What Should I Do Immediately After a Car Accident in Burbank, CA? | Essential Steps

By Payam Soliemanzadeh, Founder and President

Key takeaways

• Collisions on Interstate 5, State Route 134, State Route 170, or major corridors like Victory Boulevard and Olive Avenue require an SR-1 report to the DMV within 10 days if injury or damage exceeds $1,000.
• Serious injuries may require transport to Huntington Hospital, a Level II trauma center in Pasadena, and that transport record becomes evidence in your claim.
• You have two years under CCP §335.1 to file a personal injury lawsuit, but only six months under Government Code §911.2 if a city bus or public entity is involved.
• Any car accident lawsuit arising in Burbank is filed at the Burbank Courthouse, 300 East Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502, in the North Central District of the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Burbank sits at the junction of three major Southern California freeways—Interstate 5, State Route 134, and State Route 170—making it a high-traffic crossroads for commuters heading to Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, and the San Fernando Valley. Collisions on these routes, and on heavily traveled surface streets like Victory Boulevard, San Fernando Boulevard, and Olive Avenue, happen daily and range from minor fender-benders to catastrophic multi-vehicle crashes. What you do in the first minutes and hours after impact can determine whether you recover full compensation or lose critical evidence forever.

California law imposes strict reporting deadlines, mandates specific information exchanges, and starts the clock on your right to sue the moment metal meets metal. This guide explains the precise steps required under California's Vehicle Code and Civil Procedure Code, the local resources available in Burbank, and the practical realities of navigating a car accident claim in Los Angeles County. Every instruction is rooted in statute and tied to the roads, hospitals, and courthouse that will shape your case.

Secure the scene and check for injuries

The first priority is safety. If your vehicle is drivable and the collision is minor, move it out of traffic lanes to the shoulder or a nearby parking lot. On high-speed corridors like the Golden State Freeway or the Ventura Freeway, leaving a disabled car in a travel lane creates secondary-collision risk. Turn on hazard lights, deploy flares or reflective triangles if you have them, and check yourself and all passengers for injury.

If anyone reports pain, visible bleeding, loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, or suspected fractures, call 911 immediately. Do not attempt to move an injured person unless fire or explosion is imminent. Burbank is served by the Burbank Fire Department and Burbank Police Department, and serious trauma cases are often transported to Huntington Hospital at 100 West California Boulevard in Pasadena, a Level II trauma center. Even if you feel fine at the scene, adrenaline masks pain; soft-tissue injuries, concussions, and internal bleeding may not manifest symptoms for hours or days, so seek a medical evaluation within 24 hours.

Exchange information and comply with Vehicle Code §16025

California Vehicle Code §16025 requires every driver involved in a collision to exchange name, address, driver's license number, vehicle registration, and insurance information with the other party. If the other driver refuses or flees, note the license plate, make, model, and color of the vehicle and report it to police as a hit-and-run. Failure to stop and exchange information is a misdemeanor and, if someone was injured, a felony.

Photograph both drivers' licenses, insurance cards, and vehicle registration documents with your phone. Capture the other driver's license plate and the VIN visible through the windshield. If the other driver claims to have no insurance, still collect their contact information; California requires liability coverage under Vehicle Code §16056, and you may pursue an uninsured-motorist claim with your own carrier. Do not argue about fault or sign any document other than a police report or traffic citation.

Document the scene thoroughly

Physical evidence disappears quickly. Skid marks fade, debris is swept away, and damaged vehicles are towed to salvage yards or repaired. Use your smartphone to photograph the positions of all vehicles before they are moved, the final resting points, all visible damage to every vehicle, street signs, traffic signals, lane markings, and any posted speed limits. Take wide shots that show the entire intersection or freeway segment, then close-ups of dents, broken glass, deployed airbags, and fluid leaks.

If the collision occurred at a known hazard—a poorly marked merge on the Hollywood Freeway, a faded stop bar at Victory Boulevard and San Fernando Boulevard, or a malfunctioning signal on Olive Avenue—photograph the defect. If road construction, potholes, or debris contributed to the crash, document it. These images become exhibits in settlement negotiations and, if necessary, at trial in the Burbank Courthouse. Also photograph your own visible injuries: bruises, lacerations, swelling, or abrasions. If you later require surgery or develop chronic pain, before-and-after comparisons are powerful evidence of causation and progression.

Obtain witness statements and contact information

Independent witnesses carry enormous weight because they have no financial stake in the outcome. If pedestrians, other drivers, or business employees saw the collision, approach them politely and ask if they would be willing to provide their name, phone number, and a brief account of what they observed. Do not coach or lead them; simply ask, "What did you see?" Record their statement on your phone if they consent, or write down their words verbatim.

In cases involving conflicting stories—especially left-turn collisions, lane-change disputes, or rear-end crashes where the at-fault driver claims you reversed into them—a single neutral witness can mean the difference between a denied claim and full recovery. If no witnesses remain at the scene, check nearby businesses for surveillance cameras. Many gas stations, retail stores, and office buildings along San Fernando Boulevard and Olive Avenue have exterior cameras that capture adjacent roadways, and that footage is typically overwritten every 30 to 90 days.

Report the collision to law enforcement and the DMV

California Vehicle Code §20008 requires any driver involved in a collision resulting in injury or death to file a written report with the police or California Highway Patrol within 24 hours. In Burbank, call the Burbank Police Department non-emergency line or, if the crash occurred on Interstate 5, State Route 134, or State Route 170, contact the CHP. A police report creates an official record, assigns a case number, and often includes the officer's preliminary determination of fault, witness statements, and a diagram.

Separately, Vehicle Code §16000 requires every driver to file an SR-1 report (Report of Traffic Accident Occurring in California) with the Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days if the collision resulted in injury to any person or property damage exceeding $1,000 to any one party's vehicle or property. You must file even if the collision was not your fault and even if a police report was completed. The SR-1 form is available at https://www.dmv.ca.gov. Failure to file can result in suspension of your driver's license.

Seek medical care and preserve records

Many collision injuries—whiplash, concussion, disc herniations, torn rotator cuffs—do not produce immediate pain. Inflammation, muscle spasm, and nerve irritation develop over hours or days. If you wait weeks to see a doctor, the insurance adjuster will argue that your injuries were caused by a subsequent event or that they are not serious. Seek evaluation within 24 to 72 hours, even if you feel only minor soreness.

If emergency responders transported you from the scene, Huntington Hospital in Pasadena will generate an emergency-department record, ambulance report, and billing statement—all of which become evidence. If you were not transported, visit your primary-care physician, an urgent-care clinic, or a chiropractor. Describe every symptom: headache, neck stiffness, lower-back pain, numbness, dizziness, or nausea. Follow every referral for imaging, physical therapy, or specialist consultation, and keep copies of all records, prescriptions, and billing statements. Gaps in treatment give insurers ammunition to deny or lowball your claim.

Notify your insurer but protect your rights

Your own insurance policy requires prompt notice of any collision, and failure to report can void coverage. Call your carrier, provide the basic facts—date, time, location, other driver's information—and confirm that you are insured and that the collision is covered. If you carry uninsured-motorist or underinsured-motorist coverage (which California insurers must offer under Vehicle Code §16056), you may need to file a UM/UIM claim if the at-fault driver has no insurance or insufficient limits.

Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company without first consulting an attorney experienced in Burbank car accident cases. Adjusters are trained to elicit statements that minimize your injuries, suggest comparative fault, or lock you into a version of events before you have reviewed the police report or consulted counsel. Politely decline, saying, "I'm still gathering information and will respond through my attorney." You are under no legal obligation to provide a recorded statement to a third-party insurer.

Understand your filing deadlines

California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 gives you two years from the date of the collision to file a personal injury lawsuit. Miss that deadline by even one day and your claim is forever barred, no matter how serious your injuries or how clear the other driver's fault. If a government entity is involved—for example, a Burbank city bus, a Los Angeles County vehicle, or a Caltrans truck—Government Code §911.2 requires you to file a written administrative claim within six months of the collision. If that claim is denied or deemed denied, you then have six months to file suit. These deadlines are strictly enforced, and courts rarely grant extensions.

Property damage claims carry a separate three-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure §338, but in practice both injury and property claims are resolved together. The key point: if you are seriously injured, engage an attorney well before the two-year mark so that investigation, expert retention, and demand preparation can proceed without the pressure of an imminent deadline.

Local details

Any car accident lawsuit arising from a collision in Burbank is filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, North Central District, at the Burbank Courthouse located at 300 East Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502. This courthouse hears personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death cases for Burbank and surrounding communities. Familiarity with local filing procedures, mandatory settlement conferences, and the preferences of North Central District judges can streamline litigation and improve settlement prospects.

Burbank's geography places it at the convergence of three major freeways: Interstate 5 (the Golden State Freeway) runs north-south through the city's eastern edge; State Route 134 (the Ventura Freeway) cuts east-west through the center; and State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway) branches south toward the Hollywood Hills. High-speed merges, congested interchanges, and sudden lane closures make these corridors especially dangerous during morning and evening commutes. Surface streets like Victory Boulevard, Olive Avenue, and San Fernando Boulevard carry heavy local traffic, and intersections with short signal phases and limited visibility contribute to broadside and left-turn collisions.

Serious injuries from Burbank collisions often result in transport to Huntington Hospital, a Level II trauma center at 100 West California Boulevard in Pasadena. Huntington's emergency department, trauma surgery, orthopedics, and neurosurgery teams provide advanced care, and their records—ambulance reports, CT and MRI scans, operative notes, and discharge summaries—become foundational evidence in your case. If you were treated there, authorize your attorney to obtain complete records, including pre-hospital care reports from Burbank Fire paramedics.

Burbank is part of Los Angeles County, and county resources—including the Department of Public Works, which maintains certain surface streets, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates buses—may be defendants if roadway defects or transit-vehicle negligence contributed to your collision. Claims against county entities are subject to the six-month Government Code §911.2 deadline, so early investigation is critical.

Preserve electronic and physical evidence

Modern vehicles generate electronic data that can prove speed, braking, steering input, and seatbelt use at the moment of impact. Event data recorders (EDRs or "black boxes") are standard in most cars built after 2013. If the at-fault driver's insurer claims you were speeding or failed to brake, EDR data from your vehicle—or theirs—can refute that narrative. This data is fragile: it may be overwritten in a subsequent collision, or the vehicle may be totaled and sent to auction. Your attorney can send a preservation letter to the insurer and, if necessary, obtain a court order to download the EDR before it is lost.

Similarly, if your collision involved a commercial truck, bus, or fleet vehicle, the employer may be required to preserve driver logs, maintenance records, hiring files, and dash-cam footage under federal and state regulations. Spoliation—the destruction of evidence—can result in sanctions, adverse inference instructions, or even default judgment, but only if you act quickly to demand preservation in writing.

Know California's comparative negligence rule

California follows a rule of pure comparative negligence, meaning you can recover damages even if you were partially at fault, but your award is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If a jury finds you 30 percent at fault for changing lanes without signaling on State Route 134, and the other driver 70 percent at fault for speeding, you recover 70 percent of your proven damages. Insurers exploit this rule by exaggerating your contribution to the crash, which is why thorough documentation—photos, witness statements, police reports, and expert reconstruction—is essential.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to call the police after a minor fender-bender in Burbank?

California law does not require a police report for every collision, but Vehicle Code §20008 mandates a written report to police or CHP within 24 hours if anyone was injured. Even in seemingly minor collisions, you should call the Burbank Police Department or, if the crash occurred on a freeway, the CHP, because symptoms may appear later and a police report creates an independent record. You must also file an SR-1 report with the DMV within 10 days under Vehicle Code §16000 if injury occurred or property damage to any party exceeded $1,000.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a car accident in Burbank?

Under California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1, you have two years from the date of the collision to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a government entity—such as a Burbank city bus or a Caltrans maintenance truck—is involved, you must first file an administrative claim within six months under Government Code §911.2. Missing these deadlines typically bars your claim forever, so consult an attorney well before the deadline.

What if the other driver has no insurance?

California requires all drivers to carry liability insurance under Vehicle Code §16056, but many do not. If the at-fault driver is uninsured, you may file a claim under your own uninsured-motorist (UM) coverage, which California insurers must offer when you purchase a policy. If you rejected UM coverage in writing, you may still sue the at-fault driver personally, though collecting a judgment from an uninsured defendant is often difficult.

Should I accept the insurance company's first settlement offer?

Early settlement offers are almost always lower than the full value of your claim, because the insurer does not yet know the extent of your injuries, the cost of future treatment, or your lost earning capacity. Do not accept any offer or sign a release until you have completed treatment, consulted an attorney, and obtained a full evaluation of your economic and non-economic damages. Once you sign a release, you cannot reopen the claim if your condition worsens.

Can I recover damages if I was partially at fault for the accident?

Yes. California applies pure comparative negligence, meaning you can recover even if you were predominantly at fault, but your damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility. If you are found 40 percent at fault and your total damages are $100,000, you recover $60,000. Insurers will attempt to assign you maximum fault, so thorough documentation and expert testimony are critical to protecting your recovery.

Related reading

• Car Accident Practice Area
• Burbank Car Accident Claims
• What Should I Do Immediately After a Car Accident in Pasadena, CA?
• What Should I Do Immediately After a Car Accident in Culver City, CA? - Essential Steps
• What Should I Do Immediately After a Car Accident in La Mirada, CA? | Legal Guide

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