Orange County personal injury & civil litigation attorneys

Most injury cases run on a two-year clock under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 — two years from the date of the injury or death. Damage to property alone gets three years. Medical malpractice runs one year from discovery or three years from the injury, whichever comes first, and non-economic damages in those cases are capped by statute. Claims against a public agency carry a six-month deadline most people never hear about. Exceptions both shorten and extend these periods, so treat any date you have been given as provisional and call us promptly.

California's minimum liability limits rose on January 1, 2025 to $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage — the first increase since 1967. Even so, a minimum policy runs out fast against a single emergency room bill. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may then step in, and many drivers carry it without knowing. Send us your declarations page. We read the policy, identify every layer of available coverage, and look for other responsible parties — an employer, a rideshare company, a negligent property owner.

Injury cases here are handled on contingency. There is no attorney's fee unless we recover for you. The fee is a percentage set out in a written agreement you read and sign before any work starts, and case costs are addressed in that same agreement. Getting an opinion costs little or nothing: the first 15 minutes of consultation are free, and time beyond that is billed in 15-minute increments. Bring the traffic collision report, your photographs, and any letters an insurer has sent you.

Cases arising here are generally filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Unlimited civil matters — anything over $35,000 — are handled at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana, with complex cases routed to the Civil Complex Center. Claims of $35,000 or less are limited civil. Our office sits in Laguna Hills, a short drive down the 5 from the courthouse. Most cases resolve before trial, but filing preserves rights and changes the conversation.

Slow down before you agree. An adjuster's job is to evaluate and limit exposure, and a recorded statement taken while you are medicated, shaken, or still learning how badly you are hurt can be quoted back at you a year later. You generally owe cooperation to your own insurer. You owe the other side's carrier considerably less. Ask for the request in writing, get medical treatment, and get advice before you sit for it. We handle these calls for our clients so nobody has to guess what matters.

Partial fault does not close the courthouse door. California follows pure comparative fault, adopted in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975), which reduces an award by the injured person's share of responsibility rather than barring the claim outright. Someone found 30 percent at fault recovers 70 percent of proven damages, and there is no cutoff percentage as there is in many other states. Insurers know this and often assign you an inflated share early. Fault is proved with evidence — scene photographs, vehicle data, witness accounts, sometimes reconstruction. Do not concede it on a phone call.

Claims against public entities follow their own track and it is unforgiving. Under Government Code section 911.2, a written claim for injury or death must be presented to the agency within six months of when the claim accrued, and within one year for most other claims. If the agency mails a written rejection, Government Code section 945.6 allows only six months from that notice to file suit. Miss either step and the case can end before it begins. Transit districts, cities, the county and school districts all qualify. Call as soon as you suspect a public entity is involved.