Suing for Car Damage After a Red-Light Crash

Attorney Answer

Yes. If another driver ran a red light and hit you, you can pursue that driver for the damage to your car. It is an ordinary property damage claim, and it does not depend on anyone being injured or on a ticket being written.

Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) provides: "Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself." A driver who enters an intersection against a red signal has not used ordinary care, and that violation is evidence of it. What you can recover is set by Cal. Civ. Code § 3333: "For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by this Code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or not." For a damaged car that generally means the cost of repair, or the vehicle's value if it is a total loss, plus loss of use while the car is out of service.

There are two routes to the money, and they are not exclusive. The first is a claim against the other driver's liability insurer. California's Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations govern how it must be handled: under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(e) the insurer has 15 calendar days from notice of the claim to acknowledge it, provide forms, instructions and reasonable assistance, and begin investigating; under § 2695.7(b) it has 40 calendar days after proof of claim to accept or deny; and under § 2695.7(h) it must tender payment within 30 calendar days of accepting. Section 2695.7(g) prohibits a settlement offer that is unreasonably low. If your car is a total loss, § 2695.8(b)(1) requires the settlement to be based on the actual cost of a comparable automobile, including applicable taxes, transfer fees and the remaining registration, and § 2695.8(b)(6) applies those standards to third-party claims like yours. Under § 2695.8(e)(1) no insurer may require that your car be repaired at a specific shop.

The second route is your own collision coverage, if you carry it: faster, costs you the deductible, and your insurer then pursues the other driver's carrier. If it does, Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.7(p) requires it to tell you in writing whether it is pursuing subrogation, and § 2695.7(q) requires it to include your deductible in the demand and to share what it recovers with you proportionately.

Expect a fault argument anyway. California uses pure comparative fault: if the other insurer claims you were partly responsible, that reduces the claim by your share rather than ending it. In Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978), the California Supreme Court confirmed that recovery is reduced only to the extent that a party's own lack of reasonable care contributed to the harm.

What you can do

1. Get the traffic collision report number if officers responded, and request a copy of the report.

2. Move quickly on the evidence that fixes the signal sequence: photographs of both cars and the intersection, witness names and numbers, and any dash camera or nearby business camera footage. Ask for footage in writing right away — most systems overwrite within days.

3. Open a claim with the other driver's insurer, and tell your own insurer about the accident even if you do not plan to use your coverage.

4. Get your own written repair estimate from a shop you choose, and ask the insurer for its estimate or valuation in writing with every adjustment itemized.

5. If the offer is unreasonably low, or the insurer stops responding, you can complain to the California Department of Insurance. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(a) the insurer must give the Department a complete written response within 21 calendar days.

6. Do not sign a release until the repairs are finished and you know whether you were injured.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for damage to a vehicle in California runs under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1), and a claim for personal injury runs under the shorter period in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 — the one people miss when they handle the car first. Which applies, and when the clock started, depends on your facts. Have a California attorney confirm the deadlines on your case.