VAN NUYS PERSONAL INJURY
LAWYERS

The intersections

Public reporting on serious collisions has repeatedly identified Van Nuys intersections among the most dangerous in the city. Sherman Way at Sepulveda and Burbank Boulevard at Sepulveda both appear in LAPD collision data as high-incidence locations. Roscoe at Van Nuys has been identified among the city's top five for serious wrecks, with a notably high count of felony hit-and-runs.

Van Nuys Boulevard itself is repeatedly called out in pedestrian safety analysis as producing a disproportionate share of pedestrian injury claims.

These corridors are wide, fast arterials running through dense residential neighborhoods — the street design pattern that concentrates severe injuries. They appear on LADOT's High Injury Network, which is the city's own map of where deaths and serious injuries cluster. That's public data, and being struck on a documented HIN corridor supports an argument that the City was aware of the danger.

Hit-and-run

The hit-and-run rate at some Van Nuys intersections is high enough to be its own category of case.

If the driver who hit you fled, you are not without options. Your own uninsured motorist coverage generally responds to hit-and-run collisions — and this applies whether you were driving, walking, or on a bike. The coverage typically follows the insured person rather than the vehicle.

There are notice and corroboration requirements, so report to police immediately and notify your own carrier promptly. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses sometimes identifies a vehicle, but that window is short.

Pedestrian and transit cases

Van Nuys has heavy pedestrian and transit use alongside high-speed arterial traffic. That combination produces severe pedestrian injuries.

Two things worth knowing: crossing outside a crosswalk was decriminalized in California in 2023 and does not bar a claim. And drivers must yield to pedestrians in unmarked crosswalks at intersections, not only painted ones.

If a Metro bus was involved, that's a public entity claim with its own procedure and a short deadline.

Jurisdiction

Van Nuys is part of the City of Los Angeles. Claims involving city vehicles, roadway conditions, or city employees go to the City on a six-month administrative claim deadline.

The Van Nuys courthouses — Van Nuys Courthouse East on Sylmar Avenue and Van Nuys Courthouse West on Erwin Street Mall — serve this district, though where a personal injury case is actually filed and assigned within LA Superior Court depends on current court rules and assignment orders.