Car Accident Lawyer in Encino, CA

If you were hurt in a car crash in Encino, the first few days set up the whole claim. Evidence on Ventura Boulevard, Balboa Boulevard or the freeway ramps gets overwritten, repaired or forgotten quickly. An adjuster will call before you have finished your first round of treatment, and that call is not meant to help you. You may be searching for an Encino car accident attorney who will answer the phone and explain where you stand in plain words. That is how Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. works. Moe handles motor-vehicle injury cases only, he talks to clients by call and text, and the first conversation costs nothing at any hour. This page covers what matters after a collision here: the streets, the LAPD report, the hospital, the insurance limits, and the deadlines that can end a claim if you miss them.

Ventura Boulevard, Densmore and the streets where Encino collisions happen

Ventura Boulevard is Encino's main commercial street, and it carries drivers, bus riders and shoppers all day. Cross streets such as Balboa Boulevard, White Oak Avenue, Louise Avenue, Hayvenhurst Avenue and Densmore Avenue meet it at busy lights. Sepulveda Boulevard, Burbank Boulevard and Victory Boulevard add more turning traffic along the edges of the neighborhood. We do not have a published crash ranking for Encino, so we will not call any one block the worst. We can point to one recent event. FOX 11 reported that on Saturday, September 12, 2026, a two-vehicle collision at Ventura Boulevard and Densmore Avenue killed one woman and injured six other people, with LAPD investigating. FOX 11 said the cause was not known. That was a single crash, not a trend, but it shows how quickly a collision on this stretch can turn deadly. The usual fault fights here are simple ones. One driver turned across oncoming traffic. Another ran the light and says it was yellow. A third backed out of a shopping center driveway into a lane. Each version needs proof, and proof means photos, witnesses, and any camera footage from the shops along the boulevard.

Freeway crashes on the US-101 and the I-405 near Encino

The Ventura Freeway (US-101) runs along the Valley floor through Encino, and the San Diego Freeway (I-405) meets it near the neighborhood. Drivers use these roads to reach work, the Westside and the rest of the Valley. Freeway crashes tend to involve higher speeds, more vehicles and more fingers pointing. A rear-end hit in stop-and-go traffic may involve three cars, and each driver's insurer will say someone else stopped short. A lane change on a ramp can leave you with a sideswipe and a driver who says you drifted. California uses pure comparative negligence, so you can still recover if you carry part of the blame, but your award drops by your share. That is why the percentage matters. We look at each car's event data recorder, the damage pattern, and witness accounts to push your share down. If the other driver left the scene, your own uninsured motorist coverage may apply. For a hit-and-run in Encino, that coverage generally requires physical contact with the other car, a report to LAPD within 24 hours, and a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days. A freeway crash may be handled by the CHP instead of LAPD, so we find out which agency wrote your report before we request anything. We start preservation requests for camera footage as soon as you call.

Getting your LAPD collision report and filing the SR-1

LAPD's West Valley Community Police Station, at 19020 Vanowen St. in Reseda, serves Encino, and LAPD's Valley Traffic Division handles traffic investigations from its office at 7870 Nollan Place in Panorama City. You can request your collision report online through LAPD's Traffic Collision Report page, but plan on waiting at least 45 days. Reports that involve an arrest or a death must be requested by mail, with LAPD's request form and a $19.00 check or money order payable to LAPD sent to the Document Processing Unit, P.O. Box 30158. We can handle the request for you. Read the report as soon as you have it, because the officer's fault note and diagram often shape the insurer's first offer. A wrong lane, a missing witness or a mistaken injury entry is easier to correct early. Separately, California requires a driver in a crash with injury, death or more than $1,000 in damage to one person to file an SR-1 with the DMV within 10 days. You can file through your insurer or an attorney. File it even when the crash was not your fault. We also note which agency wrote the report, because a CHP crash on the freeway follows a different request process than an LAPD crash on a surface street.

Emergency care at Encino Hospital and the centers nearby

See a doctor the same day, even if you only feel sore. Whiplash, disc injuries and concussions often show up hours or days after a collision, and a gap in treatment gives an adjuster an excuse to say you were not hurt. Encino Hospital Medical Center, at 16237 Ventura Blvd., is a general acute care hospital with a licensed emergency room and 148 beds, according to California's HCAI. Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center and Northridge Hospital Medical Center are nearby as well. We could not confirm the trauma level of either of those two on an official page, so if the injury is severe, let the paramedics choose the destination. Tell every provider that the injury came from a car accident, describe every symptom, and ask for copies of your records and bills. Follow your treatment plan and keep your appointments. Your medical records carry the injury claim, and they are the first thing an adjuster reads. Do not guess about your own condition in a recorded statement before the doctors have finished their work. Ask the hospital for a copy of your discharge papers before you leave.

Adjusters, the 30/60/15 minimum and the fault arguments you will hear

California's minimum auto liability limits are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident and $15,000 for property damage on policies issued or renewed since January 1, 2025. The driver who hit you may carry only that minimum. If your injuries run past the at-fault limit, your own underinsured motorist coverage may fill part of the gap. Check your policy early. An adjuster will usually open with a friendly call, ask for a recorded statement, and offer a fast, small payment. Do not accept before you know your full medical picture. Insurers are supposed to accept or deny a claim within 40 days of proof of loss and may not make unreasonably low offers, but those rules do not stop a lowball. We have seen that gap in our own results. One client received a $900 offer from the at-fault insurer, and Moe recovered $75,000 in total through the at-fault limit and an underinsured claim. Another case ended in a $30,000 policy-limit recovery after the other driver staged fake witnesses and Moe found the real ones. Past results do not promise a similar outcome in your case.

Deadlines, city vehicles and the court that hears an Encino injury case

You generally have two years from the crash date to sue over a personal injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1) and three years for vehicle damage. If a City of Los Angeles vehicle or a dangerous road condition played a part, the clock is much shorter. You must present a written claim to the City within six months. Claims go only to the City Clerk, online at claims.lacity.org or by mail to 200 North Spring Street, Room 395, and faxed or emailed claims are not accepted. If the City rejects the claim in writing, you usually have six months from that notice to file suit. Under Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rule 2.3, as the 2022 rules read, unlimited injury cases are filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, and we confirm the venue before we file anything. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. works on contingency, so you pay no fee unless there is a recovery. Moe answers calls himself, 24 hours a day, and Se Habla Español. Call (323) 716-1992 for a free review of your Encino collision.

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Call (323) 716-1992 for a free, no-obligation case review. You pay nothing unless we win, and we'll handle the insurance companies for you. Learn more about our car accidents representation →

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