California Car Accident Lawyer

What Decides a California Car Accident Claim

Most people assume the police report decides fault and the insurance company then pays what the injuries are worth. Neither is true. Three questions decide what you actually recover: who was legally at fault, how much insurance coverage can be found, and how well your injuries were documented from the first week. This section explains each one under the California statutes that control it.

Fault Under California Law

California Civil Code section 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for injuries caused to others by their want of ordinary care. In a car crash that means the driver who ran the light, followed too closely, changed lanes without looking, or was reading a phone. Fault is not all or nothing. California uses pure comparative negligence, so a percentage of fault assigned to you reduces your recovery by that percentage but does not bar it. A driver found 20 percent responsible still recovers 80 percent of their damages.

The police report is the officer’s opinion, usually written without having seen the collision. It is not binding on the insurer, the court, or a jury. We rebuild fault from the physical evidence: vehicle damage patterns, skid and gouge marks, intersection and business camera footage, event data recorder downloads, phone records, and witness statements taken before memories fade.

When more than one driver caused the crash, Civil Code section 1431.2 matters. Each defendant is liable for the full amount of your economic damages, but only for their own percentage share of your non-economic damages. That rule is why we identify every responsible party early rather than settling with the first insurer to call.

Finding the Coverage

Vehicle Code section 16056 sets California’s minimum liability limits at $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injuries, plus $15,000 for property damage, for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. The statute schedules another increase in 2035. Many at-fault drivers carry exactly these minimums, and a serious injury can exhaust them quickly. So the first job in a car accident case is to find every policy that applies:

• The at-fault driver’s liability policy, and the vehicle owner’s policy if the driver was borrowing the car.
• An employer’s commercial policy if the driver was working, making deliveries, or driving between job sites.
• Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough. Many people do not realize they bought it.
• Umbrella policies held by the at-fault driver or their household.
• Rideshare coverage under Public Utilities Code section 5433 if either vehicle was driving for Uber or Lyft. Our rideshare accident page explains the coverage tiers.
• Medical payments coverage on your own policy, which pays treatment bills regardless of fault.

If a city, county, or state vehicle was involved, or a dangerous road design contributed, Government Code section 835 allows a claim against the public entity for a dangerous condition of public property. Government Code section 911.2 then requires a written claim within six months of the injury before any lawsuit can be filed. Missing that claim usually ends the case.

What You Can Recover

Civil Code section 1431.2(b) defines the two categories of damages in a California injury case. Economic damages are objectively verifiable monetary losses: medical expenses, loss of earnings, loss of use of property, costs of repair or replacement, costs of obtaining substitute domestic services, and loss of employment or business opportunities. Non-economic damages are subjective losses: pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation, and humiliation. A properly built claim also documents future medical care and reduced earning capacity, which insurers ignore unless they are proven with medical and vocational evidence.

Evidence That Wins These Cases

• Photograph everything within days. Vehicle damage, the scene, skid marks, traffic controls, and your visible injuries as they heal.
• Move fast on video. Businesses and homes near the crash usually overwrite camera footage within days. We send preservation requests immediately.
• Get medical care promptly and follow it. A gap between the crash and your first visit, or missed follow-up appointments, becomes the insurer’s argument that you were not really hurt.
• Do not give the other insurer a recorded statement. You are not required to, and adjusters use these interviews to lock in damaging wording while you are still shaken.
• Stay off social media. A photo from a family barbecue becomes an exhibit arguing you are not in pain.
• Keep every document. Bills, pay stubs, mileage to appointments, and receipts for help around the house.

Deadlines

Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives you two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit for injury or wrongful death caused by negligence. Claims against a government entity must first be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Different rules can apply to injured minors under Code of Civil Procedure section 352, but do not assume a longer deadline applies without asking. Evidence disappears long before any statute runs, so the practical deadline is much shorter than the legal one.

How We Handle Car Accident Cases

We evaluate every file the way the adjuster and the defense lawyer will, then build the case to answer their arguments before they are made. That means locking down liability evidence in the first weeks, identifying every available policy, coordinating treatment so the medical record tells the full story, and presenting a demand that proves each category of damages. When an insurer will not pay what the case is worth, we file suit. There are no attorney’s fees unless we win, and the consultation is free.

About this page: Prepared for Not My Fault Law Group, APC. Responsible attorney: Joshua B. Adelpour, Esq., California State Bar No. 318226. Last updated September 4, 2026. This page provides general information about California law and is not legal advice about your situation.