Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyers
An accident can change everything in an instant. One moment you’re going about your day, and the next, you’re dealing with injuries, medical appointments, insurance calls, and uncertainty about what comes next. At the Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe, our Sacramento personal injury lawyers help injured people navigate this overwhelming time with clarity, compassion, and experienced legal guidance.
Over the years, we’ve represented hundreds of accident victims across Sacramento and Northern California. We’ve seen firsthand how injuries affect families, finances, and daily life—and we’ve helped our clients recover millions of dollars to rebuild after devastating accidents. While you focus on healing, we handle the legal complexities.
Why People Choose Our Personal Injury Law Firm in Sacramento
Direct Attorney Access: You’ll work with your attorney throughout your case, not a call center or rotating staff. You’ll have direct contact information and regular communication about what’s happening.
Local Sacramento Experience: We practice in Sacramento County Superior Court regularly. We know the local judges, opposing counsel, and insurance adjusters who handle cases in this area.
Honest Communication: We provide realistic assessments of your case—its strengths, potential challenges, likely timeline, and what fair compensation looks like based on similar cases.
Trial-Ready Representation: While many cases settle, we prepare every claim as if it will go to trial. Insurance companies recognize when they’re dealing with attorneys who actually litigate.
No Upfront Costs: We work on contingency, which means attorney fees come from your settlement or verdict. If we don’t recover compensation for you, you don’t owe us attorney fees.
What to Do After an Accident in Sacramento
The moments following an accident are crucial. These steps protect your health and legal rights:
Get medical attention immediately: Some injuries don’t show symptoms right away. Early documentation establishes a clear connection between the accident and your treatment.
Call the police if possible: A police report provides an official record. Sacramento Police Department and California Highway Patrol reports become important evidence.
Take photos and videos: Document the accident scene, vehicle damage, visible injuries, road conditions, and anything else relevant.
Collect witness information : Get names and contact details from anyone who saw what happened.
Don’t discuss fault : Avoid apologizing or making statements about who caused the accident.
Report to your insurance company : You’re typically required to report accidents, but provide only basic facts without detailed statements.
Avoid signing anything from the other driver’s insurance : Don’t sign medical releases, settlement agreements, or recorded statement authorizations without legal guidance.
Contact Sacramento personal injury attorneys quickly : Insurance companies often contact accident victims within hours, sometimes offering quick settlements before people understand the full extent of their injuries.
Do I Have a Personal Injury Case?
You may have a valid personal injury claim if:
- Someone else’s negligence or carelessness played a role in causing the accident
- You suffered injuries that required medical treatment
- The injuries affected your ability to work, caused financial losses, or impacted your daily life
You don’t need catastrophic injuries or a police report that clearly assigns fault. A short conversation with experienced personal injury lawyers in Sacramento can clarify whether you have a case worth pursuing.
Why Hiring a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer Matters
Insurance companies have one goal: pay as little as possible on every claim. Here’s what typically happens when you’re unrepresented:
Early Settlement Offers: Adjusters contact you quickly—sometimes within hours—offering settlements that rarely reflect true claim value and almost never account for ongoing treatment or future complications.
Recorded Statements: They ask for recorded statements that can be used against you. Even innocent comments get taken out of context.
Medical Authorization Forms: They request access to your entire medical history to search for pre-existing conditions they can use to deny or reduce your claim.
Blame Shifting: Adjusters argue you share fault or that something else caused your injuries.
When you have experienced legal representation, the dynamic changes. We take over all communication, provide appropriate documentation while protecting your rights, and counter lowball offers with evidence. Insurance adjusters also know which attorneys actually go to trial, which changes how they approach negotiations.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Sacramento
We represent injured people in all types of accident and negligence cases throughout Sacramento and Northern California:
Car Accidents
Sacramento’s major roads—Interstate 5, Business 80, Highway 99, Highway 50—see thousands of collisions each year. We’ve represented people injured in rear-end crashes, intersection collisions, and multi-vehicle pileups caused by distracted driving, speeding, unsafe lane changes, and impaired driving.
Truck Accidents
Commercial truck accidents often cause catastrophic injuries. These cases become legally complex because multiple parties may share liability—the driver, trucking company, cargo loaders, maintenance contractors, and manufacturers. We’ve handled cases involving driver fatigue, federal regulation violations, improper cargo loading, and inadequate maintenance.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists face particular risks on Sacramento roads. Even minor collisions can result in serious injuries. We counter insurance company bias against motorcyclists with accident reconstruction, witness testimony, and clear documentation.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents
Sacramento’s downtown and midtown areas see frequent pedestrian and bicycle collisions. When pedestrians or cyclists are hit by vehicles, injuries tend to be severe. We hold negligent drivers accountable while examining whether road design or inadequate signage contributed to the accident.
Rideshare Accidents (Uber and Lyft)
Accidents involving rideshare drivers create unique complications around liability and insurance coverage. We handle the complexities of rideshare insurance policies and negotiations with multiple insurance companies.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims
When you’re hit by a driver without insurance or with insufficient coverage, you typically make a claim against your own policy’s UM/UIM coverage. These claims require careful handling because your insurer will use tactics to minimize payment.
Catastrophic Injury Cases
Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and amputations change lives permanently. We work with life care planners, vocational experts, economists, and medical specialists to document current treatment and project the true cost of long-term care.
Wrongful Death Claims
We handle wrongful death cases with sensitivity and respect, helping families pursue compensation for funeral costs, lost financial support, and loss of companionship while managing the legal process.
Other Personal Injury Cases
We handle all types of personal injury claims in Sacramento, including slip and fall injuries, dog bites, medical malpractice, product liability, construction accidents, and more.
Common Injuries in Sacramento Accident Cases
Understanding common injury types helps injured people recognize when they need immediate medical attention:
Traumatic Brain Injuries: Concussions and severe brain injuries can occur without direct head impact. Long-term effects include memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and mood changes.
Spinal Cord Injuries: Can result in partial or complete paralysis and typically require lifetime medical care.
Broken Bones and Fractures: Some fractures require surgery and result in chronic pain and reduced mobility.
Soft Tissue Injuries: Whiplash, sprains, and torn ligaments can cause chronic pain for months or years.
Internal Injuries: Damage to internal organs can be life-threatening and may not be immediately apparent.
Emotional Trauma: PTSD, anxiety, and depression commonly develop after serious accidents and deserve appropriate treatment and compensation.
Sacramento High-Risk Areas and Accident Patterns
Local knowledge helps us investigate cases and identify contributing factors:
High-Traffic Corridors: Interstate 5, Business 80, Highway 99, and Highway 50 experience heavy congestion during rush hours, leading to frequent rear-end and side-impact crashes.
Dangerous Intersections: Intersections along Watt Avenue, Arden Way, Fair Oaks Boulevard, and Stockton Boulevard see high accident rates.
Downtown Pedestrian Areas: Grid streets downtown and in midtown have high pedestrian and bicycle traffic where drivers often fail to yield.
Construction Zones: Ongoing road construction creates hazards with lane shifts, narrow lanes, and heavy equipment.
Understanding these patterns helps us investigate whether factors beyond the at-fault driver contributed to your accident.
California Personal Injury Law: What You Need to Know
Statute of Limitations
You generally have two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. Claims against government entities require filing an administrative claim within six months. Missing these deadlines typically means losing your right to compensation.
Comparative Negligence
California allows you to recover even if you share fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance companies try to shift blame to reduce what they pay, making legal representation important.
Minimum Insurance Requirements
California requires minimum liability insurance of $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident, and $5,000 for property damage. These minimums are insufficient for serious injuries.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
UM/UIM coverage protects you when you’re hit by a driver with no insurance or insufficient insurance. It’s part of your own policy but requires careful claim handling.
How the Personal Injury Legal Process Works
Every personal injury case follows a clear legal process. Knowing what to expect helps reduce stress and gives you confidence at each stage. From your first call to final resolution, we guide you step by step and keep you informed throughout.
Initial Consultation
Your case begins with a free consultation where we evaluate your claim and explain your legal rights.
Investigation
We gather police reports, medical records, employment documentation, witness statements, and expert opinions to build your case.
Medical Treatment and Documentation
Your medical treatment is the foundation of your claim. We advise following all treatment recommendations and documenting how injuries affect daily activities.
Demand and Negotiation
We prepare a comprehensive demand package presenting your case to the insurance company, then negotiate toward fair settlement.
Litigation if Necessary
If negotiations don’t produce fair results, we file a lawsuit. Most cases still settle during litigation, but we prepare every case for trial.
Settlement or Verdict
Whether through settlement or jury verdict, we handle all final paperwork, resolve liens, and ensure you receive your compensation.
Realistic Timelines
Simple cases may settle within several months. Cases involving serious injuries typically take one to two years. Cases that go to trial often take two years or more.
Understanding Compensation in Personal Injury Cases
After a serious accident, California law allows injured victims to recover compensation for both financial losses and personal suffering. The exact damages depend on how the injury affects your health, income, and everyday life.
Economic Damages
- Medical Expenses: All costs related to treating your injuries, including future medical care
- Lost Wages: Compensation for missed work time
- Loss of Earning Capacity: If injuries prevent you from returning to your previous occupation
- Property Damage: Repair or replacement costs
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and Suffering: Physical pain and discomfort from your injuries
- Emotional Distress: Anxiety, depression, fear, and psychological effects
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: When injuries prevent participation in activities you previously enjoyed
Punitive Damages (Rare)
Available only in cases involving extreme negligence or intentional harm—essentially when conduct was so egregious that punishment beyond compensation is warranted.
How We Work: Fee Structure
No Upfront Costs: You don’t pay anything to hire us.
Fees Come From Recovery: Our attorney fees are a percentage of compensation we recover. If we don’t recover money, you don’t owe attorney fees.
Case Expenses: We typically advance costs for records, experts, and filing fees, reimbursed from your settlement.
Complete Transparency: You receive written accounting of all fees, costs, liens, and your net recovery.
Contact Our Sacramento Personal Injury Attorneys
If you’ve been injured in an accident, you don’t have to face insurance companies, medical bills, and legal deadlines alone. At the Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe, our personal injury lawyers in Sacramento provide experienced, local representation to accident victims throughout Sacramento and Northern California.
We offer free consultations to discuss what happened, explain your rights, and help you understand your options. There’s no pressure, no obligation, and no charge for this initial conversation.
Call (669) 315-4431) or complete our online contact form to schedule your consultation with our Sacramento personal injury law firm.
Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Cases
In most Sacramento injury cases, you have two years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit. If a government agency is involved — like a city bus or public property — you usually have only six months to take action. It’s always smart to speak with an attorney as soon as possible so deadlines aren’t missed.
You can still recover compensation under California’s comparative negligence law. This means even if you were partly responsible, you can receive damages based on the other party’s share of fault. For example, if you were 20% at fault, you could still recover 80% of your total damages.
Technically, you can file a claim yourself — but insurance companies have teams of professionals working against you. Hiring an experienced Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer helps you understand your rights, gather strong evidence, and negotiate for a fair settlement while you focus on recovery.
You may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and property damage. In some severe cases involving reckless conduct, you might also pursue punitive damages meant to punish the wrongdoer.
Not always. Most Sacramento personal injury claims are settled through negotiations with insurance companies. However, if a fair offer isn’t made, your attorney may recommend filing a lawsuit to protect your rights and pursue full compensation in court.