What to Do After a Construction Zone Accident
A crash near construction does not establish that a work zone caused it. First document your role, the precise highway or street segment, the temporary signs or lane pattern and the actual collision sequence. A motorist’s road claim, an injured worker’s compensation route and a possible public-roadway claim can involve different records and procedures. The approved traffic-control plan and the setup at the time should be compared before drawing conclusions.
Hurt Advice editorial guide. Source review: . This guide does not state that the attorney authored, reviewed or approved it. Visit the profile for public licensing and background records.
Review the attorney’s public background, then confirm experience and availability directly.
Raffi Naljian
Founder, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Attorney
Raffi Garabed Naljian is the founder of Naljian Law Offices and an active California attorney under State Bar #238919. A Los Angeles Times profile says he founded the firm in 2008 after beginning his legal career in 1997, and the State Bar lists personal injury, litigation, criminal law, and business law among his self-reported practice areas.
View Raffi Naljian's full verified profilePrimary identity record
Learn more about Raffi Naljian
This is a focused supporting page. Use Raffi Naljian's full sourced attorney profile as the primary identity record for biography, role, languages, office information, and public-record links. Review that profile alongside the issue-specific preparation and public sources below.
The State Bar record lists Raffi Garabed Naljian as an active California attorney, State Bar #238919. Hurt Advice is a separate referral and legal information service, not the attorney's law firm.
How to Evaluate Attorney Fit for This Issue
Ask a prospective attorney to separate the driver, contractor, road authority and employer questions. Identify the investigating agency and the custodian of plans, closure requests, daily reports and camera footage. If a public agency or workplace injury is involved, ask promptly which claim process applies.
Consultation worksheet
Work-zone control and records worksheet
A work-zone label is only a starting point. Record who held each part of the site and the document that supports that identification.
There is no submit or save action. Copy your notes before leaving this page.
Which road, direction, lane and work-zone stage? Were you a road user or working in the zone?
Which signs, tapers, cones, barriers or flagger signals did you actually see before contact?
Which police agency has the report? Which road authority and contractor hold plans, closures, daily logs and video?
Is a government-claim presentation, workers’ compensation process or separate driver/contractor issue potentially relevant?
Sources for this guide
- Caltrans: Work zone traffic control resources
Official links to California temporary traffic-control standards, plans and permit context.
- Caltrans Construction Manual: Project records and reports
Identifies the types of contract, closure, daily and traffic-control records maintained for Caltrans projects.
- California Highway Patrol: Collision report request (CHP 190)
Explains who may request a CHP-investigated collision report and the information used to locate that record.
- California Courts: Ask a government agency to pay you
Explains the administrative claim that may precede a lawsuit against a public agency, including distinct presentation and suit deadlines.
- California Division of Workers’ Compensation: Injured worker
Official entry point for the separate workers’ compensation process if the injured person was working.
What to Do Next
- 1Address safety and care. Record the route, milepost or cross street, lane, work-zone stage and whether you were a road user or an on-duty worker.
- 2Photograph the visible approach signs, cones, barriers, taper, flagger position, lighting and collision point from safe locations.
- 3Save the police or CHP report number. Identify whether Caltrans, a city, county, utility or private contractor controlled the specific work area.
- 4Request preservation of incident-time video and, for a Caltrans project, identify the traffic-control plan, closure and daily record custodian; review any public-agency or worker procedure separately.
Evidence Checklist
- Exact route, direction, milepost/cross street, time, work-zone stage and scene photographs
- Investigating agency and report number; contractor and road-authority names if confirmed
- Temporary traffic-control plans, closure requests, daily reports and incident-time photos or video to locate
- Vehicle, treatment and work records; employer notice or claim records when the injured person was working
Keep your unanswered questions handy when comparing the attorney’s public profile with your needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming a state-highway number proves Caltrans performed or controlled every part of the work
- Calling a sign or cone configuration unlawful without comparing the approved plan and incident-time setup
- Requesting a CHP report when a local police agency investigated, or vice versa
- Treating workers’ compensation, a third-party claim and a public-agency claim as one procedure
How the Process Typically Works
Fix the location and role
Record the exact segment, your role and the traffic-control arrangement as seen at the time.
Locate official records
Identify the investigating agency, road authority, contractor and holders of plans or daily reports.
Choose the review route
Check whether the facts raise driver, contractor, employer or public-entity issues and their separate procedures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a crash inside a construction zone prove the contractor was at fault?
No. The sequence, actual traffic-control setup, applicable plan and actions of each road user matter. Caltrans work-zone resources describe control systems; they do not decide this crash.
Where do I request the collision report?
Start with the agency that investigated. CHP 190 is for CHP-investigated events and eligible requesters; a local police report must be requested from that local agency.
What if I was working when injured?
An on-duty worker may have a workers’ compensation process and potentially separate questions about a third party. Those routes need a fact-specific review rather than using only a motorist claim checklist.
Use the attorney’s public background as a starting point for a direct conversation about fit.
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Attorney Advertising. Hurt Advice is a lawyer-referral and legal-information service, not a law firm. This website provides general information, not legal advice. Viewing a page or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Independent participating attorneys decide whether to accept a matter, and representation begins only under a separate written agreement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; results depend on the facts and circumstances of each matter.