Filing a car accident claim in California involves more than reporting the crash and waiting for a check. Before you file, you need to protect your health, document the crash thoroughly, identify every applicable insurance policy, understand how California’s fault rules affect your recovery, and know what you’re actually giving up before you sign any settlement release.
At Trevino Law Firm, our personal injury attorneys help injured drivers and passengers throughout Palmdale and the Antelope Valley understand exactly what to do before filing a California car accident claim. If you were in a car accident, call (661) 526-5012 to talk with our team.
Get Medical Care and Create a Clear Injury Timeline
Seek medical care promptly after a crash, even if you feel mostly fine at first, since some injuries, particularly soft tissue injuries and concussions, don’t produce obvious symptoms right away.
Follow through with any specialist referrals and recommended treatment, and avoid unexplained gaps in care, since these gaps can later be used to argue your injuries weren’t serious or weren’t connected to the crash.
A clear, consistent medical timeline is one of the strongest pieces of evidence in any car accident claim.
Preserve Scene, Vehicle, and Witness Evidence
If you’re able to safely do so, document the scene with wide and close-up photographs and video, capturing vehicle damage, road conditions, skid marks, and traffic signals. Get contact information for any witnesses, and preserve dashcam footage if you or another involved vehicle had one.
Keep your vehicle’s repair records and any towing documentation, and request the responding officer’s information, including any report number, whether that’s local police or the California Highway Patrol.
Report the Crash to the California DMV When Required
California generally requires drivers to file an SR-1 report with the DMV when a crash results in injury, death, or property damage exceeding a certain threshold, regardless of whether police responded to the scene.
This DMV report is separate from both a police report and your insurance claim, and failing to file it when required can create complications, so it’s worth confirming whether your specific crash meets the reporting threshold.
Notify Insurers Without Speculating About Fault
Report the crash to your own insurer factually, without speculating about fault or the cause of the accident. Most policies require prompt notice of a crash, so don’t delay this step, but be cautious about giving a detailed recorded statement or signing a broad medical authorization before you understand your rights, since these can sometimes be used against your claim later.
Track Every Economic and Non-Economic Impact
Keep detailed records of every cost and impact connected to your crash, including medical bills, lost wages, mileage to medical appointments, the cost of any household help you needed during recovery, and a personal account of your pain, physical impairment, and how the injury has affected your daily life. Also consider any future care your injuries may require going forward.
California Fault Rules Affect Who Pays
California is a negligence-based state, meaning the party whose careless or wrongful conduct caused the crash is generally responsible for the resulting damages. California also follows a pure comparative fault rule, meaning your own compensation can be reduced by your percentage of fault in the crash, though it isn’t automatically eliminated just because you share some responsibility.
The California Judicial Council’s civil jury instructions provide more detail on how comparative fault is applied, though how these principles apply to your specific case requires individualized review.
Find Every Insurance Policy That May Apply
Depending on the facts of your crash, several insurance policies may potentially apply, including the at-fault driver’s liability coverage, your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage if you purchased it, and, in cases involving a working driver, employer or commercial insurance coverage.
Crashes involving multiple defendants can also mean multiple applicable policies.
You can review general guidance on auto insurance through the California Department of Insurance.
Do Not Value the Claim Before the Medical Picture Is Clear
Accurately valuing a claim generally requires waiting until your medical picture is clear, meaning either you’ve reached maximum medical improvement or your doctors can reasonably project what future treatment you’ll need. This doesn’t mean delaying necessary treatment; it means resisting pressure to settle before you and your medical providers actually understand the full scope of your injury and its lasting effects.
Settlement Releases Can End the Claim Permanently
Accepting a settlement almost always requires signing a release, a legal document that generally ends your ability to pursue any further compensation connected to the crash. Before signing, it’s important to understand exactly what you’re releasing, whether any liens or reimbursement obligations, such as from health insurance, need to be addressed out of your settlement, and whether the amount actually reflects the full value of your claim. Once signed, a release is generally final, even if your injuries turn out to be worse than expected.
California Filing Deadlines Can Expire While Insurance Talks Continue
California law generally gives injury victims two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline doesn’t pause simply because you’re still negotiating with an insurance company, and settlement talks that drag on past the two-year mark won’t extend your right to sue if negotiations fall through.
Claims involving a government or public entity carry a much shorter timeline: California law generally requires a formal claim to be filed with the public entity within six months of the incident, well before the standard two-year window would otherwise apply.
Because these deadlines can shift depending on the specific parties involved in your crash, it’s important to have your timeline reviewed by an attorney well before any applicable deadline approaches.
Ask Trevino Law Firm to Review Your California Car Accident Claim
Our founding attorney, Darlene Trevino, brings a unique perspective to every case, having worked as an insurance claims adjuster before turning her focus to representing injured people. That firsthand experience with how insurance companies evaluate and minimize claims is exactly what our clients need on their side before filing.
Our bilingual attorneys represent clients throughout Palmdale and the Antelope Valley in a wide range of personal injury matters, including car accidents, distracted and drunk driving accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, including tractor-trailer jackknife accidents, uninsured motorist accidents, premises liability, dog bites, slip and falls, and wrongful death claims. Reaching out is the first step toward justice, whether you’ve been injured in a crash or lost a loved one to someone else’s negligence.
Contact Trevino Law Firm at (661) 526-5012 today to discuss your case before you file or settle your claim.
California Car Accident Claim Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to file an SR-1 after a California crash?
Generally, yes, when the crash results in injury, death, or property damage above the DMV’s reporting threshold, regardless of whether police responded to the scene. This report is separate from both a police report and your insurance claim, so completing one doesn’t substitute for the other.
Should I give the other insurer a recorded statement?
There may be strategic risks to providing a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company, particularly before you fully understand your injuries and how the crash occurred. Consider speaking with an attorney before agreeing to one.
What if I was partly at fault?
California’s comparative fault principles generally reduce your compensation by your percentage of fault rather than automatically eliminating your ability to recover. Even significant shared fault doesn’t necessarily bar your claim entirely, though the specific facts of your case matter.
How long do I have to file a California car accident lawsuit?
California imposes a statute of limitations on personal injury claims, and special rules and shorter deadlines can apply when a government entity is involved. Because these deadlines are fact-specific, it’s important to have an attorney review your specific timeline as soon as possible after your crash.
