Northridge Personal Injury Lawyer

Northridge Personal Injury & Accident Lawyer

Hurt in a Northridge accident? Here is what to know.

• We represent Northridge residents and visitors injured on the 118 (Ronald Reagan) Freeway, on Reseda Boulevard, on Tampa Avenue, on Devonshire Street, on Nordhoff Street, and on the residential streets surrounding California State University Northridge (CSUN).
• Practice areas include car crashes, motorcycle wrecks, pedestrian and cyclist collisions (especially around CSUN), rideshare and food-delivery driver cases, slip-and-falls at strip malls and Northridge Fashion Center, dog bites, and Metro Bus collisions.
• 2-year statute of limitations under CCP § 335.1. 6-month government-claim deadline under Gov Code § 911.2 for cases involving Metro, LADOT, CSUN police, or other public-agency vehicles or property.
• No fees unless we recover money for you. Free initial review.
• Call or text (888) 800-6731 or submit your case online.

Yaghmai Law Firm, APC represents Northridge residents, CSUN students and staff, and visitors injured in collisions across the central-north San Fernando Valley. Northridge sits in LA City, in LA County, in zip codes 91324, 91325, and 91326, with the CSUN campus as the dominant neighborhood landmark; the 118 freeway forms the northern boundary and Roscoe Boulevard the southern.

Our office is in Sherman Oaks, roughly 7 miles south. We handle Northridge personal-injury cases on no-fee-unless-we-win contingency, and we know the local pattern — CSUN student pedestrian crashes, Reseda Boulevard intersection collisions, 118 freeway pile-ups, and the Northridge Fashion Center premises-liability docket. All Northridge PI cases are filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown LA per LASC Local Rule 2.3.

Recent CHP-Reported Incidents in Northridge

Recent California Highway Patrol incidents inside the Northridge geographic bounding box:

No Win, No Fee Representation

Northridge cases are handled on pure contingency. No up-front fee, no hourly billing, no consultation charge. We get paid only when we recover compensation.

Types of Northridge Personal Injury Cases We Handle

Northridge’s case mix is heavily driven by CSUN (the largest student population in the CSU system) and by the 118 freeway corridor. The matters we see:

• CSUN-area pedestrian and bicycle crashes. The CSUN campus border streets — Reseda Boulevard, Nordhoff Street, Zelzah Avenue, Lassen Street — carry heavy student foot and bicycle traffic. Vehicle-vs-pedestrian and vehicle-vs-cyclist crashes happen daily during the school year, especially at the unsignalized crosswalks.
• 118 freeway rear-end and lane-change crashes. The Ronald Reagan Freeway (118) runs along Northridge’s northern boundary; the on/off ramps at Reseda, Tampa, and Balboa generate stop-and-go rear-ends and merge-fail sideswipes. The freeway also has higher-than-average truck volume serving the warehouses to the north.
• Reseda Boulevard intersection crashes. Reseda Boulevard is the spine of Northridge, running from the 118 down through campus and continuing south. Left-turn-across-traffic, red-light-runner, and rear-end-at-red crashes happen routinely at Devonshire, Plummer, Nordhoff, Roscoe, and Saticoy.
• Slip-and-falls at Northridge Fashion Center and the Northridge Mall surrounds. The mall complex, anchor stores, parking garages, and surrounding strip malls produce premises-liability claims from wet floors, escalator incidents, parking-lot trip hazards, and inadequate lighting.
• Rideshare and food-delivery driver crashes. Heavy Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and GrubHub volume around CSUN and Northridge Fashion Center produces passenger-injury and pedestrian-hit cases under Public Utilities Code § 5433.
• Metro Bus and LADOT collisions. Lines 240, 158, 165, 166, 167, 168, and the Metro Orange Line all run through or near Northridge. If a public-agency bus was involved, the 6-month government-claim deadline under Gov Code § 911.2 applies and the procedural posture changes.

Common Causes of Northridge Accidents

Distracted driving by CSUN-area commuters, speeding on Devonshire and Roscoe, drivers running red lights at Reseda/Nordhoff and Reseda/Plummer, fatigued drivers (faculty and students after late evening classes or library), drivers failing to yield at unsignalized CSUN-perimeter crosswalks, impaired drivers leaving Reseda Boulevard bars, and rideshare drivers stopping suddenly mid-block to pick up CSUN students.

Common Injuries in Northridge Personal Injury Cases

Whiplash and cervical-spine injuries dominate the car-crash docket. Pedestrian-vs-vehicle crashes at CSUN-perimeter crosswalks produce broken legs, fractured pelvis, internal organ injuries, and serious TBI from head-strike on pavement. Cyclist-vs-vehicle crashes produce broken clavicles, separated shoulders, road-rash, and TBI. Slip-and-falls at the Fashion Center produce fractured hips and wrists (especially in older shoppers) and TBIs from same-level falls onto polished concrete or tile.

What Your Northridge Personal Injury Case Is Worth

Northridge PI cases route to the Los Angeles Superior Court Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, downtown Los Angeles. Drive is roughly 22 miles southeast on the 405 and 101 to the 110, typically 45 to 75 minutes. LASC Local Rule 2.3 and the General Order on Personal Injury Cases route all unlimited-jurisdiction LA County PI matters to Stanley Mosk after the Spring Street PI Hub was phased out on January 8, 2024.

Stanley Mosk juries are LA-County-wide, which is generally favorable for Northridge plaintiffs (broader pool than Valley-only). Case value depends on diagnostic imaging, treatment trajectory, residual symptoms, lost wages (a substantial Northridge plaintiff demographic is CSUN students with future-earning-capacity claims rather than past-wages claims), and the at-fault driver’s policy limits. CSUN student plaintiffs sometimes benefit from a future-earnings analysis showing trajectory delay or career impairment.

California Law That Applies to Northridge Personal Injury Cases

• CCP § 335.1 — 2-year personal-injury statute of limitations.
• Gov Code § 911.2 — 6-month government-claim deadline (Metro, LADOT, CSUN police, CSU Board of Trustees).
• CVC § 21950 — pedestrian right-of-way in crosswalks (relevant to CSUN-perimeter crashes).
• CVC § 21202 — bicycle right-side riding exceptions.
• Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 — pure comparative fault.
• Civil Code § 3342 — California strict-liability dog-bite statute.
• Public Utilities Code § 5433 — rideshare TNC Periods 1/2/3 insurance.
• Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200 — constructive-notice analysis for slip-and-fall claims.

Why Northridge Residents Choose Yaghmai Law Firm

CSUN students and the broader Northridge community often deal with PI cases that involve future-earning-capacity claims (impact on academic and career trajectory) and pedestrian/cyclist liability issues that the high-volume Valley injury mills don’t take seriously. We do.

“You do not need to know what your case is worth before you call. Figuring that out is my job, and we start with a real conversation.”

— Houtan Yaghmai, Esq., President & Managing Attorney

We serve Northridge clients in English, French, and Persian fluently. For Spanish-speaking clients (a substantial portion of Northridge) we provide a certified Spanish interpreter at no cost for meetings, depositions, and court appearances. No office visits required — phone, text, video, e-signature, and we come to you for hospital intake or homebound clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

I am a CSUN student hit walking through a crosswalk. What happens to my case?

California Vehicle Code § 21950 gives pedestrians the right of way in marked and unmarked crosswalks at intersections. The driver was almost certainly negligent. The case also typically includes a future-earnings analysis because an injury that delays graduation or impairs early-career trajectory drives substantial damages even when current wages are minimal. We model the impact with the student’s major, expected graduation date, and career-path data.

Where is a Northridge personal-injury lawsuit filed?

Los Angeles Superior Court Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, downtown Los Angeles. LASC Local Rule 2.3 and the post-January-2024 General Order route every unlimited-jurisdiction LA County PI case to Stanley Mosk after the Spring Street PI Hub was phased out on January 8, 2024.

What if a CSUN police vehicle or campus shuttle hit me?

CSUN police vehicles are operated under the CSU Board of Trustees (a state agency); campus shuttles may be agency or contractor. Either way, the 6-month government-claim deadline under Gov Code § 911.2 applies. Filing the claim within the 6-month window is a hard prerequisite to a lawsuit. Call us immediately so we identify the correct agency and serve the claim on time.

How long do I have to sue for a Northridge accident?

2 years for personal injury under CCP § 335.1. 3 years for property damage. 6 months if a Metro Bus, LADOT vehicle, LAUSD vehicle, CSUN-affiliated vehicle, City of LA vehicle, County of LA vehicle, or state vehicle was involved.

I was bitten by a dog on a residential Northridge street. Do I have a case?

Yes, typically. California Civil Code § 3342 imposes strict liability on the dog owner regardless of whether the dog had a known bite history. Claim runs against the owner’s homeowner or renter insurance. Bring ER records, photos of the wound, and the owner’s name and address.

I fell at the Northridge Fashion Center. Can I sue the mall?

Possibly, depending on whether the mall (or the specific store) had constructive notice of the hazard. Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200 controls the analysis: the mall has to inspect with reasonable frequency, and unreasonable inspection intervals are evidence of negligence. We obtain the mall’s inspection-log records (often via subpoena) and security-camera footage to prove the hazard existed long enough to be discovered.

How much does it cost to hire a Northridge personal-injury lawyer?

Nothing up front. Pure contingency. We advance every cost of the case — investigators, records, accident-reconstruction experts, medical-expert reports, deposition transcripts — and we only get paid if we recover money for you. Free initial consultation, no obligation.

Do I have to visit your office?

No. Northridge clients run their cases remotely — phone, text, video, and e-signature. We come to you for hospital intake at Northridge Hospital Medical Center or West Hills Hospital, or for homebound clients. The drive from Sherman Oaks is roughly 8 miles.

Related Practice Areas

Northridge cases regularly involve multiple related practice areas:

• Car Accident Lawyer (Los Angeles)
• Pedestrian Accident Attorney
• Bicycle Accident Lawyer
• Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
• Uber Accident Lawyer
• Brain Injury Lawyer
• Bus Accident Lawyer
• Personal Injury Hub

Reviewed by Houtan Yaghmai, Esq., President & Managing Attorney. Admitted to practice law in California (State Bar No. 298487). He represents personal injury and immigration clients statewide.

Last updated: May 30, 2026.