Most injury claims in San Diego are decided by two things that have nothing to do with how badly you were hurt: how much insurance exists, and which deadline applies to you.
Both are answerable in the first week, and getting the second one wrong ends claims that were otherwise sound.
Culver Legal, LLP represents injured people and their families across San Diego County. We work on contingency and advance the costs of the case, so there is nothing to pay up front and no fee unless we win. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour.
- $4,000,000Auto Accident
- $3,550,000Personal Injury
- $3,550,000Auto Accident
- $3,000,000Truck Accident
- $2,500,000Commercial Accident
- $2,250,000Motorcycle Accident
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Claim?
Two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
Six months if a public entity is involved, under Government Code 911.2. A written claim must be presented before any lawsuit is possible, and this is the deadline people lose good claims to.
It comes up more often than it sounds. A public road condition, a city vehicle, a fall on public property, a transit vehicle, or work on a public project all bring it into play.
Where the claim goes depends on the entity, and they are not interchangeable:
- The City of San Diego. Risk Management Department, 1200 Third Ave., Suite 1000, on the city’s RM-9 claim form. **Since 11 December 2023 the city no longer accepts first-notice claims by email**, so it is the online portal, mail, or in person. Somebody emailing a claim in good faith may not have presented it at all.
- San Diego MTS, whose own board policy states it is a California public agency and requires claims against it, its bus company and its trolley company to comply with the Government Claims Act. That claim goes to MTS at 1255 Imperial Avenue, not to the city.
- The county, a school district, or the state, each with a separate process.
A claim presented to the wrong entity has not been presented. Where you are unsure which applies, work to the six months.
For a child, Code of Civil Procedure 352 pauses the ordinary limitation period while they are under 18. It does not pause the six-month government claim.
Not sure whether a public entity was involved?
That is the difference between six months and two years. It takes one conversation to establish.
What Kinds of Cases Do We Handle in San Diego?
Car accidents
The question that usually decides a serious claim is what insurance exists. California’s minimum liability cover is $30,000 for injury to one person, which a single hospital admission can exhaust, so identifying every policy that responds matters more than arguing about the collision. San Diego car accident claims.
Motorcycle accidents
San Diego County ranks first of all 58 California counties for motorcycle riders killed or injured, with 1,693 victims in 2023. Riders are also blamed by default, and the lane-splitting law is persistently misstated by people who should know better. San Diego motorcycle accident claims.
Truck accidents
A commercial carrier is insured on a different scale from a private car, and the evidence that proves the case belongs to the trucking company and is destroyed once federal retention lapses. San Diego truck accident claims.
Pedestrian accidents
An unmarked crosswalk exists at most intersections whether or not anything is painted on the road, and “there was no crosswalk there” is said to most people struck on foot. San Diego pedestrian accident claims.
Bicycle accidents
Cyclists have the same rights on the road as drivers by statute, and a driver passing must leave three feet or slow down and wait. Cyclists under 15 killed or injured in this city rose from 26 to 37 in a year. San Diego bicycle accident claims.
Rideshare accidents
Whether the driver had accepted a ride decides whether $50,000 or $1,000,000 of cover applies. San Diego rideshare accident claims.
Bus and trolley accidents
MTS is a public agency, so it is a six-month claim rather than a two-year one, and it goes to MTS rather than the city. San Diego bus accident claims.
Slip and fall and premises liability
These turn on notice, meaning whether the owner knew or should have known, and the records that prove it belong to the other side and are discarded on a schedule. San Diego slip and fall claims.
Dog bites
California is a strict liability state. The owner is liable regardless of the dog’s history, and it is usually their homeowner’s insurance that responds rather than them personally. San Diego dog bite claims.
Brain injuries
A normal scan is not the same as no injury, and what proves these claims is mostly gathered outside a hospital. San Diego brain injury claims.
Construction accidents
The company that injured you is very often not the company that employs you, and where that is true there are two claims rather than one. San Diego construction accident claims.
Work injuries
Workers’ compensation pays nothing for pain and suffering. Where somebody other than your employer caused the injury, a separate civil claim covers what compensation does not. San Diego work injury claims.
Wrongful death
California allows one action per death rather than one per relative, so establishing who is entitled comes before anything is filed. San Diego wrongful death claims.
We also act in catastrophic injury, burn injury, spinal injury and other serious injury matters that do not have a page of their own here.
California Law and Your Right to Recover
Three rules do most of the work in a San Diego injury claim.
Negligence. Under Civil Code 1714, everyone is responsible for injury caused to another by their want of ordinary care. That sits under almost every claim on this page.
Comparative fault. California reduces your recovery by your share of the blame rather than barring it. Somebody found 25 percent at fault still recovers 75 percent, which is why an insurer’s opening argument about fault is a negotiation rather than an answer.
Strict liability where it applies. Dog bites are the clearest example: the owner is liable regardless of the animal’s history, and no carelessness has to be proved.
What Is a San Diego Injury Claim Worth?
Nobody can tell you at the start, and anybody who does is guessing at your expense. What can be said is what actually drives the answer, because those things are establishable early.
The medical picture, once it has settled. Not what treatment has cost so far, but where you end up: whether you recover fully, whether you need further treatment, and whether you can do the work you did before at the level you did it. Settling before that is known means settling on the least the claim will ever be worth.
The insurance available. This constrains everything and it is the part people never think about. A catastrophic injury against a minimum policy can recover less than a moderate injury against commercial cover. Establishing every policy that might respond, including your own underinsured motorist cover, changes outcomes more than any argument about fault.
The fault split. California reduces recovery in proportion to blame rather than barring it, so the argument is usually about a percentage, and percentages are worth real money on a serious claim.
Whether a public entity is involved, which is a deadline question before it is a value question, and the one that turns a good claim into no claim.
Two things that are not drivers, despite being what people worry about: how angry the other side was, and how obviously wrong they seem. Cases are decided on documents.
Where You Were Treated, and Where the Case Would Be Heard
San Diego runs a catchment area trauma system, which most people do not know. The county is divided into geographic zones, each assigned to a specific trauma center, so you were taken to the center for where the injury happened, not the nearest hospital and not one anyone chose.
The adult Level I centers are Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego and UC San Diego Medical Center, with Rady Children’s Hospital as the pediatric Level I. One of them holds your imaging, the trauma activation record and the first responder narrative.
Collision reports for a city street come from the San Diego Police Department. They cost $12, are not faxed or emailed, and after seven business days you can confirm one is ready on (619) 531-2846. A crash on Interstate 5, 8, 15 or 805 is normally the California Highway Patrol’s.
A claim seeking more than $35,000 is an unlimited civil case, filed at the Hall of Justice, 330 West Broadway, which houses the Superior Court’s civil courtrooms, and heard in San Diego County before a San Diego County jury.
Serving San Diego County
Culver Legal acts for people across San Diego County, and where you cannot travel to us, we come to you. Our team speaks Spanish, Farsi, Filipino, Hindi, Mandarin and Korean.
The economics are simple. Contingency, costs advanced, nothing up front and no fee unless we win. Culver Legal has recovered $200 Million and counting, and the phone is answered 24 hours a day.
Still deciding whether to make the call?
The review costs nothing and commits you to nothing. The deadlines run either way.
San Diego Personal Injury FAQs
When should you call a personal injury lawyer?
Earlier than most people do, and for reasons that are practical rather than promotional. Three things decay quickly: camera footage sits on retention loops measured in days, vehicles and scenes are repaired or cleared, and where a public entity is involved you have six months rather than two years to present a written claim. None of those wait for somebody to feel ready. A review costs nothing and commits you to nothing, so the cost of asking early is zero and the cost of asking late can be the claim.
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in California?
These are handled on contingency, so the fee is a percentage of what is recovered and there is no fee if there is no recovery, with case costs advanced rather than billed to you as they arise. What no honest firm will do is put a value on your claim before knowing how the injury settles.
Is it worth suing for personal injury?
It depends on the injury and on what insurance exists, and those are different questions. A serious injury with a minimum policy behind it may recover less than a moderate injury with substantial cover, which is why establishing what is available comes first. Where a claim is not worth pursuing, we will say so.
What if I was partly at fault?
You can still recover. California reduces your recovery in proportion to your share of the blame rather than barring it, so somebody found 25 percent at fault recovers 75 percent. Insurers open with fault arguments precisely because people assume the opposite and stop.
How do I know if a public entity was involved?
Ask early rather than assume, because it is the difference between six months and two years. It comes up where a city or county vehicle was involved, where a road, sidewalk, signal or public property condition contributed, where a transit vehicle was involved, or where the work was on a public project. Where there is any doubt, work to the six months, because presenting a claim that turns out to be unnecessary costs nothing.
I am undocumented. Can I bring a claim without putting myself at risk?
Yes, and the protection is stronger than most people expect. Under Evidence Code 351.2, added by AB 2159, evidence of a person’s immigration status is not admissible in a civil action for personal injury or wrongful death, and discovery into it is not permitted either. It cannot be raised at trial and it cannot be asked about beforehand. It is not a question we ask you, and it is not a question the other side gets to ask.
Contact a Culver Legal San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer
Whether a public entity was involved decides your deadline, and the evidence that proves your claim is on a shorter clock than either. If you were hurt anywhere in San Diego County, reach us at (310) 600-7881 at any hour. The review costs nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Culver Legal, LLP is a California law firm. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
