Burbank Personal Injury Lawyer: What to Know About the Claims Process After an Accident
If you were injured in an accident in Burbank, California, you may be weighing whether to handle the claims process on your own or bring in legal representation. Understanding how personal injury law generally works in California — and what role an attorney typically plays — can help you make sense of what comes next.
What "Personal Injury" Actually Covers
Personal injury is a broad legal category. It includes car and motorcycle accidents, pedestrian and bicycle crashes, slip-and-fall incidents, dog bites, and other situations where someone's negligence causes harm to another person. In Burbank, many personal injury cases involve vehicle accidents on the 5 Freeway, Olive Avenue, or surface streets throughout the San Fernando Valley — but the legal framework applies to any injury caused by someone else's fault.
The central question in most personal injury claims is negligence: Did someone fail to act with reasonable care, and did that failure cause your injury?
How Fault Works in California
California follows a pure comparative fault system. This means that even if you were partially responsible for an accident, you can still recover damages — but your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you're found 20% at fault, you can recover 80% of your total damages.
This is different from states that use contributory negligence (where any fault on your part may bar recovery entirely) or modified comparative fault rules (where recovery is blocked once you exceed a certain fault threshold, typically 50% or 51%).
California is also an at-fault state for auto accidents, not a no-fault state. That means the injured party generally pursues compensation through the at-fault driver's liability insurance — not their own personal injury protection (PIP) policy, which California doesn't require.
What Damages Are Generally Recoverable
In a California personal injury case, recoverable damages typically fall into two categories:
| Damage Type | What It Generally Covers |
|---|---|
| Economic damages | Medical bills, future medical costs, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage |
| Non-economic damages | Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life |
| Punitive damages | Rare; reserved for cases involving malice, fraud, or oppression |
The value of any claim depends heavily on injury severity, treatment duration, documented losses, and the strength of evidence linking the defendant's conduct to your harm. No formula produces a universal answer.
The Typical Claims Process
After a Burbank accident, most personal injury claims move through a recognizable sequence:
- Incident documentation — Police reports, photos, witness statements, and medical records form the foundation of any claim.
- Medical treatment — Emergency care, follow-up visits, and specialist referrals create the records that support a damages calculation. Gaps in treatment often complicate claims.
- Insurance notification — The at-fault party's insurer is placed on notice. An adjuster is assigned to investigate liability and evaluate damages.
- Demand letter — Once medical treatment is reasonably complete (or maximum medical improvement is reached), a formal demand is typically submitted outlining injuries, losses, and a settlement amount.
- Negotiation or litigation — Most claims settle before trial. If settlement negotiations fail, a lawsuit may be filed.
California's Statute of Limitations ⚖️
In California, personal injury claims are generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations from the date of injury — but this timeline shifts depending on the facts. Claims against government entities (like a city-owned vehicle) involve a much shorter administrative claim deadline. Minors, delayed discovery of injuries, and other factors can also affect the clock.
Missing a filing deadline typically means losing the right to pursue the claim entirely. The specific deadline that applies to your situation depends on who was at fault, what kind of accident occurred, and other case-specific variables.
How Attorneys Typically Get Involved
Personal injury attorneys in California almost universally work on a contingency fee basis. This means the attorney receives a percentage of the recovery — commonly in the range of 33% to 40%, though fees vary by firm and case complexity — and collects nothing if the case doesn't result in a recovery.
Attorneys typically handle: gathering evidence, managing communications with insurers, calculating damages, negotiating settlements, and filing lawsuits when necessary. They may also deal with liens — claims by health insurers or medical providers seeking reimbursement from any settlement — and handle subrogation demands, where your own insurer seeks repayment after covering your losses.
Legal representation is more commonly sought in cases involving serious injuries, disputed liability, multiple parties, uninsured drivers, or when an initial settlement offer appears to undervalue the claim.
Coverage That May Apply 🔍
Even in an at-fault state, multiple insurance sources may come into play:
- Liability coverage — Covers damages owed to injured parties by the at-fault driver
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage — Applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient limits
- MedPay — An optional coverage in California that pays medical expenses regardless of fault
- Health insurance — Often pays first, subject to potential subrogation later
Coverage limits, policy language, and which policies apply depend entirely on the specific vehicles, drivers, and policies involved in your accident.
What Shapes the Outcome
The result of any personal injury claim in Burbank — or anywhere in California — turns on the intersection of state law, the specific facts of the accident, the nature and documentation of injuries, available insurance coverage, and how liability is ultimately assigned. General information explains the framework. What it can't do is tell you how that framework applies to your situation.
