Serving Irvine · Car Accidents
Irvine Car
Accident Lawyer
Hit at the El Toro Y, on Jamboree, or on a toll road? We represent Irvine drivers from our Lake Forest office next door. A trial lawyer who does not settle cheap, and no fee unless we win.
Irvine car accident claims, built for trial from day one.
Irvine's roads were planned, and they are wide and fast. The 5 and the 405 merge at the El Toro Y, the 55 runs along the western edge, and four toll roads carry commuters into the hills and toward the coast. Crashes here often happen at speed, and the insurance company's first move is to make the claim small. Ours is to make it trial-ready.
We do not have an Irvine office. We serve Irvine from 26632 Towne Centre Drive in Lake Forest, about 6.5 miles from Irvine Spectrum Center, and consultations can be held in person, by phone, or by video. Attorney Harrison Le is a former public defender who has litigated more than 20 jury trials, and you work with him directly.
An adjuster's offer is a prediction of what a jury would do. We change the prediction.
What to do after a car accident in Irvine
The first 48 hours decide a lot. Here is what we tell every Irvine client who calls from the scene or the emergency room.
Call 911 and get the report number
On city streets, the Irvine Police Department responds. On the freeways, the California Highway Patrol does. Ask the officer for the report number before you leave.
Request the report the right way
Irvine PD releases collision reports through its online request form or its Business Desk, open Monday to Friday 8 AM to 7 PM and Saturday 9 AM to 1 PM. The report is $10 and photos are $6, each plus a 2.4% fee. We handle it for you.
Get checked the same day
Irvine has no trauma center inside the city. Serious injuries go to UCI Medical Center in Orange, the county's Level I, or Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. A gap in treatment is the insurer's favorite argument.
Photograph everything and do not give a statement
Both cars, the intersection, signals, and your injuries. Many businesses have cameras, and footage is overwritten quickly. You do not have to give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. Send them to us.
File your SR-1 and call a lawyer
California requires an SR-1 report to the DMV within 10 days when there is an injury or more than $1,000 in damage. We file it, preserve evidence, and open every insurance policy that applies.
Where Irvine crashes happen
Irvine's General Plan describes its network: two interstates, a state route, and four toll roads. These are the corridors that come up most in our cases.
The El Toro Y (I-5 / I-405)Merging and lane-change crashes where the freeways split
I-405Rear-end chains in stop-and-go commuter traffic
SR-55Heavy traffic along the western border
Toll roads 73, 133, 241, 261High-speed crashes; a public agency owns the road
Jamboree RoadMulti-lane signals, red-light and left-turn crashes
Culver Drive & Harvard AvenueNeighborhood and school traffic, bicycle crossings
Irvine Center Dr & Alton PkwySpectrum and business park traffic
University DriveStudent drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians near campus
Young cyclists are Irvine's outlier. In California's 2022 traffic safety rankings, Irvine had the fewest fatal and injury crash victims of the 15 large cities in its population group, but ranked first, the worst, for injured or killed bicyclists under 15. If a driver hit your child on a bike, see our Irvine injury page or call us.
Compensation
What your Irvine car accident claim can recover
California law allows recovery of every loss the crash caused, not just the ambulance bill. We document each category with records, experts, and testimony.
MedicalER, surgery, imaging, physical therapy, and future care your doctors expect you will need.
IncomeLost wages now and reduced earning capacity later, including for self-employed and cash-paid workers.
Pain & sufferingPhysical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life, the largest part of most serious claims.
PropertyVehicle repair or total-loss value, rental, and diminished value.
California uses pure comparative fault (Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 1975). You can recover even if you were partly at fault; your award is reduced by your percentage. One exception: under Proposition 213 (Civil Code section 3333.4), an uninsured driver generally cannot recover pain-and-suffering damages, so call us before assuming you have no case.
Deadlines and insurance rules that apply in Irvine
Two years to sue. Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives you two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. Miss it and the claim is gone.
Six months if a public agency is involved. An OCTA bus, a city or county vehicle, or a dangerous condition on a public road or toll road means a government claim under Government Code section 911.2, due within six months.
Minimum policies are small. Since January 1, 2025, California's minimum liability coverage is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. Serious injuries exceed that quickly, so we check for employer policies, umbrella coverage, and your own underinsured motorist coverage.
Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers. Your own uninsured motorist coverage can pay, and we handle that claim so your insurer treats you as a claimant, not a customer to be managed.
Serving Irvine from 26632 Towne Centre Drive #300, Lake Forest, CA 92610
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