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California gives most injured people two years to bring a personal injury lawsuit, counted from the day of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a city, county, school district or other public agency caused the harm, the first deadline is much shorter: you have six months to submit a written claim to [...]

After a crash in a rental car in California, the renter's own auto insurance usually pays first, both for injuries to other people and, if the renter carries collision coverage, for damage to the rental itself. The rental company pays for someone else's injuries only if the rental contract gave the renter liability [...]

No. California is an at-fault state, also called a tort state, so the driver who caused a crash and that driver's insurance company pay for the other people's injuries and losses. You do not have to clear a medical-bill threshold before suing, and you can claim pain and suffering from the at-fault driver from the [...]

A California car insurance claim for vehicle damage alone usually wraps up within a few weeks, while a claim that includes injuries commonly takes several months to more than a year, because the insurer will not pay full value until your medical treatment is complete. State regulations set the pace in between: the [...]

A motorcycle accident claim in California is a demand for payment from the driver who caused the crash, usually paid by that driver's insurer, and it becomes a motorcycle accident lawsuit only when the insurer refuses a fair settlement. Riders can recover medical costs, lost income, the value of the bike and gear, and [...]

If a State Farm driver hit you, you file a third-party claim against that driver's liability policy, either through the non-customer claim option on State Farm's claims website or by phone, using the driver's name, the policy number from the scene, and the date and place of the crash. State Farm then assigns an [...]

A yield sign means you must slow down, be ready to stop, and let any vehicle or pedestrian that is already in the intersection, or close enough to be an immediate hazard, go first. In California, Vehicle Code section 21803 requires the driver facing the sign to keep yielding until it is reasonably safe to [...]

Yes. Brake checking, which means hitting your brakes on purpose to scare, punish, or provoke the driver behind you, is illegal in California even though no statute uses that phrase. Depending on how it happens, it can violate Vehicle Code section 22109 on sudden stops, count as reckless driving under Vehicle Code [...]

A C2 vertebrae fracture is a break in the axis, the second bone of the neck, and in adults under 65 it most often comes from high-energy trauma such as a car crash. Most C2 fractures heal after about 8 to 14 weeks in a rigid collar or halo vest, or after surgery, but some [...]

Filing a slip and fall lawsuit in California starts with an injury claim to the property owner's insurer; if that does not settle, you file a complaint in the superior court for the county where you fell within two years of the fall. If you fell on property owned by a city, county, school district, [...]