Car accident lawyer in Los Angeles

The first call from the other insurer

It usually comes within a day or two, and it's friendly. They want a recorded statement and they want to know how you're feeling.

Two things worth knowing before you answer. You're not obliged to give the other side's insurer a recorded statement. And "I'm okay" said on day two, before the stiffness that arrives on day three and the scan that happens in week two, is quoted back later as the moment you said you weren't hurt.

Be polite, give them your name and the date, and tell them your lawyer will be in touch. That's a complete answer.

What a claim covers

Medical treatment, the treatment you're still going to need, the income you lost while you couldn't work, reduced earning capacity if the injury doesn't fully resolve, your vehicle, and compensation for the pain and disruption itself.

California reduces what you recover by your share of fault rather than barring it, so being partly responsible doesn't end a claim. It changes the arithmetic, and insurers lean on that rule harder than it deserves.

Who pays is its own question. The other driver's liability cover, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist cover if theirs is missing or too small, med-pay if you have it, and sometimes a third party altogether: an employer whose driver was working, a vehicle owner, a road or a vehicle defect.

The Boyle Heights warehouse fire

If the June 2026 cold-storage fire put you out of your home, closed your business, or left you breathing smoke for days, that is its own kind of claim, and the deadlines on it are shorter than most.

What to do about the Boyle Heights fire · relief centres, air quality, and who may be responsible.

See a doctor, and keep seeing them

This is the practical advice that changes outcomes most.

Gaps in treatment are the first thing an adjuster looks for, and a three-week gap gets argued as three weeks of being fine. If you can't afford treatment, say so on the call. There are usually ways to arrange it that don't require money up front.

Tell every doctor about everything that hurts, including the parts that seem minor. What isn't in the records didn't happen, as far as the claim is concerned.

Deadlines

There's a time limit on injury claims, and it's shorter than people assume. If a public entity is involved, a city, a county, the state, a transit agency, there's a separate claim that has to be presented first, on a much shorter clock, and missing it can end an otherwise good case outright.

The clock generally starts on the day of the accident. Evidence goes the same way: footage is overwritten, vehicles are repaired or scrapped, and witnesses stop answering.

Call (424) 222-9787

If the accident was recent

Photograph the vehicles, the position they ended in, the road and anything you can see of your injuries. Get the other driver's insurer and policy number. Get names and numbers for anyone who stopped, because they're gone otherwise. Ask whether there's a police report number.

Then see a doctor, even if you think you're fine.

Get in touch

Beverly Hills, working across California.

Name, a number, one sentence about what happened and when. I'll call you back. Don't attach documents here.

Sending this form doesn't make me your lawyer, and no deadline is protected until we've both signed a written agreement. If your accident was a while ago, call rather than write.