San Pedro Personal Injury Lawyer
San Pedro is part of the City of Los Angeles, not a separate city; it was annexed by Los Angeles in 1909, so an injury claim against the City of Los Angeles goes to the Los Angeles City Clerk, generally within six months. That includes claims involving city streets, the LAPD, which polices San Pedro from its Harbor station, and the Port of Los Angeles, a department of the City. Lawsuits arising in San Pedro belong in Los Angeles Superior Court’s South District, at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach; San Pedro’s own courthouse closed in 2013.
San Pedro personal injury lawyer Jon Olsson represents people hurt in car, truck, motorcycle and pedestrian crashes, dog attacks and falls on unsafe property in San Pedro and the Harbor Area, and he handles each case personally. The consultation is free, and you owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
San Pedro Injury Claims: Key Facts
- Deadline to sue: two years from the injury for most personal injury claims (CCP § 335.1).
- Claims against the City of Los Angeles, including the Port: generally must be filed within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). They can be filed only with the City Clerk: online, by mail, or in person at 200 N. Spring Street, Room 395; emailed and faxed claims aren’t accepted (City Clerk; City Attorney).
- Claims against the State: for state highways in San Pedro, including the 110, the Vincent Thomas Bridge and Western Avenue, claims of $12,500 or less can go to Caltrans’s district claims office; larger claims go to the Government Claims Program.
- Claims against Los Angeles County: delivered or mailed to the Executive Officer of the Board of Supervisors, 500 W. Temple Street, Room 383.
- Courthouse: San Pedro is in LA Superior Court’s South District, served by the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse at 275 Magnolia Avenue in Long Beach. The San Pedro Courthouse closed in June 2013, and its cases moved there.
- Minimum auto insurance: $30,000 for one person’s injuries and $60,000 per crash.
- Shared fault: reduces what you recover but doesn’t bar the claim (Li v. Yellow Cab Co.).
- Cost: no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Why Jon’s Corporate Defense Experience Helps Your San Pedro Personal Injury Claim
Jon spent the early part of his career on the other side of injury cases, so he knows how insurers and their lawyers will size up your claim. Before founding Olsson Law, he spent six years at a large international law firm defending companies in complex litigation, including serious injury and product liability matters. He then joined a Los Angeles personal injury firm, where he represented injured people in motor vehicle collisions, dangerous property conditions, public entity cases and disputed liability matters. That background tells him what evidence moves a defense lawyer, and what they look for to justify paying less.
Jon stays directly involved from your first consultation through the resolution of your case, and works to reduce medical bills and liens so more of any settlement goes to you.
- Education: Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.); New York University (B.A.)
- Bar admissions: California, Texas and Massachusetts
- Community: member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the South Bay Bar Association
Prior Results
- $3.85 million: wrongful death settlement
- $700,000: car accident, back and neck injuries
- $400,000: slip and fall, knee injury
These results include matters personally handled by Jon Olsson at prior law firms and matters in which he participated as part of a legal team. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Read more about Jon Olsson, our approach, and prior results.
How Busy Are San Pedro’s Main Roads?
There’s no official crash count for San Pedro by itself, because the state’s crash rankings cover only whole cities. But Caltrans counts the traffic on San Pedro’s state highways:
| Road | Vehicles a day (2024) |
|---|---|
| Vincent Thomas Bridge (SR-47) | 63,000 |
| Harbor Freeway (I-110), Gaffey Street to the bridge interchange | 52,000 |
| Harbor Freeway (I-110), just north of the bridge interchange | 70,000 |
| Western Avenue (SR-213), north of 25th Street | 29,000 |
These are two-way daily averages from 2024, the newest year Caltrans has published. They were counted before the bridge’s full closure starting November 7, 2026, which will push that traffic onto other roads.
Where to Watch for Hazards in San Pedro
The Vincent Thomas Bridge and its detours. The bridge carries State Route 47 between San Pedro and Terminal Island and is owned and maintained by Caltrans. Caltrans will close it completely for 16 months for a deck replacement starting at 12:01 a.m. on November 7, 2026, with reopening expected in early March 2028. Local streets such as Harry Bridges Boulevard in Wilmington are part of the detour route, so the closure shifts bridge traffic onto local streets.
The Harbor Freeway (110). The 110 begins at Gaffey Street and meets the Vincent Thomas Bridge route (SR-47) in San Pedro. Freeway crashes are investigated by the CHP, not the LAPD.
Western Avenue. State Route 213 runs along Western Avenue from 25th Street in San Pedro north toward the 405 (Sts. & High. Code § 513), so a claim that the road itself was unsafe goes to the State.
The Port and the waterfront. The Port of Los Angeles covers 7,500 acres of land and water, and its jurisdiction includes property in San Pedro, Wilmington and Terminal Island. The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach saw more than 26,000 truck moves a day as of 2023, so truck traffic is part of daily driving near the harbor.
Neighborhood streets, sidewalks and businesses. Crashes, falls on unsafe property and dog bites happen in San Pedro as anywhere else. When a City street, sidewalk or building played a part, the claim runs through the City of Los Angeles.
Who Is Responsible, and Where Does the Claim Go?
Many San Pedro injury claims are against a private driver, owner or business and follow the usual two-year deadline. When a public agency or its property is involved, a written claim comes first, generally within six months.
| Who or what was involved | Responsible agency | Where the claim goes |
|---|---|---|
| City streets, LAPD, or other City vehicles and property | City of Los Angeles | Los Angeles City Clerk: online portal, mail, or in person at 200 N. Spring St., Room 395. No other office, including the City Attorney’s, can accept a claim against the City |
| Port of Los Angeles property, vehicles or employees | City of Los Angeles (Harbor Department) | Los Angeles City Clerk, because the Port is a City department (Port of Los Angeles; City Clerk) |
| The 110, SR-47 and the Vincent Thomas Bridge, and Western Avenue (SR-213) | State of California (Caltrans) | Caltrans’s district claims office handles claims up to $12,500; above that, the claim goes to the Government Claims Program |
| County property or vehicles | County of Los Angeles | Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors, Attn: Claims, 500 W. Temple St., Room 383, Los Angeles, CA 90012 |
After the City Clerk files a claim, the City Attorney’s office handles it. If the claim is rejected in writing, a lawsuit is generally due within six months of that notice (Gov. Code § 945.6). For a dangerous-property claim, you generally must show the agency created the hazard, or knew or should have known of it in time to fix it (Gov. Code § 835).
Who Pays After an Injury in San Pedro?
It depends on how you were hurt. In most cases an insurance policy pays, and more than one policy can apply.
| How you were hurt | Usual source of payment |
|---|---|
| A car, motorcycle or pedestrian crash | The at-fault driver’s liability policy, then your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage if theirs is missing or too small (Ins. Code § 11580.2) |
| A crash with a truck serving the port | The motor carrier’s commercial policy; for-hire interstate carriers of general freight in trucks rated 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 (49 C.F.R. § 387.9) |
| A dog bite in a public place or where you were lawfully on private property | The owner, who is liable even if the dog never bit before (Civ. Code § 3342), which may be covered by the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s policy |
| A fall at a store, restaurant or apartment | The owner or business, usually through its liability insurer, if it knew or should have known of the hazard (CACI Nos. 1003 and 1011) |
| A dangerous condition on City or Port property | The City of Los Angeles, after a timely claim to the City Clerk |
| An injury on the job at the port | Workers’ compensation or federal longshore benefits, and possibly a separate claim against another company that caused it |
What Should I Do After an Injury in San Pedro?
- Get medical care right away. Call 911 for serious injuries; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a Level I trauma center.
- Report it to the right agency. On San Pedro streets, that’s the LAPD, whose Harbor Community Police Station is at 2175 John S. Gibson Blvd.; on the 110 or the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the CHP. The driver generally must report a crash that injures anyone to the CHP or police within 24 hours (Veh. Code § 20008).
- Document the scene: photos of vehicles, the hazard that caused a fall, the dog and its owner’s address, and your injuries. Get witness names and ask businesses to keep video.
- Note who owns the property. Whether a sidewalk, lot or pier belongs to the City, the Port, a tenant or a private owner decides where your claim goes and how fast.
- Send the DMV an SR-1 within 10 days of a crash that injured anyone or did more than $1,000 in damage.
- Talk to a lawyer before giving a recorded statement or signing anything from an insurer or agency.
How to Get an LAPD or CHP Report
LAPD traffic collision reports can be requested online starting 45 days after the crash (reports involving an arrest, a death or a juvenile aren’t released online), or by mail with a $19 check or money order payable to the LAPD, sent to LAPD Records and Identification Division, Document Processing Unit, P.O. Box 30158, Los Angeles, CA 90030. For a freeway or bridge crash, request the CHP report through its crash portal or form CHP 190. We can request it on your behalf.
How Jon Builds a San Pedro Injury Case
- The right defendants: identifying every party that could be responsible, from a driver or property owner to the City, the Port, a port tenant or Caltrans, and meeting each one’s deadline.
- Evidence: police reports, photos, video, witness statements, and records of the hazard or the dog’s owner.
- Damages: treatment records and bills, proof of missed work, and doctors’ views on future care.
- Coverage: every policy that could pay, including your own UM/UIM coverage.
- Resolution: a documented demand and negotiation, and suit if needed. Each new injury case is filed in the court district where the injury happened. For San Pedro, that means the South District’s Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, 275 Magnolia Avenue, Long Beach, which took over San Pedro’s caseload in 2013.
Learn more about personal injury claims.
San Pedro Personal Injury FAQs
Is San Pedro Part of Los Angeles for an Injury Claim?
Yes. San Pedro is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, so a claim against the City, its police or its Port goes to the Los Angeles City Clerk, generally within six months. The City Attorney says no other city, county or federal office can accept a claim against the City.
I Was Hurt on Port of Los Angeles Property. Who Do I File Against?
The Port is a department of the City, so a claim against the Port itself goes to the City Clerk. Many port facilities are run by private tenants, and a claim against a tenant follows the regular two-year deadline instead.
Which Court Would Hear My San Pedro Injury Case?
Los Angeles Superior Court’s South District, at the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach. San Pedro had its own courthouse until June 2013, when the court closed it and moved its caseload to Long Beach.
I Crashed in a Vincent Thomas Bridge Work Zone or Detour. Who Is Responsible?
It may be another driver, the State, or both. A claim that the State’s highway or work zone was unsafe is generally due within six months: claims of $12,500 or less can go to Caltrans’s district claims office, and larger ones to the State’s Government Claims Program. A claim against another driver follows the two-year deadline.
A Dog Bit Me in San Pedro. Is the Owner Responsible If It Never Bit Anyone Before?
Yes, if you were in a public place or lawfully on private property when the bite happened. California holds dog owners liable for bites regardless of the dog’s history.
How Much Does a San Pedro Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
You pay nothing to start. Our fee is a set share of any recovery, so if nothing is recovered, there’s no attorney’s fee. By law, that fee agreement has to be in writing (Bus. & Prof. Code § 6147).
Talk to a San Pedro Personal Injury Attorney
Claims against the City of Los Angeles, the Port or the State are generally due within six months, and evidence like video is often recorded over long before that. For a free consultation, call Jon Olsson at (310) 304-4756 or contact us online. You owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Jon also represents injured people in nearby Palos Verdes, Torrance and across Los Angeles.
This page provides general information about personal injury claims in San Pedro. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and rules can change and may depend on the facts of your case.