San JOSE
Personal Injury Attorney
Injured in San Jose? Samer Habbas & Associates is a personal injury law firm serving Santa Clara County. We help injured people recover money for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. You pay no fee unless we win. Call (408) 638-6380 for a free, private case review.
An injury changes everything at once. You hurt. You cannot work. The bills arrive before you have answers. And an insurance company you have never met begins deciding what your recovery is worth. You did not choose any of this. Someone else’s carelessness did.
Our firm has recovered more than $450,000,000 for injured people. Samer Habbas is recognized by Best Lawyers in America (2018–2026), a peer-review recognition voted on by other attorneys. We now serve Santa Clara County from our San Jose office.
Get Samer on your side — call (408) 638-6380 or contact us online.
Key takeaways
Deadline to file: Most California injury cases must be filed within two years of the injury under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §335.1.
A claim against the City of San José, Santa Clara County, or any public agency is different: you must present a written claim within six months under Cal. Gov. Code §911.2.
Partial fault does not end your case. California uses pure comparative negligence, established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). Your award drops by your share of fault; it does not disappear.
Where a San Jose case is filed: the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara (Downtown Superior Court), at 191 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113.
No fee unless we win. We take San Jose injury cases on contingency. The first consultation is free.
On this page
- What is a San Jose personal injury lawyer?
- What types of injury cases do you handle in San Jose?
- How long do I have to file an injury claim in California?
- What if I was partly at fault?
- What is my San Jose injury case worth?
- What should I do after an accident in San Jose?
- What does a San Jose injury lawyer cost?
- The San Jose legal landscape
- Case results — Northern California and the Bay Area
- Fast answers
- Frequently asked questions
- Contact our San Jose office
What is a San Jose personal injury lawyer?
A San Jose personal injury lawyer is an attorney who represents people hurt by someone else’s carelessness and seeks money for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering under California law. The attorney files the case in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. The attorney works on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless the case wins.
A local attorney knows Santa Clara County’s courts, its roads, and the insurers who write policies here. That knowledge shortens the distance between your injury and your recovery. San José adopted a Vision Zero goal in 2015 — the fourth U.S. city to do so — because 46% of killed or severely injured crash victims in the city are struck on the city’s designated Priority Safety Corridors. That context shapes injury work here every day.
What types of injury cases do you handle in San Jose?
We handle the full range of personal injury matters in San Jose. Each area below has its own page with the law, the evidence, and the deadlines that apply to it.
- San Jose car accident attorney — collisions on I-280, the Lawrence Expressway, and city streets.
San Jose truck accident attorney — commercial carrier crashes involving federal hours-of-service rules.- San Jose motorcycle accident attorney — riders on the Sinclair Freeway and Silicon Valley’s surface streets.
- San Jose bicycle accident attorney — cyclists on San José’s 400-mile bike network, from trails to lanes to sharrows.
- San Jose e-bike accident attorney — collisions involving Class 1, 2, and 3 electric bicycles.
- San Jose sidewalk accident attorney — trip-and-fall claims against property owners and, where the City is responsible, against the City of San José.
- San Jose sexual abuse attorney — civil claims for survivors of childhood and adult sexual assault under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §340.1 and §340.16.
Also see our firm-wide page for San Jose: 877-Habbas-1 Law — San Jose.
Get Samer on your side — call (408) 638-6380 or contact us online.
How long do I have to file an injury claim in California?
Most California personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of injury. That rule comes from Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §335.1. Miss the deadline and the court will normally refuse to hear the case, however strong it is.
Two situations shorten that window sharply, and both arise in San Jose.
| Who caused the harm | What you must do | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| A private driver, business, or property owner | File a lawsuit | 2 years from the injury — CCP §335.1 |
| The City of San José, Santa Clara County, or another public entity | Present a written claim to the entity first | 6 months from the injury — Gov. Code §911.2 |
| A doctor, nurse, or hospital | File a lawsuit | Governed by CCP §340.5, which is shorter than two years in most cases |
The six-month rule catches people out. If a poorly maintained City of San José sidewalk, a public bus, or a county agency contributed to your injury, the clock is far shorter than you expect. Confirm your own deadline with an attorney rather than assuming.
What if I was partly at fault?
You can still recover. California follows pure comparative negligence, which the state Supreme Court adopted in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975). A court reduces your award by your percentage of fault, and nothing more.
If a jury values your losses at $100,000 and finds you 20% responsible, you recover $80,000. Even a person mostly at fault may recover something. Insurers know this rule well, and they often overstate your share of the blame early, before anyone has gathered the evidence that shows what really happened.
What is my San Jose injury case worth?
No honest lawyer gives a number at the first call. Value depends on the medical care you need, the income you lose, the permanence of the injury, and the insurance available to pay. What we can do at the start is tell you what drives the number.
| What drives value | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses, past and future | The documented cost of treatment sets the floor |
| Lost income and lost earning capacity | Time off work, and work you can no longer do |
| Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment | Real losses, harder to document, and where insurers push back hardest |
| Permanent impairment or scarring | Changes the value of every year that follows |
| Available insurance | A strong claim against a small policy still recovers only what the policy pays |
| Comparative fault | Your share of responsibility reduces the award proportionally |
One limit is worth knowing early. In medical negligence cases only, Cal. Civ. Code §3333.2 caps non-economic damages. The cap rises each year and does not apply to ordinary car, truck, or premises cases.
What should I do after an accident in San Jose?
Get medical care first. Everything else in a case can be rebuilt later; your health cannot.
- Get treated. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (751 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose 95128) is a Level I Adult and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons — it handled more trauma patients in California in 2024 than any other center in the state. Regional Medical Center (225 N. Jackson Ave, San Jose 95116) operates as the region’s Level II Trauma Center. Go even if you feel able to wait — some injuries present late.
- Report the crash. Ask for the report number.
- Photograph everything — vehicles, the roadway, the lighting, your injuries.
- Get names. Witnesses leave, and memories fade.
- Say nothing recorded to the other side’s insurer. They are gathering material to reduce what they pay.
- Call a lawyer before you sign anything, including a medical authorization.
What does a San Jose injury lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, which means our fee comes out of the recovery. If we do not recover for you, you owe no attorney fee. The first consultation is free, and we answer the phone at any hour.
Get Samer on your side — call (408) 638-6380 or contact us online.
The San Jose legal landscape
San José is the county seat of Santa Clara County, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Three things about the city shape the injury cases that come out of it.
The courts. A San Jose injury lawsuit is filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara — Downtown Superior Court (DTS), at 191 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113. Civil filings go to the Clerk’s Office there. Source: santaclara.courts.ca.gov.
The roads. Interstate 280 (the Junipero Serra / Sinclair Freeway) runs along the city’s western edge. Lawrence Expressway (County Route G2) and San Tomas Expressway (County Route G4) carry high-speed county-road traffic through residential and commercial corridors without full freeway controls. San José’s Vision Zero Action Plan (2025) identifies Priority Safety Corridors as the site of 46% of all fatal and severe-injury crashes. Collisions on these roads form a significant share of the firm’s Northern California caseload.
The tech-sector workforce. Silicon Valley workers often carry significant lost-earning exposure when an injury stops them from working. Documenting a loss of earning capacity in a high-salary market requires care and the right expert — not a form calculation.
Case results — Northern California and the Bay Area
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique.
These are recoveries from the region our San Jose office serves. None of these are Santa Clara County venue results; our San Jose office is new, and we will publish local results here as local cases resolve.
Firm-wide highlights: $11,000,000 commercial truck accident settlement · $3,450,000 motorcycle accident settlement · $1,177,158 pedestrian accident jury verdict. See all of our case results.
Fast answers: Who / What / Why / When / Where / How
Who we represent — people injured in Santa Clara County by another party’s carelessness, and families who have lost someone.
What we recover — medical expenses, lost income, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and, where the law allows, the losses a family suffers after a death.
Why it matters to act early — evidence disappears. Vehicles are repaired, video is overwritten, and witnesses move. San José’s Vision Zero program means the City tracks Priority Safety Corridor incidents closely — that data is time-sensitive.
When you must act — two years for most claims under CCP §335.1, and six months for a claim against a public entity under Gov. Code §911.2.
Where your case is heard — the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara (Downtown Superior Court), 191 North First Street, San Jose.
How we are paid — contingency. No fee unless we win.
Contact our San Jose office
Law Offices of Samer Habbas & Associates, PC 690 Saratoga Avenue, Suite 100 San Jose, CA 95129 (408) 638-6380 — answered 24 hours
We serve San Jose and Santa Clara County. Get Samer on your side — call (408) 638-6380 or contact us online.
Sources & references
- California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1, two-year personal injury limitation — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- California Government Code §911.2, six-month public-entity claim deadline — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- California Code of Civil Procedure §340.5, medical negligence limitation — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- California Civil Code §3333.2, cap on non-economic damages in medical negligence — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 13 Cal.3d 804 (1975), pure comparative negligence — Justia
- Best Lawyers in America, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs — bestlawyers.com
- Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara — Downtown Superior Court — santaclara.courts.ca.gov
- Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Level I Trauma Center — scvmc.scvh.org
- Regional Medical Center, Level II Trauma Center — rmc.scvh.org
- City of San José Vision Zero, Priority Safety Corridors — sanjoseca.gov
Court, trauma center and road locations on this page were verified against primary sources on 2026-09-30. Figures we could not verify from a primary source are deliberately omitted rather than estimated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays my medical bills while the case is still open?
Your own health insurance or medical payments coverage usually pays first. The provider may then place a lien on your recovery, which means it gets repaid at the end. We negotiate those liens down before you receive your share, and that negotiation often changes what you actually take home more than the headline settlement figure does.
The driver who hit me had no insurance. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may pay. Many people carry it without realising. We read your policy before assuming there is nothing to claim, and we also look at whether another party — an employer, a vehicle owner, a property owner — shares responsibility.
How soon will someone actually speak to me?
We answer the phone at any hour, and a lawyer reviews the facts of your case the same day in most matters. If you are in hospital and cannot travel, we come to you.
Can I change lawyers in the middle of my case?
Yes. You may change counsel at any point. Your former firm may assert a lien for its work, which is resolved out of the eventual recovery rather than billed to you directly. Ask any new firm to explain in writing how that will be handled before you sign.
Will I have to give a deposition or go to trial?
Most cases settle without a trial. If your case is filed, you may be deposed, which means answering questions under oath with your lawyer present. We prepare you thoroughly beforehand. Preparing a case as though it will be tried is also what makes an insurer take it seriously.
Is my settlement taxed?
Compensation for a physical injury is generally not taxed. Interest and punitive damages generally are. The allocation in the settlement documents matters, so speak to a tax professional about your own facts before you sign.
The insurer offered me money within a week. Should I take it?
An early offer arrives before anyone knows the full cost of your injury — before the imaging, the specialist, or the surgery that may follow. Once you sign a release, the claim is closed permanently, even if your condition worsens. Have the offer reviewed first.
What if my injury happened at work?
Workers’ compensation may cover you, and a separate claim may also exist against a third party who is not your employer — another driver, a contractor, or an equipment manufacturer. The two systems run in parallel and have different deadlines. Tell us both sets of facts at the first call.
Do I owe anything if we lose?
No. We work on contingency. You pay no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
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