clerk takes claims through its online Claim for Damages portal, by mail, or in person at City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Room 395. The Clerk’s office does not accept claims by email or fax.
Questions About Los Angeles Crashes
What if the driver who hit me drove off?
Call the police right away and get a report number. If the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage may help pay for your injuries. Our guide to uninsured motorist claims in California explains how those claims work.
I was hurt on a Metro bus or by a city vehicle. Is the deadline different?
Usually, yes. Claims against public agencies, including transit agencies, generally have to be filed within six months. Call early so the claim reaches the right agency in time.
What does a Los Angeles car accident lawyer cost?
We work on contingency: no fee or costs unless we win.
Learn more about how we handle car accident cases, see every case type on our personal injury page, or browse the areas we serve. Call (213) 800-0706 for a free consultation.
If the crash was not your fault, our guide to not-at-fault car accidents in California covers what to do next, step by step.
We also handle brain injury, burn injury, and bicycle accident cases across Los Angeles.