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Rear-end collisions on Arrow Highway, pileups on the 10, hit-and-runs on Valley Boulevard, truck crashes at the 57/60. Morales Law Firm is on Bonita Avenue in San Dimas, and car accidents are what we do most. Free consultation, no fee unless we win, English and Spanish.
Every city has its own page, with the intersections that produce the crashes, the agency that writes the report, the nearest emergency rooms and the courthouse.
Roughly one in three crashes in this country is a rear-end collision, and in the east San Gabriel Valley, where four freeways and a dozen fast arterials meet, the share is probably higher. We have handled crashes at nearly every major intersection between the 605 and the 15. This page explains how a California car accident claim actually works, what the insurance company is going to do, and what we do about it.
The first three days decide more of a car accident case than the next three months. Evidence that exists on day one, camera footage from the gas station on the corner, the other driver’s admission at the scene, skid marks, the dash-cam clip on a witness’s phone, is gone by day ten unless someone goes and gets it. Here is the order of operations.
Before the recorded statement, before the quick check for the car, before the medical authorization: call a lawyer. The consultation is free, it takes ten minutes, and it is the only conversation you will have that week with someone whose job is to protect your claim rather than shrink it.
The other driver’s insurer will usually call within a day or two. The adjuster will be polite, sympathetic and fast. The speed is the point. Their goals in that first week are to get a recorded statement while you are still shaken and unsure what hurts, to get you to sign a medical authorization that lets them dig through your entire history for anything to blame the injury on, and to close the property damage claim with a release that quietly ends the injury claim too.
If those fail, the next moves are predictable. They argue you were partly at fault, because under California’s comparative negligence rule every percentage point they assign to you comes off the top of the settlement. They argue the treatment was excessive, or that a chiropractor’s bills should not count, or that you had a pre-existing condition. And they make a first offer early, before the extent of your injuries is known, priced to close the file. We have written about why the first settlement offer is almost never the right one.
None of this is personal, and none of it is illegal. It is how a claims department is measured. The answer is not to argue with the adjuster. It is to build a record they cannot argue with: the police report, the photographs, the camera footage, the medical records, the wage documentation, and a demand that lays them out in order.
California is a fault state. The driver who caused the crash, and their insurer, pay for it. Fault is decided by the evidence, not by who the officer cited, although the police report carries real weight with adjusters. The Vehicle Code sets the rules: the driver who rear-ends another was almost always following too closely under section 21703; a driver turning left must yield to oncoming traffic under section 21801; a driver entering from a driveway or stop sign must yield under sections 21802 and 21804. Violating one of those rules is negligence per se, which means the other side has to explain why the rule should not apply.
Where fault is contested, the case turns on physical evidence. Signal timing records from the city, the damage pattern on each vehicle, the resting positions, the event data recorder in newer cars, and above all camera footage from nearby businesses, transit buses and doorbells. That footage is typically overwritten within days to a couple of weeks, which is why a preservation letter goes out on the first day we are hired.
Under pure comparative negligence, a partly at-fault driver still recovers the share that was not their doing. Insurers use the rule as a lever, assigning you 20 or 30 percent on thin evidence. Pushing that number back toward zero is often worth more than any other single thing we do on a case.
California law lets you recover the full cost of a crash that was someone else’s fault. In practice a claim is made of the following pieces.
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses | The emergency visit, imaging, follow-up care, physical therapy and chiropractic, injections, surgery, and the cost of future treatment a doctor says you will need. Under California law the recoverable amount is what was paid or owed, not the number on the first bill. |
| Lost income | Wages and tips lost while you were out, and the difference if you came back to lighter or lower-paying work. For serious injuries, lost earning capacity over your working life. |
| Property damage | Repair or the fair market value of the car, the rental, diminished value on a newer vehicle, and anything in the car that was damaged. |
| Pain and suffering | Physical pain, the loss of activities and sleep, anxiety about driving, and the disruption to your life. On a serious injury this is usually the largest part of the claim and the one adjusters work hardest to minimize. |
| Out-of-pocket costs | Mileage to appointments, prescriptions, medical equipment, help around the house you had to pay for. |
| Wrongful death | When a crash is fatal, the family’s claim for funeral costs, lost financial support and the loss of the relationship. See our wrongful death page. |
What a case is worth depends on how those pieces add up and on how much insurance is available to pay them. We do not quote numbers before we have the records, and we are wary of anyone who does.
The at-fault driver’s liability policy is the first source, and often the smallest. California’s minimum required limits are $30,000 per person and $60,000 per crash for bodily injury, and a lot of drivers on Valley Boulevard, Garey Avenue and the 10 carry exactly that, or nothing. A single night at Pomona Valley can exceed it. So on any serious injury we look at every policy on the first day.
The firms that fill the search results for car accident lawyers in Covina or Pomona are mostly downtown Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Sacramento advertisers with a city name dropped into a template. Their office maps point to Flower Street or Sunset Boulevard. Morales Law Firm is on Bonita Avenue in downtown San Dimas, and our clients meet the attorney handling their case, at our office, at home or at the hospital.
That matters in ways that show up in the file. We know that a crash on Arrow Highway in Charter Oak is a Sheriff’s San Dimas Station report and a claim against Los Angeles County, not a city. We know the 57/60 Confluence is under construction through 2028 and that the lane configuration on the day of your crash is a document Caltrans keeps. We know which businesses along Foothill Boulevard keep camera footage and for how long, which adjusters at which carriers have real settlement authority, what the East District judges at the Pomona Courthouse South expect, and that a Fontana or Upland case goes to San Bernardino County instead. Each of the sixteen city pages above goes into that detail for its city.
Francisco Morales grew up in West Covina and has lived in the San Gabriel Valley his whole life. He graduated from UCLA and Loyola Law School, and before law school he worked as a certified automotive service consultant, which is why he reads a body-shop estimate and a crash photo the way an adjuster does, and sometimes better. He is a member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Consumer Attorneys of California and the American Association for Justice, and he handles every case himself, in English or Spanish. More about Francisco.
Every case follows the same shape, and we explain it on the first call so there are no surprises. We lock down the evidence in the first week: preservation letters, the report request, scene photographs. We get you to doctors who treat crash injuries and who will wait for payment until the case settles, so you get care now whether or not you have health insurance. We take over the property damage and rental so you are not fighting two claims at once. When treatment is complete, we assemble the records, bills, wage documentation and photographs into a demand that leaves the adjuster little room to argue, and we negotiate. If the offer is unreasonable, we file in Pomona, West Covina or San Bernardino and prepare the case for trial, which is usually what produces the reasonable offer. Read more about how long a case takes.
The whole time, one attorney answers your calls. That is a small firm’s advantage and we do not intend to give it up.
Different crashes are proved differently. These pages go into the evidence, the insurance and the arguments specific to each.
The most common crash in the valley, and the one insurers push back on hardest when the injury is soft tissue.
Read more →Crash typeHit-and-run accidentsThe driver left. Your own uninsured motorist coverage, cameras and the CHP report are how the case gets made.
Read more →Crash typeFreeway and multi-vehicle pileupsChain-reaction crashes on the 10, 57, 60, 210 and 605, where fault is divided among several drivers.
Read more →Practice areaUninsured and underinsured motorist claimsWhen the driver who hit you has no policy, or a $30,000 policy against a $200,000 injury.
Read more →Practice areaUber and Lyft accidentsRideshare crashes as a passenger, another driver or a pedestrian, and the $1 million policies behind them.
Read more →Practice areaTruck accidentsCommercial truck crashes on the 57/60, the 10 and the 605, with the electronic evidence that decides them.
Read more →Freeway cases are CHP cases, they usually involve several vehicles, and the speeds make the injuries worse. Each corridor has its own page with the interchanges, the CHP office that writes the report and the crash history.
We talk through what happened and tell you honestly whether you have a case. Same day, by phone, at the office or at your bedside.
Preservation letters to every business with a camera, the report request to police or CHP, scene photographs before the skid marks fade.
Doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists and imaging centers who treat crash injuries on a lien. No out-of-pocket cost.
The at-fault driver’s, any employer’s, and your own UM/UIM and Med Pay coverage. Property damage and rental handled.
Records, bills, wage loss and photographs assembled into a demand sent when the medical picture is complete, not before.
Send a few details and an attorney, not a screener, will call you back, usually the same day. If you would rather talk now, the phones are answered 24 hours a day in English and Spanish.
Tell us what happened. No cost, no obligation, and your information stays private.
Nothing up front. Morales Law Firm works on a contingency fee, which is a percentage of what we recover for you, paid only when the case resolves. If we recover nothing, you owe no attorney’s fee. The consultation is free, and there is no obligation after it.
Two years from the date of the crash to file an injury lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a city, county, Caltrans or transit vehicle was involved, or a dangerous road condition contributed, a government claim must be filed within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Insurance claims should be opened within days, because camera footage and witnesses disappear quickly.
No. You are not required to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement, and anything you say will be used to reduce your claim. Refer the adjuster to us. You should report the crash to your own insurer, briefly and factually, because your policy requires it.
It depends on the injuries, the treatment you needed, the income you lost, how clearly the other driver is at fault, and how much insurance is available. We do not quote a number before we have the medical records, and we would be cautious about anyone who does. What we can tell you on the first call is whether the case is worth pursuing.
California follows pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but it is not eliminated. A driver found 30 percent responsible still recovers 70 percent of their damages. Insurers argue fault aggressively, which is why the physical evidence, the signal timing and the camera footage matter so much.
Very often, yes. If your own policy includes uninsured motorist coverage, your claim is made against your own insurer, which must handle it in good faith. Hit-and-run claims work the same way. California’s minimum liability policy is only $30,000 per person, so your own underinsured motorist coverage matters even when the other driver is insured.
If nobody was hurt and the only damage is to the cars, you can usually handle the property damage yourself. Once there is an injury, even a sore neck that shows up the next morning, the insurance company’s math changes. A free consultation costs nothing, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need us.
Yes. Whiplash, concussions and soft-tissue injuries commonly show up 24 to 72 hours later, and a gap between the crash and your first visit is the first thing an adjuster will use against you. Get checked, and go back if pain develops over the following days.
Crashes in the San Gabriel Valley cities we serve go to the Los Angeles Superior Court’s East District, usually the Pomona Courthouse South or the West Covina Courthouse. Crashes in Upland, Montclair and Fontana go to San Bernardino County Superior Court. Most cases settle before a lawsuit is necessary.
Yes. Francisco Morales is fully bilingual and handles the entire case in Spanish when the client prefers, from the first call through settlement. Visit our Spanish car accident page, abogado de accidentes de auto, for more.
Most do not. The large majority of car accident claims settle with the insurer after we document the injuries and send a demand. We file suit when the offer is unreasonable, and we prepare every case as if it will be tried, which is usually what produces the fair offer.
A straightforward claim with a few months of treatment often resolves within six to twelve months of the crash. Cases with surgery, disputed liability or a lawsuit take longer. We do not settle until the medical picture is complete, because a release ends the claim even if you need care later.
Morales Law Firm
151 W. Bonita Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773
(626) 521-5402
Downtown San Dimas, a short walk from the A Line station, off the 57 at Bonita or the 210 at San Dimas Avenue. Free parking. If you cannot come to us, we come to you anywhere from Baldwin Park to Fontana.
Free consultation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No fee unless we win. Two years to file under California law, and the evidence does not wait.