The Driver Who Hit You Was Arrested: Steps Every California Accident Victim Should Take Next

When the driver who caused your accident is arrested, the criminal justice system begins moving on its own timeline and toward its own goals. But, your medical bills, your lost income, and your long-term recovery belong to a separate legal track that only moves if you start it. An arrest is not compensation. The steps you take in the hours and days that follow determine whether you recover everything you are owed through a civil claim or settle for far less than you deserve. This guide walks you through exactly what to do, in order, and why each step matters.

Deadlines Are Triggered by the Accident, Not the Driver’s Arrest

When police arrest the driver who hit you, it can appear like justice is already in motion. In one sense, it is. However, the timeline for your right to seek damages began at the instant of the collision rather than the time of the arrest; this is because your civil lawsuit and the criminal proceedings operate on completely distinct paths.

California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 gives personal injury victims two years from the date of injury to file a civil lawsuit. That deadline does not pause for a DUI investigation, a criminal trial, or a sentencing date. If a government entity is involved — a city vehicle, a Caltrans road defect, a public bus — California Government Code § 911.2 compresses that window to just six months for the administrative claim that must precede any lawsuit.

The steps below are organized by urgency. Some must happen within hours. Others within days. All of them matter.

Phase One: At the Scene

Prioritize Your Safety and Medical Attention First

Before anything else, make sure you and any passengers are out of danger. If vehicles are blocking traffic and it is safe to move them, California law permits you to do so. Turn on your hazard lights. Check yourself and others for injuries — and do not underestimate adrenaline. It masks pain reliably. Injuries that feel minor at the scene often prove far more serious within hours or days.

Call 911 immediately if anyone is hurt. If you can, remain at the scene until law enforcement arrives. California Vehicle Code § 20008 requires drivers to notify law enforcement within 24 hours when a collision results in injury or death. In practice, calling 911 from the scene satisfies this requirement.

Accept medical evaluation when emergency responders arrive, even if you feel fine. That initial evaluation creates a medical record tying your condition to the accident, which becomes foundational evidence for your civil claim.

Document Everything You Can

While waiting for law enforcement, gather as much information as the scene allows.

Photograph:

• Vehicle positions
• Skid marks
• Traffic signals
• Road conditions
• Any visible injuries

Note:

• The time
• Weather conditions
• Exact location

Witnesses:

If there are witnesses, collect the following before they leave (bystanders disperse quickly and are rarely found afterward):

• Their names,
• Contact information

Do not make any statements to the other driver, their passengers, or anyone else about fault or the cause of the accident. What feels like a simple, polite remark at the scene can be used against you later.

Let the Police Do Their Job and Cooperate Fully

When law enforcement arrives, cooperate completely. Give a factual account of what happened. If the officer conducts field sobriety tests or a breathalyzer on the other driver, that process creates official documentation of impairment that will be directly relevant to your civil case.

Request the responding officer’s name, badge number, and the agency that will hold the accident report. 

In Southern California, accidents on freeways — including the 405, 5, 22, and 91 corridors through Orange County and Los Angeles County — are typically investigated by the California Highway Patrol, which issues a CHP 555 traffic collision report. City streets fall under local police departments. Knowing which agency holds the report tells you where to request it later.

See our guide on how to request police reports in Los Angeles County.

Phase Two: In the Days That Follow

Seek Comprehensive Medical Evaluation Even If You Feel Okay

The single most common mistake accident victims make is delaying medical care. This is also the mistake insurance companies most aggressively exploit.

Obvious symptoms are often absent immediately following a collision, even in cases of internal bleeding, soft tissue damage, traumatic brain injuries, or herniated discs. By the time they become undeniable, days or weeks may have passed. Without prompt medical documentation linking those injuries to the accident, the insurance company will argue the injuries were pre-existing or unrelated.

See a physician within 24 to 48 hours of the accident, regardless of how you feel. Follow through on all referrals and treatment recommendations. 

Keep all documentation related to the following, as these records serve as the financial foundation for your civil lawsuit:

• Emergency room visits
• Physician appointments
• Specialist referrals
• Physical therapy
• Prescriptions
• Out-of-pocket expenses.

File the SR-1 Form With the California DMV

This step surprises many accident victims, and missing it has consequences they do not expect.

Under California Vehicle Code § 16000, any driver involved in a collision that results in injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000 must file a Report of Traffic Accident (SR-1 form) with the California DMV within 10 calendar days of the accident. 

This is not a business-day deadline. It is not extended by holidays. And a police report does not satisfy this requirement. The SR-1 is a separate obligation filed directly with the DMV, and failure to file can result in suspension of your driving privileges under California Vehicle Code § 16004.

Most people involved in an injury accident involving an arrested driver will easily meet the damage threshold. Your attorney can file the SR-1 on your behalf, but only if retained promptly. If you hire an attorney after the 10-day window, you must file the form yourself.

The SR-1 form is available through the California DMV website and can be submitted online or by mail.

Notify Your Own Insurance Company

California law generally requires prompt reporting of accidents to your insurer. Notify your carrier with factual information about the accident (date, location, vehicles involved, and that injuries occurred). 

• Do not speculate about fault,
• Do not minimize your injuries, and
• Do not give a recorded statement without first consulting an attorney

This is important: your own insurer is not automatically on your side. Your insurance provider is not automatically aligned with your best interests, especially when claims involve underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage. In these scenarios, the insurance carrier may take a position that goes against your recovery. However, an experienced personal injury attorney can handle all communications with insurers so that your words cannot be used to reduce your recovery.

Do Not Give a Recorded Statement to the Other Driver’s Insurance Company

The other driver’s insurer will almost certainly contact you quickly. Their goal in doing so is not to help you. It is to gather information that limits what they pay you.

Recorded statements given in the days after an accident regularly produce statements that insurance adjusters use to dispute the severity of injuries or shift partial fault to the victim. You have no legal obligation to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Politely decline and refer them to your attorney.

Preserve Evidence Before It Disappears

Surveillance footage from nearby businesses, traffic cameras, and dashcams is routinely overwritten within 30 to 72 hours unless a formal preservation demand is issued. Your attorney can send a litigation hold letter immediately but only if retained in time.

Do not repair your vehicle until it has been thoroughly photographed and, if appropriate, inspected by an accident reconstruction expert. The damage pattern can establish impact speed and force, which directly bears on the severity of injury claims.

Keep a daily journal beginning the day after the accident. Record your symptoms, pain levels, limitations on daily activities, sleep disruption, emotional state, and any activities you are unable to perform. This personal record supports non-economic damage claims for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life — categories that can represent the majority of a serious injury recovery.

Phase Three: In the Weeks Ahead

Retain a Personal Injury Attorney Before the Criminal Case Moves Further

The most important thing to understand about the timing of your civil case is this: the criminal prosecution will proceed with or without your involvement, and every week that passes without a personal injury attorney engaged on your behalf is a week the insurance company uses to build its defense.

Retaining an attorney early accomplishes several things that cannot be replicated later. 

• Your attorney preserves evidence through formal legal demands. 
• They obtain the criminal investigation’s records — police reports, breathalyzer results, blood alcohol test records, dashcam footage, and witness statements before those materials become restricted or harder to access after criminal proceedings conclude. 
• They calculate your full damages, including future medical costs and long-term loss of earning capacity, from the start. And they position your civil case to benefit strategically from developments in the criminal case, including any conviction.

Personal injury attorneys in California work on contingency. You pay nothing unless your attorney recovers compensation for you. In Southern California, where a single hospitalization can cost tens of thousands of dollars, there is no financial reason to delay retaining counsel.

Understand What Charges the Driver Faces and Why It Matters

The charges filed against the driver affect your civil case in specific ways worth understanding.

A driver arrested for DUI may face charges under California Vehicle Code § 23152 (driving under the influence) or, if someone was injured, California Vehicle Code § 23153 (DUI causing injury). 

DUI causing injury is a “wobbler,” charged as a misdemeanor or felony based on BAC, injury severity, and prior history. Felonies usually involve serious injury, recidivism, or aggravating factors like fleeing the scene.

Why does this matter civilly? A felony conviction is admissible in your civil case under California Evidence Code § 1300 to prove facts essential to the judgment. Additionally, under Taylor v. Superior Court (1979) 24 Cal.3d 890, a DUI conviction establishes the malice necessary to support punitive damages under California Civil Code § 3294. 

Punitive damages are awarded on top of your compensatory recovery and are not covered by standard auto liability insurance policies — a fact that creates significant leverage in settlement negotiations.

Drivers charged with reckless driving under California Vehicle Code § 23103 trigger a similar civil analysis. Reckless driving, defined as willful disregard for the safety of persons or property, satisfies the negligence per se doctrine under CACI 700. 

When a driver violates a California traffic statute and that violation causes injury, the statutory violation is itself evidence of breach of the duty of care.

Identify All Potentially Liable Parties

The driver who hit you may not be the only party with legal exposure. Your attorney will investigate all potential sources of liability, which can include:

The driver’s employer. If the driver was operating a vehicle in the course of their employment, for instance, a delivery driver, a sales representative, a company car — the employer may be liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior. Employer liability can dramatically expand the available insurance coverage and assets available to compensate you.

A bar or restaurant (with an important limitation). California’s dram shop law is significantly more restrictive than most states. Under California Business and Professions Code § 25602, establishments that serve alcohol to adults are generally shielded from civil liability for resulting injuries. The statutory exception under § 25602.1 applies primarily when an establishment served alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person under 21. If the driver who hit you is an adult, a dram shop claim against the establishment is unlikely to succeed under current California law. Your attorney will evaluate the specific facts, but victims and their families should understand this limitation clearly rather than relying on it as a recovery path.

A government entity. If a road defect, failed traffic signal, or inadequately maintained roadway contributed to the accident, a government entity may bear partial responsibility. Claims against government entities in California require an administrative claim filed within six months under California Government Code § 911.2. This deadline is absolute and does not pause for any other proceeding. See our guide on claims involving government entities.

Understand the Relationship Between the Criminal and Civil Cases

Your attorney will monitor and strategically coordinate with the criminal case as it proceeds. You do not control the criminal case, the District Attorney does. But developments in the criminal case can significantly benefit your civil claim.

If the driver pleads guilty or is convicted at trial, that conviction is admissible in your civil proceeding under California Evidence Code § 1300. The doctrine of collateral estoppel may prevent the driver from relitigating in civil court facts already decided against them in the criminal proceeding. Guilty pleas and no-contest pleas, depending on their terms, can serve similar evidentiary functions.

One timing consequence deserves specific attention: If your civil case settles before the criminal matter concludes, the defendant or their insurer will typically require you to waive your right to criminal restitution as a condition of settlement. In most serious injury cases, a full civil settlement far exceeds what restitution would have produced. Your attorney weighs this tradeoff as part of the overall strategy.

California’s pure comparative fault rule means that even if you bore some partial responsibility for the accident, you can still recover compensation. Your damages are simply reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance companies routinely attempt to inflate a victim’s share of fault to reduce their payout. Thorough evidence preservation and early attorney engagement are the most effective counters to that tactic.

What El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers Does in the First 72 Hours

Most law firms tell clients to call when they are ready. Our personal injury strategy is different.

When you contact El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers after an accident involving an arrested driver, we begin working immediately. We send preservation letters to the defendant and all insurers within 24 hours. 

We obtain the police report and begin gathering the criminal investigation’s evidence. We identify every potentially liable party. We calculate your damages from the ground up, not just what the accident has cost you so far, but what it will cost you over the years ahead.

Southern California juries understand the difference between an accident and a choice. A driver who decided to drink and get behind the wheel made a choice. Our job is to ensure the civil system holds them fully accountable for every consequence of that choice.

FAQs: What to Do After the Driver Who Hit You Is Arrested in CA

The First Call You Make After This Accident Matters

If the driver who caused your accident was arrested, you have legal rights that exist entirely outside the criminal courthouse. However, the strength of those rights depends heavily on what you do in the days immediately following the crash.

At El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers, we represent accident victims throughout Orange County, Los Angeles County, and the surrounding Southern California communities. We have seen too many clients wait for a criminal verdict, only to discover that evidence had been lost, deadlines had passed, and the insurance company had spent months building a case against them.

We offer a free, confidential consultation with no obligation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Call us, chat with us, or fill out the form below. The sooner we begin, the more we can do.