Los Angeles is not one city so much as a hundred neighborhoods stitched together by freeways. The 5, the 10, the 101, the 110, the 405, the 605 and the 710 carry more vehicles than any road network in the state, and when they slow, traffic spills onto surface streets that were never built for it. Add Metro buses and rail, a constant stream of rideshare vehicles, delivery trucks working residential blocks, and pedestrians crossing wide boulevards with long gaps between signals, and the result is a place where an injury can happen in a dozen different ways on a single afternoon.
Manoukian Law Firm is based at 9520 Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth, about 30 miles northwest of downtown. Attorney Vaheh Manoukian personally handles each matter, from the first call through resolution, preparing every file as if it will be tried. The person you speak with at the first call is the person who prepares the case, and no file is passed to someone you have never met. For clients anywhere in the county, meetings happen by video, by phone, at home or in the hospital.
What to do after an injury in Los Angeles
- Get examined the same day. Adrenaline routinely hides symptoms that arrive the following morning.
- Note which agency responded, LAPD, CHP or the Sheriff, and write down the report number before you leave the scene.
- Photograph vehicle positions, debris, lane markings, signal heads, sidewalk defects and any cameras you can see.
- Ask in writing that week for video to be preserved, whether it belongs to a business, a transit agency or a parking structure.
- Collect witness names and phone numbers at the scene. On a busy corridor no one is findable a week later.
- If a bus, a city vehicle, a public sidewalk or any government property was involved, say so immediately. The six-month claim rule moves quickly.
- File a DMV form SR-1 within ten days if there was an injury or more than $1,000 in property damage, as Vehicle Code 16000 requires.
- Speak with an attorney before giving a recorded statement to any insurance company.
Injury cases we handle in Los Angeles
Car accident claims make up the largest share of the work, and a freeway case is a different animal from a surface street case. Collisions on the 405 or the 110 turn on lane position, closing speed and chain reactions, so damage patterns, dashcam video and the CHP report carry most of the weight. A crash at a signalized intersection on Wilshire or Vermont often comes down to signal timing and a nearby business camera that will be overwritten within days.
Commercial traffic runs through the county at every hour. A truck accident case opens up the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations: hours of service limits, maintenance and inspection history, and electronic logging device data that a carrier is only required to retain for a limited window. A written preservation demand goes out early, before that record cycles out.
Rideshare claims are constant in a city where a large share of trips are booked through an app. What coverage applies depends on the driver’s status under Public Utilities Code 5433: 50/100/30 with the app on and no ride accepted, and a one million dollar liability policy while en route to a rider or carrying one. Since January 1, 2026, uninsured and underinsured coverage during a trip is $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.
People outside vehicles are hurt here in large numbers. Pedestrian accident cases rest on Vehicle Code 21950, which requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks. Bicycle accident claims start from Vehicle Code 21200, which gives riders the rights and duties of drivers, and Vehicle Code 21760, the three-foot passing rule that so often decides a sideswipe on a street with a painted bike lane and no barrier.
Away from the road, slip and fall and apartment complex injury claims are decided on notice: whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard, and whether it was repaired or warned about, under the duty of care described in Rowland v. Christian. In older buildings the useful evidence is usually a paper trail of prior complaints and work orders.
Claims involving a public entity are their own category. Bus accident claims against Metro, and sidewalk injury claims involving City of Los Angeles walkways lifted by tree roots, are governed by a shorter calendar: a written government claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2, rather than the usual two years. Missing that window can end an otherwise sound case, which is why entity claims get identified in the first conversation.
Where Los Angeles cases are handled
Collisions on city surface streets are generally reported by the Los Angeles Police Department, which covers the city through 21 geographic divisions, so the report follows the division where the crash occurred rather than a single central office. Freeway collisions are generally investigated by the California Highway Patrol. In contract cities and unincorporated areas the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responds. Reports come on different timelines and are requested separately.
Emergency care in the county generally means Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health, LAC+USC Medical Center or one of the Kaiser Permanente facilities, depending on where the injury happened and how the transport was routed. Keep every discharge instruction, imaging order and billing statement. The record built in the first two weeks tends to matter more than anything reconstructed months later.
If a claim cannot be resolved and a lawsuit becomes necessary, the case is filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Larger civil matters in the central district are generally heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse at 111 North Hill Street, while cases arising in the San Fernando Valley are often handled in Van Nuys or Chatsworth. Assignments are set by the court and can change, so the filing location is confirmed for each case rather than assumed.
Why work with Manoukian Law Firm
Vaheh Manoukian earned his J.D. at the USC Gould School of Law, where he served in the Mediation Clinic and was published in the USC Business Law Digest, after a B.A. at UCLA. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2021, Bar number 333026, and belongs to the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Consumer Attorneys of California and the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. He was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2026, and the firm holds a 5.0 rating on Google.
The practical difference is that the person returning your call is the person who knows the file. Consultations are free, the firm works on a contingency fee, and there is no fee unless we recover for you. Calls are answered 24 hours a day in English, Spanish and Armenian. There is more background on the about page, past matters are described on the case results page, and neighboring communities are covered on the Glendale and Van Nuys pages.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to come to Chatsworth to meet the attorney?
No. The office is open to clients, but the firm meets people by video or phone, at their home, or at the hospital anywhere in Los Angeles County. Distance and traffic should not decide whether you get advice about your case.
A Metro bus or train was involved. Is the deadline different?
Yes. Metro is a government entity, so a written claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2, and the lawsuit deadline runs from the rejection of that claim. Transit vehicles also carry onboard video worth requesting in writing right away.
I tripped on a broken city sidewalk. Can I bring a claim?
Possibly. Claims involving public walkways are handled as government entity claims and follow the six-month written claim rule, and they turn on whether the condition was dangerous and how long it had existed. Photograph the defect with something for scale before it is repaired.
The crash was partly my fault. Does that end it?
No. California follows pure comparative negligence under Li v. Yellow Cab, so a recovery is reduced by your share of responsibility rather than barred. Insurers often assign more fault than the evidence supports, which is one reason not to concede the point early.
If you were injured anywhere in Los Angeles, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation, or reach the firm through the contact page. The phone is answered 24/7, you will speak directly with the attorney who would handle your case, and there is no fee unless we recover for you.
