Rear-End Accidents
The driver behind is often at fault, but not automatically. Brake lights, sudden lane entries and chain reactions all change the picture.
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Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys
Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer
A crash changes your week before it changes anything else. The Law Offices of Burg & Brock represent people who were hurt in Los Angeles collisions, not the insurers on the other side. Tell us what happened and we will tell you, honestly, whether you have a claim worth pursuing.
No fee unless we recover for you.
Cameron Yadidi Brock
- Role
- Founding Attorney
- Bar
- California #183112
- Since
- Practicing 1996
- 1996Practicing since
- Sherman OaksLos Angeles County office
- No FeeUnless there is a recovery
- FreeConfidential case review
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Reviewed by Cameron Yadidi BrockFounding Attorney, Law Offices of Burg & Brock · California State Bar #183112 · Admitted 1996
The Short Answer
Were You Injured in a Los Angeles Car Accident?
Most people call a lawyer because they cannot get a straight answer from anyone else. Here is the short version.
You may have a claim if someone else’s driving caused your injuries. In California that usually means proving the other driver did something an ordinarily careful driver would not do, and that it caused the harm you are dealing with now. You do not need to know who was at fault before you call. Working that out is our job, and it is often the part of a case that takes the longest.
You also do not need to have gone to hospital by ambulance. Injuries that show up two days later are common and they still count.
Accidents We Handle
Most Los Angeles Collisions Follow a Pattern
And the pattern usually decides what evidence matters.
Intersection Crashes
Left turns and red-light disputes usually come down to witnesses, signal timing and whatever cameras were pointing the right way.
Multi-Vehicle Accidents
With several drivers and several insurers, fault gets split. Sorting the sequence early is what keeps you out of someone else’s share of it.
Unsafe Lane ChangesSideswipes on the 405 and the 101 turn on mirror position, blind spots and where the damage landed.
Distracted DrivingPhone records, infotainment logs and app activity show what a driver was doing before impact.
SpeedingSpeed changes both fault and injury severity. Event data recorders often hold the answer.
Impaired DrivingA criminal case runs alongside your civil claim. One does not have to wait for the other.
Hit-and-RunIf the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage may be the route to recovery.
Commercial VehiclesA driver on the job means an employer’s policy, larger limits, and a company already investigating.
Liability
Who Can Be Liable for a Motor Vehicle Accident?
More than one party can be responsible for the same crash. Finding the second one often matters more than proving the first.
The CrashOne collision, potentially several defendants
Other Driver
The usual defendant. Their liability policy is normally the first source of recovery.
Vehicle Owner
Someone who lends a car can carry liability of their own, and their policy may apply alongside the driver’s.
Employer
If the driver was working, the employer is often responsible for what happened on the job.
Manufacturer
When a part fails, whether brakes, tires or a restraint system, the claim can extend to whoever built or sold it.
Government Entity
A dangerous road design or an unmaintained signal can put a public entity in the case. These run on much shorter deadlines.
Proving the Case
Four Things a Claim Has to Show
01
Duty
Everyone on the road owes everyone else reasonable care. This part is rarely argued about.
02
Breach
Something a careful driver would not do. Running the light, following too closely, looking at a phone.
03
Causation
The link between the crash and your injuries. This is where medical records do the heavy lifting.
04
Damages
Losses that can be measured. Treatment, income, and the effect on daily life.
Comparative Fault
What If I Was Partly at Fault?
California uses comparative fault. Being partly responsible does not end your claim. It reduces it by your share.
Insurers know this rule and use it. An adjuster suggesting you were partly to blame early on is often an opening position, not a finding.
Illustrative example only
100%Total damages
20%Your share of fault
80%Potential recovery
California Insurance Minimums
What Drivers Are Required to Carry
A floor set by statute, not a measure of what a serious claim is worth.
$30KInjury or death, one person
$60KInjury or death, multiple people
$15KProperty damage
A single night in a Los Angeles trauma ward can exceed the entire per-person minimum. When it does, the question becomes which other policies apply: the at-fault driver’s excess coverage, an employer’s policy, or your own. Current requirements are published by the California DMV.
What If the Driver Has No Insurance?
Plenty of drivers on California roads are uninsured, and plenty more carry only the minimum. Neither ends the matter. What is available depends on the wording of the policy and how it interacts with any other coverage in play. We would need to read yours before saying what it does.
Uninsured motoristUnderinsured motoristMedPayOther applicable policies
Compensation
What Can Be Recovered
California allows recovery for economic losses you can document, and for the human cost of the injury itself.
Medical ExpensesEmergency care, imaging, surgery, therapy.
Future CareTreatment that continues after the case ends.
Lost IncomeWages, shifts, self-employed work you could not take.
Reduced Earning CapacityWhen the injury changes what you can do for a living.
Pain & SufferingThe human cost, which California law recognizes as compensable.
Property DamageRepair, total loss, and a rental while you are without a car.
Other Supported LossesOut-of-pocket costs that can be documented.
Serious Injuries
Serious Injuries Change How a Case Is Built.
With life-care planning, treating physicians and economists rather than a stack of bills.
Case Value
How Much Is My Car Accident Case Worth?
There is no calculator for this, and any site offering one is selling something.
Two identical injuries can be worth very different amounts, and usually the difference is documentation rather than the injury itself.
- Injury severity
- Future care
- Lost income
- Fault
- Insurance available
- Strength of evidence
- Permanent effects
- Responsible parties
Evidence
Evidence Can Disappear Quickly
Traffic camera footage is often overwritten within days, and vehicles get repaired or scrapped.
At the Scene
- Photographs of both vehicles, every angle
- The other driver’s licence, insurance and plate
- Names and numbers of witnesses
- Road, weather and light conditions
- The police report number
After the Accident
- Medical records from every provider
- A note of symptoms as they develop
- Time missed from work
- Repair estimates and rental costs
- Every letter from any insurer
Digital & Third-Party
- Traffic and business CCTV
- Event data recorders in newer vehicles
- Phone and app records
- Commercial fleet telematics and driver logs
After a Crash
What to Do, In Order
None of it requires you to know whose fault it was.
- 01Check Injuries
Yours and anyone else’s, before anything is moved.
- 02Call 911
A police report is far easier to obtain than to reconstruct.
- 03Move Safely
Out of live traffic if the vehicles can be moved.
- 04Document the Scene
Vehicles, positions, plates, signals, visible injuries.
- 05Exchange Information
Name, licence, insurer, policy number, plate.
- 06Find Witnesses
A number now beats a memory in six months.
- 07Get Medical Care
Same day if possible. Adrenaline hides injuries.
- 08Notify Your Insurer
Facts only. You need not speculate about fault.
- 09Keep Records
Bills, correspondence, receipts, days missed.
- 10Get Legal Advice
Before giving the other insurer a recorded statement.
The question everyone asks
Should I Give the Other Insurer a Recorded Statement?
Get advice first.
You are not required to give one, and there is rarely a reason to give one early.
Adjusters are not villains. They are doing a job, and that job is to resolve the claim for the amount their file supports. The trouble is that a statement taken in week one, before anyone knows how an injury develops, becomes part of the file permanently, and an early offer is usually built on what is known then rather than what is known later.
Our Process
How Burg & Brock Handles the Case
What actually happens once we take it on.
01Understand
What happened, in sequence, from the people who were there.
02Preserve
Letters to preserve footage and vehicle data before either is gone.
03Investigate
Reports, witnesses, scene evidence, reconstruction when warranted.
04Identify Insurance
Every policy that could apply, including your own.
05Document Injuries
Records, treating physicians, and what recovery realistically looks like.
06Calculate Loss
Current and future, medical and economic.
07Present the Claim
A demand built on documents rather than adjectives.
08Litigate If Needed
Filing suit when the offer does not reflect the file.
Deadlines
2Years*
Time Is Not Unlimited
Many California personal injury lawsuits generally must be filed within two years of the injury.
*Government claims and other situations can involve different or shorter deadlines. A claim against a public entity generally has a much shorter window. Some situations extend a deadline and others shorten it, which is why it is worth asking early rather than assuming you have two years.
The Attorney Responsible for This Page
Cameron Yadidi Brock
- California State Bar#183112 · licence active
- AdmittedJune 1996
- PracticePersonal injury, plaintiff representation
- OfficeSherman Oaks, Los Angeles County
Cameron Yadidi Brock has been licensed to practice law in California since June 1996 and founded the Law Offices of Burg & Brock in Sherman Oaks. He practices personal injury law and represents people injured in motor vehicle collisions and other serious-injury matters.
Why Clients Come to Burg & Brock
01Personal Injury Focus
Not a general practice that also takes injury cases when they come through the door.
02Practicing Since 1996
Cameron Yadidi Brock was admitted to the California Bar in June 1996, which you can verify yourself on the State Bar’s record.
03Contingency Representation
No fee unless there is a recovery. The percentage and costs are set out in writing before anything is signed.
04Prepared for Litigation
Files are built so that suit can be filed when an offer does not reflect what the evidence supports.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer after every car accident?
No. A minor bump with no injuries and an insurer that pays promptly does not need one. It is worth a conversation when there are injuries, when fault is disputed, or when an offer arrives before you know how you are healing.
What if the insurer says I caused the accident?
An adjuster’s opinion is not a finding. It is a position in a negotiation, and it can be answered with evidence: witnesses, scene photographs, vehicle data, sometimes reconstruction.
What if the driver only has minimum insurance?
Then the question becomes what else applies. Your own underinsured motorist coverage, an employer’s policy if the driver was working, or another responsible party.
Can a passenger make a claim?
Usually, and passengers are rarely at fault. A passenger may have a claim against either driver, or both.
What if I was hit while driving for Uber or Lyft?
Rideshare coverage depends on what the app was doing at the moment of the crash. That is covered in more detail on our Los Angeles Uber and Lyft accident page.
Can I recover if I was partly responsible?
Yes. California reduces recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it.
What if my injuries appeared later?
Common, and not a problem in itself. Soft tissue injuries and concussions often surface a day or two afterwards. Get seen, and make sure the records reflect when symptoms started.
Should I accept the first settlement offer?
Not before you know what your treatment will cost. A first offer arrives early because early is when the claim looks smallest.
How long can a car accident case take?
Weeks for a straightforward claim with clear fault and completed treatment. Longer where injuries are still developing, fault is disputed, or suit is filed. Be wary of a firm timeline offered on the first call.
How much does a car accident lawyer cost?
We work on a contingency fee. There is no fee unless there is a recovery. The percentage and costs are set out in the written agreement before anything is signed.
Related Services
Other Ways We Help
Uber & Lyft Accident LawyerRideshare claims, and the coverage periods that decide them.Motorcycle Accident LawyerMotorcycle collisions across Los Angeles and California.Brain & Spinal Injury LawyerCatastrophic injury claims needing long-term care planning.Wrongful Death LawyerClaims brought by families after a fatal collision.
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Talk to a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer
Tell us what happened. We will tell you where you stand and whether you need a lawyer at all.
No fee unless we recover for you.
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