- 1The first few minutes after a crash matter more than almost anything that follows. Documenting where the vehicles came to rest, before anything moves, creates evidence that can't be recreated later.
- 2Get medical care the same day or the next day, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline delays pain for hours. A documented gap in treatment is one of the easiest things an insurance adjuster can use against a claim.
- 3California's SR-1 form is due to the DMV within ten days, separate from any police report. Missing it risks a license suspension.
- 4California's minimum insurance limits, $30,000/$60,000/$15,000, are often too low to cover a serious crash. Your own underinsured motorist coverage, alongside medical payments coverage, is a real protection worth carrying, and carrying insurance on the day of a crash is also what keeps Proposition 213 from stripping your general damages. Opening a claim with your own insurer, which is how the other side confirms what you were carrying, doesn't raise your premium on its own.
- 5Pure comparative negligence means you can recover even if you were mostly at fault. A case that looks like a clear loss may still be worth pursuing.
- 6Say less, not more, to any insurer, including your own. Short, factual answers protect a claim better than a full explanation.
- 7A claim covers more than medical bills and repairs. Economic damages (including loss of use while your car is unavailable and GAP insurance on a total loss), non-economic damages, and, in rarer cases, punitive damages, and even a car's reduced resale value, can all be part of a complete claim.
- 8Insurers use predictable tactics: disputing liability, delaying settlement, and pointing to any gap in treatment. Recognizing them in the moment is what keeps them from working.
- 9Evidence has a shelf life. Camera footage loops over in about a week. A preservation letter is the tool for stopping that clock when you can't retrieve footage yourself in time.
- 10California usually gives you two years to file a lawsuit, but a claim against a government entity is due in six months, and the rule shifts for minors. Missing any of these deadlines can end a case regardless of its merits.
- 11Most personal injury lawyers work on contingency, usually around 33.3 percent, rising if the case goes into litigation. A free consultation costs nothing whether or not the firm takes your case.
- 12A dispute with your own insurer over underinsured motorist coverage often goes to private arbitration, not a jury. Strong evidence still matters there, but the outcome rests more heavily on one person's judgment than a courtroom case would.
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