Direct answers to common questions about personal injury law.
What a claim is, when you have one, what it’s worth, and what hiring a lawyer actually costs.
A personal injury claim is a civil demand for money damages by someone who has been hurt because of another person or company’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional act. The injured person (the “plaintiff” or “claimant”) seeks compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses caused by the incident. Personal injury cases include car crashes, truck and motorcycle wrecks, falls on unsafe property, dog bites, defective products, sexual abuse, and wrongful death — everything covered on RMD Law’s practice-area page.
How RMD helps: RMD Law has recovered more than $250 million for clients across exactly these case types and offers a free, no-obligation case evaluation so you know early whether a claim is worth pursuing.
You generally have a case if four elements are present: (1) someone owed you a duty of care, (2) they breached that duty, (3) the breach caused your injury, and (4) you suffered actual damages. A driver who runs a red light, a property owner who ignores a known hazard, or a trucking company that lets a fatigued driver stay behind the wheel can all satisfy these elements. The only way to be sure is to have an experienced attorney review the facts, the evidence, and the available insurance coverage.
How RMD helps: Our attorneys evaluate liability, insurance limits, and damages in your free consultation — and tell you honestly if you don’t have a case.
Negligence is the failure to act with the care a reasonably prudent person would have used under the same circumstances. To prove it, you must establish duty, breach, causation, and damages by a “preponderance of the evidence” — meaning it is more likely than not that the defendant’s conduct caused your injury. Evidence typically includes police reports, photos, video, eyewitness testimony, electronic data (cell-phone records, vehicle event-data recorders), medical records, and expert opinions on accident reconstruction or biomechanics.
A personal injury lawyer investigates the incident, identifies every responsible party and insurance policy, preserves evidence, manages your medical-bill liens, drafts the demand, negotiates with adjusters and defense counsel, files suit when needed, conducts discovery and depositions, retains experts, and tries the case if no fair settlement is reached. Just as importantly, your lawyer shields you from communicating directly with the insurance company — whose adjusters are trained to elicit statements that reduce what you are paid.
How RMD helps: Studies by the Insurance Research Council have found that represented auto-injury claimants receive settlements averaging roughly 3.5 times larger than unrepresented claimants.
Personal injury lawyers almost always work on a contingency fee, which means you pay no money up front and no hourly bills. The firm advances case costs (filing fees, expert witnesses, records, depositions) and is reimbursed only out of the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe nothing in attorney’s fees. The American Bar Association notes that contingency fees in injury cases are typically “one-third to 40 percent” of the gross recovery.
How RMD helps: RMD Law’s standard fee is a transparent contingency — no fees unless we win your case. Every fee structure is reviewed line-by-line at your free consultation.
A contingency fee is an arrangement where the lawyer’s payment is “contingent” on a successful outcome. Instead of paying by the hour, the client agrees the firm will take an agreed percentage of any settlement or verdict. The fee is usually higher if the case has to be filed in court (often 40%) than if it resolves pre-suit (often 33⅓%), reflecting the additional work involved. The arrangement is spelled out in a written fee agreement you sign before any work begins.
The vast majority of personal injury cases resolve through settlement. Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics data show that roughly 95% of civil cases settle before trial, and only about 4–5% of personal injury matters end in a verdict. That said, the threat of trial is what drives fair settlements — insurers offer more when the firm across the table has a track record of taking cases to verdict.
How RMD helps: RMD Law settles aggressively when the offer is fair, but is fully prepared to try your case — our results page lists multi-million-dollar recoveries that came only because insurers knew we would litigate.
Smaller, clear-liability claims can settle in three to nine months after you complete treatment. Cases involving disputed liability, serious injuries, or litigation typically take one to three years; complex catastrophic and wrongful-death cases can take longer. The Bureau of Justice Statistics measured a median disposition time of about 25 months for tort trials in state courts. The single biggest variable is your medical treatment — cases should not be settled until your doctors can describe your long-term prognosis.
Case value is driven by the severity and permanence of the injuries, the amount of medical bills and lost income, the clarity of liability, the impact on your life, and the available insurance coverage. Two cases with identical injuries can have very different values if one defendant carries a $15,000 policy and another carries a $1 million commercial policy. Anyone who quotes a number before reviewing your medical records and the policy limits is guessing.
How RMD helps: RMD Law has obtained results including an $8 million bad-faith insurance settlement, $5.1 million for a rollover crash, $3.1 million in a car-on-car case, and $2.5 million for a pedestrian injury.
Economic (special) damages are objectively measurable out-of-pocket losses: medical bills (past and future), lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, and other documented costs. Non-economic (general) damages compensate intangible harms: pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. California does not cap non-economic damages in ordinary negligence cases (medical malpractice cases have separate caps). See related glossary entries: Damages, Economic Damages, Hedonic Damages.
The statutes, deadlines, and fault rules that decide whether you can recover — and how much.
In California, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). Missing the deadline is almost always fatal to the case, regardless of how strong it otherwise is. Different limitation periods apply to claims against government entities, medical-malpractice claims, product-liability cases, and certain sexual-abuse claims.
How RMD helps: Our team calendars every statute the moment you sign, and we move quickly so evidence (video, electronic data, witness memory) doesn’t vanish.
Claims against California public entities are governed by the Government Claims Act, which generally requires you to file a written claim within six months of the date of injury (Gov. Code § 911.2). If the claim is denied, you typically have six months from the denial to file suit. These deadlines apply to crashes with public buses, falls on public property, school injuries, and any incident involving city, county, state, or transit-district employees.
Generally, the two-year personal injury statute is tolled (paused) while the injured person is under 18, and begins running on the minor’s 18th birthday. However, the six-month Government Claims Act deadline against public entities is not automatically tolled for minors — that claim still needs to be presented quickly or a late-claim application filed. Settlements on behalf of a minor also generally require court approval through a Minor’s Compromise.
California follows pure comparative negligence, adopted in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). Your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of fault, but it is never barred — even a plaintiff found 90% at fault can still recover 10% of damages. That is far more plaintiff-friendly than the “51% bar” used in many other states (including Texas).
You can still recover — just at a reduced amount. If your total damages are $200,000 and you are found 25% at fault, you would recover $150,000. Insurance adjusters often inflate a claimant’s fault percentage to drive down offers, which is one reason it pays to have an attorney push back with police reports, witness statements, electronic data, and reconstruction experts.
How RMD helps: We invest in reconstruction experts when liability is contested because reducing your fault percentage from 30% to 10% on a six-figure case is worth tens of thousands of dollars.
As of January 1, 2025, California’s minimum auto liability limits rose from 15/30/5 to 30/60/15 under SB 1107. That means $30,000 in bodily-injury coverage per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 in property damage. These minimums are still far below what serious injuries typically cost — one ICU admission can exceed the entire limit — which is why uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage matters so much.
Yes, in two main ways. First, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage will step in to pay for your injuries up to your UM policy limit. Second, depending on the facts, additional defendants may be liable — the driver’s employer (if on the job), the vehicle owner, a bar that overserved (dram shop liability), or a third party whose negligence contributed. California law requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage equal to your bodily-injury limits unless you sign a written rejection (Insurance Code § 11580.2).
The discovery rule delays the start of the statute of limitations until the injured person knew, or should have known, that they were harmed and that someone else may have caused it. It typically applies to latent injuries (such as occupational disease or undiagnosed concussion), childhood sexual abuse, and cases where the wrongdoing was concealed. Courts look closely at when a reasonable person would have connected the harm to the cause.
Yes. A passenger has no fault in causing a typical crash and can pursue the at-fault driver — whether that’s the host driver, the other vehicle’s driver, or both. Passengers in California also have access to their own UM/UIM coverage and to the resident-relative coverage of family members. Lawsuits against a friend or family member are practically always handled through that person’s insurance, not their personal assets.
That’s extremely common with whiplash, concussions, herniated discs, and soft-tissue injuries — symptoms often emerge as adrenaline subsides and inflammation builds. Get evaluated as soon as possible and follow through with treatment. Gaps in treatment are the single most common reason insurers reduce settlement offers, because they argue any later worsening was caused by something else.
How RMD helps: We connect clients with medical providers who treat on a lien (no out-of-pocket cost) and document the causal connection back to your accident with proper imaging and specialist evaluations.
From the day of your accident to the day the check clears.
If you are physically able: (1) get to a safe place and call 911, (2) accept medical evaluation at the scene, (3) photograph vehicles, the scene, injuries, and any hazards, (4) collect names and contact info for drivers and witnesses, (5) exchange insurance information, (6) avoid apologizing or discussing fault, and (7) report the crash to your insurer in writing but decline to give a recorded statement until you speak with an attorney.
How RMD helps: Call us 24/7 at (949) 326-5000. We can advise you from the scene and dispatch an investigator if needed.
Not without legal advice — and you are almost never required to. Adjusters use recorded statements to lock in answers to questions designed to minimize your claim (“Were you in any pain right after the crash?” before symptoms have set in). You have no legal duty to provide a recorded statement to a third party’s insurer, and your duty to cooperate with your own insurer doesn’t require you to do so before retaining counsel.
Almost never. Early offers are typically a fraction of full value and are designed to close the file before you know your true medical picture. Once you sign a release, the claim is over — even if your injuries turn out to be far worse than you knew. Wait until your treating doctors can describe your prognosis, or hire an attorney to evaluate the offer against the full range of your damages and available insurance.
A demand letter is a detailed written package sent to the insurer once your treatment is complete (or your prognosis is clear). It lays out liability, the medical narrative, all special damages, supporting records, and a specific dollar demand. A good demand letter is part legal brief, part medical chronology, and part settlement negotiation tool — it sets the ceiling of the negotiation.
After a complaint is filed, both sides exchange information through discovery: written interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admission, and depositions. Defense lawyers will take your deposition and likely send you to a defense (“independent”) medical examination. Your attorney conducts the same kind of discovery against the defendant. Discovery typically runs for many months and is where most cases are won or lost.
Mediation is a confidential settlement conference led by a neutral mediator (often a retired judge). The mediator shuttles between the rooms, identifies leverage points, and tries to find a number both sides can live with. Most California civil courts strongly encourage or require mediation before trial, and the majority of mediated cases settle that day or shortly after.
Common triggers include: the statute of limitations is approaching; the insurer is denying liability or lowballing; key evidence is at risk; the case involves multiple defendants who need to be brought in; or a public-entity defendant requires litigation to extract real information. Filing suit doesn’t end negotiations — most filed cases still settle — but it puts the case on a court calendar with real deadlines and consequences.
A deposition is sworn testimony taken outside court, recorded by a court reporter (and often on video). The defense lawyer asks you questions about your background, the incident, your injuries, your treatment, and your damages. Your testimony can be used at trial and to attack your credibility, so preparation matters. Most depositions of plaintiffs last between two and six hours.
How RMD helps: We spend serious time preparing every client for deposition — reviewing records, anticipating questions, and rehearsing answers — so you walk in calm and credible.
An “independent” medical exam is a physical examination by a doctor the defense has hired. The exam is rarely independent in the ordinary sense — the doctor is paid to look for explanations other than your accident for your injuries. You generally must attend, but you have the right to bring an observer, to be examined only on the noticed areas, and to refuse invasive or unnecessary procedures.
Once you sign the settlement agreement and release, the insurance company typically issues the settlement check within two to six weeks. After it arrives, your attorney must resolve outstanding medical liens (Medicare, Medi-Cal, health insurer, hospital, lien doctors), deduct attorney fees and case costs, and then disburse the net to you. The full settlement-to-cash timeline is usually 30–60 days.
Where the money comes from, what comes out before you see it, and what stays in your pocket.
UM coverage pays you for injuries caused by a driver with no insurance. UIM pays the difference when the at-fault driver’s policy is too small to cover your damages. California insurers must offer UM/UIM equal to your bodily-injury limits unless you sign a written rejection (Insurance Code § 11580.2). With state minimum limits still at 30/60, UM/UIM is one of the most valuable protections you can buy.
Medical Payments coverage (MedPay) is a no-fault first-party benefit on your auto policy — usually $1,000 to $25,000 — that pays your accident-related medical bills regardless of who caused the crash. It can also cover passengers in your vehicle. MedPay doesn’t reduce your liability claim against the at-fault driver, although in some situations your own insurer can seek reimbursement out of your settlement.
An insurer commits bad faith when it unreasonably refuses to honor its policy obligations — denying a covered claim without proper investigation, lowballing a clear-liability case, or failing to settle a case within policy limits when it could have. Bad-faith verdicts can include damages above policy limits and, in extreme cases, punitive damages.
How RMD helps: RMD Law has recovered an $8 million bad-faith insurance settlement; if we see hallmarks of bad faith in your case, we know how to develop and prove it.
Many cases have stacked coverage: the at-fault driver’s liability policy, an employer’s commercial policy if the driver was on the job, the vehicle owner’s policy, an excess/umbrella policy, your own UM/UIM, MedPay, and your health insurance. Identifying every policy and the order in which they apply often doubles or triples the realistic recovery. This is one of the highest-value tasks your attorney performs early in the case.
Probably. Most health plans, including ERISA-governed plans, claim a right of subrogation or reimbursement against your personal injury recovery for amounts they paid for accident-related care. The exact rules depend on whether the plan is ERISA-governed, self-funded, fully insured, or a government program. California also recognizes the common fund doctrine to reduce many liens for their share of attorney’s fees.
How RMD helps: Lien negotiation is part of every case we resolve. Reducing a $40,000 lien by 40% puts roughly $16,000 back in your pocket.
Yes. Medicare is paid “conditionally” for accident care and must be reimbursed from any settlement under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act. Medi-Cal has a separate statutory right of reimbursement (Welfare & Institutions Code § 14124.70 et seq.). Both agencies often agree to reductions, and Medi-Cal is generally capped at 50% of the net recovery after attorney’s fees and costs in many cases.
Filing a claim under another driver’s liability policy will not raise your premiums. Using your own MedPay, UM/UIM, or collision coverage may — though many insurers treat not-at-fault claims more favorably, and California law restricts insurers from surcharging you for crashes where you were less than 51% at fault.
Settlement money received on account of physical personal injuries is generally not taxable under IRC § 104(a)(2). Portions allocated to punitive damages, interest, or purely emotional distress unrelated to physical injury can be taxable. Always confirm with a tax professional — the structure of your settlement matters, and structured-settlement options can deliver lifetime tax-free income for serious-injury survivors.
What you can recover — and how it gets valued.
California recognizes (1) economic damages: medical bills past and future, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, household services, and out-of-pocket costs; (2) non-economic damages: pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and inconvenience; and (3) punitive damages in cases of malice, oppression, or fraud (Civ. Code § 3294). Wrongful-death survivors recover their own losses, including loss of support and companionship.
There is no fixed formula. In practice, lawyers, adjusters, and jurors weigh the severity and duration of the pain, the type of injury, the treatment endured, the visible impact on the client’s daily life, and the credibility of the witnesses. Two informal frameworks — a multiplier of economic damages, or a “per diem” daily rate — are useful starting points but never substitute for a careful presentation of how the injury has changed the client’s life.
Punitive damages punish especially egregious conduct — drunk driving, fraud, intentional misconduct, gross corporate disregard for safety — and deter similar behavior. Under California Civil Code § 3294, the plaintiff must prove “clear and convincing” evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud. Punitive awards are usually a multiple of compensatory damages and may not be insurable under California public policy.
Yes. Past lost wages are documented through pay stubs, tax returns, and an employer letter. Future loss of earning capacity — what you would have earned but for the injury — is calculated with a vocational expert and an economist, who reduce the projected lifetime earnings to present value. For young, severely injured clients, the loss-of-earning-capacity component is often the largest single piece of the case.
Sometimes. California recognizes “negligent infliction of emotional distress” in two main forms: (1) direct victim claims where there was a special relationship and foreseeable distress, and (2) bystander claims by a close family member who contemporaneously witnessed serious injury or death of a loved one (Dillon v. Legg; Thing v. La Chusa). Pure stand-alone emotional-distress claims face significant doctrinal hurdles.
Yes. A spouse of someone seriously injured can bring a loss of consortium claim for the loss of companionship, affection, intimacy, and household services they would otherwise have enjoyed. It’s a separate claim from the injured spouse’s, but the two are typically prosecuted together. California limits loss-of-consortium claims to legally married spouses.
Future medicals are proven with a treating physician’s prognosis and, in serious cases, a life-care planner — usually a rehabilitation nurse or physician who calculates the lifetime cost of medical care, equipment, therapy, attendant care, transportation, and home modifications. An economist then reduces those costs to present value and accounts for medical-cost inflation. For catastrophic injuries, life-care plans often total in the millions.
Under the eggshell plaintiff rule, the defendant takes you as they find you. You can’t recover for the underlying condition itself, but you can recover for any aggravation the accident caused — the difference between your pre-accident and post-accident condition. Strong medical documentation of your baseline is what separates a winning aggravation claim from a denied one.
From fender-benders to fatal 18-wheeler crashes.
Make sure everyone is safe, call 911, exchange driver and insurance information, photograph everything, identify witnesses, and accept medical attention. California Vehicle Code §§ 20001–20003 require drivers to stop and exchange information; failing to do so is a hit-and-run. Do not apologize, speculate about fault, or post about the crash on social media. NHTSA estimated 39,345 traffic fatalities in 2024, down from 40,901 in 2023 — the country is still losing more than 100 people on the roads every day.
California requires you to report any crash involving injury, death, or property damage over $1,000 to the DMV (SR-1) within 10 days, regardless of fault. A police or CHP report is invaluable evidence even when not strictly required, because it documents the scene, identifies witnesses, and assigns preliminary fault. If law enforcement won’t respond to a minor crash, complete a self-report and exchange information in writing.
Call 911 immediately, photograph any vehicle debris or partial license plate, and look for nearby surveillance cameras. Your own UM coverage typically pays for hit-and-run injuries in California, provided the incident is reported promptly (often within 24 hours) and there is corroborating evidence of the contact. Hit-and-run drivers face criminal charges and tend to be uninsured, so UM coverage is usually the recovery path.
How RMD helps: We canvass nearby businesses for video within hours when the trail is still warm — surveillance is often overwritten within 7–30 days.
Usually, but not always. California Vehicle Code § 21703 requires drivers to maintain a safe following distance, and the rear driver is presumed at fault. Exceptions arise when the front driver brake-checked, made a sudden lane change, had non-functioning brake lights, or was illegally parked or stopped on the freeway. Even when liability isn’t in real dispute, insurers still negotiate hard on damages.
Investigators use police reports, scene measurements, vehicle damage patterns, dashcam and surveillance video, witness statements, and the event-data recorder (“black box”) data showing speed, braking, and steering inputs. Liability is often allocated among several drivers under pure comparative negligence, so identifying every insurance policy in play is critical.
Commercial trucks are governed by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations covering driver qualifications, hours of service, vehicle inspection, weight, and cargo securement. Liability frequently extends to the driver, the motor carrier, the trailer owner, the broker, the shipper, the loader, and the maintenance contractor. Evidence sources include the electronic logging device (ELD), engine control module (ECM), dashcam, driver qualification file, drug-test history, and dispatch records — nearly all of which can be destroyed within days under standard retention policies absent a preservation letter.
How RMD helps: RMD Law sends spoliation/preservation letters to motor carriers the same day we’re retained, locking down ELD, ECM, and dashcam data.
Potentially: the driver (negligent driving), the motor carrier (negligent hiring, training, supervision; vicarious liability), the trailer owner, the loader or shipper (improperly secured cargo), the maintenance contractor (defective brakes/tires), the broker (in some jurisdictions), and the vehicle or component manufacturer (product defect). Multiple defendants usually mean multiple insurance policies and a far higher available recovery.
ELD hours-of-service logs, ECM “black box” data, dashcam footage, driver qualification file, drug and alcohol testing records, post-trip inspection reports, maintenance records, dispatch communications, bills of lading, GPS data, cellular records, and any prior FMCSA violations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study found that driver action or inaction was the critical reason in 87% of crashes involving large trucks (FMCSA, 2007).
Driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations, distracted driving, speeding and aggressive driving, impairment, improperly loaded or unsecured cargo, brake and tire failures from inadequate maintenance, and inadequate driver training. In 2023, 5,472 people died in crashes involving large trucks, and roughly two-thirds of those killed were occupants of other vehicles (NHTSA FARS).
Yes. Interstate for-hire motor carriers hauling general freight must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage under 49 C.F.R. § 387.9; passenger carriers and those hauling hazardous materials must carry significantly more (up to $5 million). California intrastate carriers have their own minimums set by the CPUC and DMV. These higher limits are why commercial truck cases often have meaningfully larger recoveries than ordinary car crashes.
Vulnerable road users have the same rights — and need a more aggressive approach.
Bias against riders is real, and insurers count on it. But California jurors are instructed to decide cases on the evidence, not stereotypes. Riders have the same right to recover that drivers do. NHTSA data show motorcyclists died at a rate 28 times higher per vehicle mile traveled than passenger-car occupants in 2023 — bias against riders ignores the fact that they’re vastly more vulnerable in the same crash.
How RMD helps: We work with motorcycle-specialist reconstructionists and select juries carefully to neutralize anti-rider bias.
California requires DOT-compliant helmets for riders and passengers (Veh. Code § 27803). Failing to wear one can reduce recovery for head injuries under comparative negligence if the defense proves the helmet would have made a difference, but it does not bar recovery for the crash itself or for unrelated injuries. NHTSA estimates helmets are about 37% effective at preventing motorcyclist fatalities.
Road rash, fractures (especially lower extremity), traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, internal organ damage, and amputation. 6,335 motorcyclists were killed in 2023 — roughly 15% of all U.S. traffic fatalities despite motorcycles representing a far smaller share of vehicles on the road (NHTSA, 2025). Serious motorcycle injuries typically involve a life-care plan and substantial future-medical components.
Cyclists have the same rights and most of the same duties as motorists (Veh. Code § 21200). You can sue the at-fault driver, access UM/UIM coverage from your auto policy (yes, even when struck while cycling), and pursue MedPay benefits. NHTSA reported 1,166 cyclist fatalities and approximately 49,989 cyclist injuries in 2023 — an 8% increase in injuries over the prior year.
Generally yes, with exceptions. Cyclists must stop at stop signs and red lights, ride with traffic, signal turns, and use lights at night. They may ride on the shoulder, in a bike lane, or take the lane when necessary for safety. Adults are not required to wear helmets in California; minors under 18 are (Veh. Code § 21212). Violating a traffic law can affect comparative-fault analysis but does not eliminate your right to recover.
You may have a claim against the responsible public entity (city, county, Caltrans). California public-entity liability for dangerous conditions of public property is governed by Government Code § 835. Three things matter: (1) the condition was dangerous, (2) the entity had actual or constructive notice and a reasonable time to fix it, and (3) you presented a Government Claims Act notice within six months. These cases require fast investigation to capture the condition before repairs are made.
No. Pedestrians have the right of way in marked or unmarked crosswalks at intersections (Veh. Code § 21950), but they are required to exercise due care for their own safety and cannot suddenly leave a curb to create an immediate hazard. Outside crosswalks, pedestrians must yield. Drivers must always avoid hitting any pedestrian and exercise due care under California’s Basic Speed Law.
Turning drivers must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk — this is one of the most common pedestrian-crash scenarios and the driver is typically at fault. The Governors Highway Safety Association projected 7,318 pedestrian fatalities in 2023, still 14.1% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels; California recorded 1,106 pedestrian fatalities that year. Driver inattention and impatient turns are the most common factors.
How RMD helps: RMD Law recently recovered $2.5 million for a pedestrian-accident client — these cases require fast scene investigation and aggressive damages presentation.
Premises-liability, animal-liability, and common-carrier claims.
You must prove (1) a dangerous condition existed, (2) the property owner caused it or knew (or reasonably should have known) about it, (3) they failed to fix or warn within a reasonable time, and (4) the condition caused your injury. The CDC reports falls cause about 8 million emergency department visits annually in the U.S. and remain the leading cause of nonfatal injury-related ER visits.
Photographs of the hazard and the surrounding area (lighting, signage, footwear), an incident report from the business, witness contact info, the names of any employees you spoke with, any surveillance video you can flag for preservation, the shoes and clothing you were wearing, and prompt medical care. The longer you wait, the more likely the hazard has been fixed and video has been overwritten.
You can pursue a claim, which is handled through your friend’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, not their personal assets. Most homeowner’s policies include $100,000–$500,000 in personal liability coverage exactly for this situation. The claim does not have to damage the friendship — you’re recovering from the insurer that was paid to handle this risk.
Both, potentially. Workers’ comp is the exclusive remedy against your employer for on-the-job injuries and pays medical care and temporary disability without regard to fault — but doesn’t cover pain and suffering. If a third party (a property owner, contractor, manufacturer, or delivery driver) caused the injury, you can bring a separate civil claim against them in addition to the workers’ comp claim. Coordinating both maximizes your recovery.
Essentially, yes. California Civil Code § 3342 imposes strict liability on dog owners for bite injuries to a person lawfully in a public place or lawfully on private property — regardless of whether the dog had ever bitten anyone before. The CDC estimates approximately 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. each year, with about 800,000 requiring medical attention.
Usually, yes. According to the Insurance Information Institute and State Farm, U.S. insurers paid $1.57 billion in dog-related injury claims in 2024, with the average cost per claim rising to $69,272 — and California led the nation in both claim count and dollars paid. Some policies exclude specific breeds or require a separate rider, which is why early identification of the policy and any exclusions is important.
Under California’s strict-liability statute, prior bite history is not required — the owner is liable for the first bite. (Other states follow a “one-bite rule” that does require prior notice; California rejected that in 1931.) Knowledge of dangerous propensity may matter for claims against non-owners (landlords, sitters) or for punitive damages, but not for owner liability.
Public buses (LA Metro, MTS, AC Transit, Muni, OCTA) are operated by government entities, so claims are governed by the California Government Claims Act and subject to its six-month notice deadline. Public transit operators are also held to the heightened “common carrier” standard of care — the highest degree of care toward their passengers. FTA data show that from 2008–2023, bus modes recorded 8,230 bus-to-person collisions causing 596 fatalities and 8,259 injuries.
Six months from the date of injury to file a written claim under Government Code § 911.2, then six months from the denial to file suit. A late-claim application is available in some circumstances but is not guaranteed. This deadline is the single most-missed deadline we see; if you were hurt on or by a public bus, call immediately.
How RMD helps: Our team handles public-entity claim presentation, response tracking, and timely litigation as a standard workflow for transit cases.
California law requires rideshare companies to maintain $1 million in liability coverage for injuries to passengers and third parties while the driver is engaged in a ride. As a passenger, you have access to that coverage if your driver was at fault, or to the at-fault third party’s coverage plus the rideshare UM/UIM coverage. The rules differ when the driver is “app on, waiting for ride,” so identifying the driver’s app status at the moment of the crash matters.
The cases where the stakes — legal, medical, and human — are highest.
A catastrophic injury permanently prevents the person from returning to gainful work or substantially alters daily life — typically traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, severe burns, amputations, multiple-organ damage, blindness, or significant disfigurement. These cases generally require a life-care plan, vocational and economic experts, and multi-million-dollar future-medical and wage-loss components.
Because the future costs are enormous and the harms are permanent. The CDC estimates the lifetime cost of a severe traumatic brain injury can exceed $3 million per patient, and the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center calculates average lifetime costs for a 25-year-old with paraplegia at approximately $2.5 million; high tetraplegia exceeds $5 million. Add lost earnings over a working lifetime and significant non-economic damages, and the case value scales accordingly.
A life-care plan is an itemized, year-by-year projection of every medical, rehabilitative, equipment, attendant-care, transportation, and home-modification cost a catastrophically injured person will incur over their remaining lifetime. Prepared by a credentialed life-care planner and validated by an economist, it converts a doctor’s prognosis into a defensible dollar figure that an insurer or jury can evaluate.
TBI can cause lost cognition, personality changes, seizures, motor deficits, vision and hearing loss, and progressive neurodegeneration. The CDC reported 68,663 TBI-related deaths in 2021 (more than 190 per day) and approximately 214,110 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2020. Long-term costs include lifelong neurology and rehabilitation, vocational support, attendant care, and significant loss of earning capacity for working-age survivors.
Yes. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and post-concussion syndrome — headaches, dizziness, cognitive slowing, mood disturbance, light sensitivity — can persist for months or years. Insurers often dismiss concussions because imaging is normal, but neuropsychological testing, ImPACT testing, and treating-physician opinions can document the deficit. The eggshell-plaintiff rule applies in full force.
The same way fault is proven in any negligence case — police reports, scene evidence, vehicle data, witness testimony, video, and expert reconstruction. The challenge in a TBI case is proving damages, not fault. That is done through serial neurocognitive testing, day-in-the-life video, lay testimony from family and coworkers, and expert opinion from neurologists, neuropsychologists, and life-care planners.
Paraplegia is paralysis of the lower body resulting from injury below the cervical spine, typically thoracic or lumbar. Tetraplegia (also called quadriplegia) involves loss of function in all four limbs from a cervical injury. Tetraplegia is more disabling and typically requires substantially more lifetime care — including, in high cervical injuries, ventilator support and 24-hour attendant care.
Because the medical and care costs are crushing and lifelong. The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center reports approximately 18,000 new traumatic SCI cases per year in the U.S., and lifetime costs for a 25-year-old with high tetraplegia can exceed $5 million. A properly developed SCI case must capture all of those future costs and the lost earnings over the survivor’s remaining working life.
Under Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60, the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and (if no children) other heirs entitled to inherit may bring a wrongful death claim. Putative spouses, stepchildren, and parents who were financially dependent on the decedent may also qualify in defined circumstances. A separate “survival action” (CCP § 377.30) is brought by the estate for the decedent’s own pre-death losses.
Survivors can recover loss of financial support, loss of household services, funeral and burial expenses, loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, moral support, and (in marital relationships) sexual relations. The decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering is recoverable in the separate survival action.
Generally two years from the date of death (CCP § 335.1). Claims involving a public entity must comply with the Government Claims Act’s six-month notice requirement. Medical-malpractice and product-liability wrongful death claims can have different statutes — have an attorney calendar the deadlines as early as possible.
A wrongful death claim belongs to the survivors and compensates their losses. A survival action belongs to the decedent’s estate and recovers what the decedent could have recovered if they had lived — including medical bills, lost earnings up to death, and (under recent California law) pre-death pain and suffering for cases filed within specified periods. The two claims are typically brought together.
Yes. Survivors can pursue not only the perpetrator but also institutions whose negligent hiring, supervision, retention, or failure to report enabled the abuse. Civil claims do not require a criminal conviction, and the standard of proof is far lower than in a criminal case. Most institutional defendants carry substantial insurance coverage that funds settlements and verdicts.
AB 218 (2019) extended California’s statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse to age 40 or five years from discovery of the harm, and created a three-year “lookback window” (2020–2022) that briefly revived claims previously barred. Subsequent legislation (AB 452, SB 558) further expanded survivor remedies. Even survivors whose abuse happened decades ago should consult counsel; California is one of the most survivor-friendly jurisdictions in the country.
California allows survivors to file civil sexual-abuse cases under a pseudonym (such as “Jane Doe” or initials) and to seek protective orders limiting disclosure of identifying information. Sensitive records can be filed under seal. Trauma-informed practice — private offices, choice of investigators, control over pacing, and clear communication — is part of how the case is run.
How RMD helps: Our sexual-abuse practice is handled with full confidentiality, pseudonym filings where available, and a survivor-centered approach to interviews, depositions, and trial preparation.
Yes. A civil case is independent of any criminal prosecution. The civil standard of proof (preponderance of the evidence) is much lower than the criminal standard (beyond a reasonable doubt), and prosecutors decline cases for reasons that have nothing to do with whether civil liability exists. A no-charge decision — or even a not-guilty verdict — does not bar a civil claim.
What to expect when you call — and how we get started.
RMD Law is an award-winning California and Texas personal-injury firm with more than $250 million recovered for clients, 700+ five-star reviews, and a partner roster recognized by the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, Avvo, and Expertise.com. We staff cases with partners and senior attorneys — not a rotating cast of paralegals — and we’re available 24/7.
Yes. RMD Law offers 100% free, no-obligation case evaluations. If we take your case, we work on a contingency fee — no money out of pocket, no hourly bills, no fee unless we win. You can call (949) 326-5000 day or night to speak with an actual attorney.
Yes. Our team speaks English, Spanish, and Farsi, and we work with certified interpreters when needed. We also maintain a dedicated Spanish-language intake page for clients who prefer to start the conversation in Spanish.
RMD Law has offices in Irvine, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, San Bernardino, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Fresno in California, and in Austin, Texas. For clients who can’t travel because of their injuries, we conduct consultations by phone, video, or in person at your home, hospital, or rehab facility. See our locations page for direct numbers and directions.
Yes. You have the right to change attorneys at any time. Your prior firm may assert a lien for the reasonable value of work already done, which is usually resolved out of the eventual recovery — not out of your pocket. We handle the transition and the substitution-of-attorney paperwork.
Anything you have: the police or incident report, photos and video, names and contact info of witnesses, your insurance declarations page, the other party’s insurance info, medical records and bills, prescription receipts, pay stubs showing missed work, and any correspondence from insurers. Don’t worry if you only have some of it — we can request the rest.
Many providers will treat accident victims on a medical lien, meaning they wait to be paid out of your eventual settlement. Your own MedPay and health insurance can also fund treatment in the meantime. The most important thing is to keep getting care — gaps in treatment hurt both your health and your case.
How RMD helps: We can refer you to vetted providers (primary care, orthopedics, neurology, pain management, imaging, physical therapy) who treat injury victims on a lien basis so cost is not a barrier to recovery.
Personal injury claims are usually unaffected by the defendant’s bankruptcy because the recovery comes from the defendant’s insurance, not their personal assets — and insurance is generally outside the bankruptcy estate. Your attorney files a proof of claim and a motion for relief from the automatic stay to allow the case to proceed against insurance. Bankruptcy is rarely the end of a personal injury claim.
California courts have jurisdiction over accidents that happen in California regardless of where you live. We routinely represent out-of-state clients — most of the case can be handled remotely, with depositions, mediation, and (if needed) trial scheduled around your travel. Local California counsel ensures you have the procedural advantage of someone who knows the courts, judges, and defense bar.
Call (949) 326-5000 24 hours a day, fill out the contact form on rmdlaw.com/contact, or send a message in Spanish through our Spanish-language page. The consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation — and the sooner we begin, the more evidence we can preserve.
Feel free to get in touch with us and we will get back to you as soon as possible
Aria is a member of the prestigious Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum®. He speaks English, Farsi, and Spanish.
Nicole has settled hundreds of personal injuries claims, known for her professional, honest, and caring approach.
John is a former defense lawyer turned award-winning personal injury lawyer. He speaks English and Farsi.
Associate Attorney Yen Quach started work at RMD Law in 2017 as a paralegal. Injured clients seeking justice from insurance companies can do no better than Yen.
Shabnam’s passion for the law began with a simple goal: to help people who may not know their rights and stand up for those who need a strong advocate on their side.
