Whether your personal injury case becomes public information depends on whether a lawsuit is filed. A claim that settles directly with the insurance company never touches a courthouse, and nothing about it is public. If a lawsuit is filed, the case becomes a public court record: the complaint, the answer, motions, and any judgment can be looked up by name on the Los Angeles Superior Court website. What does not become public, even then, is most of what people worry about. Medical records are exchanged between the parties, not filed with the court. Deposition transcripts stay with the lawyers. The settlement amount is almost always confidential and is not filed.
What decides how much becomes public in practice is how the case is handled once filed. A complaint can be written to say that the plaintiff suffered injuries to her neck and back and seeks damages according to proof, which is what a well-drafted complaint says. It can also be written with three pages of detail about surgery and depression, which is not necessary and which sits on a public docket forever. The same is true of motions. When a medical record has to be attached to a motion, it can be filed under seal or redacted, and a protective order is routine in cases with sensitive records. A client who was hit at Ventura and Sepulveda, filed suit, and settled at mediation has a public docket showing a case was filed and dismissed, and nothing more.
Is a personal injury lawsuit a public record in California?
Yes, once filed. Court filings in California civil cases are public records that anyone can search by party name, and the complaint, answer, motions, minute orders and any judgment are available. Medical records, deposition transcripts and discovery responses are exchanged between the parties and are not filed unless attached to a motion, which can be done under seal. A pre-lawsuit settlement with an insurer creates no public record at all.
What is public and what is not
Court filings. The complaint that starts the lawsuit names you as plaintiff, names the defendant, describes the incident in general terms, and lists the categories of damages. It is public. So is every document filed after it: the defendant’s answer, case management statements, motions, the court’s orders, and the final disposition. Los Angeles Superior Court provides online case access, and the civil index can be searched by name. Anyone with your name, including an employer or a landlord, can find that a case exists and read what was filed.
Discovery. Written interrogatory answers, document productions, medical records subpoenaed from Northridge Hospital or your orthopedist, and the transcript of your deposition are served on the other side and kept by the lawyers. They are not filed with the court. They become public only if a party attaches them to a motion, and even then a protective order or a motion to seal keeps medical records off the public docket. Under California Rules of Court, a record is sealed when there is an overriding privacy interest, and medical information generally qualifies.
Settlement. Nearly every injury settlement includes a confidentiality clause, and the settlement agreement is never filed. The docket shows a dismissal, which tells the public only that the case ended. The exception is a settlement involving a minor or a public entity. A minor’s compromise is filed and approved by the court, though the court can seal the amount. A settlement paid by the City of Los Angeles or any public agency is a public record because public money was paid.
Trial. If a case goes to trial, testimony happens in an open courtroom, exhibits are shown, and the verdict is public. Most cases do not reach trial.
How this plays out with insurers and defendants
The insurer on the other side already knows everything about the claim, so the public question is not about the insurer. It is about the record other people can find. Defense lawyers routinely run the plaintiff’s name through the court index looking for prior lawsuits, which is one reason an old filed case can surface years later in a new claim. Employers and landlords occasionally do the same, though a personal injury case as a plaintiff is not the kind of record that causes trouble; being sued is a different matter than suing.
The defense will also ask in discovery about prior claims and prior lawsuits. Those answers are not public, but the question comes.
There is one other audience: the internet. Online aggregators scrape court indexes and republish case names. A filed case may appear on such a site with your name and the defendant’s. The content is limited to what the docket shows, which, in a well-handled case, is a caption and a dismissal.
What to do now
If privacy is a real concern, raise it with your attorney at the start. Most cases settle without a lawsuit, and a strong pre-suit claim with complete medical documentation gives the insurer a reason to settle before filing becomes necessary. When filing is necessary, which it often is when the two-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 is approaching or the insurer will not move, ask that the complaint be drafted in general terms and that any medical exhibits be filed under seal.
Keep your own records private. Do not post about the case, the crash or your treatment. Assume the defense reads everything public, and assume a stranger could find anything you publish.
Common mistakes
Refusing to file suit at all because of privacy, and letting the deadline pass or accepting a low offer, is the mistake that costs the most. A filed case with a two-line caption is not a privacy exposure for most people. The second mistake is the opposite: a client who publishes details of the case online, from the crash photos to the settlement check, has waived more than any docket would have. The third is signing a confidentiality clause without understanding its terms, which commonly include liquidated damages for disclosure. Ask what you can and cannot say before the agreement is final.
Questions people ask next
Will my employer find out about my case? Not from the insurer. If a lawsuit is filed, the case appears in the court index under your name and could be found by a search, though the filings reveal nothing about your health beyond the general categories of injury claimed.
Will my medical records be filed with the court? Not in the ordinary course. They are exchanged between the parties. If one has to be attached to a motion, it can be redacted or filed under seal.
Can I keep the settlement amount private? Yes, in nearly all cases against private parties. Settlements with public entities are public records, and a minor’s settlement requires court approval, with the amount often sealed.
Manoukian Law Firm handles personal injury cases throughout the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles County, and Vaheh Manoukian personally handles each case, including the decisions about what is filed and what stays between the parties. If you have questions about privacy in an injury claim, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation.
