Injury and medical connection
Write down the first symptoms, first care date, diagnosis, imaging, referrals, restrictions, missed appointments, prior conditions, and later changes. The sequence matters more than a single checkbox.
No cost · 60 seconds · No obligation
Do I have a personal injury case?
Answer five quick questions to organize injury, responsibility, treatment, timing, and representation details, then decide whether to request an individual intake-routing review.
This educational guide does not provide legal advice, determine whether a claim exists, calculate a deadline, or predict an outcome. Time-sensitive questions may require prompt individual review.
Question 1 of 50% complete
Were you injured in the accident?
How to use the screening result
A case screener identifies review questions; it does not decide the case
The five answers create a preliminary issue list. A useful follow-up separates what you know from what a report, medical record, policy, witness, employer, public agency, or other custodian must still confirm. A positive result does not promise representation or recovery. A cautious result does not mean no claim exists, especially when treatment, identity, coverage, or timing facts remain incomplete.
Fault and control
Identify every person or entity that controlled the vehicle, property, product, worksite, road, platform, or missing record. Preserve photographs, video, witness details, reports, contracts, and communications before they disappear.
Insurance and recoverable loss
Separate liability coverage, health insurance, disability benefits, property damage, medical charges, paid amounts, lost income, and out-of-pocket costs. Coverage and damages are related questions, not the same question.
Deadline and public-entity risk
Record the incident date and any later discovery date. If a city, county, school, transit agency, state route, or public employee may be involved, do not assume the ordinary lawsuit period is the only deadline.
Continue with the right evidence surface
Build an evidence checklist
Organize scene, medical, insurance, and follow-up records.
Review timing separately
Use broad rules as an alert, not a final legal date.
Inventory possible losses
Keep value questions separate from fault and coverage.
Find the local evidence path
Connect the scene to public records, treatment, and venue.
Compare public profiles
Check license, firm, practice, language, and source signals.
Request individual intake review
Share only the facts needed for the next routing step.
Before relying on the result
Turn a five-question screen into a documented claim map
The screener identifies broad signals, not a yes-or-no legal determination. A useful follow-up asks who owed a duty, what conduct may have caused the incident, which injury is documented, what losses can be supported, which coverage or responsible party may apply, and whether any timing or notice rule requires faster review. Conflicting answers are a reason to investigate, not a reason to force a result.
Write one short chronology with the incident, first symptoms, first care, later treatment, insurer contact, missed work, and current status. Label facts you personally observed, statements made by others, records already in hand, and records still missing. That separation gives an attorney a clearer starting point and reduces the risk that an estimate or assumption is repeated as a verified fact.
Preserve claim evidenceIdentify reports, video, photographs, witnesses, property, and digital records.Review timing questionsUnderstand why the claim type and potential defendant matter.Organize treatmentBuild the first-care, diagnosis, referral, restriction, and billing chronology.Prepare for insurer contactSeparate basic notice from recorded statements and disputed conclusions.Match the incident typeFind the service page that addresses the evidence unique to the event.Add local contextConnect roads, hospitals, courts, and public custodians to the file.Compare verified attorneysReview profiles, official bar records, focus areas, and language information.Request case routingShare the organized facts through the dedicated intake path.
Fault needs a source
A police report, witness statement, scene photograph, video, vehicle record, inspection log, product record, or employer document may help explain fault. The screener cannot decide credibility or comparative responsibility, and California fault analysis depends on the evidence available for the specific event.
Treatment needs a chronology
List when symptoms began, where the first evaluation occurred, what the clinician documented, which referrals or restrictions followed, and where care changed. A gap or delayed symptom does not automatically end a claim, but it is a factual issue that should be explained with records rather than slogans.
Timing needs claim identification
The general personal-injury period is not the only timing question. Public entities, workers compensation, minors, delayed discovery, wrongful death, medical negligence, and contractual or out-of-state issues can involve different steps. Confirm the potential defendant and claim type before relying on a calculated date.
Routing is not representation
Hurt Advice provides information, attorney advertising, and case-routing intake. A submitted screen does not mean a participating attorney accepted the matter. Representation begins only if an independent attorney or law firm agrees and the parties enter a separate written agreement.
Common questions
How do I know if I have a personal injury case?
An individual review may need to examine what happened, who may be legally responsible, how the incident relates to an injury, which losses can be documented, what insurance or parties are involved, and which rules apply. This tool only organizes initial questions; it cannot confirm a claim.
How long do I have to file a claim in California?
California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 states a two-year period for certain actions involving injury or death, while Government Code section 911.2 can require presentation of certain public-entity claims within six months after accrual. Other statutes, exceptions, notice terms, and accrual rules may apply, so this tool cannot calculate an individual deadline.
Does it cost anything to find out if I have a case?
This educational tool and a Hurt Advice intake-routing request have no charge. Any independent attorney decides whether to offer a consultation, accept a matter, and propose a fee agreement. Representation and fee terms would require a separate written agreement with that attorney or law firm.
What if I was partly at fault?
California comparative-fault rules can allocate responsibility among parties and reduce damages according to a fact finder’s allocation. The evidence and applicable law control. This screener cannot assign fault or determine whether a recovery is available.
Official timing sources
These sources support the general timing references above. They cannot identify every rule or calculate a deadline for one person.