Accident Types
The rules that matter, the evidence that helps and the deadlines that apply all shift depending on what kind of collision it was. Start with the one that matches yours.
Guides by accident type
Car Accidents
The most common claim type, and the baseline for how fault and insurance work.
Truck Accidents
Commercial vehicles bring extra rules, extra records and more than one possible defendant.
Motorcycle Accidents
Serious injuries are common, and riders often face assumptions about how the crash happened.
Rideshare Accidents
Which policy applies depends entirely on what the driver was doing at that moment.
Pedestrian Accidents
Right of way, crosswalks and visibility usually decide how these claims are assessed.
Bicycle Accidents
Road position, lighting and driver awareness are usually central to what happened.
Wrongful Death
Who may bring a claim, and what it can cover, is set by California statute.
What applies whatever happened
Some things are the same across every kind of collision in California.
| Rule | Position | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Pure comparative fault Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 | No cut-off | California uses pure comparative fault. Being partly to blame reduces what you can recover in proportion to your share of the fault, but it never bars recovery outright. Recovering something is not the same as recovering enough. Fault percentages are argued and negotiated, and a high share of fault drives settlement value down sharply. |
| Personal injury lawsuit Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 | 2 years | In California you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If the person or organisation at fault is a government agency, a much shorter deadline applies first. Different rules apply to medical malpractice. |
| DMV SR-1 report Cal. Veh. Code § 16000 | 10 days | You must report the collision to the DMV on form SR-1 within ten days if anyone was injured or killed, or if property damage to any one person exceeded $1,000. Every driver must file their own SR-1 regardless of fault. Police will not file it for you, and a police report does not satisfy this. Failing to file can lead to licence suspension. |
| Report to police or CHP Cal. Veh. Code § 20008 | 24 hours | If anyone was injured or killed, a report must be made to police or the CHP within 24 hours of the collision. This applies where there is injury or death. A collision with property damage only does not trigger it, though the DMV SR-1 may still be required. |
Deadlines depend on the specific facts of your situation and there are exceptions to every rule listed here. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.
Not sure what applies to your situation?
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CalAccidentHelp is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Submitting information does not create an attorney-client relationship.