A serious car accident can disrupt your life in seconds. One moment, you may be driving on Ventura Boulevard, merging onto the 101 Freeway, or traveling through an Encino intersection. The next, you may be facing medical treatment, vehicle damage, missed work, insurance calls, and uncertainty about what to do next.
At Arshakyan Law Firm, our Encino car accident lawyer represents people injured in crashes caused by negligent drivers, unsafe road conditions, rideshare vehicles, commercial vehicles, and other preventable hazards. We help clients in Encino, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Thousand Oaks, and communities throughout Los Angeles County pursue the compensation they need after serious collisions.
Our law firm understands that a car accident claim is not just about paperwork or insurance forms. It is about protecting your health, your financial stability, and your future. From the first consultation through the resolution of your case, our attorneys focus on clear communication, careful preparation, and a strategy built around your specific injuries and goals.
After a crash, it may seem obvious who caused the accident. A driver may have rear-ended you, run a red light, drifted into your lane, or turned directly into your path. Even so, insurance companies may still dispute fault, question your injuries, or argue that your medical treatment was excessive or unrelated to the collision.
That is why strategy matters. A strong car accident claim must do more than show that a crash occurred. It must show how the crash happened, who was responsible, how the collision caused your injuries, and how those injuries changed your life.
Negligence is the legal term for failing to use reasonable care. In a car accident case, negligence may involve speeding, texting while driving, following too closely, driving under the influence, ignoring traffic signals, or failing to adjust to road and traffic conditions. To pursue compensation, your attorney generally must connect the negligent conduct to your injuries and losses.
At Arshakyan Law Firm, we approach car accident cases with the belief that it is not just the fight that matters. It is the strategy behind it. Our attorneys investigate early, preserve evidence when possible, and work to present the full picture of what the crash has cost you.
Encino drivers deal with busy intersections, heavy commuter traffic, freeway congestion, neighborhood streets, pedestrians, cyclists, rideshare vehicles, and commercial traffic. Crashes can happen anywhere, but certain patterns appear frequently in car accident claims throughout Los Angeles County.
Common causes of car accidents include:
Identifying the cause of the crash is important because it shapes the evidence needed to support your claim. A distracted driving case may require phone records or witness statements. A speeding case may involve vehicle damage, skid marks, traffic footage, or accident reconstruction. A crash involving a dangerous roadway may require a different investigation altogether.
No two crashes are identical. The type of collision can affect the injuries involved, the evidence available, and the insurance issues that may arise. Our lawyers handle a wide range of car accident claims for injured drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and families.
Rear-end crashes often happen in traffic, at red lights, near freeway exits, and in stop-and-go congestion. These collisions can cause whiplash, concussions, herniated discs, shoulder injuries, and other painful conditions. Insurance companies sometimes minimize rear-end crashes as minor, especially when vehicle damage appears limited. However, the force of impact can still cause serious injuries.
Intersections are common locations for serious collisions. Drivers may run red lights, fail to yield, make unsafe left turns, or misjudge the speed of oncoming traffic. These crashes can lead to side-impact collisions, pedestrian injuries, and multi-vehicle accidents. Traffic signal data, witness accounts, and nearby surveillance footage may be important in proving what happened.
Head-on crashes are among the most dangerous types of car accidents. They may occur when a driver crosses the centerline, travels the wrong way, falls asleep, drives impaired, or loses control. Because both vehicles may be moving toward each other, the force of impact can cause catastrophic injuries or death.
Chain-reaction crashes can create complicated liability questions. More than one driver may share responsibility, and each insurance company may try to shift blame elsewhere. These cases often require careful analysis of the sequence of impacts, vehicle positions, roadway conditions, and statements from multiple witnesses.
A hit-and-run crash can leave injured people feeling especially frustrated because the responsible driver fled the scene. Even when the driver is not immediately identified, there may still be options through uninsured motorist coverage or other available insurance. Prompt investigation may help locate video footage, witnesses, or vehicle information.
Accidents involving rideshare or delivery drivers can raise difficult insurance questions. Coverage may depend on whether the driver was logged into an app, waiting for a request, picking up a passenger or delivery, or actively completing a trip. Our firm reviews these details to determine what coverage may apply.
Our attorneys also represent clients in related serious injury matters through our personal injury practice when a collision involves broader claims or multiple forms of negligence.
The physical toll of a car accident can range from temporary soreness to life-changing trauma. Some injuries are immediately obvious. Others may develop gradually as swelling, inflammation, or neurological symptoms worsen after the crash.
Common car accident injuries include:
Medical documentation is one of the most important parts of a car accident claim. Prompt treatment helps protect your health and creates a record of your symptoms, diagnosis, and care plan. If your symptoms worsen over time, follow-up treatment can help show how the injury developed after the collision.
California law allows injured people to pursue compensation for losses caused by another party’s negligence. These losses are often called damages. Damages may include both financial costs and personal harms that affect your quality of life.
Depending on the facts of your case, compensation may cover:
The value of a claim depends on the severity of the injuries, the available insurance coverage, the strength of the evidence, whether liability is disputed, and how the accident affects your life over time. A fair settlement should account for both current losses and future needs when the evidence supports them.
Insurance companies are involved in most car accident claims, but that does not mean the process is simple. Adjusters may request recorded statements, ask for medical authorizations, dispute treatment, challenge fault, or offer a settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries.
You should be careful about giving detailed statements before speaking with an attorney. Even casual comments can be taken out of context. Saying that you feel “okay” shortly after the crash, for example, may later be used to argue that you were not seriously injured, even if symptoms developed days later.
Several types of insurance coverage may become relevant after a crash, including liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments coverage, rideshare coverage, and commercial policies. Identifying all available coverage can be especially important in severe injury cases.
Our attorneys communicate with insurance companies on behalf of clients, respond to disputes, review settlement offers, and help clients understand whether an offer fairly reflects the harm caused by the crash.
The steps you take after a crash can affect both your health and your legal claim. If you are physically able, consider the following actions:
You do not need to handle the insurance process alone. A car accident attorney can help you understand what information to provide, what documents to keep, and what steps may strengthen your claim.
Every car accident case begins with understanding the facts. Our law firm listens to your account, reviews the available evidence, evaluates your injuries, and identifies the legal issues that may affect your claim.
Depending on the case, our attorneys may collect police reports, medical records, photographs, witness statements, traffic or surveillance footage, vehicle damage evidence, repair records, insurance information, and expert analysis. In more complex cases, accident reconstruction specialists, medical professionals, economists, or life-care planning experts may help explain fault, causation, and long-term damages.
Causation means the connection between the crash and your injuries. Insurance companies often dispute causation by arguing that pain came from a prior condition, a later event, or normal wear and tear. Careful medical documentation and a clear timeline can help respond to those arguments.
We also evaluate how the crash has affected your daily life. That may include missed work, difficulty caring for family, reduced mobility, sleep disruption, emotional distress, and limitations on activities you once enjoyed. These details matter because a serious injury claim should reflect the real impact of the accident, not just the bills that arrived afterward.
In many California car accident cases, the deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of the crash. This deadline is called the statute of limitations. If you miss it, you may lose the right to pursue compensation in court.
Some situations involve shorter deadlines. For example, claims involving government vehicles, dangerous public property, or other public entities may require earlier notice. Because deadlines can depend on the facts, it is best to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after a serious collision.
You should be cautious. The other driver’s insurance company does not represent you. Its role is to evaluate the claim from the insurer’s perspective, which often means looking for reasons to reduce or deny payment.
Before giving a recorded statement, signing medical authorizations, or accepting a settlement, consider speaking with a car accident lawyer. An attorney can communicate with the insurer for you and help prevent statements from being taken out of context.
You may still be able to recover compensation. California follows comparative fault rules, which means responsibility can be divided between more than one person. If you are found partially responsible, your compensation may be reduced by your percentage of fault.
Insurance companies may try to assign more blame to you than the evidence supports. A lawyer can review the crash report, witness statements, photographs, and other evidence before you accept fault or agree to a settlement.
If the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance, your own policy may provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage can help pay for losses caused by a driver who cannot fully compensate you through their own insurance.
Other sources of recovery may also exist depending on the case. For example, a commercial driver, rideshare driver, employer, vehicle owner, or another negligent party may have insurance that applies. Our attorneys review available coverage carefully in serious injury cases.
Not every minor crash requires an attorney. However, it is wise to seek legal advice if you are injured, symptoms worsen, fault is disputed, the insurance company pressures you, or the settlement offer does not cover your losses.
Some injuries do not appear serious right away. Neck pain, back pain, headaches, dizziness, numbness, and cognitive symptoms can develop or worsen after the crash. If you are unsure whether your case is minor, an attorney can help you evaluate the situation before you make decisions that may affect your claim.
Yes. Injured passengers may have the right to bring a claim against the driver who caused the crash. Depending on the facts, that may include the driver of another vehicle, the driver of the vehicle the passenger was riding in, or multiple drivers.
Passenger claims can involve sensitive situations when the at-fault driver is a friend, relative, or rideshare driver. In many cases, the claim is handled through insurance rather than directly against the person personally. An attorney can explain how coverage may apply.
The value of a car accident case depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical expenses, missed work, future care needs, pain and suffering, available insurance coverage, and the strength of the evidence. Cases involving permanent injuries, surgery, long-term disability, or disputed liability often require more detailed evaluation.
It is usually too early to know the full value of a claim immediately after the crash. A fair evaluation should account for your medical progress, future treatment recommendations, income loss, and the ways your injuries affect your daily life.
The timeline depends on the complexity of the case. Some claims resolve relatively quickly when liability is clear, injuries are well documented, and the insurance company makes a fair offer. Others take longer because treatment is ongoing, fault is disputed, multiple parties are involved, or litigation becomes necessary.
It can be risky to settle before the full extent of your injuries is known. Your attorney can help balance the desire for a timely resolution with the need to protect your long-term interests.
Important evidence may include the police report, photographs, witness information, medical records, repair estimates, dashcam footage, nearby surveillance video, traffic camera footage, insurance correspondence, and documentation of missed work.
The most important evidence depends on how the crash happened. A rear-end collision may rely heavily on photos and repair records. A disputed intersection crash may require witness statements and video footage. A rideshare case may involve app data and insurance coverage records.
Delayed symptoms are common after car accidents. Pain, stiffness, headaches, dizziness, numbness, anxiety, and concentration problems may appear or worsen after the initial shock wears off.
Seek medical care as soon as symptoms appear. Delayed treatment can give insurance companies an opportunity to argue that your injuries were not related to the crash. Consistent medical documentation helps protect both your health and your claim.
Many car accident lawyers handle cases on a contingency fee basis. This generally means attorney fees are paid from the recovery if compensation is obtained. If there is no recovery, the client typically does not owe attorney fees for the lawyer’s time.
Fee agreements can vary, so you should understand how fees and case costs are handled before hiring an attorney.
A serious crash can leave you with more questions than answers. Whether your accident happened on Ventura Boulevard, the 101 Freeway, Sepulveda Boulevard, or another roadway in Encino or Los Angeles County, Arshakyan Law Firm is prepared to help you understand your rights and next steps.
Our attorneys provide personalized guidance, careful case preparation, and strategic advocacy for people injured in serious car accidents. We are here to help you pursue the compensation you need while you focus on your recovery.
If you were injured in a crash caused by someone else’s negligence, contact Arshakyan Law Firm to schedule a confidential consultation with an Encino car accident lawyer. Armenian language services are available. Hablamos español.
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