Personal injury
Most of what determines a car accident claim happens in the first few weeks, before anyone has talked about settlement: what was documented, what was said to which insurer, and whether treatment was continuous. The consultation is free.
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The deadline
The general deadline for a personal injury claim in California is two years from the date of the collision under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. Property damage has a separate three-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure 338(c), so the two halves of the same crash do not expire together.
The exception that ends the most valid claims is the public entity rule. Where a city, county, transit district, school district, or other public body is involved — a city vehicle, a bus, a police car, or a dangerous condition of a roadway — a written claim must be presented within six months of the incident under Government Code 911.2. After it is rejected there are only six months to file suit. A collision with a municipal bus in Long Beach is on a six-month clock, not a two-year one.
Sources: Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 — two years for personal injury; Code of Civil Procedure 338(c) — three years for damage to property; Government Code 911.2(a) — six months to present a government claim; Government Code 945.6(a) — six months to sue after rejection.
Fault
California is a pure comparative fault state. Being partly responsible reduces recovery by that percentage but never bars it, so a claim worth $100,000 where the injured person was 30 percent at fault yields $70,000. Insurers use this aggressively, and a great deal of adjuster activity is aimed at building a percentage rather than denying the claim outright.
More than one party is often responsible. Beyond the driver, there may be the vehicle’s owner, an employer where the driver was working, a company whose delivery schedule put them there, a bar or host in limited dram-shop circumstances, a vehicle or parts manufacturer, or a public entity responsible for the road. Vehicle Code 17150 makes an owner liable for a permissive user’s negligence, though Vehicle Code 17151 caps that particular route at $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, which is why identifying an employment or agency relationship matters so much more.
Sources: Civil Code 1714(a) — the general duty of ordinary care; Vehicle Code 17150 — an owner’s liability for a permissive user; Vehicle Code 17151(a) — that owner liability is capped at $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.
Insurance
California’s minimum liability limits are low, and most serious cases exceed them. Where they do, the question becomes what other coverage exists: the at-fault driver’s umbrella policy, an employer’s commercial policy, and above all the injured person’s own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which is the most overlooked source of recovery in this practice. A UM or UIM claim is made against your own insurer, does not depend on the other driver having anything, and usually has its own contractual deadlines that are shorter than the statute of limitations.
Medical payments coverage under your own policy pays treatment regardless of fault. Health insurance, Medi-Cal, and Medicare will generally assert liens against any recovery, and resolving those liens is a substantial part of what an injured person actually receives.
Proposition 213 is the trap worth knowing. Under Civil Code 3333.4, an owner who was driving their own uninsured vehicle, or a driver convicted of DUI in the incident, cannot recover non-economic damages at all, however badly hurt and however clearly the other driver was at fault. Economic losses remain recoverable. This single rule changes the value of a case more than almost anything else.
Sources: Vehicle Code 16056 — California’s minimum liability limits; Civil Code 3333.4 — Proposition 213 bars non-economic damages for uninsured drivers.
The first weeks
Gaps in treatment are the most effective argument an insurer has, and they are used to claim the injury resolved or was unrelated. Soft tissue and concussion symptoms frequently appear a day or two later, so being checked after the adrenaline passes both protects your health and documents causation.
Your policy requires prompt notice and it preserves UM and UIM coverage. The other driver’s insurer is a different matter: nothing obliges you to give them a recorded statement, and those statements exist to develop comparative fault and to pin down an account before the injuries are understood.
Photographs of both vehicles, the scene, the signals and sightlines, and your visible injuries. The names of witnesses, which frequently do not make it into the report. Nearby business and doorbell cameras, which are usually overwritten within a week or two.
Early offers arrive before the full extent of an injury is known, and a release is permanent, typically as to every party it names. It cannot be reopened when a course of treatment turns out to be longer or surgery becomes necessary.
Value
Economic losses are the documented ones: medical bills incurred, the future care a physician says the injury will require, lost income, and lost earning capacity where the injury changes what someone can do. Non-economic losses cover the pain, the limitation, the disfigurement, and the loss of the things a person used to be able to do, subject to Proposition 213.
What a case is worth depends on liability, the medical record, the permanence of the injury, and the available coverage. Anyone who gives a number before those are known is guessing, and no number is offered here.
The office
The office has represented injured people in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades. The early work is coverage and evidence: finding every policy that might apply, including the client’s own UM and UIM, sending preservation letters before footage and vehicle data are gone, and checking immediately whether a public entity is involved and the six-month clock is running.
The firm has offices in Long Beach and Downey and speaks Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Two years from the collision for personal injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1, and three years for property damage under Code of Civil Procedure 338(c). If a public entity is involved — a city vehicle, a bus, or a dangerous road condition — a written government claim is due within six months under Government Code 911.2, and once rejected there are six months to sue.
Yes. California uses pure comparative fault, so your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility but is never barred by it, even at a high percentage. Insurers argue fault percentages hard for exactly this reason, which is why what you say to an adjuster early matters.
Often yes, through your own uninsured motorist coverage, which is the most commonly overlooked source of recovery. It is a claim against your own insurer, does not depend on the other driver having assets, and usually carries its own deadlines that are shorter than the two-year statute. Underinsured motorist coverage works the same way where their limits are too low.
It does not end it, but it changes it substantially. Under Civil Code 3333.4, an uninsured owner driving their own vehicle cannot recover non-economic damages for pain and suffering, even where the other driver was entirely at fault. Economic damages — medical bills and lost income — remain recoverable. The same bar applies to a driver convicted of DUI arising from the incident.
No, and you are not required to. Your own policy generally obliges you to cooperate with your insurer; the other side’s insurer is an adverse party. Recorded statements are taken early, before the injuries are understood, and are used afterwards to argue that the account changed or that you were partly at fault.
Selected case results
A selection from 55 documented results
$2,850,000
Premises liability
$320,000
Maricopa County, Arizona
$480,000
Premises liability
$520,000
Maricopa County, Arizona
$360,000
Los Angeles Superior Court
Client experiences
“Patrick and his staff were very helpful with taking care of all the bills and legalities, so we can focus on healing.”
“Got my money and my vehicle fixed. Don’t hesitate to give them a call.”
“Patrick helped me with a dog bite case. He was able to get me more than I expected and was easy to work with. … I would recommend his services.”
“Patrick is very reliable, trustworthy, and will definitely be able to help you out. Cost is very reasonable.”
Meet your attorney
A Professional Law Corporation
The future of your case may depend on a successful outcome. It can be stressful to go through the legal process alone—but thankfully, you don’t have to.
The Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre will stand up for clients’ interests and rights, providing high-quality representation in personal injury cases and criminal defense matters throughout California from its Long Beach office.
We work with you and for your best interests. Our legal team is compassionate, hard-working, and tenacious—fighting to get the job done right when it matters most. No case is too complicated or insignificant for our full attention. Our clients may move forward into a brighter future free from worry about past mistakes.
We’re the legal team that never gives up. When you need an attorney who will fight for what’s right, turn to us, and we’ll do everything in our power to help. No matter how challenging your situation may seem, there is hope.
“Courage is the most important attribute of a lawyer.”
Robert F. Kennedy
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