Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer
Hurt in a Car Accident on a Los Angeles Freeway or Surface Street?
You did not plan for this. A collision on the 405 or at a Hollywood intersection takes seconds, and now you are dealing with pain, bills, and an insurance company that wants a quick answer. If you are looking for a Los Angeles car accident lawyer, Ravan Law represents people seriously hurt in car accidents across Los Angeles County. The car accident claim that follows a crash can take a year or more, and the first weeks decide much of it: what the police report says, whether the video still exists, and what you told the other driver’s insurance company before you understood your injuries.
Most car accidents in Los Angeles produce a property damage claim and a sore neck, and many never need a lawyer. Some produce a brain injury, a spinal fracture, or a death in the family. Those are the cases we wrote this page for.
The car accident case where a city truck, a Metro bus, or a broken traffic signal caused the collision is different from a simple rear-end claim. Those claims run on a separate legal track with strict rules and a six-month deadline, and we take them on. Claims against public entities are a focus of our practice. For a full list of the deadlines that can apply, see our guide to California personal injury time limits.
Call (424) 465-2500 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
A Los Angeles Car Accident Attorney Who Knows Your Case
We work from our office on San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles. When you call, we listen to what happened, and we tell you plainly where your car accident claim stands. You work with us directly. We answer your questions, and we keep you updated at every stage, from the first conversation to the last signature.
Like most injury firms, we work on contingency: no fee unless we win, and no cost to find out whether your car accident claim is worth pursuing. Information is also available in Spanish.
Ted H. Ravan, a Los Angeles car accident attorney, studied political science at UC San Diego and earned his law degree at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he gave more than 100 volunteer hours to the campus free legal clinic. Read more about attorney Ted H. Ravan.
Car Accident Settlements and Verdicts
Recovery | Case type |
$3,500,000 | Motor vehicle accident with a county vehicle |
$500,000 | Motor vehicle accident |
$275,000 | Bus accident |
$200,000 | Motor vehicle accident |
In his first year of practice, attorney Ted H. Ravan obtained more than $1 million for his clients. Clients rate our firm 4.9 on Google across 65 reviews. Every settlement depends on the injury, the evidence, the available insurance, and the facts of the claim.
Every result depended on the facts of that case, and results will differ based on different facts. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of your matter.
Car Accident Lawyer Los Angeles: What to Do in the First 48 Hours
What you do in the first two days after a car accident shapes the evidence we will have to work with months later. If you are able:
- Call 911 and get an officer to the scene. A report written at the scene, with both drivers’ statements, is far stronger than one filed days later.
- Get medical care the same day. Brain injuries and disc injuries often do not show at the scene. A gap before your first treatment is the first thing an adjuster points to.
- Photograph everything. Both vehicles, skid marks, debris, the traffic signals, the other driver’s plate, and your injuries.
- Get names and numbers for the other driver, their insurer, and every witness.
- Look for cameras on nearby businesses, apartment buildings, and buses. Many systems overwrite footage within days.
- Report to the DMV if required. Vehicle Code 16000 requires an SR-1 report within 10 days when anyone is injured or killed, or property damage exceeds $1,000.
- Notify your own insurer, not the other driver’s. You owe the other driver’s insurer nothing beyond basic facts.
- Stay off social media. A photo from a dinner two weeks later will be used to argue your injuries are minor.
Bring what you gathered to your free consultation. Our list of 7 documents to have when meeting your car accident lawyer covers the rest, and our guide to essential steps after a collision from a car accident lawyer in Los Angeles walks through each step.
Car Crash Lawyer Los Angeles: The Car Accidents Behind Most Serious Claims
How a car accident happened decides who is responsible, which insurance applies, and what evidence matters. These are the collisions behind most serious claims.
Rear-End Car Accidents
Stop-and-go freeway traffic makes rear-end collisions a common car accident in Los Angeles. The following driver is usually found at fault for following too closely under Vehicle Code 21703, but insurers still argue a sudden stop or a low-speed impact that “could not” cause injury. Disc herniations and concussions are common even when the bumper damage looks minor, which is why we document the injury, not just the dent. See our guide to rear-end collision injury claims in Los Angeles.
T-Bone and Broadside Collisions
Side-impact car accidents happen at intersections when a driver runs a red light, rolls a stop sign, or turns left across traffic. The side of a car has little crush space, so pelvic, rib, and head injuries are common. Fault often turns on the signal phase, which is why we request intersection video and signal timing records early.
Head-On Collisions
Head-on car accidents are rare but among the deadliest. In Los Angeles they happen on canyon roads, on off-ramps entered the wrong way, and when an impaired driver crosses a median.
Hit-and-Run Car Accidents
Leaving the scene of a car accident that injures someone is a crime under Vehicle Code 20001. When the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay, but only if strict reporting rules are met (explained below). Our article on the phantom driver rule in Los Angeles hit-and-runs covers the issue in depth.
Rollovers
SUVs and pickups roll after a high-speed swerve or a trip on a curb or soft shoulder. Roof crush and ejection make rollovers a leading cause of spinal cord injury, and the claim can reach the vehicle’s design or a failed tire. See our article on when you need a car rollover lawyer in Los Angeles.
Multi-Vehicle Pileups
Chain-reaction car accidents on the 405, the 5, and the 10 can involve several drivers and insurers, each blaming the others. The order of impacts often has to be reconstructed from vehicle damage, data recorders, and witnesses.
Drunk and Distracted Driving
An impaired driver is liable for compensatory damages like any negligent driver, and California courts have held that drunk driving can support punitive damages under Civil Code 3294 in the right case. Distraction is just as common: Vehicle Code 23123.5 bars holding and operating a phone while driving, and phone records can prove distraction once a lawsuit allows a subpoena.
We also handle crashes involving commercial trucks and 18-wheelers and Uber and Lyft drivers, which carry their own insurance rules.
Car Accidents on the 405, the 101, the 10, the 110, and the I-5
A handful of corridors produce a large share of serious car accident claims in Los Angeles.
- The 405. Through the Sepulveda Pass and past LAX, sudden slowdowns cause rear-end chains and lane-change sideswipes. The 405 and 10 interchange is heavily congested.
- The 101. Through the Cahuenga Pass and the Valley, short merges cause sideswipes and multi-car collisions.
- The 10. From Downtown to Santa Monica, backed-up exits lead to high-speed rear-end car accidents.
- The 110. The older Arroyo Seco section toward Pasadena has tight curves and very short on-ramps.
- The I-5. The 5 carries freight through East Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, so a car accident there often involves a commercial truck.
Surface streets produce different collisions. Downtown Los Angeles has one-way grids, heavy pedestrian traffic, buses, and left turns across multiple lanes. In Hollywood, Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards mix nightlife traffic, rideshare pickups, and tourists. In Santa Monica, Lincoln Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway mix beach traffic, scooters, and cyclists with drivers coming off the 10. T-bone and left-turn car accidents dominate there, and the footage is often on a business or city traffic camera that must be requested quickly.
The freeways are state highways maintained by Caltrans. When a missing guardrail, a dangerous design, or a road defect causes a car accident, the State of California can be a defendant, and the six-month deadline below applies. See our guide to claims against Caltrans and the State of California after a highway crash and our article on California’s Move Over expansion and how it changes your injury case in 2026.
California Fault Rules a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer Applies: Comparative Fault and Prop 213
California is an at-fault state. The driver who caused the car accident, and that driver’s insurer, pay for the harm. To recover compensation, you must show the other driver failed to drive with reasonable care and that the failure caused your injuries. That is the case we build for you.
Pure Comparative Fault
California follows pure comparative fault, adopted in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). You can recover compensation even if you were partly responsible, reduced by your percentage of fault. If your damages are $100,000 and you are 20% at fault, you recover $80,000.
An adjuster who cannot deny a car accident claim will often try to assign you 20% or 30% of the blame for speeding, a late brake, or a missing seatbelt. Every point comes off your compensation. We answer those arguments with evidence, not opinion. Our article on who is at fault in a car accident covers how fault is assigned in common collision patterns.
Prop 213: Uninsured Drivers Lose Pain and Suffering
Under Proposition 213 (Civil Code 3333.4), a driver who was uninsured at the time of the car accident generally cannot recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, even if the other driver was entirely at fault. Medical bills and lost wages remain recoverable, and there is an exception when the at-fault driver is convicted of DUI for that crash. See our article on when Prop 213 applies.
Uninsured, Underinsured, and Hit-and-Run Car Accident Claims
A strong car accident case is only as good as the insurance available to pay compensation. In serious Los Angeles injury cases, insurance is often the hardest problem we solve.
California Minimum Limits Under SB 1107
Senate Bill 1107 raised California’s minimum auto liability limits effective January 1, 2025: $30,000 for injury to one person, $60,000 for all injuries in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage. That doubles the old bodily injury minimums and is still far below the cost of one spinal surgery. We review every available policy. Read more in new California auto insurance minimums under SB 1107.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) Claims
If the at-fault driver had no insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay compensation for your injuries under Insurance Code 11580.2. Your own insurer will still dispute fault, injuries, and value like an opposing carrier, and disputes go to arbitration, where many people find it helps to have an attorney. Generally, within two years of the car accident you must settle the UM claim, sue the uninsured driver, or formally begin arbitration. See what happens when an uninsured driver hits you in Los Angeles.
Underinsured Motorist (UIM) Claims
If the at-fault driver carried only the minimum, California UIM coverage generally pays the difference between your own UIM limit and what the at-fault insurer paid. It helps only when your limit is higher than theirs. Our explainer on uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage covers both.
Hit-and-Run Claims Have Strict Timing Rules
When the driver is never identified, Insurance Code 11580.2 requires:
- Physical contact between the unidentified vehicle and you or your vehicle.
- A police report within 24 hours to the city police department, or to the sheriff or California Highway Patrol outside a city.
- A sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days.
Miss the 24-hour report and the coverage may be lost. If you are hospitalized, a family member can report on your behalf.
Insurance Company Tactics, Written for Someone Without a Lawyer Yet
Most people hear from the other driver’s insurer within days, before they have spoken to any lawyer or attorney. The adjuster is polite. Their job is to close the car accident claim for as little as the facts allow. Here is what to expect, and what you can say.
The Recorded Statement
You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. You can say: “I’m not giving a recorded statement. I’ll provide information in writing.” Give basic facts only: your name, the date, the location, and your insurer. Do not guess at speeds, and do not say “I’m fine.” A statement made on pain medication, before an MRI, will be quoted back to you. Your own policy may require cooperation, but it is reasonable to schedule that statement after speaking with a lawyer.
The Blanket Medical Authorization
Do not sign a form releasing all your medical records. It lets the insurer search years of history for a prior complaint to blame. Records related to the car accident can be provided later in a controlled way.
The Early Settlement Offer
A quick settlement offer usually arrives before anyone knows whether you need surgery. Once you sign a release, the claim is closed for good. California also generally limits past medical damages to the amount actually paid rather than billed (Howell v. Hamilton Meats, 2011), so an offer built on billing figures can look larger than it is.
Comparative Fault Suggestions
Expect the adjuster to suggest you were partly responsible for the Los Angeles collision. Do not agree to a percentage on the phone. Fault in a Los Angeles car accident claim is decided on evidence.
Evidence That Decides a Los Angeles Car Accident Claim
The Police Report and Which Agency Writes It
- California Highway Patrol (CHP): freeways throughout Los Angeles County and roads in unincorporated areas.
- Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD): city streets within the City of Los Angeles.
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department: contract cities such as West Hollywood.
- City police departments: cities with their own departments, such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, and Long Beach.
Parties to the car accident, and their attorney, can request the report. LAPD reports go through the department’s records process, and CHP reports are requested from the area office that took the report, using CHP Form 190. Reports often take weeks. An officer’s fault conclusion is an opinion, and errors can be corrected with other evidence.
Dashcam and Surveillance Footage
Dashcam footage from any car, rideshare vehicle, or bus can settle a fault dispute in seconds. Business cameras in Los Angeles are often overwritten within days, so we send a preservation letter to keep footage from being erased.
Vehicle Event Data
Most modern cars carry an event data recorder storing speed, braking, and seatbelt use in the seconds before a car accident. Under Vehicle Code 9951, that data generally cannot be downloaded without the owner’s consent or a court order. If the other car is repaired or salvaged first, the data may be gone, so we move to preserve it early.
Car Accident Attorney Los Angeles: Crashes Involving a City Vehicle, Metro Bus, or Dangerous Road
Some of the most serious car accidents in Los Angeles involve a public entity. A City of Los Angeles sanitation truck runs a red light. A county vehicle sideswipes you on the 110. An LA Metro bus pulls into your lane. A traffic signal is dark at a busy intersection.
Public entities are liable when their employees cause a car accident while driving on the job (Vehicle Code 17001), and for a dangerous condition of public property, such as a missing sign or malfunctioning signal, under Government Code 835 when the agency created it or knew about it in time to fix it.
The Six-Month Government Claim Deadline
These claims run under the Government Claims Act, the California law governing claims against public entities. Before any lawsuit, a written claim must be presented to the public entity within six months of the injury, under Government Code 911.2. The agency generally has 45 days to act. If it rejects the claim in writing, you generally have six months from that notice to sue. If no written notice is sent, the deadline is generally two years from the injury. A late-claim application must be made within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year, and it is granted only on narrow grounds.
This six-month deadline is separate from the two-year statute of limitations, and the longer deadline does not extend the shorter one. For an injured child, tolling until age 18 does not pause the six-month government claim deadline. A late-claim application may be available for a child under Government Code 911.4 and 911.6, but it has its own one-year limit. Read more about Los Angeles government claims and Los Angeles bus accident claims.
Claims against public entities are a core focus of our firm. Ted H. Ravan went into injury law after his grandfather was in a near-fatal incident involving a city-operated bus. That is why our firm takes on government cases. Our largest motor vehicle result, $3,500,000, came from a car accident with a county vehicle. Agency guides:
- Filing a claim against the City of Los Angeles
- How to file a claim against LA Metro after an injury
- What to do if you’ve been injured due to a government entity
Catastrophic Car Accident Injuries and the Lifetime Cost of Care
Not every car accident case is the same. Whiplash, soft tissue damage, broken bones, and emotional trauma are common. Some car accidents cause injuries that change the rest of a life:
- Traumatic brain injury, including “mild” injuries that cause memory loss, mood changes, and an inability to return to skilled work.
- Spinal cord injury and paralysis, requiring home modification, equipment, and lifelong attendant care.
- Multiple and complex fractures of the pelvis, femur, or spine, often needing several surgeries.
- Internal injuries, burns, amputations, and disfigurement.
- Permanent disability that ends a career.
These cases need more than a demand letter built on bills already paid, and more compensation analysis than a quick settlement allows. We build them on medical projections from treating physicians, a life-care plan pricing future surgeries, therapy, and care, and an economist’s analysis of lost earning capacity. An early settlement offer, made before the long-term prognosis is known, rarely accounts for any of it. Read more about catastrophic injury claims in Los Angeles.
When a car accident takes a life, Code of Civil Procedure 377.60 allows certain family members, including a spouse, domestic partner, and children, to bring a wrongful death claim, generally within two years under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. If a public entity was involved, a government claim must be presented within six months first. Read more about Los Angeles wrongful death claims.
What Compensation Can a Car Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles Pursue?
Compensation in a California car accident claim falls into two categories of compensatory damages. Punitive damages are separate from both.
Economic damages: emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation; future medical care; lost wages; lost earning capacity; in-home care; and vehicle repair or replacement.
Non-economic damages: physical pain, emotional distress, scarring and disfigurement, and the loss of the activities and relationships that made up your life. California does not cap non-economic compensation in ordinary car accident cases. See our article on economic and non-economic damages.
Punitive damages are not compensation. They punish especially wrongful conduct, require clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud under Civil Code 3294, and are uncommon outside cases like drunk driving.
There is no reliable “average” car accident settlement in Los Angeles. What moves the number: the severity and permanence of the injury, the cost of future care, whether you can return to work, how clear the fault evidence is, your share of fault, and the insurance available. The full value of a case is often underestimated in the first weeks, which is why a Los Angeles car accident lawyer will usually advise against accepting a settlement before treatment has run its course. We give our clients the same advice.
California Car Accident Deadlines
Claim | Deadline | Authority |
Personal injury lawsuit | Generally 2 years from the date of injury | Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 |
Wrongful death lawsuit | Generally 2 years from the date of death | Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 |
Vehicle property damage | Generally 3 years | Code of Civil Procedure 338 |
Claim against a public entity | 6 months from the date of injury, before any lawsuit | Government Code 911.2 |
Hit-and-run uninsured motorist claim | Police report within 24 hours; sworn statement within 30 days | Insurance Code 11580.2 |
Injured minor | Generally tolled until age 18 (does not pause the six-month government claim deadline) | Code of Civil Procedure 352 |
The two-year statute does not rescue a missed government claim, and no lawyer can revive one once the one-year late-claim window has closed. For timing once a car accident case is filed, see how long a personal injury case takes in California.
How a Car Accident Case Moves Forward With Ravan Law
- Free consultation. We tell you whether there is a claim worth pursuing, including when the answer is no.
- Preservation and investigation. We send letters for video, vehicle data, and records, and we interview witnesses while memories are fresh.
- Insurance review. We identify every policy: the other driver’s, an employer’s if the driver was working, and your own UM and UIM coverage.
- Government claim, if needed. We prepare it and present it inside the six-month window under Government Code 911.2.
- Medical documentation, with future care projected in serious cases.
- Demand and negotiation. Most car accident claims resolve by settlement at this stage.
- Litigation where needed. If an offer does not reflect the harm, we file suit and prepare your car accident case for trial.
Serving Car Accident Victims Across Los Angeles County
We represent people hurt in car accidents throughout Los Angeles County, including Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City, Inglewood, Van Nuys, Panorama City, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, and Long Beach. If you need a Los Angeles County car crash lawyer, our office at 6310 San Vicente Blvd. serves clients across the county, and we also represent injured clients in Orange County, San Diego County, Palm Springs, Barstow, and San Luis Obispo County. For other injury claims, see our personal injury practice or the Ravan Law homepage.
Speak With a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer Today
If you or someone in your family was seriously hurt in a car accident in Los Angeles, the first weeks matter more than most people realize. A hit-and-run claim can turn on a report made within 24 hours. A claim against a city vehicle, a Metro bus, or a dangerous road must be presented within six months under Government Code 911.2, and that clock starts on the day of the collision, not the day you leave the hospital.
Call Ravan Law at (424) 465-2500 for a free consultation with a Los Angeles car accident attorney. You work with us directly, and we keep you updated at every stage. No fee unless we win.
6310 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 401, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Attorney Advertising. Ted H. Ravan, Esq., Ravan Law, Los Angeles, CA. This content is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its specific facts.
Every result depended on the facts of that case, and results will differ based on different facts. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of your matter.
