Irvine Car Accident Lawyers

Car Accident Claims in Irvine

A crash in Irvine can leave you with injuries, a damaged car and a stack of calls from insurers. The Ledger Law Firm represents people hurt in Orange County car crashes. The firm has attorneys licensed in California, and its office for Orange County is at 5160 Birch Street, Suite 200, Newport Beach. Call or use the form below to ask for a free case evaluation.

Call (949) 377-1111

The firm works on a contingency fee: the fee is a percentage of what is recovered. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee, but you may still be responsible for court costs and case expenses.

First steps after an Irvine crash

Get yourself and others out of the path of traffic when you can, and call 911 if someone may be hurt. The California Driver Handbook tells drivers to stop at the scene and share their information.
Have a doctor look at you the same day if possible. Pain from a collision can build slowly, and an early record shows that it started with the crash.
Take pictures before the cars are moved if it is safe to do so. Capture the damage, the lane markings, any traffic signal and the weather. Collect names and phone numbers from drivers, passengers and bystanders.
Know the DMV rule. The California DMV says that you or your representative must send form SR 1 within 10 days if someone was injured, even slightly, or died, or if damage to property exceeded $1000, whoever caused the crash. See the DMV page on accident reporting.
Call your own insurance company to report the crash, and keep everything in writing from that point.

What Irvine crash claims often involve

Irvine has business parks, shopping centers, neighborhoods and campuses, and the crashes people describe reflect that mix.

Collisions on Interstate 5 and Interstate 405, and on State Routes 133, 261 and 55, including lane changes and sudden stops in heavy traffic.
Intersection crashes on the wide arterial streets that connect neighborhoods to shopping and offices.
Parking lot crashes at shopping centers and office complexes.
Crashes near the University of California Irvine and other campuses, including pedestrians and cyclists.
Crashes with a driver on the job, such as a delivery vehicle or a company car, where an employer may also be responsible.
Crashes with a driver who has no insurance or too little of it.

Who may be at fault and how fault is shared

A crash often has more than one cause. A driver may be speeding, a vehicle may have a defect, a company may have sent a tired employee out on the road, or a public agency may have left a hazard in place.

California applies pure comparative fault. If you are found partly at fault, your claim is not barred. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, so a person who is 30 percent at fault receives 70 percent of the damages.

The deadline to file

Two years for injury

Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives two years to bring a lawsuit for injury caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another person.

Three years for property

For damage to your vehicle or other property, the usual period is three years.

Six months for a public body

If a city, county or other public body may share the blame, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim to be presented to it, in the usual case within six months of the crash. Because exceptions exist, bring the dates of your own case to an attorney as early as you can.

What a claim can include

Depending on the facts, a claim may seek payment of medical bills, lost income, the cost to repair or replace your car, and the pain and limits on daily life the injury brought. The amount depends on the injuries, the records and the insurance coverage, and the firm cannot promise any particular result.

Talking to an insurance company

Report the crash to your own insurer without delay. If the insurer of the other side calls, you can ask to talk with an attorney first, and it is wise to do so before you give a recorded statement or sign any release. The California DMV lists minimum liability coverage of $30,000 for one injured or killed person, $60,000 for more than one, and $15,000 for property damage (DMV insurance requirements). Those amounts may fall short after a serious injury, which is why your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters.

How the free case evaluation works

Call or fill in the form with the basic facts of the crash.
We review your injuries, the insurance and the timing, and we say whether the firm can take the claim.
If you retain the firm, we gather the police report, photos and records and handle the insurance companies.
Offers come to you for your decision.

The fee

Irvine car accident questions

Should I get a lawyer if the damage to my car looks minor?

Look at your injuries and your bills, not only the car. If you are hurt, if fault is disputed or if an offer is lower than your costs, a free case evaluation can help you decide.

What if the driver who hit me worked for a company?

An employer may be responsible for a crash that happened while the driver was working. Tell us who the driver was and where they were going, if you know.

Can I recover if I was partly to blame?

Yes, in California. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault.

Where will I meet the firm?

You can start by phone or with the form. The office of the firm for Orange County is in Newport Beach.

Who is licensed in California

The attorneys of the firm licensed in California are Emery Brett Ledger and Sabrina Sabbagh. The Ledger Law Firm was founded in 1998 by Emery Brett Ledger. For Orange County, its office is at 5160 Birch Street, Suite 200, Newport Beach, CA 92660.

More on this site

Call The Ledger Law Firm at (949) 377-1111 for a free case evaluation.

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