Car Accident Lawyer Long Beach

Car accidents in Long Beach often mean sharing the I-710 with big rigs headed to and from the ports, and a crash with a truck is rarely minor. Long Beach is a city of about 450,000 people with its own police department, a Superior Court courthouse downtown, and the most fatal and injury crash victims of 15 comparable cities in the state's 2023 rankings. Whether you were hit on the I-710, rear-ended on Pacific Coast Highway, or sideswiped near Belmont Shore, the next few days shape the value of your claim. Evidence disappears. Insurers call fast. Deadlines start running. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. handles motor vehicle crash cases only. Moe takes the call himself, any hour, and he moves quickly to lock down proof. He updates clients by call and text, so you never have to guess where your case stands. You pay nothing unless he wins.

Why Long Beach crashes hit harder than the average fender bender

Long Beach traffic is different because of the ports. The I-710, the Long Beach Freeway, ends in Long Beach, and the growth of cargo at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has added a large amount of truck traffic to it. Commuters on the 710 share lanes with those trucks every day. The I-405, I-605, SR-91 and SR-22 also run through or along the city, so a short trip can cross several freeways. The numbers match what drivers feel. The California Office of Traffic Safety ranked Long Beach first among 15 comparable cities in 2023 for total fatal and injury crash victims, with 3,774, and first for nighttime crashes. Long Beach Post reports the city recorded 53 fatal traffic collisions in 2025, its most in more than a decade. Those figures describe the whole city, and they are no promise about your specific street. They do tell you that insurers here see serious claims all the time. Moe builds each claim to hold up against an insurer that has seen thousands like it, with records, photos, and a clear account of what you lost.

Pacific Coast Highway, Orange Avenue, and the neighborhood streets

Off the freeways, the crash pattern changes. Pacific Coast Highway, Orange Avenue and Artesia Boulevard are the city's main arterials. Orange Avenue between Seventh Street and Hellman Avenue is a stretch where residents have raised safety concerns, according to Long Beach Post. LAist pictured a rollover at 10th Street and Elm Avenue, where a driver knocked over a tree and broke through a metal fence, and reported that Washington neighborhood residents worry about speeding drivers. The state's 2022 rankings also put Long Beach 2nd of 15 comparable cities for pedestrian and bicyclist victims, so a crash in Belmont Shore, Naples or Bixby Knolls can involve people outside a car too. You prove a left-turn crash at an intersection differently than a rear-end crash in freeway stop-and-go. So we start every Long Beach case with exactly where and how it happened. We look for traffic or business cameras, check signal timing, and talk to witnesses while memories are fresh. A phone photo of the scene helps more than you expect. A dashcam clip helps more. If your car has a built-in recorder, tell us before anyone repairs or tows it away.

What to do in the first days after your wreck

Get medical care first. Adrenaline hides injuries, and whiplash, concussions, and internal trauma can show up days later. MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and St. Mary Medical Center on Linden Avenue are both Level II trauma centers. After that, report the crash. California requires a driver to report to the DMV within 10 days on form SR-1 when a crash causes an injury, a death, or more than $1,000 in damage to any one person's property (Vehicle Code section 16000). Moe can handle that filing for you, and it is separate from any police report. Take photos of the cars, the road, skid marks, and your injuries. Get names and numbers from witnesses, and note the nearest cross street. Stay off social media. Do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. You have no duty to give one, and the adjuster is hunting for words to shrink your claim. Keep every bill, every pharmacy receipt, and a log of the days you missed work. Then call us. The sooner we start, the more proof we can still collect from the scene, the cars, and the people who saw it.

Police reports and city claims for crashes in Long Beach

The Long Beach Police Department is a city agency, separate from LAPD and the Sheriff. To get a collision report, mail the Application for Release of Traffic Collision Report to the Information Management Division, 400 W. Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90802, with a copy of your photo ID and the $30 fee. The department says processing may take up to about six months, and the public and law offices can ask about status by email. We handle that follow-up for you. A freeway crash may have been written up by a different agency, and we find out which one. If a city vehicle, a city employee, or a dangerous street condition played a part, a different clock applies. You generally must present a written claim to the City of Long Beach within six months of the crash, filed with the City Clerk at 411 W. Ocean Blvd. (Government Code section 911.2). If the city rejects the claim in writing, you then have six months to file suit. Crashes on state highways or freeways may involve the State instead of the city. Moe checks which agency owns the road before anything is filed, because sending a claim to the wrong office can cost you the case.

Fault, comparative blame, and the insurance fight

California requires drivers to carry at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injuries, plus $15,000 for property damage, on policies issued or renewed since January 1, 2025. In a serious crash those limits run out quickly, which is why we check for underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy and for every other party who might share fault. California also follows pure comparative negligence. You can recover even if you were partly or mostly at fault, with your award reduced by your percentage of blame (Li v. Yellow Cab Co.). Adjusters know this, so they stretch your share of fault to cut the payout. They also point to gaps in treatment and to pre-existing conditions. Insurance rules require them to accept or deny a claim within 40 days of getting proof of claim, and they may not make unreasonably low offers. We use those rules. We also gather the scene proof, repair estimates, and medical records so the fault argument has little room. Call us before you accept any check. A quick offer made days after the wreck rarely reflects what months of treatment will cost.

Where your Long Beach case is heard, and how Moe runs it

The Los Angeles County Superior Court's building in Long Beach is the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, 275 Magnolia Ave., with 31 courtrooms handling civil, criminal, traffic and family matters. If your case has to be filed, Moe confirms the right courthouse for it. The deadline to sue is generally two years from the crash for injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1) and three years for vehicle damage (section 338). A claim against the city has its much shorter six month claim step first. Moe personally handles your case and keeps you updated by call and text. His office is at 527 W 7th St, Ste 924, in downtown Los Angeles. If your injuries keep you home, you do not have to come in to get started, since Moe talks with clients by phone and text. Moe has recovered a $100,000 policy-limit uninsured motorist recovery for a woman rear-ended by a driver who fled, and $75,000 after an insurer offered $900. Past results do not promise a similar outcome, and every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and available insurance. The first review is free and open 24/7 at (323) 716-1992. Se habla Espanol.

Talk to a Long Beach car accident lawyer

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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