Reseda is built on a grid of long, wide boulevards designed to move traffic quickly, and they still do. Sherman Way, Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Street run east and west, Reseda Boulevard and Tampa Avenue carry traffic between the 101 and the north Valley, and the signals sit far enough apart that speeds climb between them. That combination produces the collisions seen here most often: left turns across four lanes, cars entering from driveways and side streets, and people struck crossing outside a signal because the nearest one is a long walk away.
Manoukian Law Firm is about fifteen minutes west, 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 Reseda
- Get examined the same day. Symptoms often surface the following morning, and a gap in treatment is used later to question the injury.
- Confirm which agency responded, LAPD or CHP, and write down the report number before you leave.
- Photograph vehicle positions, debris, skid marks, lane markings, signal phases and the surrounding storefronts.
- Ask in writing that week for any video to be preserved, whether it belongs to a market, a bus operator or an apartment building.
- Collect witness names and phone numbers at the scene. On a commuter route, no one is findable a week later.
- If a transit 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.
Car accidents in Reseda
Most Reseda collisions happen at the big signalized intersections along Sherman Way, Victory Boulevard, Vanowen Street, Reseda Boulevard and Tampa Avenue, and on the 101 at the Reseda and Tampa ramps. The typical file is a left turn across four lanes of oncoming traffic, a rear-end collision in a backed-up turn pocket, or a driver pulling out of a strip-mall driveway into traffic that is moving faster than the posted limit. Because these boulevards are wide and the signals are far apart, the speeds involved are higher than on a residential street, and the injuries follow.
A Reseda car accident claim is built from the police report (LAPD West Valley Division on surface streets, CHP on the 101), the photographs and video from the scene and the storefronts along the boulevard, the medical record from the first weeks of treatment, and the insurance coverage on every vehicle involved. When the other driver carried only the state minimum, the client’s own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is often where the case is actually paid. The car accident page explains how these claims are valued and what to expect at each stage. In one of the firm’s collision cases, the other side valued the client’s injuries at $5,000 to $10,000 and called the crash a soft impact; the client had been the third car struck in a chain-reaction collision. The firm filed suit and recovered $275,000. The first offer is a starting point, not a verdict on what the case is worth.
Intersections and corridors in Reseda that produce cases
Reseda Boulevard is the spine of the community, running north from the 101 through the Metro G Line station and the commercial blocks between Victory Boulevard and Sherman Way. Between Victory and Parthenia Street the city has rebuilt the boulevard with a continuous protected bicycle lane, bus boarding islands and new signal equipment, so a driver turning across the bike lane at a driveway or a signal now has a separated lane to account for, and the rider has a clear position under Vehicle Code 21200. The other recurring collision on Reseda Boulevard is the left turn across oncoming lanes at Sherman Way, Victory or Vanowen, where both drivers say the light favored them.
Saticoy Street and Victory Boulevard bring pedestrian cases. The crossings are spaced far apart, so people cross where they are rather than walking to the signal, and drivers on a wide street with a clear view tend to be moving quickly. Vehicle Code 21950 still applies at every intersection, marked or not, and where a person was struck mid-block the question becomes whether the driver had time to see and react. Sherman Way adds the strip-center driveways: a car easing out past a parked vehicle into a lane that is moving at boulevard speed, and the driver already in the lane with nowhere to go.
Vanowen Street, where the LAPD West Valley Community Police Station sits, has the same mix of driveway pull-outs and rear-end collisions in the turn pockets when a signal changes and the queue does not.
The 101 on-ramps at Reseda Boulevard and Tampa Avenue are where the chain-reaction cases start. Traffic bunches at the meter and at the merge, and a driver looking over a shoulder for a gap hits the car ahead that has already stopped. The same happens on the boulevard when the ramp queue backs up into it.
The evidence follows the agency. A crash on the surface streets is reported by the LAPD West Valley Division, whose station is at 19020 Vanowen Street. A crash on the ramp or the freeway is investigated by the California Highway Patrol West Valley Area, and that report is obtained separately. Beyond the report, three things decide most disputed boulevard cases: storefront and gas station video along Reseda Boulevard and Sherman Way, which is usually overwritten within days unless someone asks for it in writing; signal timing records, which the city keeps and which can confirm or contradict a driver who says the arrow was green; and the photographs of resting positions, debris and skid marks that show speed and direction before impact. The firm sends preservation letters in the first week because that is when the video still exists.
Truck and commercial vehicle crashes in Reseda
Sherman Way and Reseda Boulevard carry constant delivery traffic to the markets, restaurants and shops along them, and the 101 puts big rigs and box trucks a few blocks from every Reseda neighborhood. A crash with a delivery van, work truck or tractor trailer is handled differently from a two-car collision: the employer and the vehicle owner may be responsible along with the driver, commercial policies are larger, and the company’s records, from driver logs to maintenance files, have to be preserved in writing within days. The San Fernando Valley truck accident page covers how the firm handles those cases.
Other injury cases we handle in Reseda
Car accident claims make up most of the work here. A boulevard collision usually turns on details that disappear quickly: the position of the vehicles before impact, signal timing, sight lines blocked by parked cars, and whether anyone was turning across traffic. California follows pure comparative negligence after Li v. Yellow Cab, so a driver who carries part of the responsibility can still recover, reduced by that share.
The Metro G Line busway crosses the community, putting buses and pedestrians into the same intersections all day. Bus accident claims usually involve a public agency, and that changes the calendar entirely: a written government claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2 instead of the usual two years. Transit vehicles also carry onboard cameras, so a written preservation request matters in the first days.
Pedestrian accident cases here rest on Vehicle Code 21950, which requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks. On a street like Sherman Way, where the crossings are far apart and the lanes are wide, that rule is tested constantly. 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 that comes up whenever a rider is clipped on a boulevard with no separated lane.
Delivery traffic uses these same streets, and a truck accident case opens up the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations: hours of service limits, maintenance records, and electronic logging data a carrier is only required to keep for a limited time. A written preservation demand goes out early so that data still exists when it is needed.
Away from traffic, slip and fall claims in the strip centers and parking lots along Reseda 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. Apartment complex injuries off Victory and Vanowen follow the same analysis, usually with a record of earlier complaints about the same stairway or broken light.
Where Reseda cases are handled
Collisions on Reseda surface streets are generally reported by the LAPD West Valley Division. Crashes on the 101, just south of the community, 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 UCLA West Valley Medical Center (formerly West Hills Hospital and Medical Center) to the west or Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center to the south. Keep every discharge instruction, imaging order and billing statement. The medical record built in the first two weeks usually carries more weight than anything assembled months later.
If a claim cannot be resolved and a lawsuit becomes necessary, Reseda cases go to the Los Angeles Superior Court, and Valley civil matters are generally handled at the Van Nuys Courthouse. 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
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. Meetings can happen at the Chatsworth office, in the hospital, or by phone and video when travel is difficult. 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 background is on the about page, and past matters appear on the case results page. Neighboring areas are covered on the Tarzana and Northridge 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
I was hit crossing Sherman Way outside a crosswalk. Do I still have a claim?
Often, yes. Vehicle Code 21950 requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks, and an unmarked crosswalk exists at many intersections without paint. Even where a pedestrian shares some responsibility, pure comparative negligence reduces a recovery by that share rather than barring it.
How long do I have to bring a case?
Two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 for most claims. If a government entity is involved, a written claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2, and waiting can end a case before it starts.
The other driver had only minimum coverage. What then?
California’s minimum liability limits are 30/60/15 under Vehicle Code 16056, often less than a serious injury costs. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which insurers must offer under Insurance Code 11580.2, is usually the next place to look, and that claim has its own notice requirements.
I was hit turning left on Reseda Boulevard and the other driver says the light was green for him. What now?
A green-light dispute is decided by evidence, not by who tells the story more firmly. The LAPD West Valley Division report records what each driver said and any witnesses, the city’s signal timing records show how the phases ran at that hour, and the storefronts along Reseda Boulevard often have video that shows the signal or the sequence of the cars. Those sources have to be gathered quickly, and even where you carry a share of the responsibility, comparative negligence under Li v. Yellow Cab reduces the recovery rather than ending it. The car accident page explains how these disputes are worked up.
I was rear-ended on the 101 on-ramp at Reseda or Tampa and it turned into a chain reaction. Who is responsible?
The CHP, not the LAPD, generally investigates crashes on the ramps and the freeway, so that report is requested from the CHP West Valley Area. In a chain reaction the question is which driver failed to stop and whether more than one did, and the sequence of impacts in the report, the damage patterns on each car and any dash camera footage usually answer it. Each responsible driver’s insurance is a separate claim, and the file is built so that no one can push the fault onto a car that was already stopped.
I was hit by a car crossing Saticoy Street or Victory Boulevard. Does it matter that I was not in a marked crosswalk?
It matters, but it is not the end of the case. Vehicle Code 21950 requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks, and an unmarked crosswalk exists at most intersections whether or not paint is on the street. If you crossed mid-block, the case turns on whether the driver had time to see you and slow down on a wide, well-lit street, and any share assigned to you reduces the recovery rather than barring it. The pedestrian accident page covers how these cases are prepared.
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 Reseda, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers for you.
