LOS ANGELES CAR & MOTORCYCLE
ACCIDENT LAWYERS

What we handle

Rear-end collisions. Intersection and left-turn crashes. Freeway collisions on the 101, the 405, and the 118. Hit-and-runs. Multi-vehicle pileups. Lane-change and merge accidents. Head-on collisions. Single-vehicle crashes caused by road defects or another driver's conduct. Motorcycle crashes of every kind.

Car accidents in Los Angeles County

The Valley's arterials and freeway interchanges produce a particular kind of crash: heavy congestion, frequent lane changes, and drivers looking at phones. A two-second lapse produces medical bills, lost income, and months of disruption that an insurer will try to price as a nuisance.

We investigate from day one. That means preserving evidence before it disappears — surveillance footage from nearby businesses is often overwritten within 30 days, and vehicles get repaired or scrapped. It means obtaining the traffic collision report, identifying and interviewing witnesses, photographing the scene, and where the case warrants it, retaining a reconstruction expert.

Then we build the damages side: medical treatment to date and what you'll need going forward, lost wages and lost earning capacity, vehicle repair or diminished value, and the human cost of what you've been through. We present that to the insurer as a documented demand — and if they won't be reasonable, we file.

Motorcycle accidents

Riders absorb the physics. Even with a helmet and full gear, a collision with a distracted driver can mean surgery, hardware, months off work, and permanent limitation.

Riders also face a bias that shows up immediately in claims handling. Adjusters assign fault to the motorcyclist by reflex, and juries can arrive with assumptions about how riders behave. Countering that is a substantial part of the work.

On lane splitting: it is legal in California. Vehicle Code section 21658.1 expressly authorizes it and directs the CHP to develop educational guidelines. The fact that a rider was lane splitting is not, by itself, negligence — though an insurer will treat it as if it were. Speed differential and the surrounding circumstances matter; the practice itself is lawful.

We document exactly how the crash happened, use the physical evidence to establish the sequence, and make sure the version that gets told is the accurate one rather than the convenient one.

Hit-and-run crashes

If the other driver flees, you're not without options. Your own uninsured motorist coverage typically applies to hit-and-run collisions, and there are notice and corroboration requirements that make prompt reporting important. Report to police immediately, and tell your own carrier promptly.

Surveillance footage, partial plate information, and debris at the scene sometimes lead to identification. That work has a short window.

Insurance coverage — and why it changed recently

For decades California's minimum liability limits were among the lowest in the country: $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident, $5,000 property damage. Those limits routinely fell short of a single emergency room visit.

That changed. As of January 1, 2025, California's minimum limits rose to $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 property damage, with a further increase scheduled for 2035. Practically, this means a minimum-limits policy today carries twice the coverage it did for a crash in 2024.

It also means the analysis of available coverage is worth doing carefully rather than assuming. Sources that may apply beyond the at-fault driver's policy:

• Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, which many people carry without realizing it
• An employer's commercial policy, if the at-fault driver was working
• A rideshare company's policy, if an app was active
• Umbrella coverage held by the at-fault driver
• Another at-fault party entirely — a vehicle manufacturer, a public entity responsible for a dangerous roadway condition, or a bar that overserved a driver

Bring us your own declarations page. People frequently have coverage they don't know about.

If you were driving without insurance

California's Proposition 213, codified at Civil Code section 3333.4, bars an uninsured driver from recovering non-economic damages — pain and suffering — even in a crash that was entirely the other driver's fault. Economic damages like medical bills and lost wages remain recoverable.

There are exceptions, including where the at-fault driver was convicted of driving under the influence. If you were uninsured at the time, tell us immediately. It changes the shape of the case and there are arguments worth making.

Deadlines

Two years from the date of the crash for most claims, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a public entity was involved — a Metro bus, a city or county vehicle, a dangerous roadway condition — you generally have six months to file an administrative claim, and missing it ends the case regardless of merit.