You have a personal injury case if you can show that you were owed a duty by the at-fault party, they breached their duty to you, and that breach of duty caused you harm. The duty could be one that requires action or inaction. For example, those driving vehicles should obey all traffic rules, including driving at an appropriate speed, stopping when required, driving a safe distance from other vehicles, and giving pedestrians the right of way so as not to injure them.

The most important thing to do is to make sure you seek medical attention if you are injured. Depending on the severity of your injuries and how you feel, you may wish to go to the emergency department at your local hospital. Otherwise, see a doctor as soon as you can so you can be assessed and treated.
 
Moreover, right after the accident you should get as much information about the other party that injured you, including their driver’s license number, contact information, insurance information, license plate number, and the make/model/year of their vehicle. You should also call the police so they can come to the scene of the accident, interview witnesses and obtain other evidence, and make a report.

If another party is responsible, they are responsible for paying. If they have car insurance, their insurance company will pay on their behalf. However, if you have collision insurance, you could have your insurance company pay for the repair. If the responsible party has insurance, your insurance company will request repayment from them. Although your insurance company may charge you a deductible, they may pay you back, typically if the responsible party has insurance and you are not at fault.
 
If the responsible party has no insurance, and you have only liability insurance (only pays for damage to someone else if you cause a vehicle accident and they are injured or their vehicle damaged), you can have your insurance company pay for the repair if you have uninsured motorist coverage included on your policy. If not, then you can demand payment from the responsible party, and, if they don’t comply, you can file a lawsuit against them.

If you are uninsured in California, Proposition 213 prevents you from obtaining any non-economic damages. Such damages include pain and suffering and emotional distress. However, you can still be compensated for economic damages, including your medical bills (past and future), lost wages (past and future), and damage to your car.

In California, the minimum requirement for bodily injury liability coverage is $15,000 per person/$30,000 per incident. In a case where you obtain the policy limit for bodily injury from the at-fault party’s insurance company, but it isn’t sufficient to cover all of your damages, you can obtain further compensation from your own insurance company if you have underinsured motorist coverage. You must make a formal claim against your insurance company for any deficiency.
 
If the insurance company does not want to settle within the policy limits, and you are forced to file a lawsuit and go to trial, there is yet another opportunity to obtain compensation above the insurance policy limits. If you have made a reasonable demand within the policy limits, the insurance company refuses the offer, and you are awarded more than the insurance policy limit at trial, the insurance company will be required to pay the full judgment even though it is more than the insurance policy limit. This is called “opening up the policy”. This is only possible if the insurance company was given all information necessary for them to make a decision, and sufficient time to evaluate all of the information. The further steps required to obtain the full judgment will depend on the facts of each case.

California is a comparative negligence state, meaning that any compensation you receive for your injuries will be reduced by the percentage of your fault in the incident that caused your injuries. For example, if you reach a settlement of $10,000, but you are 50% at fault, you will only receive $5,000.

If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident, from a defective product, from slipping and falling due to a property owner’s fault, or otherwise being injured due to the fault of another, you may be compensated in a wide variety of ways. Although this list is not exhaustive, you can typically be compensated for economic damages [such as past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages from work, and car rental fees (for motor vehicle accident)], and non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering, and emotional distress). Your spouse may also have a claim for loss of consortium (loss of your love, companionship, affection, etc.)

The attorney obtains all relevant information regarding the matter. They then send a letter of representation to the insurance companies involved. If you have been injured, and are being treated (e.g., physical therapy), the attorney waits until all of your treatment is complete. The attorney then requests all bills that arose as a result of the incident, including hospital fees, physical therapy fees, diagnostic test fees, etc.
 
The attorney then drafts and sends a demand letter to the insurance company of the responsible party, explaining the facts of the case, proving the accident is the fault of the responsible party, explaining all injuries you have that resulted from the incident, and whether you still have any remaining health issues as a result of the incident.
 
If the responsible party’s insurance company has accepted liability on behalf of their insured, they will evaluate the case and provide an initial offer. If the offer is not satisfactory to you, the attorney will make counter-offers on your behalf after discussing the offers/counter-offers with you. This negotiation continues until a satisfactory settlement amount is reached. If no satisfactory settlement is reached, you can then file a lawsuit against the responsible party.

After the lawsuit is filed (by filing what is called a “complaint”), and all relevant parties are served with the complaint, the responsible party (called the defendant) is required to respond to the complaint with an answer (document that includes their defenses against the allegations in the lawsuit). The case then enters the discovery phase, where each party [you (the plaintiff) and defendant, through your respective attorneys] can ask questions and obtain documents relating to the case so each side has sufficient evidence to prove their case at trial.
 
Examples of the different forms of discovery include interrogatories (written questions), requests for production of documents, and admissions (where one attempts to have the other side admit certain facts to reduce issues at trial and/or help prove their case). There are also verbal questions asked during a deposition. You may also be asked to visit a doctor designated by the insurance company of the responsible party for a defense medical exam (also called “independent medical exam”, but many question whether it is really “independent” as the doctor is hired and paid by the insurance company of the defendant, hence the reason why some call it a defense medical exam).
 
The parties may try to settle the case during a mediation, where a third party helps facilitate resolution of the case. If the case cannot be satisfactorily settled, then the case proceeds to trial.

Your attorney typically makes most appearances by themselves. You will generally only need to go to court if the case goes to trial, so you will be present during the trial.

The answer to this question will depend on the facts of your case. It could take just a few months if a settlement is reached with the insurance company. It is also possible settlement could be reached quickly once a lawsuit is filed, but this is not typical. If you have to file a lawsuit and the case goes to trial, the case could take substantially longer, especially if there are delays in obtaining a trial date, or other delays.