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Información en español sobre accidentes de auto →Free case review
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We are in downtown San Dimas, a few minutes from the 210, the 57 and Arrow Highway. If you cannot drive after a crash, we will meet you at home or in the hospital.
Most law firms that advertise for San Dimas car accidents are based somewhere else and have never driven Arrow Highway at rush hour. We have. Our office is on Bonita Avenue, and I drive these roads every day. When you tell me the crash happened at the 57 ramp, or by the A Line station, or on Foothill near the canyon, I can picture it before you finish the sentence.
I am Francisco Morales, the founding attorney. I grew up in West Covina, went to UCLA and Loyola Law School, and before law school worked as a certified automotive service consultant. I handle San Dimas cases myself. You talk to me, not a case manager, in English or Spanish, from the first call until the case is done.
And because we are close, things move faster. I can look at the intersection the same week, pick up records from San Dimas Community Hospital or the Sheriff’s station across town, and meet you without anyone needing to drive into Los Angeles.
The consultation is free, and you pay no fee unless we win.
San Dimas is a small city with a lot of traffic passing through it. Two freeways meet here, Arrow Highway and Foothill Boulevard carry commuters across town, and Bonelli Park and Raging Waters pull in visitors who do not know the roads. These are the places our San Dimas cases tend to start.
The 210 crosses San Dimas east to west. Stop-and-go traffic around the 57 interchange leads to rear-end chains and multi-car crashes that close lanes for hours. These are CHP cases with many drivers and many statements. See 210 Freeway crashes.
The 57 runs up the east side of town past Bonelli Park and meets the 210. Its tight ramps near Arrow Highway and Via Verde catch drivers who come in too fast. If ramp design or missing barriers played a role, the claim may involve Caltrans and a six-month deadline.
The old Route 66 runs along the north side of the city toward Glendora and La Verne. It is fast between signals, and left turns across it into shopping centers and side streets are where many T-bone crashes begin.
Arrow carries commuters between Covina and La Verne at speed. Rear-end crashes at the signals and broadside crashes at the big crossings are common, and some involve work trucks with commercial insurance.
The main north-south road between downtown and the foothills. It crosses Bonita, Arrow, the 210 and Foothill, so it collects freeway traffic, school traffic and cyclists heading for the hills.
Our street. Downtown has angled parking, crosswalks, the Metro A Line station and drivers looking for a spot. Low-speed rear-end crashes and pedestrian injuries are the usual story, and they still cause real neck and back injuries.
Bonelli Park traffic on Via Verde and Puddingstone Drive, and summer crowds around Raging Waters, add their own mix of out-of-town drivers, trailers and pedestrians in parking areas.
San Dimas contracts with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department for police services, so a report from a crash on a city street comes from the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station, not a San Dimas police department.
Crashes on the 210 and the 57 are generally handled by the CHP Baldwin Park Area. Knowing which agency wrote the report saves weeks when requesting it.
Every case is different, but most follow this path. Here is what happens at each stage, what we do, and the legal deadlines that sit underneath it.
You call or stop by Bonita Avenue. We talk through what happened, your injuries and your insurance. If you hire us, adjusters start dealing with us instead of you.
We request the Sheriff or CHP report, send preservation letters to businesses that may have video, photograph the scene, and open every available claim, including your own MedPay and uninsured motorist coverage.
If anyone was hurt or damage is over $1,000, the SR-1 report must reach the DMV within 10 days. We make sure it is done.
Repair estimate, total loss value, rental and diminished value. This is where my years as an automotive service consultant help most.
You see the doctors you need. If you have no health insurance, we can help you find providers who wait to be paid from the settlement. We collect records and bills as you go.
If a public vehicle or a dangerous road, such as a poorly designed ramp, played a part, a claim must be filed with the agency within six months under Gov. Code § 911.2. We file it early.
We send the insurer a full package: medical records, bills, lost income and an account of how the crash changed your life. Then we negotiate.
If the insurer will not be fair, we file suit before the two-year deadline in CCP § 335.1. San Dimas cases go to the L.A. Superior Court, East District, at Pomona Courthouse South, a short drive from our office. Property damage claims have three years under CCP § 338.
Most cases settle, many after filing. When money comes in, we negotiate down medical liens so more of it goes to you, and you get a clear written accounting. For timing, see how long a personal injury case takes.
California is an at-fault state. The driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, is responsible for your injuries and losses. There is no no-fault system that forces you to use your own coverage first.
Under pure comparative fault, from Li v. Yellow Cab Co., you can recover even if you were partly at fault. If you were 25 percent responsible, you recover 75 percent. Insurers push those percentages up, and evidence pushes them back down.
Since January 1, 2025, the legal minimum is $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage. On a serious injury we look further: employer policies, rideshare coverage and umbrella policies.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays when the other driver has no insurance, too little, or flees. MedPay covers medical bills regardless of fault. See uninsured motorist claims and hit-and-run accidents.
Driving uninsured? Proposition 213 (Civil Code § 3333.4) generally bars an uninsured driver from recovering pain and suffering, even when the other driver was at fault. Medical bills and lost wages can still be recovered, and there are exceptions, so it is still worth a call.
The fight over the car usually starts first and wears people down. You choose your own body shop; California law does not let an insurer require a particular one. Estimates often use aftermarket or used parts, which are supposed to be of like kind and quality and identified on the estimate.
If the car is totaled, the value should reflect comparable vehicles in your area plus the tax and fees to replace it. Against the at-fault driver’s insurer, you can often recover a rental or loss of use, and the drop in resale value after a repair.
Before I became a lawyer, I was a certified automotive service consultant. I wrote repair orders, talked customers through estimates and saw how labor times and parts decisions get made.
So when an adjuster calls frame damage cosmetic, or offers a total loss number that ignores your new tires and recent service, I know what to push back on. That help is part of every case, at no extra cost.
I do not post dollar figures, because no honest lawyer can value a case without the records. These are the categories California law allows:
Already have an offer? Read should you accept the first settlement offer or see our case value guide.
Founding attorney, Morales Law Firm. UCLA and Loyola Law School. Former certified automotive service consultant. Bilingual in English and Spanish.
Member of CAALA, CAOC, MABA, LACBA, AAJ and OCTLA.
Tell us what happened. I read these myself and usually reply the same day. Prefer to talk? Call (626) 521-5402.
San Dimas contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, so deputies from the San Dimas Station on Walnut Avenue handle crashes on city streets. Crashes on the 210 and the 57 are generally handled by the California Highway Patrol’s Baldwin Park Area.
At 151 W. Bonita Ave. in downtown San Dimas. You can visit, call, or text, and if you cannot travel after a crash, we will come to your home or hospital.
San Dimas Community Hospital on Covina Boulevard has an emergency room. Serious trauma patients are often taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. In an emergency, call 911 and let paramedics decide.
Generally two years from the crash for an injury lawsuit and three years for vehicle damage. If a government vehicle or a dangerous public road is involved, a government claim must be filed within six months.
A claim based on a dangerous condition of a state highway or ramp is made against the public entity, usually Caltrans, and requires a government claim within six months. These cases need early investigation.
Yes, if anyone was injured or killed or damage was over $1,000. You must file an SR-1 with the DMV within 10 days, even if a deputy or CHP officer wrote a report.
Yes. California uses pure comparative fault, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but not eliminated.
In the Los Angeles County Superior Court, East District, usually at the Pomona Courthouse South. Most cases settle before trial.
Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so our fee comes from the recovery, and if there is no recovery there is no attorney’s fee. The consultation is free.
Yes. Francisco Morales is bilingual, and your whole case can be handled in Spanish.
Call or text Francisco Morales before you talk to the other driver’s insurer. Free consultation, no fee unless we win, se habla español.