Northridge is the closest community to this office. The firm sits on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth, about ten minutes west, and many of the people who call have been hurt between Reseda Boulevard and the 118. Students crossing Nordhoff Street near CSUN, drivers turning across Devonshire Street, families in apartment buildings south of campus. These cases are local enough that the attorney on the case can see the scene.
Manoukian Law Firm is built around direct attorney access. Every file is prepared as though it will be tried.
What to do after an injury in Northridge
- Get evaluated the same day. Northridge Hospital Medical Center is close to most of the community, and a next-day urgent care visit beats waiting a week.
- Make sure a report is taken, and note the responding agency and report number before anyone leaves.
- Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the hazard and the surroundings, including nearby cameras.
- Ask the property owner or business to preserve video in writing that same week.
- Get names and phone numbers for witnesses. On a campus street, most are strangers passing through.
- File a DMV form SR-1 within ten days if there was an injury or over $1,000 in property damage, as Vehicle Code 16000 requires.
- Speak to an attorney before giving a recorded statement to any insurer.
Where Northridge injuries happen
Traffic here concentrates on a handful of corridors. Reseda Boulevard carries heavy left-turn traffic across four lanes. Nordhoff Street fills with student pedestrians and cyclists during the academic year. Devonshire Street moves quickly between residential blocks, and the 118 feeds drivers onto surface streets in short bursts at rush hour.
Surface street collisions in Northridge are generally reported by the LAPD Devonshire Division, while crashes on the 118 itself are usually handled by the California Highway Patrol. Emergency care most often means Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where many serious injuries in this part of the Valley are first treated. Whatever paperwork you leave the hospital with, keep it. The records created in the first days carry more weight than anything written later.
Cases the firm handles in Northridge
Car accident claims are the most common, and the ones on Reseda and Devonshire frequently come down to who had the intersection. When a commercial vehicle is involved, a truck accident case brings in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, along with driver logs and maintenance records that need to be preserved in writing before they age out.
Around CSUN, the injuries are often to people outside a vehicle. In pedestrian accident cases, Vehicle Code 21950 requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks, and the crossings along Nordhoff and Lindley are exactly where that rule is tested. Bicycle accident claims involve Vehicle Code 21200, which gives cyclists the rights and duties of drivers, and the three-foot passing rule in Vehicle Code 21760. Campus areas also see a lot of app-based scooters, and scooter injury claims are governed by Vehicle Code 21221 and the sections that follow, with helmets required for riders under 18. Motorcycle accident cases start from the fact that lane splitting is lawful under Vehicle Code 21658.1.
Off the road, slip and fall claims in stores and garages and apartment complex injuries in the buildings around campus are decided on notice: whether the property 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. Sidewalk accident cases against a public entity carry a six-month written claim requirement under Government Code 911.2, which is far shorter than most people expect. We also handle dog bite claims, where Civil Code 3342 imposes strict liability on the owner when the person was lawfully in a public or private place, and rideshare accident claims, where the coverage available depends on the driver’s period under Public Utilities Code 5433.
What the attorney sees most from Northridge
The crashes that bring Northridge clients to the firm happen on the surface streets more than on the freeways: Nordhoff, Roscoe, Devonshire and Topanga Canyon, at the signals, in stop-and-go traffic near the ramps and shopping centers, and in the parking lots themselves. Left-turn and intersection collisions, rear-end crashes, and pedestrians or cyclists hit in crosswalks make up most of the files. Off the road, it is falls at grocery and big-box stores and collisions with rideshare and delivery drivers.
Clients are usually treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center on Roscoe Boulevard, and sometimes Providence Holy Cross or Kaiser Woodland Hills. Injury lawsuits are filed downtown at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse under the court’s Local Rule 2.3 and may later be transferred to the Chatsworth or Van Nuys courthouse. Most resolve before trial; a filed case runs 12 to 24 months and includes a deposition and often a defense medical examination, both of which the firm prepares clients for in detail.
Where Northridge cases are heard
If a claim cannot be resolved and a lawsuit is filed, Northridge cases go to the Los Angeles Superior Court and are generally heard in the court’s North Valley district at the Chatsworth Courthouse, a few minutes from both the community and this office. Court assignments are set by the court and can change, so the filing location is confirmed for each case rather than assumed.
Most cases settle, and they settle on the strength of the record: the police report, the photographs, consistent medical documentation, and a clear account of how the injury changed daily life. Head injuries deserve particular care, because the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can surface days later and are easy to dismiss. Where a death has occurred, Code of Civil Procedure 377.60 identifies who may bring a wrongful death claim, with a separate survival action available under section 377.30.
Why work with this firm
Manoukian Law Firm was founded by Vaheh Manoukian, a graduate of the USC Gould School of Law and UCLA who handled depositions and trials at a larger firm before opening his own. The firm belongs to the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles and Consumer Attorneys of California, its founding attorney was selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for 2027.
Being ten minutes away has practical value. Documents can be signed in person, the scene can be visited while conditions are unchanged, and meetings can happen on short notice. If getting to the office is difficult, meetings can be held by phone or video, or at the hospital. Consultations are free, the firm works on a contingency fee, and there is no fee unless we win. The firm helps clients in English, Spanish and Armenian. More detail is on the about page and the contact page.
Case results
Our client suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by a commercial delivery driver who was on the job.
Our client developed ongoing neck pain after a multi-vehicle rear-end collision on the highway, requiring pain-management treatment. The case resolved for $400,000.
The other side valued our client's injuries at $5,000 to $10,000 and called it a “soft impact.” Our client was the third car struck in a chain-reaction collision. We filed suit and recovered $275,000.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently asked questions
How much time do I have to bring a claim?
Two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1. If a public entity is involved, such as a city sidewalk or a transit agency, a written claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2 and a lawsuit deadline follows the rejection of that claim.
I am a CSUN student without much income. Can I afford this?
Yes. Personal injury cases are handled on contingency, and there is no fee unless we win. The consultation is free whether or not you hire the firm.
The driver who hit me was uninsured. Is there anything to do?
Often, yes. California’s minimum liability limits are 30/60/15 under Vehicle Code 16056, and insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under Insurance Code 11580.2, so your own policy may respond. Those claims have their own notice requirements, which is a reason to review the policy early.
What can be recovered in a Northridge case?
Medical expenses in the amounts actually paid or owed, following Howell v. Hamilton Meats, along with lost income, reduced earning capacity, the cost of future treatment, and non-economic losses such as pain and the activities you can no longer do. Value depends on the evidence, and a responsible estimate comes after the records are in hand.
If you were injured in Northridge, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers for you.
