Redondo Beach Car Accident Lawyer

Reviewed by David Gammill, California trial attorney · Last reviewed: September 24, 2026

If you were hurt in a car crash in Redondo Beach that another driver caused, California law lets you recover your medical bills, lost income, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering, and it puts a deadline on doing it. Gammill Law Accident & Injury Lawyers is a South Bay trial firm that represents injured drivers, passengers, cyclists, and families in Redondo Beach and across the South Bay. The firm has recovered more than $100 million for California clients across verdicts and settlements. Its results include a $21.1 million wrongful death verdict, a $16 million school sexual abuse verdict, and a $12 million whistleblower retaliation verdict; every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

• The deadline: most California car accident lawsuits must be filed within two years of the crash. If a city or state vehicle or roadway is involved, a written claim is due within six months.
• The local reality: in 2022, 333 people were killed or injured in Redondo Beach traffic crashes and the Office of Traffic Safety’s crash rankings placed the city worst of 104 cities its size; in 2023 the count eased to 318, eighth worst of 103.
• The insurance floor: California drivers are required to carry only $30,000 per person in liability coverage, so your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage often matters as much as the other driver’s policy.
• The first step: a free, confidential case evaluation with an attorney. Call 310-750-4149 any time, day or night.

Where Redondo Beach Car Accidents Happen

Redondo Beach is a coastal city in two halves, and its crashes follow its arterials. North Redondo is an inland grid: Artesia Boulevard, Aviation Boulevard, Inglewood Avenue, Manhattan Beach Boulevard, and the 190th Street and Anita Street corridor. The coastal south runs on Pacific Coast Highway, which is State Route 1, with Catalina Avenue, Torrance Boulevard, and Prospect Avenue feeding the Pier and King Harbor. No freeway runs through the city; the 405 lies to the east, so Redondo Beach crashes happen on streets with cross traffic, driveways, and people on foot or on bikes. The City’s own 2024 housing-element traffic study, with counts taken in late 2023, measured about 46,000 to 47,000 vehicles a day on Hawthorne Boulevard between Artesia Boulevard and 190th Street, the busiest corridor it studied. It put about 28,000 to 29,000 vehicles a day on Artesia Boulevard, and about 24,000 vehicles a day on Pacific Coast Highway near Palos Verdes Boulevard. The study also rated two intersections at its lowest level of service in the peak hours: 190th Street and Anita Street at Flagler Lane, and Prospect Avenue at PCH. The Pier, King Harbor, and the Esplanade draw visitors from across the region and fill PCH, Torrance Boulevard, and Catalina Avenue on evenings and weekends. That does not make any one place responsible for a crash.

The state’s numbers put 2022 as the peak year. According to the Office of Traffic Safety’s crash rankings for Redondo Beach, 272 people were killed or injured in the city’s crashes in 2019, 296 in 2021, 333 in 2022, and 318 in 2023; the state did not publish a 2020 ranking for the city. In 2022 the rankings counted 78 alcohol-involved victims in Redondo Beach, the worst of 104 cities its size, and 52 in 2023, eighth of 103. In the same rankings the city’s DUI arrest counts sat near the bottom of its group, 266 arrests in 2022 (103rd of 104) and 196 in 2023 (95th of 103); the two figures measure different things, crash outcomes and enforcement activity, and neither explains the other. The City’s own crash-cause record says what goes wrong: the Redondo Beach Police Department’s March 2022 report to the City Council listed unsafe turning movements and unsafe speed as the two most common primary collision factors in each of 2019, 2020, and 2021. In 2021 the City’s report counted 118 crashes with an unsafe turn as the primary factor and 100 with unsafe speed. Driving under the influence was the third most common factor in that report for 2020 and 2021, with 91 crashes in 2021. The state’s count agrees on speed: the rankings recorded 47 speed-related injury crashes in Redondo Beach in 2023 (18th of 103). The city also recorded 51 nighttime injury crashes in 2022 (third of 104), a 2022 picture and not the present. On a car accident page the bicycle number matters, because a driver who strikes a cyclist is a car accident case in every legal sense: 41 bicyclists were hurt or killed in Redondo Beach crashes in 2022 (fifth of 104) and 32 in 2023 (sixth of 103), and the rankings count riders who were hurt without saying why or assigning fault to anyone. Pedestrians hurt or killed in the city numbered 22 in 2023 (32nd of 103), and in 2022 the rankings counted 9 pedestrians aged 65 and older hurt or killed (fourth of 104). Drivers must yield to people in marked and unmarked crosswalks under Vehicle Code § 21950, and a driver who ignores that duty is liable on Catalina Avenue or on a side street. Hit-and-run is the category the City’s own police flagged: the City recorded 255 hit-and-run collisions of all severities in 2021, above its prior five-year average of 215, the one category its police department called an outlier that year. The state counts a narrower set, and in 2023 the Office of Traffic Safety’s rankings recorded 22 hit-and-run crashes in Redondo Beach that killed or injured someone (31st of 103).

Redondo Beach runs its own police force with a dedicated Traffic Division, so a crash on a city street is written up by the Redondo Beach Police Department, 401 Diamond Street, and that report becomes the first document every insurer reads. The City has been active on the roads the rankings describe: the Office of Traffic Safety funded a $155,000 traffic-enforcement grant for the year to September 2024 and a $160,000 grant for the year to September 2025, according to the City Council’s own grant records. On the roadway side, the City’s capital program lists a $2.5 million left-turn project at Anita Street and Herondo Street at Pacific Coast Highway as completed in spring 2025. The record a public entity keeps about its own roads matters in a crash case, and a completed project is evidence in both directions, including an immunity the public entity may raise.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Redondo Beach

Call 911 and get medical care first, even if you feel fine; adrenaline masks injuries for hours, and the nearest emergency rooms are in Torrance. Redondo Beach runs its own police department, so a crash on a city street will usually be handled by Redondo Beach officers, and their report becomes the first document every insurer reads. Get the report number before you leave the scene. Photograph the vehicles, the intersection, the signals, and any skid marks or debris. Get the other driver’s license, insurance card, and plate, and the names and numbers of witnesses. Say nothing about fault to anyone, and do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer before you have spoken with a lawyer. Our step-by-step guide on what to do after a crash covers the first 72 hours in detail.

If the other driver left, report it immediately. A prompt police report is a condition of most uninsured motorist claims. Our guide to Vehicle Code § 20001 and hit-and-run injury crashes explains what the law requires and how a claim proceeds when the driver is never found. And download our free guide, Crash Course: A California Car Accident Guide (2026), to keep every deadline and first step in one place.

The Deadlines That Control a Redondo Beach Car Accident Case

Most California car accident claims must be filed within two years. Under CCP § 335.1, the clock starts the day of the crash, and courts rarely excuse a missed deadline. Our plain-English guide to CCP § 335.1, California’s two-year statute of limitations, covers the rule and its narrow exceptions.

Government cases move much faster. If a city vehicle, a malfunctioning signal, or a dangerous stretch of road played a role, Government Code § 911.2 requires a written claim to the right public entity within six months, before any lawsuit. In Redondo Beach that entity is usually the City of Redondo Beach for city streets, signals, and City vehicles; a crash on PCH can point at Caltrans, because PCH is State Route 1 and part of the state highway system; and the County of Los Angeles is the entity only where a county-run facility is involved. When the road itself is part of the case, Government Code § 835 sets the test for a dangerous condition of public property, and the six-month claim is the first step under it. Our guide to the California government claim deadline walks through the sequence. We identify the correct entity and file on time.

Where the case is heard. Most Redondo Beach car accident lawsuits are filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Southwest District, at either the Torrance Courthouse or the Inglewood Courthouse.

The Insurance Reality in a Redondo Beach Crash

California requires drivers to carry only minimum liability coverage of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage (Vehicle Code § 16451, for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025). A single emergency room visit can exceed the per-person minimum. The real work in a Redondo Beach car accident case is finding every source of coverage that legally applies: the at-fault driver’s policy, an employer’s policy if that driver was working, a rideshare company’s policy if the trip was on the app, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The hit-and-run and alcohol numbers above make that last layer matter here: when the driver flees, or had been drinking and carries only the minimum, the victim’s own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is often the policy that pays, and it carries strict notice conditions, so get advice early. That coverage reaches further than most people expect: a cyclist or pedestrian struck by a car may claim on their own auto policy’s uninsured motorist coverage even though no car of theirs was involved. If the other vehicle was working for Uber or Lyft, a nightly fact along the waterfront nightlife district, our rideshare page explains how those policies layer.

How Fault Is Decided in a California Car Accident

California is a fault state: the driver who caused the crash, and that driver’s insurer, pay for the harm. Fault is proven with the Redondo Beach Police Department report, the physical evidence, the vehicles, witness accounts, and, increasingly, video from intersection cameras, businesses, and dashcams that is overwritten within days if no one asks for it. The City’s own traffic study can be evidence too, because it records how an intersection was known to operate before the crash. Speed is often the argument, and under Vehicle Code § 22350, the basic speed law, a driver can be at fault for a speed that was unsafe for the conditions even below the number on the sign. Partial fault does not bar your claim. California follows a pure comparative negligence rule: your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, never eliminated by it. Insurers exaggerate your share for exactly that reason, and we push back with evidence. Where the other driver had been drinking, Civil Code § 3294 allows a jury to consider punitive damages in the right case; the 78 alcohol-involved crash victims the state counted in Redondo Beach in 2022 show why that question comes up here. Our Torrance car accident attorney page explains how we build and prove crash cases across the South Bay.

What a Redondo Beach Car Accident Claim Can Recover

California law allows injured people to recover economic damages, meaning documented losses like emergency care, surgery, therapy, medications, future treatment, lost income, and vehicle repair or replacement, and non-economic damages, meaning the human losses: pain, anxiety, lost sleep, and the activities an injury takes away. When a crash takes a life, the family’s claim is a wrongful death claim with its own rules; our wrongful death page explains them. If the crash caused a spinal cord injury, our guide to spinal cord injury claims in California explains how those cases are valued.

Why Redondo Beach Drivers Choose Gammill Law

A South Bay Trial Firm

Our office is in Torrance, on Del Amo Boulevard at Hawthorne Boulevard, inland from the beach cities, and our attorneys bring more than 40 years of combined legal experience to every case we take. We prepare every case for trial from the first meeting, because insurers price a claim differently when the lawyer across the table will finish the fight in front of a jury.

No Fees Unless We Win

We work on a contingency fee: nothing upfront, no hourly bills, and a fee only out of the recovery, under a written contingency fee agreement that complies with California law.

We Come to You

Injured and unable to travel? We meet clients at the hospital, at home, or wherever recovery requires, and an initial consultation can be held by Zoom video. Call 310-750-4149 any time, including nights, weekends, and holidays.

How Do I Find the Best Redondo Beach Car Accident Lawyer?

Start with trial experience, because the value an insurer puts on your claim depends on whether your lawyer is ready to try the case. David Gammill has tried over 100 cases to verdict. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Before that, he spent seven years as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, so he knows how the other side prepares a case. Two practical questions cut through the rest: will the lawyer who signs you up be the one who handles your case, and can the firm point to real results in cases like yours? The firm’s record is set out above.

Frequently Asked Questions About Redondo Beach Car Accidents

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Redondo Beach?

Two years from the date of the crash for most claims, under CCP § 335.1. If a public entity is involved, such as the City of Redondo Beach or Caltrans, a written claim is due within six months under Gov. Code § 911.2, and that shorter deadline controls.

The driver who hit me on Artesia Boulevard drove off. Can I still recover?

Yes, and you are not alone in that position: the City of Redondo Beach recorded 255 hit-and-run collisions of all severities in 2021, by its own police department’s count. Report the crash to the Redondo Beach Police Department right away; the driver had a legal duty to stop and stay, and the report is usually a condition of the claim that follows. If the driver is identified, the claim runs against that driver’s liability policy. If the driver is never found, your own uninsured motorist coverage is usually the policy that pays, and it has short notice requirements, which is why the police report and an early call to a lawyer both matter. Artesia Boulevard is one of the busiest corridors in North Redondo, and a crash there often leaves video on nearby cameras that is overwritten within days if no one asks for it.

The insurance adjuster already offered me money. Should I take it?

Not before you know what your injuries are and what the claim is worth. An early offer is priced on what the insurer hopes you do not yet know. Get a free evaluation first; there is no cost and no obligation.

How much does it cost to hire Gammill Law?

Nothing upfront and nothing out of pocket. Our fee is a percentage of the recovery, collected only if we win. Our guide to what a personal injury lawyer costs shows the math plainly.

Serving Redondo Beach and the Whole South Bay

Gammill Law represents people injured in car accidents in Redondo Beach and throughout the South Bay, including Torrance, Gardena, Inglewood, Carson, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Lomita, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. For other Redondo Beach injury cases, start at our Redondo Beach personal injury attorney page.

Get Started Now: 100% Free, Zero Risk

Your free case review includes a real evaluation with an experienced attorney, a clear explanation of your options, and an honest assessment of what your claim is worth. No obligation, and everything you share is confidential.

Get your free case evaluation or call 310-750-4149 now. There are no upfront legal fees; a fee is collected only if we win.

This page is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice for any specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes are fact-specific; consult a licensed California attorney about your own circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.