West Hills does not look like a place with a traffic problem, and that is part of why injuries happen here. The hillside streets on the west side of the community are curved, narrow in places, lined with parked cars and often steep, so a driver coming over a rise has very little distance to react to a child, a cyclist or a car backing out of a driveway. Then the neighborhood empties onto Platt Avenue, Valley Circle Boulevard, Sherman Way, Roscoe Boulevard and Fallbrook Avenue, where speeds pick up sharply and the collisions look like the rest of the Valley.
Manoukian Law Firm is about ten minutes east on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth. The attorney who reads your records is the one who deals with the insurance company and prepares the file as though it will be tried.
What to do after an injury in West Hills
- Get medical attention the same day. UCLA West Valley Medical Center is minutes away, and a same-day record removes an argument you would otherwise have later.
- Make sure a report is taken, and note the responding agency and report number before anyone leaves.
- Photograph the street from the direction each vehicle came, at eye level, including the grade, the curve and any parked cars or landscaping that blocked the view.
- Ask neighbors whether they have a doorbell or driveway camera, and ask in writing that week that the footage be saved. These systems commonly overwrite within days.
- On a sidewalk or road defect, photograph the height difference with an object for scale, and note the exact address.
- 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 with an attorney before giving a recorded statement to any insurance company.
Injury cases we handle in West Hills
Car accident claims on the hillside streets frequently turn on visibility rather than speed: a blind crest, a curve tightened by parked cars, a driveway with a hedge at the property line. Documenting the approach from the driver’s eye level, at the same time of day, often does more for a case than any argument about who had the right of way.
Because these are residential streets that people actually walk, pedestrian accident claims are a meaningful share of the work. Vehicle Code 21950 requires drivers to yield in marked and unmarked crosswalks, and nearly every corner in a neighborhood like this is an unmarked crosswalk, a point drivers routinely get wrong. Bicycle accident claims apply Vehicle Code 21200, giving cyclists the rights and duties of drivers, and the three foot passing rule in Vehicle Code 21760, which is difficult to honor on a narrow hillside street and is where many of these collisions begin.
Dog bite cases come from front yards, sidewalks and neighborhood walks. Civil Code 3342 imposes strict liability on the owner when the injured person was lawfully in a public or private place, the bite is reported to the local health officer, and the dog is generally quarantined for ten days.
Uneven pavement is a recurring issue where roots and grade meet older concrete, and a sidewalk accident claim against a public entity carries a written claim requirement of generally six months under Government Code 911.2, far shorter than most people expect. In the retail areas around Fallbrook Center, slip and fall claims are decided on notice, meaning whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and whether it was repaired or warned about, under the duty of care in Rowland v. Christian. Serious impacts anywhere here raise the question of a traumatic brain injury, where symptoms can be delayed and treating physician documentation, with neuropsychological evaluation where appropriate, carries the claim.
Where West Hills cases are handled
Collisions and incidents on West Hills streets are generally reported by the LAPD Topanga Division. Crashes on nearby freeways are usually investigated by the California Highway Patrol.
UCLA West Valley Medical Center (formerly West Hills Hospital and Medical Center) is in the community itself, which means most people injured here are treated within minutes of the scene. Keep everything you are given at discharge, including imaging orders and referral notes, and follow through on the treatment recommended. Consistent care from the first week is what a medical record needs to be persuasive.
If a claim cannot be resolved and a lawsuit becomes necessary, West Hills cases go to the Los Angeles Superior Court and civil matters are generally handled at the Van Nuys Courthouse on Sylmar Avenue. Assignments are set by the court and can change, so the filing location is confirmed for each case rather than assumed.
What the attorney sees most from West Hills
The crashes that bring West Hills 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 UCLA West Valley Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills or Cedars-Sinai Tarzana. 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.
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.
On a hillside street, the case is often in details that a photograph taken from a car window will not show. Being ten minutes away means the attorney can stand at the scene, at the right hour, before a hedge is trimmed or a sidewalk is patched. If getting to the office is difficult, meetings can be held at 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. The firm helps clients in English, Spanish and Armenian. More is on the about page, and past matters are described on the case results page. Neighboring communities are covered on the Canoga Park and Chatsworth 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
My neighbor’s dog bit me. Do I have to sue my neighbor?
A claim of this kind is normally made against a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, and most are resolved without a lawsuit. Civil Code 3342 makes the owner strictly liable when you were lawfully present, so the prior behavior of the dog is not something you have to prove.
I tripped on a raised sidewalk. Who is responsible?
It depends on who controls the walkway. When a public entity is responsible, a written claim is generally due within six months under Government Code 911.2, with a lawsuit deadline following its rejection. When the walkway belongs to a business or an association, the ordinary two year period under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 generally applies.
The other driver blamed me for the blind curve. Does that matter?
California follows pure comparative negligence after Li v. Yellow Cab, so a share of fault reduces recovery rather than barring it. On a hillside street, sightline photographs and the position of parked cars often reframe an argument that started as a simple accusation.
What can be recovered?
Medical expenses in the amounts actually paid or owed, following Howell v. Hamilton Meats, plus lost income, reduced earning capacity, future care and non-economic losses such as pain and the activities you can no longer do. A realistic estimate follows the records, and the contact page is where to start.
If you were injured in West Hills, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers for you.
