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A car crash can upend your health, your income, and your sense of safety in a matter of seconds. We handle the insurance companies so you can focus on getting better.
Car crashes are the most common way people in California are seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. They are also the type of claim insurance companies handle most often, which means they have refined systems, scripts, and software designed to resolve your case quickly and for as little as possible. What feels like a once in a lifetime event to you is routine business to the adjuster on the other end of the phone.
An auto accident claim sits within personal injury law, but it comes with its own layers: police reports and traffic citations, multiple insurance policies that may overlap, vehicle damage and total loss valuations, medical liens, and rules specific to motor vehicles. Handling all of that while you are in pain, missing work, and trying to arrange transportation is a genuine burden.
At Glendale Law, we represent drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians hurt in collisions throughout Glendale and across California. We take over the phone calls, the paperwork, and the negotiation, and we build a claim that reflects the full cost of what happened to you rather than the number an insurer would prefer to pay.
The steps you take in the hours and days after a collision can shape the strength of your claim for months afterward. If you are reading this soon after a crash, these are the things that matter most.
If some of these steps were not possible, that does not sink your claim. Many strong cases are built after the fact from records, photographs taken later, and testimony. It simply means the investigation work matters that much more.
Most crashes trace back to a driver who was not paying attention or was not driving the way a reasonable person would. On congested corridors and busy intersections around Glendale and greater Los Angeles, a few causes come up again and again.
Identifying the cause matters because it points to the evidence that proves liability, and sometimes to additional responsible parties beyond the driver, such as an employer, a vehicle owner, or a company whose policy covers the driver at the time of the crash.
California is an at-fault, or tort, state. The driver responsible for causing a collision, and that driver's insurance company, is responsible for the resulting harm. This is different from no-fault states, where each driver turns first to their own policy regardless of who caused the crash. Here, establishing fault is central to your recovery.
Every driver in California is required to carry liability insurance in at least the minimum amounts set by state law. Those minimums are modest, and the state has raised them in recent years, so the coverage available on a given policy is something we confirm early in every case rather than assume. When the at-fault driver's limits are too low to cover serious injuries, we look for other coverage that may apply.
Proving fault comes down to negligence: showing that the other driver owed you a duty of reasonable care, failed to meet it, and caused your injuries as a result. Police reports, traffic citations, photographs, vehicle damage patterns, surveillance or dash camera footage, witness accounts, and in some cases collision reconstruction all contribute to that showing.
One of the most valuable things an attorney does early in an auto case is map every policy that might pay. Clients are often surprised to learn that more than one source of coverage applies to their crash.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims deserve particular attention, because they are made against your own insurer. Even though it is your company, the claim is still adversarial, and these policies carry their own notice requirements and deadlines that can be shorter than the deadline for suing the at-fault driver.
Being struck by a driver who flees, or who turns out to have no insurance, is one of the most frustrating situations a crash victim faces. It is not, however, the end of the road. Uninsured motorist coverage exists precisely for these circumstances, and many California drivers carry it without realizing what it covers.
In a hit and run, prompt reporting matters more than usual. Notify the police and your own insurer as soon as possible, because uninsured motorist claims involving an unidentified driver typically require timely reporting and independent corroboration of the collision. Nearby businesses, traffic cameras, and witnesses can all help establish that another vehicle caused the crash.
We investigate these cases aggressively, working to identify the fleeing driver where possible and, where it is not, to build the record your own policy requires. Either way, you should not have to absorb the cost of someone else's decision to drive uninsured or to leave the scene.
The forces involved in even a moderate speed collision are considerable, and the injuries that result range from painful to life changing. Documenting them thoroughly is the foundation of a fair recovery.
Because some of these injuries take time to fully reveal themselves, settling too early is a genuine risk. We work to understand the complete medical picture, including the care you are likely to need going forward, before putting a value on your claim.
Alongside your injury claim runs a separate question: what happens to your car. Insurers evaluate whether a vehicle is worth repairing or should be declared a total loss based on repair cost against the vehicle's value before the crash. That valuation is not always generous, and it is negotiable.
If your vehicle is repairable, you are generally entitled to have it restored properly, and to a rental or loss of use while the work is done. If it is declared a total loss, the insurer owes you the actual cash value of the vehicle, which should reflect its condition, mileage, options, and comparable listings in your area rather than a generic estimate.
California law also recognizes that a repaired vehicle can be worth less than an identical one that was never in a crash. Diminished value claims are fact specific and are not available in every situation, but they are worth evaluating on a newer vehicle with significant damage history. Property damage deadlines differ from injury deadlines, which is another reason to get advice early.
California follows a pure comparative negligence rule. You can still recover compensation even if you were partly responsible for the collision, with your recovery reduced by your share of fault. If you are found partly at fault, that percentage comes off the top, but it does not bar your claim the way it would in some other states.
Insurers understand this rule well and often push fault onto the injured driver to reduce what they owe. A common example is a rear end collision where the insurer argues the front driver stopped abruptly, or an intersection crash where each side claims the light. Part of our job is to test those arguments against the physical evidence rather than let them stand unchallenged.
Deadlines matter just as much. In California, the general statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the crash, while claims for damage to property generally carry a three year deadline. Claims against a government entity, such as a collision involving a city vehicle or a dangerous road condition, require a formal claim to be filed within a much shorter window. Miss the applicable deadline and the claim is usually lost no matter how strong it was.
From the day you hire us, the calls stop coming to you and start coming to us. We notify the insurers, confirm every layer of available coverage, and put the other side on notice to preserve evidence such as dash camera footage and vehicle data before it disappears.
We gather the police report, photographs, witness statements, and any available video, and we collect your medical records and bills so the full extent of your injuries is documented rather than summarized. Where a case calls for it, we work with medical providers and collision professionals who can explain how the crash happened and what your recovery realistically requires.
We then present a demand that sets out liability, injuries, and losses in detail, and we negotiate from that position. Most auto cases settle, but we prepare each one as though it may be filed and tried, because an insurer's willingness to pay fairly often depends on whether it believes you are prepared to go to court. Throughout, you will know where your case stands and what happens next, in plain language.
Rarely. Early offers usually arrive before the full extent of your injuries is known, and accepting one generally means signing a release that ends your right to seek anything more. It costs nothing to have the offer reviewed before you decide.
You are generally not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company, and doing so without advice can hurt your claim. Your own policy may require cooperation with your insurer, which is a different question and one we can help you navigate.
You may still recover. Under California's pure comparative negligence rule, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than eliminated. Do not assume you have no claim because an adjuster told you that you were responsible.
Auto accident cases are commonly handled on a contingency basis, meaning the fee is a percentage of the recovery and is owed only if the case succeeds. We explain exactly how fees and costs work during your consultation so there are no surprises.
If you have been hurt in a collision, focus first on your health. See a doctor, follow the treatment plan you are given, and keep a record of how the injuries affect your work and daily life. Hold on to bills, estimates, and correspondence, and be careful about signing anything or giving statements before you understand your rights.
Then let us take the rest. A consultation costs you nothing and gives you a clear picture of what your claim involves, what coverage is available, and what deadlines apply to your situation. Contact Glendale Law and we will review what happened and explain your options honestly.
Let our experienced Glendale team deal with the insurance companies while you focus on recovering.
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