Encino Personal Injury Lawyer

If you were hurt on Ventura Boulevard, on the 101, or on a side street off Balboa, you probably have questions and a stack of calls from an adjuster. Moe Abdallah Law, P.C. is a Los Angeles firm that handles motor-vehicle injury cases only. Attorney Mohamad "Moe" Abdallah takes the calls himself, answers by phone and text, and works on contingency, so you pay nothing unless he wins. This page is a local guide if you are looking for a personal injury lawyer in Encino. It shows where crashes happen, which police agency writes your report, where to get treated, which court hears your case, and how fast the deadlines run. It also links to our pages on each crash type. The consultation is free, we are available 24/7, and we speak Spanish. Past results do not predict a similar outcome, but a call costs you nothing.

How we help injured people in Encino

We handle every motor-vehicle injury case type for Encino residents, dealing with the insurers directly while you focus on recovery.

Encino's roads: the 101, the 405, and the boulevards between them

Encino is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, not a separate city. That matters for your claim, because the City of Los Angeles runs the streets, the police, and the claims office. Two freeways cross the area: the US-101 (Ventura Freeway) and the I-405 (San Diego Freeway). Between them, surface traffic spreads across Ventura Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard, Balboa Boulevard, White Oak Avenue, Louise Avenue, Hayvenhurst Avenue, and Densmore Avenue. Burbank Boulevard and Victory Boulevard carry east-west traffic farther north. Ventura Boulevard is the main commercial street, so it mixes parked cars, delivery vans, left turns into shopping centers, and people crossing on foot. We don't have a city crash ranking for Encino, so we won't call any single road the most dangerous. We can point to one recent crash. FOX 11 reported that a two-vehicle crash at Ventura Boulevard and Densmore Avenue on Saturday, September 12, 2026, killed one woman and injured six other people. It shows how fast a routine intersection turns into a serious injury case. Wherever you were hurt, write down the exact cross street, the lane, and the time before you forget them.

Common Encino crashes: rear-ends, left turns, and freeway merges

Many injury claims on these roads start in familiar ways. A driver looks at a phone or a store sign and rear-ends the car stopped for a light on Ventura Boulevard. A driver turns left across Sepulveda or Balboa and misses oncoming traffic. A car cuts across lanes at a 101 or 405 ramp and clips you at speed. Every one of these is a car accident claim, and every one turns on proof of who did what. Photos of the cars, the skid marks, and the traffic signals help. So do names and numbers of witnesses, which are easy to lose once everyone leaves. Truck and delivery-van crashes bring in company insurance and driver records. Motorcycle riders face the bias that the rider must have been speeding. We handle each type, and our pages on car, truck, and motorcycle cases go deeper. California follows pure comparative negligence, so you can still recover if you were partly at fault, but your award drops by your share of the blame (Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804). Adjusters know that rule and push to raise your share. Never give a recorded statement before you talk to us.

Walking, riding, and rideshare trips along Ventura Boulevard

People on foot, on bikes, and in the back seat of an app-hailed car face different problems than drivers do. A pedestrian in a crosswalk on Ventura Boulevard has legal protection, yet a driver who says the light was green will fight it. A cyclist hit by a car door or a close pass has to prove it, because there is often no video. Our bicycle accident lawyer page for Encino covers those cases fully. Rideshare crashes add a third insurer. California's Uber and Lyft coverage depends on what the driver's app was doing at the time of the crash, and that record sits in the company's trip data, not on the street. Ask the company to keep it, and tell us about any trip screenshot you took. Metro Line 150 also runs along Ventura Boulevard, and the Metro timetable shows it linking toward Line 240 and Universal/Studio City. If a bus hits you, a different claims process applies, and the deadlines are much shorter than a normal injury case. We handle pedestrian, rideshare, and bus cases from the same office.

Uninsured and hit-and-run drivers: using your own policy

Some of the calls we get from Encino start with, "The other driver has no insurance," or "He drove off." You may still have a claim. California auto liability policies must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, called UM/UIM, unless a named insured deleted or reduced it in a signed agreement on the statutory form. If a driver flees and you can't identify them, the law treats that car as uninsured, but only if three things happened. The injury must come from physical contact with the other vehicle, you must report the crash to the police (LAPD in Encino) within 24 hours, and you must file a sworn statement with your insurer within 30 days (Ins. Code § 11580.2(b)). Miss those steps and you can lose coverage. UM also has its own two-year rule. Within two years you must sue, reach an agreement with your insurer, or formally start arbitration by certified mail, return receipt requested (Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)). Moe has recovered a $100,000 policy-limit UM settlement for a woman a driver rear-ended and fled from, after other firms turned her down. Past results do not predict a similar outcome. If you are searching for an uninsured motorist attorney in Encino, call us before you sign anything your own insurer sends.

After the crash: the LAPD report and the first week of evidence

LAPD's West Valley Community Police Station, at 19020 Vanowen Street in Reseda, covers Encino, and LAPD's Valley Traffic Division, at 7870 Nollan Place in Panorama City, handles traffic in the Valley. At the scene, ask the officer for the report number. You request the report online through LAPD's Traffic Collision Report page, and LAPD says to allow at least 45 days. Reports with an arrest, a death, or a juvenile go by mail on a request form, with a $19.00 check or money order payable to LAPD. Don't wait on the report to start. Photograph the scene, your injuries, and your car. Save your medical records, the tow and repair bills, and any messages with the other driver. Under California law a driver must report a crash with an injury, or more than $1,000 in damage, to the DMV on an SR-1 form within 10 days (Veh. Code § 16000(a)). File the SR-1 and keep a copy. Business owners along Ventura Boulevard often have cameras that record over in days, so ask quickly. We send preservation letters quickly.

Hospitals, doctors, and the court that hears your case

Encino Hospital Medical Center, at 16237 Ventura Boulevard, is the hospital in the neighborhood. California's hospital database lists it as a general acute care hospital with an emergency room and 148 licensed beds. Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center and Northridge Hospital Medical Center are nearby, though we have not verified the trauma level at either one. Tell the ambulance crew about every symptom, including a headache or neck stiffness, and ask your doctor to write it down. A gap in treatment lets the insurer argue you weren't really hurt. If you are uninsured, say so early, because Moe has recovered $105,000 for an uninsured client with a broken sternum, covering hospital bills and future treatment. Past results do not predict a similar outcome. As for the court, Los Angeles Superior Court Local Rule 2.3 says unlimited civil injury cases are filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, a short trip from our office at 527 W 7th Street. The Van Nuys Courthouse East is the nearest courthouse to Encino, but it is not the venue for most injury suits. We confirm the filing court before any case is filed.

Deadlines, city claims, and how Moe handles an Encino case

You generally have two years to sue a private driver for injuries (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). If the City of Los Angeles is involved, such as a road defect or a city vehicle, the clock is much shorter. You must present a written claim to the City Clerk within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). The City accepts claims only through its online portal, in person, or by mail to 200 North Spring Street, Room 395, and it does not accept faxes or email. If the city rejects the claim in writing, you then have six months to file suit (Gov. Code § 945.6). Crashes with Metro buses go through Metro's own process. Moe keeps these dates on a calendar from day one. He works on contingency, so you pay nothing unless he wins, and he does not handle slip-and-falls, dog bites, or malpractice. His cases include a $75,000 recovery after an insurer offered $900. Past results do not predict a similar outcome. Call (323) 716-1992 any hour for a free case review, or text us. If Spanish is easier for you, we speak it.

Frequently Asked Questions