Pacoima carries a mix of traffic that few Valley communities do. Dense residential blocks sit alongside industrial yards, truck routes and Whiteman Airport, and the 5, the 118 and the 210 all border or cross the area. Van Nuys Boulevard runs through the center as a commercial spine, Laurel Canyon and Glenoaks carry heavy through traffic, and Paxton Street serves the industrial blocks with vehicles wider, heavier and slower to stop than the cars around them. The collisions that follow are predictable: trucks turning across a boulevard, drivers pulling out of a yard entrance, and people struck walking to a bus stop where signals are far apart.
Manoukian Law Firm is about twenty minutes southwest, on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth. Manoukian Law Firm takes each case from the first call through resolution and prepares every file as though it will be tried. An attorney is on the case from the first call, and the file stays with the firm from start to finish.
What to do after an injury in Pacoima
- Get examined the same day. Symptoms from a heavy-vehicle impact often surface a day later, and a treatment gap is used against the claim.
- Confirm which agency responded, LAPD or CHP, and write down the report number before you leave the scene.
- Photograph vehicle positions, debris, lane markings, signal phases and any company name or number on the side of a commercial vehicle.
- Ask in writing that week for video to be preserved, whether it belongs to a market, an industrial yard, a bus operator or an apartment building.
- Collect witness names and phone numbers at the scene, including anyone working nearby who saw it happen.
- If a transit vehicle, a city vehicle or a public agency was involved, note it immediately. The six-month claim rule moves quickly.
- File a DMV form SR-1 within ten days if anyone was injured or property damage exceeded $1,000, as Vehicle Code 16000 requires.
- Speak with an attorney before giving a recorded statement to any insurance company.
Injury cases we handle in Pacoima
Truck accident claims deserve their own attention here because of the industrial traffic on Paxton and San Fernando Road. A commercial 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 keep for a limited period. A written preservation demand goes out early, and commercial policies generally carry higher limits than a private auto policy.
Car accident claims on Van Nuys Boulevard and Glenoaks usually turn on a left turn, a lane change or an entry from a driveway, and on evidence that disappears quickly: signal timing, vehicle positions and sight lines blocked by parked trucks. California follows pure comparative negligence under Li v. Yellow Cab, so a share of responsibility reduces a recovery rather than ending it.
Pedestrian accident cases rely on Vehicle Code 21950, which requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks, a rule tested daily where the nearest signal is blocks away. Bicycle accident claims follow Vehicle Code 21200, which gives riders the rights and duties of drivers, and Vehicle Code 21760, the three-foot passing rule. Motorcycle accident claims start from the fact that lane splitting is lawful under Vehicle Code 21658.1.
Transit buses run these corridors all day, and bus accident claims usually involve a public agency. That changes the calendar entirely: a written government claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2 rather than the usual two years, and onboard video is worth requesting in writing immediately.
Away from the road, slip and fall claims in the markets, shopping centers and parking lots along Van Nuys Boulevard 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. The same analysis governs apartment complex injuries off Glenoaks and Laurel Canyon.
Truck and commercial vehicle crashes in Pacoima
Pacoima carries more heavy-vehicle traffic than most of the Valley. Industrial yards and warehouses line San Fernando Road and Branford Street, and the trucks that serve them pull out across traffic all day. Whiteman Airport, a county general aviation field on Airpark Way, adds its own traffic to Osborne Street and the surrounding blocks. The 118 and 210 interchange sits at the north edge of the community, the 5 runs along the west side, and delivery vans and dump trucks use Glenoaks Boulevard and Van Nuys Boulevard to get between the freeways and the yards. A loaded truck needs far more room to stop than a car, and the person in the smaller vehicle takes the harm.
A truck case differs from an ordinary car case in three ways. First, more than one party is usually responsible. The driver may be an employee, the truck may belong to a different company than the one hauling the load, and a maintenance contractor may be involved. Each relationship is examined, because each can add a defendant. Second, commercial policies generally carry higher limits than a private auto policy, which matters when injuries are serious. Third, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations apply. Hours of service rules limit a property-carrying driver to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, with no driving past the 14th consecutive hour on duty. Carriers must keep inspection, repair and maintenance records for each vehicle, and electronic logging device data records a driver’s duty status. FMCSA guidance requires carriers to retain those logs and their supporting documents for six months. Other material, such as dashcam video or dispatch messages, can be overwritten far sooner. That is why a written preservation letter goes to the carrier and its insurer within days of the crash, not weeks. The truck accident lawyer page explains the process in more detail.
Who writes the report depends on where the crash happened. On Pacoima surface streets, the report generally comes from the LAPD Foothill Division, whose station is at 12760 Osborne Street in Pacoima. On the 5, the 118 and the 210, the California Highway Patrol has primary responsibility for freeways, including inside city limits, and the report is requested through CHP. Ask the responding officer which agency is handling it and get the report number before leaving the scene.
For serious injuries, the closest emergency care is Providence Holy Cross Medical Center at 15031 Rinaldi Street in Mission Hills, a Level II trauma center. Get examined the same day even if you feel steady, and keep every record the hospital gives you. Those records and the carrier’s own files are what the case is built on.
Where Pacoima cases are handled
Collisions on Pacoima surface streets are generally reported by the LAPD Foothill Division. Crashes on the 5, the 118 and the 210 are usually investigated by the California Highway Patrol. The two agencies release reports on different timelines, and each is requested separately.
Emergency care generally means Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills or Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar. Keep every discharge instruction, imaging order and billing statement. Under Howell v. Hamilton Meats, recoverable medical damages are the amounts actually paid or owed.
If a claim cannot be resolved and a lawsuit becomes necessary, Pacoima cases go to the Los Angeles Superior Court, which serves the whole county. Unlimited personal injury lawsuits are filed in the court’s Central District at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown under Local Rule 2.3, and the court may later transfer a case to a district courthouse such as Chatsworth or Van Nuys East. The San Fernando Courthouse handles traffic, criminal, family and small claims matters, not injury suits.
Why work with Manoukian Law 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.
The practical difference is that your calls are returned by the person who knows the file. The firm works in Spanish as well as English and Armenian, and calls are returned the same day. Meetings can happen at the Chatsworth office, in the hospital, or by phone and video. Consultations are free, the firm works on a contingency fee, and there is no fee unless we win. More background is on the about page, and past matters appear on the case results page. Neighboring areas are covered on the San Fernando and Sun Valley pages.
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
A commercial truck hit me on Paxton Street. What happens first?
The early work is preservation. Carriers keep driver logs, electronic logging device data, inspection records and dispatch information under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, but only for limited periods, so a written demand goes out to the company and its insurer quickly. Those records often explain a collision better than the scene photographs do.
The driver who hit me was uninsured. Is there anything to do?
Often, yes. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage must be offered under Insurance Code 11580.2, and many drivers carry it without realizing it. That claim is made against your own insurer and has its own notice requirements and deadlines, which is why it is worth reviewing the policy early.
I only speak Spanish. Can the firm handle my case?
Yes. The firm works in Spanish. Documents, medical records and the steps in the case are explained in the language you are comfortable using.
What does a case like this cost me?
Nothing up front. The consultation is free whether or not you hire the firm, and you can reach it through the contact page.
If you were injured in Pacoima, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers for you.
