University City sits in the middle of some of the busiest driving in San Diego. It wraps around the I-5 and I-805 merge, with UCSD to the west, the shopping and office towers of UTC to the north, and quieter residential streets around Governor Drive to the south. People move through here constantly. Students, biotech and tech workers heading to jobs off Genesee, and families running errands near Nobel Drive all share the same crowded ramps and arterials. All that traffic means more chances for someone to get hurt.
The freeway connectors are the obvious risk. The merge where the 5 and 805 come together backs up fast, and a distracted driver rear-ending stopped traffic can cause real injuries. But a lot of the crashes we see here happen on the surface streets. Genesee, Nobel, Governor, and La Jolla Village Drive carry heavy traffic near the malls and office parks, and left-turn collisions and rear-enders are common. Pedestrians crossing near UTC and cyclists riding the bike lanes around campus are especially exposed. When a car and a person on foot or on a bike collide, the person outside the vehicle almost always takes the worst of it.
If you were hurt in a crash in University City, and it was not mostly your fault, you may have a claim for your medical bills, your lost income, and the pain you have had to live with. What you do in the first days after the wreck matters.
After an Accident in University City
California gives you a limited window to file a personal injury lawsuit. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, the deadline is generally two years from the date of the injury. That sounds like a long time, but it goes by faster than people expect, and if you miss it, the court can throw your case out no matter how badly you were hurt. If a government agency is involved, say a city vehicle or a dangerous condition on a public road, the deadline to file a claim can be much shorter, sometimes just a matter of months. Do not assume you have plenty of time.
Evidence fades quickly. Skid marks get washed away, vehicles get repaired, and witnesses forget what they saw or move on. Photos of the scene, the cars, and your injuries help. So do the names and numbers of anyone who stopped. The single most important thing, though, is getting medical care and following through with it. See a doctor even if you feel like you can tough it out, because adrenaline hides injuries and some of the worst ones, like back injuries and neck injuries, do not show their full weight for days. Your medical records become the backbone of your claim.
Then there is the insurance company. Not long after a crash, an adjuster will probably call, sounding friendly and eager to help. Their job is to close your claim for as little as possible. They may ask for a recorded statement or float a quick settlement before you even know how hurt you are. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer, and you should be careful about signing anything before you understand what your case is worth. That is where having Joe in your corner changes the conversation.
Accidents We Handle in University City
Most of what we handle here starts with a vehicle. Car accidents on the freeways and arterials are the bread and butter, and we also take truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and rideshare accidents involving Uber and Lyft drivers ferrying people to and from UTC and the coast.
With so many people walking near the mall and biking around campus, pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents are a serious problem in this part of the city. We also handle slip and fall and other premises liability cases when a property owner lets a hazard go unaddressed, and we take on the hardest cases of all, wrongful death claims when a family loses someone. If you are not sure whether what happened to you fits, our personal injury page lays out the basics.
A quick word on fault. California is a pure comparative fault state, which means that even if you were partly to blame, you can still recover. Your share of the fault just reduces what you collect. So do not talk yourself out of calling because you think you did something wrong. Let us look at the facts first.
Why Choose Joe Crudo
When you hire Crudo Law, Joe Crudo handles your case personally. You are not passed to an associate or left waiting on a paralegal for updates. You have direct access to the attorney making the decisions on your file, and you can reach him.
Insurance companies have teams of adjusters and lawyers whose whole job is paying you less. Joe knows how they work, and he is not shy about pushing back. He builds the file, documents the injuries, deals with the medical liens, and puts real pressure on the insurer to pay what the case is worth. If they will not be reasonable, he is ready to take it further.
Crudo Law is a family firm. Joe is a San Diego native, a UC San Diego grad who went on to Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and he has been a member of the California Bar since 2009. He practices alongside his father, Frank Crudo, who has been a San Diego attorney since 1975. That is a lot of local experience under one roof, and it stays in San Diego where your case is. You can read more on our about page or look through common questions on our FAQ.
Talk to Joe Today
If you were hurt in an accident in University City, the two-year clock is already running, and the insurance company is already working. Call Crudo Law at (858) 622-7280 or reach us through our contact page for a free and confidential consultation. Most injury cases are handled on contingency, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. Joe will give you an honest read on where you stand. This page is general information, not legal advice, and every case turns on its own facts.