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What  in the First Week After a Crash

Most people in Los Angeles will never read the Vehicle Code, and they should not have to. But the first week after a crash is when small choices start to shape an injury claim, and many of the costliest mistakes happen before anyone calls a lawyer. Here are the ones that come up most, and what California law and local agencies actually say.

Leaving without a report number. Ask the officer which agency is writing the report and get the report number before you leave. On surface streets inside the city, that is usually LAPD. On freeways, it is the California Highway Patrol. LAPD says traffic collision reports are available online no sooner than 45 days after the crash, and reports involving a fatality, an arrest or a juvenile must be requested by mail. If a crash injured or killed someone, California law also requires any driver involved, other than a common-carrier driver, to make a written report to CHP or city police within 24 hours.

Forgetting the DMV. A police report is not a DMV report. Under Vehicle Code section 16000, a driver must report a crash to the DMV within 10 days on the SR-1 form if anyone was injured, no matter how minor, or killed, or if property damage to any one person tops $1,000. Your insurance agent, broker or attorney can file it for you.

Giving the other insurer a recorded statement. The other driver’s insurer may call and ask to record your account. You generally have no duty to give the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement. You are usually better off waiting until you understand your injuries and have talked with a lawyer. Your own insurer is different. Most policies require prompt notice, and delay can hurt your coverage, so call your own company early.

Waiting to see a doctor. A gap between the crash and your first visit, or a stretch where you stopped going, gives an adjuster an argument that you were not that hurt. Get checked the same day if you can, tell the doctor everything that hurts, and follow the treatment plan.

Assuming you have two years. You generally do have two years from the crash to file an injury lawsuit against a private driver, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. That number gives people a false sense of time when a public entity is involved. If a City of Los Angeles vehicle, a county bus or a dangerous road condition played a part, you usually must present a written government claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2. For the City of Los Angeles, only the Office of the City Clerk can accept that claim. If the claim is rejected in writing, you then generally have six months from that notice to sue. Miss the six-month window and you are left asking for leave to file late, which must happen within a reasonable time and no more than one year after the crash.

Not checking your own policy after a hit-and-run. When the other driver flees, many people assume there is no one to pay. Often the answer is your own uninsured motorist coverage. Every California auto bodily injury policy must include it unless you and your insurer agreed in writing, on the form the statute requires, to delete or lower it. But when the driver is unknown, Insurance Code section 11580.2 sets strict conditions. The injury must come from physical contact between the fleeing vehicle and you or the vehicle you were in. The crash must be reported within 24 hours to city police, or to the sheriff or CHP outside city limits. And you must file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days after that report. The 24-hour report is a legal requirement, not just good advice. In a hit-and-run with an unknown driver, UM pays for bodily injury, not property damage.

Counting on the other driver’s coverage. California’s minimum liability limits are $30,000 for injury or death to one person, $60,000 for more than one person, and $15,000 for property damage, for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. A serious injury can cost more than that. Underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy may add money, but the at-fault driver’s limits usually have to be paid out first, and settling with the at-fault driver without your own insurer’s written consent can void that coverage.

Moe Abdallah Law, a downtown Los Angeles firm that represents people injured in motor-vehicle crashes, offers free case reviews for anyone unsure which of these rules applies to them. The bigger lesson is simpler: the clock starts the day of the crash, whether or not you are thinking about a claim.

Sources

• California Vehicle Code § 20008 (24-hour written report), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=20008
• California Vehicle Code § 16000 (DMV SR-1 report), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=16000
• Accident Reporting, California Department of Motor Vehicles, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-identification-cards/accident-reporting/
• Request a Traffic Report, Los Angeles Police Department, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://www.lapdonline.org/request-a-traffic-report/
• California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 (two-year injury deadline), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP&sectionNum=335.1
• California Government Code § 911.2 (six-month government claim), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV&sectionNum=911.2
• California Government Code § 911.4 (late-claim application), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV&sectionNum=911.4
• California Government Code § 945.6 (suit after rejection), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV&sectionNum=945.6
• Claim for Damage, Office of the Los Angeles City Clerk, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://clerk.lacity.gov/clerk-services/council-and-public-services/claim-damage
• Claims, Los Angeles City Attorney, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://cityattorney.lacity.gov/claims
• California Insurance Code § 11580.2 (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=INS&sectionNum=11580.2
• California Vehicle Code § 16056 (minimum liability limits), California Legislative Information, accessed Oct. 12, 2026, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=16056