Borna Houman Law is a personal injury firm with its office at 2530 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica. We represent injured people, not insurance companies, and we work on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. If you were hurt on Lincoln, on PCH, at an intersection off Ocean Avenue, or on a sidewalk anywhere on the Westside, call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation.
Key takeaway: You have two years from the date of a Santa Monica injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in California, and only six months if the claim is against the City of Santa Monica or another public entity. Most claims settle without a lawsuit. The number you settle for depends on the medical record you build in the first 30 days.
Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation. Borna Houman Law, 2530 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403. Rated 5.0 from 60 client reviews. No fee unless we win.
Why hire a Santa Monica personal injury lawyer?
You hire a local lawyer because the case is local: the collision report comes from the Santa Monica Police Department, the treatment records come from Providence Saint John’s or UCLA Health Santa Monica, and the lawsuit is filed at the Santa Monica Courthouse on Main Street. A firm that works this city already knows which intersections produce disputed liability and which adjusters handle Westside claims.
The insurance adjuster is not your friend. The adjuster’s first call is friendly, fast, and designed to get a recorded statement and a quick release before anyone knows how badly you are hurt. In our experience representing injured people on the Westside, the offers that come in the first two weeks are almost always a fraction of what the claim is worth once treatment is documented.
What we handle for Santa Monica clients:
- Car, truck, and motorcycle collisions on PCH, Lincoln Boulevard, Wilshire, Olympic, and the I-10 approach.
- Pedestrian and bicycle collisions, including the 4th Street and Broadway corridor and the Ocean Front Walk.
- E-bike and electric scooter injuries, which carry different insurance and liability questions than car cases.
- Rideshare injuries where an Uber or Lyft driver was on the app.
- Slip, trip, and fall and other premises claims against stores, hotels, and landlords.
- Dog bites, which are strict liability in California.
- Wrongful death and catastrophic injury.
How much do personal injury attorney fees cost in California?
California personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means the fee is a percentage of what you recover and you pay nothing if you lose. The standard contingency fee is 33 and one third percent of the recovery if the case settles before a lawsuit is filed, rising to 40 percent once litigation begins. Case costs such as filing fees, records, and expert witnesses are separate and come out of the recovery.
| Stage | Typical contingency fee | What you pay up front |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-litigation settlement | 33.33 percent | Nothing |
| After a lawsuit is filed | 40 percent | Nothing |
| Case costs (records, filing, experts) | Advanced by the firm | Nothing |
| Consultation | Free | Nothing |
| If we do not recover | No fee | Nothing |
One statutory exception matters. In a medical malpractice case, attorney fees are capped by statute rather than set by contract, so the arrangement is different from an ordinary injury claim. We explain the fee in writing before you sign anything, and our full breakdown of California contingency fee rules shows how the percentage and the case costs interact. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation and a plain answer on what your case would cost you.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in California?
The deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit in California is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If the claim is against a public entity, such as the City of Santa Monica, the Big Blue Bus, Los Angeles County, or a school district, a written government claim must be presented within six months of the injury under Government Code section 911.2.
| Claim type | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury | 2 years from the injury | CCP 335.1 |
| Wrongful death | 2 years from the death | CCP 335.1 |
| Claim against a public entity | 6 months to present the claim | Gov. Code 911.2 |
| Lawsuit after a rejected government claim | 6 months from the rejection notice | Gov. Code 945.6 |
| Property damage only | 3 years | CCP 338 |
| Injury to a minor | Tolled until the 18th birthday, then 2 years | CCP 352 |
Missing a deadline ends the claim regardless of how strong it is. Our guide to the California personal injury statute of limitations walks through every deadline. A Big Blue Bus case and a private car case arising from the same intersection have completely different clocks, which is why the first call matters. Call (888) 42-BORNA today.
Our Santa Monica office is at 2530 Wilshire Blvd, a few minutes from the Santa Monica Courthouse at 1725 Main Street. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation.
What is my Santa Monica injury case worth?
A California injury claim is worth the sum of your economic damages and your non-economic damages, reduced by your share of fault. Economic damages are the documented numbers: medical bills, future treatment, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain, suffering, disfigurement, and loss of the things you used to do.
California has no cap on non-economic damages in ordinary injury cases. The single exception is medical malpractice, where the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act as amended by AB 35 set a base cap of $350,000 for injury and $500,000 for wrongful death for claims arising on or after January 1, 2023, with the caps rising each year toward $750,000 and $1,000,000 over ten years.
| Damage category | What it covers | Proof that moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Past medical | Treatment already received | Itemized bills and records |
| Future medical | Surgery, injections, therapy still needed | Treating physician or life care plan |
| Lost wages | Time missed from work | Pay records and employer verification |
| Lost earning capacity | Reduced ability to earn going forward | Vocational and economic expert |
| Pain and suffering | Physical pain and emotional harm | Consistent treatment, testimony, daily-life evidence |
| Property damage | Vehicle and personal property | Repair estimate or total-loss valuation |
Beware the average. Published settlement averages mix a sprained wrist with a spinal fusion and tell you nothing about your file. What actually drives value is the severity of the injury, whether treatment was continuous, whether liability is disputed, and how much insurance exists to pay the claim.
What if the accident was partly my fault?
California follows pure comparative negligence, which means you can recover even if you were mostly at fault, with your damages reduced by your percentage of responsibility. The rule comes from Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804, and it applies to every ordinary injury claim in the state.
If a jury values your damages at $200,000 and assigns you 25 percent of the fault, you recover $150,000. That is why adjusters push fault onto injured people early and why a recorded statement given before you have counsel is so costly. Do not accept an adjuster’s fault split as final. Call (888) 42-BORNA before you talk to the other driver’s insurer.
What if the driver had no insurance or too little?
California raised its minimum auto liability limits on January 1, 2025 to $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage, which is still far below the cost of a serious injury. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is what fills the gap, and it pays you even though the crash was not your fault.
We check for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on every case, including coverage on a household member’s policy and coverage that applies when you were a passenger, a pedestrian, or on a bicycle. Umbrella policies and employer policies are also worth chasing. Finding a second layer of coverage often changes the outcome of a case more than any argument about liability does. See our guide to uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
What should I do after an accident in Santa Monica?
Report the collision, get examined the same day, and photograph everything before it is cleaned up. Emergency care on the Westside is available at Providence Saint John’s Health Center on Santa Monica Boulevard and at UCLA Health Santa Monica Medical Center on 16th Street, and the police report will come from the Santa Monica Police Department at 333 Olympic Drive.
- Call 911 and make sure a report is written, even if the other driver wants to keep it informal.
- Get medical attention the same day. A gap between the crash and the first visit is the first thing an adjuster will use against you.
- Photograph vehicle positions, damage, skid marks, the roadway, the signal, and your injuries.
- Get names and numbers for every witness before they leave. Nobody finds them later.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer.
- Do not post about the crash or your injuries on social media.
- Keep every bill, every receipt, and a short daily note about pain and missed activities.
- Call a lawyer before you sign anything, including a medical authorization.
Our full checklist of steps to take after an accident in California covers the first 72 hours in detail.
Do you pay taxes on a personal injury settlement in California?
Compensation for physical injury or physical sickness is generally not taxable income under federal law, and California follows that treatment. Interest on a judgment, punitive damages, and compensation for purely emotional distress that is not tied to a physical injury are generally taxable, and lost-wage components can raise separate questions.
We are not tax advisors and do not give tax advice. What we do is structure the settlement documentation so that the allocation is clear, then tell you to take it to your accountant before you sign.
Where we handle cases on the Westside
Our Santa Monica office serves clients across the Westside and the rest of Los Angeles County. Cases filed for Santa Monica collisions are generally heard at the Santa Monica Courthouse at 1725 Main Street, with larger matters and some filings at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown.
| Area | Common collision locations | Nearest emergency care |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Monica | Lincoln Blvd, Wilshire, Ocean Ave, 4th and Broadway, PCH | Providence Saint John’s, UCLA Health Santa Monica |
| Venice and Marina del Rey | Lincoln Blvd, Washington Blvd, Admiralty Way | UCLA Health Santa Monica |
| Brentwood and West Los Angeles | San Vicente, Wilshire, Sepulveda, the 405 ramps | UCLA Ronald Reagan |
| Culver City and Mar Vista | Venice Blvd, Sepulveda, National Blvd | Southern California Hospital Culver City |
| Pacific Palisades and Malibu | PCH, Sunset Blvd, Topanga Canyon | Providence Saint John’s |
| Beverly Hills and West Hollywood | Santa Monica Blvd, Sunset, La Cienega | Cedars-Sinai |
How our Santa Monica cases run
Every case follows the same four steps, and we tell you where you are at each one. Nothing is signed and no offer is accepted without your decision.
- Free consultation. We take the facts, identify every policy that might pay, and tell you honestly whether you have a case.
- Treatment and investigation. We collect the report, the scene evidence, and the witnesses, and get you to doctors who will treat you on a lien if you have no health coverage.
- Demand and negotiation. Once treatment stabilizes we assemble the full record and present a documented demand rather than a number.
- Litigation if the offer is not fair. Filing changes the economics of a claim. We file when the offer does not match the file.
No fee unless we win. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation about your Santa Monica injury case.
Frequently asked questions from Santa Monica clients
Is it worth suing for a personal injury?
Most injury claims settle without a lawsuit, and filing is a tool rather than a goal. Filing makes sense when liability is disputed, when the insurer refuses to value documented treatment, or when the deadline is approaching. We will tell you when a case is not worth pursuing rather than sign you up and let it sit.
How long will my case take?
A straightforward Santa Monica claim with a clear liability picture often resolves in four to nine months after treatment ends. A filed case typically takes 18 to 30 months to reach trial in Los Angeles County. Your treatment timeline, not the lawyer, usually sets the pace, because a claim presented before you finish treating undervalues the injury.
What should I not say to an insurance adjuster?
Do not guess about speeds, distances, or fault, do not say you are fine or uninjured, and do not agree to a recorded statement. Give your name, the date, and the fact that you were involved, then refer the adjuster to counsel. Anything estimated in the first days gets treated as a fixed admission months later.
Do I have to pay my medical bills while the case is pending?
Many Santa Monica clients treat on a medical lien, which means the provider waits to be paid out of the settlement. If you have health insurance we usually use it and then deal with the reimbursement claim at the end. Either way you should not be skipping treatment because of cost.
What if I was hit by a Big Blue Bus or a city vehicle?
A claim against the City of Santa Monica, the Big Blue Bus, or any other public entity must be presented in writing within six months of the injury under Government Code section 911.2, and a lawsuit must follow within six months of a written rejection. These cases are lost on the calendar more often than on the facts. See our Los Angeles bus accident guide for how public-entity claims work.
Do you charge for the first meeting?
No. The consultation is free, we advance case costs, and there is no fee unless we win. Call (888) 42-BORNA and you will speak with our office, not a call center.
Talk to a Santa Monica personal injury lawyer
Borna Houman is the founding attorney of Borna Houman Law, admitted to the California Bar under number 352339, practicing from 2530 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica. The firm is rated 5.0 across 60 client reviews. We fight for maximum compensation for injured people across Santa Monica, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Venice, Marina del Rey, Culver City, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Mar Vista, and Playa Vista.
Related pages: Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Los Angeles, Pedestrian Accident Lawyer, Bicycle Accident Lawyer, Scooter Accident Lawyer, Hit and Run Accident Lawyer, Brain Injury Lawyer, Wrongful Death Lawyer, and all practice areas.
Useful references: the California Courts self-help guide to personal injury and the California DMV insurance requirements. For a free consultation, call (888) 42-BORNA.
This page is general information about California personal injury law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and no result is ever guaranteed. Borna Houman Law, 2530 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (888) 42-BORNA.