Car Accident Attorneys in Riverside, California

1. Heiting & Irwin, APLC

Practice Focus: Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, train accidents, pedestrian accidents, wrongful death, workers’ compensation, product liability, premises liability.

Case Types Handled: Rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, T-bone accidents, multi-vehicle pileups, drunk driving accidents, distracted driving accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, catastrophic injury cases, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, severe burns.

Legal Services: Insurance claim negotiation, litigation, trial representation, settlement negotiations, medical lien resolution, property damage claims, lost wage recovery, pain and suffering claims, wrongful death claims, workers’ compensation claims, subrogation disputes.

Background: Heiting & Irwin was founded in 1976, providing over 45 years of experience in personal injury law. The firm has recovered over $500 million for clients. James Heiting is the only past President of the State Bar of California ever elected from the Inland Empire and has also served as past President of Riverside County Bar Association. Richard H. Irwin is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law (certified since 1995). The firm’s attorneys bring together over 100 years of combined legal experience. The firm maintains a network of medical professionals, engineers, safety experts, and economists for case development.

Location: Riverside, California (serving Riverside County and the Inland Empire)

Contact: (951) 682-6400 | https://www.heitingandirwin.com

Consultation: Free consultation available. Contingency fee arrangement.

2. The Law Offices of Harlan B. Kistler

Practice Focus: Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, wrongful death, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, government liability claims.

Case Types Handled: Rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, T-bone accidents, drunk driving accidents, distracted driving accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, trucking litigation, catastrophic injury cases.

Background: The Law Offices of Harlan B. Kistler has over 33 years of experience representing personal injury clients in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The firm has successfully represented more than 3,000 clients. The firm handles cases involving government liability, which require specialized knowledge of administrative claim procedures and shortened filing deadlines.

Location: Riverside, California (serving Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)

Contact: (951) 643-4542 | https://www.hbklaw.net

Consultation: Free consultation with no obligation. Contingency fee basis (no recovery, no fee).

3. The Dominguez Firm

Practice Focus: Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, wrongful death, slip and fall accidents, dog bites, workplace injuries, rideshare accidents.

Case Types Handled: Rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, T-bone accidents, multi-vehicle accidents, drunk driving accidents, distracted driving accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, hit-and-run accidents, catastrophic injury cases.

Legal Services: Insurance claim negotiation, litigation, trial representation, settlement negotiations, medical care coordination, property damage claims, lost wage recovery, pain and suffering claims, wrongful death claims.

Background: The Dominguez Firm was founded over 35 years ago and has helped thousands of injured clients in Riverside and the greater Los Angeles area, recovering over $1 billion in compensation. The firm has received recognition including: Top 1% by National Association of Distinguished Counsel, Super Lawyers Top Rated and Rising Stars lists, 10 Best Attorney by American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys, and Los Angeles Business Journal Business of the Year Award. The firm also received recognitions from the California Assembly, U.S. Congress, and L.A. Mayor.

Location: Riverside, California (serving Riverside County and greater Los Angeles area)

Contact: (800) 818-1818 | https://dominguezfirm.com/locations/riverside/

Consultation: Free consultation available. Contingency fee basis.

4. Aitken Aitken Cohn

Practice Focus: Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, product liability, aviation accidents, premises liability.

Case Types Handled: Rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, T-bone accidents, rollover accidents, multi-vehicle accidents, drunk driving accidents, distracted driving accidents, fatigued driving accidents, commercial vehicle accidents, catastrophic injury cases, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries.

Legal Services: Insurance claim negotiation, complex civil litigation, trial representation, settlement negotiations, medical lien resolution, property damage claims, lost wage recovery, pain and suffering claims, punitive damage claims, wrongful death claims, product liability litigation.

Background: Aitken Aitken Cohn was founded in 1972 and has earned a national reputation for personal injury trial litigation. Founding partner Wylie Aitken has earned the Best Lawyer distinction for 31 consecutive years. Darren Aitken was named Orange County Trial Lawyers Top Gun Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year. Chris Aitken was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California (2024 and 2022), a distinction given to fewer than 50 lawyers statewide. The firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages for clients. Megan Demshki handles cases in the Riverside region. The firm successfully argued the Sumrall v. Modern Alloy case in Riverside, settling for millions of dollars.

Location: Serving Riverside and the Inland Empire (headquarters in Orange County)

Contact: https://www.aitkenlaw.com/riverside/personal-injury-attorney/

Consultation: Free case evaluation available. Contingency fee arrangement.

5. KAL Attorneys

Practice Focus: Car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, rideshare accidents, dog bites, slip and fall accidents, wrongful death, catastrophic injuries.

Case Types Handled: Rear-end collisions, head-on collisions, T-bone accidents, distracted driving accidents, drunk driving accidents, fatal car accidents, burn injuries, uninsured motorist claims.

Background: KAL Attorneys is a personal injury law firm with offices in Santa Ana and Riverside, California. The firm’s attorneys include Kevin Kunde, Esq., Moises Aguilar, Esq., Michael Velarde, Esq., and Ty Martinez, Esq. The firm handles cases throughout Orange County and the Inland Empire. The legal team provides bilingual services in English and Spanish.

Location: Riverside, California (also serving Orange County)

Contact: (714) 881-7300 | https://www.kalattorneys.com

Consultation: Free case evaluations available. Contingency fee basis.

California Fault, Filing and Reporting Rules for Riverside Car Crashes

California does not bar an injured driver who was partly at fault, but it does attach short deadlines to a crash: a report to the DMV, a claim against any public entity involved, and a lawsuit. The rules below apply to crashes in Riverside.

Shared Fault Under Li v. Yellow Cab

In Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975), the California Supreme Court replaced contributory negligence with pure comparative negligence, so liability is assigned in direct proportion to fault and an injured person who is partly at fault, even mostly at fault, recovers a reduced amount. For example, imagine a Riverside driver with $80,000 in damages who is found 25 percent at fault: the recovery would be $60,000.

Two Years to File Suit

Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 requires an action for injury to, or the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another to be brought within two years.

The 10-Day DMV Report

Vehicle Code § 16000(a) requires a driver involved in a crash on a street or highway that causes more than $1,000 in property damage to any one person, or any injury or death, to report it to the DMV within 10 days on the approved form, personally or through an insurance agent, broker or legal representative, naming anyone who complained of injury. No report is required under that subdivision when the vehicle was owned or leased by the United States, a state or a local agency.

Handheld Phones

Vehicle Code § 23123.5 bars driving while holding and operating a handheld phone or wireless device unless it is voice-operated and used hands-free. A mounted device may be touched only to activate or deactivate a feature with a single swipe or tap, and violations carry base fines of $20 for a first offense and $50 after that.

Riverside Car Accident Questions

What if a city or county vehicle was involved?

Government Code § 911.2 requires a claim for injury or death against a public entity to be presented within six months after the cause of action accrues. If the entity gives written notice rejecting it, § 945.6 allows six months from that notice to file suit; if no written notice is given, the limit is two years from accrual.

The driver who hit me fled. Can my uninsured motorist coverage still apply?

Yes, if its conditions are met. For a vehicle whose owner or operator is unknown, Insurance Code § 11580.2 conditions uninsured motorist coverage on bodily injury arising out of physical contact with that vehicle and on a report of the accident within 24 hours to the police of the city where it happened, or to the sheriff or the California Highway Patrol if it happened in unincorporated territory, followed within 30 days by a statement under oath filed with the insurer.

Who may bring a wrongful death claim?

Code of Civil Procedure § 377.60 allows the claim to be asserted by the surviving spouse, domestic partner, children and issue of deceased children, or, if there are no surviving issue, by those entitled to the estate by intestate succession, and by certain dependents, including parents who were dependent on the person who died. The personal representative may assert it on their behalf.