California Automobile Accident Lawyers
A serious car accident can leave an injured person dealing with medical treatment, time away from work, vehicle damage, insurance adjusters, and questions about who will pay for losses that may continue long after the collision.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP represents people and families injured in automobile accidents throughout California. Our attorneys handle car accident claims involving negligent and reckless drivers, serious and catastrophic injuries, disputed liability, uninsured and underinsured motorists, multiple-vehicle collisions, and wrongful death.
The firm’s personal injury attorneys investigate how a crash happened, identify the parties and insurance coverage involved, document the injuries and financial losses, and pursue compensation through settlement or litigation. Partners John W. Shaver and Vanessa Cardinale bring substantial experience handling serious personal injury cases, including automobile accidents, traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, wrongful death, and other claims involving significant damages.
California Car Accident Claims Begin With Negligence and Fault
Most automobile accident claims are based on negligence. California Civil Code Section 1714 establishes the general principle that people are responsible for injuries caused by their failure to use ordinary care.
For drivers, ordinary care includes maintaining control of the vehicle, paying attention to traffic, obeying traffic signals and right-of-way rules, traveling at a safe speed, and responding appropriately to roadway conditions.
A traffic violation can provide important evidence, but determining liability usually requires more than identifying who received a citation. Vehicle location, witness accounts, video, vehicle damage, electronic data, road conditions, driver conduct, and physical evidence can all help reconstruct what occurred.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP investigates automobile accidents with the potential for litigation in mind. A claim is stronger when the evidence explains not only that a collision occurred, but how the other driver’s conduct caused it.
Common Causes of Automobile Accidents
Many California car accidents involve familiar driving errors, but the evidence behind those errors differs from crash to crash.
Distracted driving can involve texting, phone calls, navigation systems, social media, eating, or any activity that takes a driver’s attention off the roadway. Mobile phone records, vehicle data, witness testimony, and the driver’s own statements can help establish what was happening immediately before impact.
Speeding and unsafe speed affect both the likelihood of a collision and the severity of the resulting injuries. A driver can also be traveling too fast for traffic, visibility, weather, or roadway conditions even when traveling below the posted limit.
Unsafe turns and failure to yield commonly lead to intersection and left-turn crashes. Signal timing, right-of-way rules, sight lines, traffic-camera footage, and vehicle positions can help establish who entered the path of approaching traffic.
Unsafe lane changes can produce sideswipe collisions or force another vehicle into surrounding traffic. Blind spots, mirror use, turn signals, traffic density, and vehicle positioning often factor into the liability investigation.
Following too closely is a common factor in rear-end crashes. The severity of a rear-end impact can vary considerably, and vehicle damage alone does not necessarily reflect the extent of an occupant’s injuries.
Impaired driving can involve alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription medication, or a combination of substances.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP also maintains a dedicated DUI accident practice for people harmed by impaired drivers.
Other automobile accidents involve fatigue, aggressive driving, road rage, poor vehicle maintenance, inexperienced drivers, or multiple contributing factors.
Rear-End Car Accidents
Rear-end collisions range from lower-speed crashes in congested traffic to violent freeway impacts involving catastrophic injuries.
The following driver is often responsible when they don’t leave enough distance to stop safely, but liability still depends on the circumstances surrounding the collision. Sudden lane changes, disabled vehicles, chain-reaction impacts, and multi-car crashes can complicate the analysis.
Neck and back injuries are common after rear-end accidents. Some produce herniated discs, nerve injuries, concussions, shoulder injuries, fractures, or symptoms that become more apparent after the initial shock of the collision subsides.
Medical evidence plays an important role in these claims. Treatment records, imaging studies, specialist evaluations, prior medical history, and testimony about the person’s condition before and after the accident can help establish the connection between the crash and the claimed injuries.
Intersection and T-Bone Collisions
Side-impact crashes can expose vehicle occupants to tremendous force because there is less structural protection between the occupant and the striking vehicle.
Intersection accidents frequently involve disputes over traffic lights, stop signs, right of way, left turns, or the speed of an approaching vehicle. Drivers can give completely different accounts of who entered the intersection first or which traffic signal was displayed.
Independent evidence carries particular value in those circumstances. Traffic cameras, nearby surveillance systems, dashboard cameras, eyewitnesses, event-data recorders, vehicle damage, and debris patterns can help establish how the collision occurred.
Serious T-bone crashes can result in brain injuries, fractures, spinal trauma, internal injuries, and permanent physical limitations.
Head-On Collisions
Head-on automobile collisions often produce severe injuries because the forces generated by two moving vehicles converge at impact.
A vehicle can cross the center line because of distraction, impairment, fatigue, excessive speed, an unsafe passing maneuver, or loss of control. Other cases involve roadway design, mechanical failure, or a driver attempting to avoid another hazard.
The resulting claims often require close examination of the physical crash scene. Tire marks, debris, impact locations, vehicle deformation, roadway geometry, electronic vehicle information, and reconstruction analysis can help determine where the vehicles were immediately before the collision.
Because head-on accidents carry a high risk of catastrophic or fatal injury, the damages investigation can be as extensive as the liability investigation.
Multi-Vehicle and Chain-Reaction Accidents
Determining responsibility becomes more complicated when three or more vehicles are involved.
A rear impact can push one vehicle into another. Two drivers can make separate errors within seconds of each other. A collision can block active traffic lanes and trigger additional impacts before approaching motorists have time to react.
Insurance companies representing different drivers can each attempt to shift responsibility elsewhere. Statements given at the scene can also be incomplete because occupants experienced different portions of the crash sequence.
A multi-vehicle accident investigation can require matching vehicle damage with individual impacts, reviewing several drivers’ accounts, obtaining video, examining event data, and determining the timing of each collision.
More than one driver can ultimately bear responsibility for the same accident.
California Uses Pure Comparative Fault
Fault in a California car accident is not always all or nothing.
The California Supreme Court adopted pure comparative negligence in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. Under that rule, courts can divide responsibility among the people whose negligence contributed to an accident. An injured person’s compensation is reduced according to the percentage of fault attributed to that person rather than automatically eliminated because some responsibility is shared.
A driver might argue, for example, that another motorist made an unsafe turn but was also traveling too fast to avoid the collision. In a multi-vehicle accident, courts can assign different percentages of fault to several drivers.
Comparative-fault arguments make evidence especially important. Insurance companies can try to reduce a claim by assigning some responsibility to the injured person, even when another driver’s negligence clearly contributed to the crash.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP examines those allegations against the physical evidence, witness accounts, traffic laws, vehicle data, and sequence of events rather than accepting an insurer’s initial allocation of fault.
More Than One Party Can Be Responsible for an Automobile Accident
The person behind the wheel is often the primary defendant in a car accident claim, but responsibility can extend beyond that driver.
Under California law, a vehicle owner can face liability in certain accidents involving someone operating the vehicle with permission. An employer can also be responsible when an employee causes a collision while acting within the scope of employment.
Commercial vehicles can create additional issues involving the driver’s employer, vehicle owner, maintenance providers, contractors, and other companies involved in the transportation operation. Those claims are addressed more fully by our California truck accident lawyers.
A defective tire, braking system, steering component, restraint system, or other vehicle part can introduce a separate product liability claim. Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP’s product liability practice addresses injuries involving defective products and vehicles.
Public entities can also be involved when a government vehicle or qualifying dangerous roadway condition contributed to the accident. Claims involving California public entities are subject to special procedures and much shorter claim-presentation deadlines.
Identifying every responsible party can be particularly important after a severe accident because the losses can exceed the insurance available from one driver.
Evidence Used to Establish Fault After a Car Accident
A collision can last only seconds, but the evidence left behind can explain what occurred in considerable detail.
Depending on the accident, important evidence can include:
- Police and California Highway Patrol reports
- Photographs and video from the crash scene
- Traffic and surveillance cameras
- Dashboard-camera footage
- Witness statements
- Vehicle damage and impact patterns
- Skid marks, debris, and roadway evidence
- Event data recorder information
- Vehicle telematics and onboard computer data
- Cell phone records
- 911 calls
- Traffic-signal timing information
- Inspection and maintenance records
- Medical records
- Expert accident reconstruction
Some evidence is temporary. Businesses can overwrite surveillance footage, damaged vehicles can be repaired or destroyed, roadway evidence disappears, and electronic information can be lost through ordinary retention practices.
Early investigation gives attorneys a better opportunity to preserve the information needed to resolve disputed accounts of the collision.
Serious Injuries After a California Car Accident
Modern vehicles include extensive safety systems, but occupants still absorb substantial forces in a high-speed or severe collision.
Automobile accident injuries can include:
- Traumatic brain injuries and concussions
- Spinal cord injuries
- Herniated and damaged spinal discs
- Neck and back injuries
- Fractures
- Shoulder and knee injuries
- Nerve damage
- Internal organ injuries
- Chest and abdominal trauma
- Burns and lacerations
- Amputations
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Chronic pain
- Psychological trauma
A serious injury claim needs to account for more than the first emergency-room bill. The medical evidence can include surgery, rehabilitation, specialist care, medication, future procedures, assistive equipment, and long-term physical limitations.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP handles catastrophic injury claims and cases involving traumatic brain injuries where the long-term consequences of a crash can affect work, independence, relationships, and daily life.
Compensation Available After an Automobile Accident
The value of a California car accident claim depends on the injuries, financial losses, available insurance, liability evidence, and the effect the accident has had on the injured person’s life.
Economic damages address measurable financial losses. Depending on the case, they can include past and future medical expenses, lost income, reduced future earning capacity, rehabilitation expenses, necessary services, and other financial losses caused by the injuries.
Property-damage claims can address repair or replacement of the vehicle and other property affected by the collision.
Non-economic damages compensate for losses that do not come with an invoice or pay stub. California Civil Code Section 1431.2 identifies forms of non-economic harm including pain, suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, and similar losses.
A person living with a spinal injury or permanent brain injury can face consequences extending decades into the future. Establishing those damages may require physicians, life-care planners, vocational experts, economists, and other specialists who can explain the injury’s long-term impact.
The amount an insurer offers early in the claim does not determine the legal value of the case.
California Automobile Insurance and Minimum Liability Limits
Insurance coverage often defines the practical path of an automobile accident claim.
California currently requires private passenger vehicles to carry at least:
- $30,000 in bodily injury liability coverage for injury or death to one person
- $60,000 for injury or death to multiple people in one accident
- $15,000 for property damage
Those limits took effect January 1, 2025.
Minimum coverage can be inadequate after a serious collision. A single hospitalization or surgery can produce losses exceeding a $30,000 bodily-injury limit before lost earnings, future treatment, or non-economic damages are considered.
An investigation therefore includes determining which policies apply, the applicable limits, whether additional insured parties or responsible entities exist, and whether the injured person has insurance that provides another source of recovery.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims
Some California drivers have no valid automobile liability insurance. Others carry insurance but not enough to cover the losses caused by a serious accident.
Uninsured motorist coverage can apply when an at-fault driver lacks liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage can provide additional protection when the responsible driver’s available liability limits are lower than the applicable underinsured motorist coverage and insufficient to compensate for the injuries.
These claims involve the injured person’s own insurer, but they still require proof of liability and damages. Disagreement can arise over fault, whether particular treatment resulted from the accident, the value of the injuries, and the amount owed under the policy.
Hit-and-run accidents can also raise uninsured motorist issues depending on the circumstances and policy requirements.
California Insurance Code Section 11580.2 establishes important rules governing uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Reviewing the entire policy and identifying all potentially applicable coverage is an important part of evaluating a serious automobile accident claim.
Accident Claims Involving Rideshare and Commercial Vehicles
A collision involving a car does not necessarily mean it is an ordinary two-driver insurance claim.
Uber and Lyft accidents can involve different insurance coverage depending on whether the rideshare driver was offline, available through the app, traveling to pick up a passenger, or carrying a passenger. Our California Uber and Lyft accident lawyers address the coverage and liability questions that arise in rideshare crashes.
Commercial trucks and delivery vehicles present their own issues concerning employment, commercial insurance, vehicle maintenance, driver qualifications, electronic records, and company responsibility.
The function of the vehicle at the time of the accident can be just as important as the type of vehicle involved.
Self-Driving Vehicles and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
Automobile accident litigation is changing as more vehicles use automated driving technologies.
Adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping systems, driver-monitoring technology, and partially automated driving systems can generate electronic evidence that did not exist in traditional automobile cases.
Questions can arise over whether the driver was attentive, which system was engaged, what warnings the vehicle provided, how the software responded to surrounding traffic, and whether a technological defect contributed to the collision.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP maintains a dedicated self-driving car accident practice for crashes involving autonomous and advanced driver-assistance technologies.
Vehicle-generated data can be especially important in these cases and can require preservation before information is overwritten or otherwise becomes unavailable.
What Happens When the Other Driver Was Intoxicated?
A drunk or drug-impaired driver can face criminal prosecution, but the criminal case does not compensate an injured person for medical expenses, lost income, physical injuries, or other losses.
The civil claim proceeds separately.
Evidence developed during the criminal investigation can become relevant to the injury case, including chemical testing, officer observations, body-camera footage, witness accounts, field sobriety testing, and admissions made by the driver.
California law can also affect damages in ways that differ from an ordinary collision. For example, Civil Code Section 3333.4 contains an exception allowing an otherwise uninsured vehicle owner to seek non-economic damages when injured by a driver who was driving under the influence and is convicted of the qualifying offense.
Our California DUI accident lawyers represent victims of impaired drivers in civil claims arising from those collisions.
California’s Rule for Uninsured Drivers and Non-Economic Damages
California’s Proposition 213 places an important limitation on certain automobile accident claims.
Under Civil Code Section 3333.4, the owner of an uninsured vehicle involved in an accident and a driver who cannot establish the required financial responsibility generally cannot recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
The restriction does not necessarily eliminate the entire injury claim. Economic losses can still present separate issues, and the statute contains specific exceptions, including the DUI-related provision described above.
Because insurance status can materially affect recoverable damages, the issue needs to be evaluated under the actual facts rather than assuming that being uninsured automatically means there is no viable claim.
Insurance Companies Investigate Their Own Financial Exposure
After an accident, the responsible driver’s insurer investigates the claim on behalf of its insured and evaluates the company’s financial exposure.
An adjuster can request a recorded statement, medical records, authorizations, photographs, prior medical history, wage information, or other documentation. Questions about prior injuries and treatment can receive particular attention when a claimant reports neck, back, or other conditions that have existed before.
A preexisting condition does not automatically prevent recovery for a new injury or an aggravation caused by the crash. The medical history must distinguish the condition before the accident from the symptoms, treatment, or limitations that followed.
Disputes can also develop over medical causation, gaps in treatment, future care, lost earnings, comparative fault, or the severity of injuries relative to vehicle damage.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP handles communications and negotiations with insurers while developing the evidence needed to support the underlying claim.
Prior Injuries Do Not Automatically Eliminate a Car Accident Claim
People involved in automobile accidents do not arrive with identical medical histories.
Someone can have an old back injury, degenerative spinal changes, a prior surgery, chronic pain, or another condition before a new collision. A new crash can aggravate an existing condition or cause an additional injury in the same part of the body.
Medical records from before and after the accident can help distinguish those issues.
The defense and insurance company may focus heavily on prior treatment to attribute current symptoms to something that happened earlier. Physicians, diagnostic imaging, treatment history, and testimony concerning changes in physical function can help establish what the accident actually caused.
The relevant comparison is often the injured person’s condition immediately before the collision versus the condition afterward.
Fatal Automobile Accidents and Wrongful Death Claims
Some crashes leave families facing the sudden loss of a spouse, parent, child, or other loved one.
California law permits specified surviving family members and other qualifying parties to bring a wrongful death claim after a death caused by another person’s wrongful act or negligence.
A fatal automobile accident investigation can address the same liability evidence used in other serious collision cases, but the damages are different. Claims can involve the financial support the deceased person would have contributed, household services, funeral and burial expenses, and the loss of the relationship recognized under California wrongful death law.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP’s California wrongful death lawyers represent families in fatal accident claims involving negligent and reckless drivers.
Preserving evidence can be especially important when the person who could have provided the most direct account of the collision did not survive.
Automobile Accidents Involving Government Vehicles
A crash involving a city, county, state, transit agency, public employee, or another government entity can operate under rules that differ substantially from an ordinary private automobile claim.
California Government Code Section 911.2 generally requires a claim involving personal injury or death against a public entity to be presented within six months after the cause of action accrues. The government-claim process typically must occur before a lawsuit can proceed.
That deadline is much shorter than California’s ordinary personal-injury statute of limitations.
Determining whether a government entity belongs in the case may require examining vehicle ownership, the driver’s employment, the purpose of the trip, roadway conditions, or a public agency’s involvement in the events leading to the collision.
The shorter deadline makes early identification of a potential public-entity claim especially important.
The Deadline for Filing a California Car Accident Lawsuit
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 generally provides two years to file an action for personal injury or death caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect.
A two-year period does not mean every automobile accident claim has the same deadline. Claims involving government entities can require action within months. Minors, delayed discovery, the defendant’s location, and other circumstances can affect particular limitation issues.
Insurance negotiations also do not automatically extend a filing deadline merely because the parties are discussing settlement.
Uninsured motorist policies can create separate deadlines and contractual requirements.
The applicable limitation period depends on the specific facts of the accident, not a general rule alone.
Reporting a California Automobile Accident to the DMV
California Vehicle Code Section 16000 requires qualifying traffic accidents to be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days.
The reporting requirement applies when an accident causes bodily injury or death or more than $1,000 in property damage to any one person’s property. The report is commonly made using the DMV’s SR-1 form.
A DMV report is separate from a police or California Highway Patrol collision report and from a claim reported to an insurance company.
The filing itself does not decide who was legally responsible for the accident. It serves a different purpose under California’s financial-responsibility laws.
Settlement Versus Filing an Automobile Accident Lawsuit
Many automobile accident claims resolve through settlement, but meaningful settlement depends on having enough information to evaluate the claim.
The medical condition needs to be sufficiently understood. Liability evidence needs to be developed. Available insurance needs to be identified. Lost income and other financial losses need documentation. Serious injuries can also require analysis of future treatment and long-term consequences.
Where an insurer disputes responsibility or refuses to offer appropriate compensation, filing a lawsuit provides access to formal discovery, depositions, subpoenas, expert testimony, and ultimately trial.
Litigation can uncover evidence unavailable during informal insurance negotiations, including electronic records, corporate information, detailed testimony, and material held by third parties.
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP prepares automobile accident cases with the experience and ability to litigate when a fair resolution cannot be reached through negotiation.
Automobile Accident Representation Throughout California
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP handles automobile accident claims throughout California and maintains offices in Newport Beach, Del Mar, Riverside, and Sacramento.
The firm’s statewide practice includes cases arising in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside County, Sacramento, San Bernardino, and communities throughout California.
An accident does not need to occur near one of the firm’s physical offices for Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP to evaluate the claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About California Car Accidents
Who is responsible for a car accident in California?
Responsibility depends on whose negligence contributed to the collision. Evidence can establish that one driver was entirely responsible or that fault was shared among several parties. California uses pure comparative negligence, which allocates responsibility according to each party’s percentage of fault.
How is fault proven after a California automobile accident?
Fault can be established through driver and witness testimony, photographs, police reports, surveillance or traffic-camera video, vehicle damage, electronic vehicle data, cell phone evidence, roadway evidence, accident reconstruction, and other information showing how the crash occurred.
Can I recover compensation if I was partly responsible for the accident?
California’s pure comparative-negligence system generally allows an injured person to recover damages even when partly responsible for the collision. The recovery is reduced according to the percentage of fault attributed to that person.
What compensation is available after a car accident?
A qualifying claim can include medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, future medical care, property damage, and non-economic damages such as pain, suffering, inconvenience, and emotional distress. The available damages depend on the injuries and circumstances of the case.
What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?
Uninsured motorist coverage can provide compensation when the responsible driver lacks liability insurance. Coverage depends on the policy and circumstances of the accident. Hit-and-run crashes can also raise uninsured motorist issues.
What if the other driver’s insurance is not enough?
Underinsured motorist coverage can apply when the responsible driver’s liability coverage is insufficient, and the injured person’s policy provides higher applicable limits. Other responsible parties and insurance policies can also need to be investigated.
What are California’s minimum automobile insurance limits?
California currently requires private passenger liability insurance of at least $30,000 for injury or death to one person, $60,000 for injury or death to more than one person in an accident, and $15,000 for property damage.
Can an uninsured driver recover compensation after an accident?
Potentially. California Civil Code Section 3333.4 generally restricts an uninsured vehicle owner or operator from recovering non-economic damages, but it does not necessarily eliminate all economic damages. The statute also contains exceptions, including one involving an uninsured owner injured by a motorist who is convicted of qualifying DUI conduct.
How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in California?
California generally provides two years for a personal injury or wrongful death action under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. Different or much shorter deadlines can apply in certain cases, including claims involving government entities.
Do I have to report a California car accident to the DMV?
A driver generally must report an accident to the California DMV within 10 days when the collision caused injury or death or more than $1,000 in property damage to any one person’s property. This requirement is separate from contacting law enforcement or an insurance company.
Does a police report determine who is at fault?
A police or CHP report can provide valuable evidence, but the officer’s conclusion does not necessarily determine civil liability. Additional evidence can reveal facts that were unavailable to the responding officer or support a different allocation of fault.
Can a passenger bring a claim after a car accident?
An injured passenger can generally pursue a claim against a driver or other party whose negligence caused the accident. Depending on the collision, that can include the driver of the vehicle carrying the passenger, another motorist, or several responsible parties.
Can I recover for an injury if I already had back or neck problems?
A prior condition does not automatically prevent an automobile accident claim. A collision can cause a new injury or aggravate an existing condition. Medical evidence comparing the person’s condition before and after the crash can become important to establishing what changed because of the accident.
Do all car accident cases go to court?
Many automobile accident claims resolve through settlement with the insurer. Litigation can become necessary when liability is disputed, the value of the injuries is contested, available coverage is unclear, or the parties cannot agree on appropriate compensation.
How much does a California car accident lawyer cost?
Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP handles personal injury matters on a contingency-fee basis. Clients do not pay attorney fees upfront, and the firm collects an attorney fee only if compensation is recovered through settlement or litigation.
Speak With a California Automobile Accident Lawyer at Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP
A serious automobile accident can create questions about fault, medical treatment, insurance coverage, lost income, and the long-term consequences of an injury. Evidence from the collision can also disappear while an insurance company is already gathering information to evaluate its exposure.
If you were injured in a car accident, contact Kalfayan Merjanian, LLP to speak with an experienced California automobile accident lawyer. Our attorneys can investigate the collision, identify the available insurance and responsible parties, document the losses caused by the crash, and pursue the compensation available under California law. The initial consultation is free, and there are no attorney fees unless we obtain a recovery for you.