Home » Blog » What to Do if You Have a Personal Injury Case in California?
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Last Modified on Sep 08, 2026
Right after a crash, a fall, or an injury that was not your fault, the pain is only half the problem. You are also staring down insurance adjusters, medical bills, and a system that expects you to already know the rules.
A personal injury case in California follows a real structure, and most of it comes down to what you do, or skip doing, in the first few weeks. Missing a deadline or letting evidence disappear can cost you a case that should have won.
Bentley & More LLP has spent years turning first phone calls into trial-ready cases across Southern California, and a free conversation with our firm costs nothing and gets the clock working for you instead of against you.
What Makes a Personal Injury Case in California
A personal injury case in California exists whenever someone else’s careless conduct causes you physical harm. That covers car accidents and motorcycle crashes, falls on a poorly maintained walkway, dog bites, defective products, and workplace accidents that fall outside the workers’ comp system.
Underneath nearly all of it sits one legal idea, negligence, and proving it means showing four things: the other party owed you a duty of care, they broke it, the break caused your injury, and the injury produced real, measurable losses.
The Clock Is Already Running: California’s Filing Deadlines
California gives most injury victims two years from the date of injury to file suit, under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 (CCP section 335.1). Fewer people know how much shorter that window gets in specific situations.
- Two years from the date of injury for most personal injury claims
- Six months to file a claim against a city, county, school district, or state agency, under the California Government Claims Program (Gov. Code section 911.2). Exactly where and how that claim gets filed depends on which entity you’re dealing with, so it’s worth confirming the details of your specific case rather than assuming.
- Ten days to file an SR-1 report with the California DMV under California Vehicle Code section 16000 (CVC section 16000), if anyone was injured or damage topped $1,000
Miss any one of these and the case ends there, no matter how strong the facts are.
What to Document Right Now
Evidence has a shelf life, and most of it starts disappearing within days.
At the Scene
Photograph the vehicles, the injury, the property defect, or the loose stair tread before anyone repairs it. Get the names and phone numbers of witnesses who saw it happen, not just their word that they saw it.
In the Weeks After
Keep every medical bill, discharge note, and follow-up appointment. Request the police or traffic collision report once it is filed. In Orange County, that report is often the first document an insurance adjuster reads.
Insurance Negotiation or Lawsuit: What Actually Happens Next
Most personal injury claims in California resolve through negotiation with the at fault party’s insurer, and never reach a courtroom. Your personal injury attorney sends a demand letter backed by medical records and lost wage documentation, and the adjuster counters, usually low. If the numbers do not move enough, the next step is filing a complaint in Orange County Superior Court or wherever the injury happened, which restarts talks with a trial date now attached to them. California’s comparative negligence rule means you can still recover even if you were found partly at fault, just reduced by your share of it.
When a Disputed Case Still Wins
Bentley & More took a disputed premises liability case to trial in December 2025, one where the property owner denied responsibility outright, and the jury still returned a $5.34 million verdict. Disputed fault does not mean a weak case. It means the documentation from those first weeks has to do more work, and it usually can.
FAQs
Q: Do I need a police report to have a personal injury case?
A: No, but it helps a lot. An officer’s report creates an independent record of fault that an adjuster cannot easily argue with later. If police were not called, write down what happened yourself within 24 hours while the details are still fresh.
Q: What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
A: You can still recover damages. California follows pure comparative negligence, so a jury or adjuster reduces your payout by your percentage of fault rather than blocking the claim entirely. Being found 20 percent at fault on a $100,000 claim still nets you $80,000.
Q: How long does a personal injury case take to settle in California?
A: How long your case takes depends entirely on the unique variables of your claim. Timelines vary based on how quickly you complete treatment, the complexity of liability disputes, and whether multiple parties are involved.
Because every recovery process and insurance negotiation moves at its own pace, our attorneys can help you evaluate your records and understand what to expect.
Q: Can I still sue if I already accepted an insurance settlement?
A: Almost never. Signing a release closes the claim permanently, even if your injuries turn out to be worse than expected. Talk to us before you sign anything the insurance company sends you, not after.
Q: What happens if the at fault driver has no insurance?
A: Your own uninsured motorist coverage, if you carry it, typically steps in to cover the claim. California requires insurers to offer this coverage, though drivers can decline it in writing. Check your policy declarations page first, it usually settles the question fast.
Bentley & More LLP: Your Newport Beach Personal Injury Law Firm
You did not plan for any of this, the medical bills, the insurance calls, the deadline you never knew existed. That is why the first conversation matters, we can usually tell whether your claim needs a demand letter or a lawsuit, and start building the file around it.
Bentley & More LLP has spent years turning disputed, hard fought cases into verdicts and settlements for people across Newport Beach and Orange County, without charging anything upfront. If today is day one of figuring this out, let it also be the day you stop doing it alone. Contact our firm today to talk through what happened.
About the author: Greg Bentley
Co-Founder & Trial Lawyer at Bentley & More LLP
Greg Bentley is Co-Founder of Bentley & More LLP in Newport Beach, California. With 36 years of experience, he represents plaintiffs in personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, insurance bad faith, dangerous road and property conditions, and construction-site failure cases. Admitted to the State Bar of California, Greg earned his J.D. from Western State University College of Law in 1990. He is a member of several invitation-only trial organizations, including the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and is active in multiple statewide and regional trial lawyer associations.
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