The crash has already happened. Now it’s the other driver’s insurance co., and your phone is ringing. They want a statement. They seem reasonable. They say all they want is to know what happened.”
What they really want is something they can use to reduce what they owe you. “The quicker they get a recorded statement, the better off they are. The sooner you call a lawyer, the easier your case will be.
If you’ve been injured in a Torrance car accident, the first call you make matters. I’m Adrianos Facchetti, a Torrance personal injury lawyer with 20 years of experience representing car accident victims throughout Los Angeles County.
We work on a contingency basis. We get money for you. You don’t pay unless we do. Call (626) 793-8607 for a free consultation, 24 hours a day.
Talk to a Lawyer Before You Call the Insurance Company Back
This is the most important advice for anyone who has just been injured in a Torrance car accident.
Insurance adjusters are trained to collect information that protects their company. A recorded statement you give before you know the extent of your injuries or your rights is almost always used to cut your claim later. You said at the time you were okay. You said you were distracted. These things happen.
One free chat with a lawyer turns things around 180 degrees. We will tell you what the insurer is really up to, what California law has to say about your situation, and if your case is worth pursuing.
No pressure. No cost up front. If we take the case, you pay nothing if we don’t win.
Torrance Roads and the Accidents that Happen on Them
Torrance sits at the crossroads of several major South Bay traffic corridors. Hawthorne Boulevard heads north through Lawndale and Gardena. Sepulveda Boulevard links to the I-405 interchange and carries heavy through traffic. Both Western Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard are busy surface streets with commercial development that creates constant turning conflicts. Pacific Coast Highway runs along the western edge of Torrance, linking to Redondo Beach, Palos Verdes, and beyond.
All of this swirls around the Del Amo Fashion Center. It is one of the largest shopping malls in the country by square footage. The traffic around it, Hawthorne, Carson Street, and the surface streets around the mall, creates circumstances for parking lot accidents, conflicts with pedestrians, and rear-end crashes at busy signal intersections.
Add the daily commuter flow between Torrance and Carson, Gardena, Long Beach, and Los Angeles and you have a city where car accidents happen across a wide range of road types, speeds and situations. There are some easy ones. Many are not.
Auto Accidents in Torrance We Handle
Rear End Collisions at Sepulveda and Hawthorne
Hawthorne & Sepulveda traffic is nonstop slow and stop. Drivers are tailgating the vehicle ahead either because they are following too closely or are distracted by their phones. These crashes seem minor on the outside. The injuries are anything but whiplash, herniated discs, and concussion.
California Vehicle Code § 22350 requires drivers to drive at a safe speed for the conditions. If they hit you from behind, they were going too fast to stop. That’s where liability starts.
Intersection Crashes Crenshaw & Western
T-bone crashes and left-turn crashes are common at busier intersections in Torrance. Both Crenshaw Boulevard and Western Avenue have lots of turning traffic. A driver who runs a yellow light, misjudges a gap, or fails to yield on a left turn can cause a serious broadside collision with almost no warning.
Accidents in Shopping Centers and Parking Lots
Parking lots at Del Amo Fashion Center and the retail corridors around it always have traffic. Despite the slower speeds, low-speed parking lot crashes tend to cause real injury. They are also harder to fix – there’s no traffic light, no clear fault indicator, and no police report because officers don’t always respond to accidents on private property.
We have experience with parking lot accident claims. The key is to get evidence fast, security camera footage, witness statements, and photos.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
Somebody hits you and then drives off. In Torrance, hit-and-run accidents are most common in parking lots, residential cut-through streets, and on busier streets at night.
A lot depends on the insurance coverage you have after a hit and run. Uninsured motorist coverage on your auto policy can pay for your injuries and losses, even if the other driver is never found. “We help clients find all of their coverage and go after it.
Rideshare, Delivery Driver Crashes
Torrance is teeming with Uber and Lyft and DoorDash and Amazon delivery vehicles – around the mall, restaurant corridors of Hawthorne Boulevard and residential neighborhoods across the city. Depending on whether these drivers were actively on a delivery or ride at the time of the accident, multiple insurance policies may be involved.
These cases require swift action, as delivery and rideshare companies maintain detailed driver logs and GPS data that must be requested before it disappears.
Drunk and Distracted Driving Collisions
Bars and restaurants near Old Torrance and along the Pacific Coast Highway corridor create a risk of late-night drunk driving. On Sepulveda and Hawthorne, distracted driving on the commuter routes during rush hour is a daily occurrence. In both of these situations, there is a clear-cut case of negligence, and these are often stronger claims than a typical at-fault accident.
Accidents by Uninsured Drivers
California requires auto insurance, but a significant percentage of drivers in Los Angeles County are uninsured or have minimum limits that are nowhere near enough to cover serious injuries. If you are hit by an uninsured driver, your own uninsured motorist policy is essential. We help our clients get to that coverage and maximize it.
Multi-Vehicle Crashes During Commuter Traffic
South Bay commuter routes, including the I-405 corridor, Sepulveda Boulevard, and Hawthorne Boulevard toward Gardena and Carson, are at real risk of multi-vehicle chain reaction crashes during rush hours. These cases involve multiple insurance companies, disputed fault percentages, and sometimes serious injuries that require extensive documentation.
How Torrance Car Accident Claims Get Complicated
Most car accident claims in Torrance have at least one of these complications:
- Overlap insurance policies. Your insurance, the other driver’s insurance, or maybe a rideshare or delivery company policy. Each has its own adjuster, its own limits of coverage, its own motivation to cut the payout.
- Delayed signs of injury. Whiplash, concussions, soft tissue injuries, and herniated discs often don’t show up with obvious symptoms immediately. Adrenaline on the spot blunts pain. You feel fine. You are not going to the hospital. Two weeks later, you can hardly move your neck. But now the insurer says the injury isn’t crash-related.
- Contested fault. The other driver tells a different story. Their insurer is building a case on that story. You have injuries, and you haven’t properly documented your version in the meantime.
- Stress of quick settlement. Your adjuster calls with an offer before you know how bad your injuries really are. Just take it, sign the release, and you can never go back for more.
A lawyer changes the game on all that.” We’ll properly document your injuries, work with multiple insurers at once, and not let a quick offer close a case before we know what it’s really worth.
What If the Other Driver Blames You?
California’s comparative negligence law allows you to recover damages even if you were partially at fault for the accident. If you are 30% at fault and your total damages are $100,000, you get $70,000.
Insurance companies know this. That is why their adjusters will work hard to put as much blame on you as they possibly can. Every percentage point you get is one less they have to spend.
“You were speeding.” “You didn’t use your turn signal.” “You could have prevented it.” These are arguments that are made even when there is no evidence to support them. A lawyer looks into what actually happened, counters the insurer’s version of events with evidence, and does everything possible to keep your percentage as low as the facts will allow.
Evidence That Supports Your Argument
Evidence in a Torrance car accident case disappears faster than most people would believe. Dashcam footage cycles. Del Amo and other businesses nearby have security cameras that record over themselves after 30 days. Witnesses drive away and are difficult to find.
What we lock in immediately:
- Traffic and business video. Along Hawthorne, Sepulveda, and at major intersections. We send our preservation notices promptly.
- Police report. The Torrance Police Department accident report contains observations of the officers and sometimes initial fault determinations. We request them as they are released.
- Statements to the police. Anyone who witnessed the crash. Names and phone numbers are called out quickly at the scene before memories fade.
- Documentation of vehicle damage photos of both vehicles before repair or removal. The pattern of damage tells investigators exactly what happened.
- Medical records of the same day. If you go to urgent care or the ER right after the crash, you will have a medical record that ties your injuries to the accident. Delaying treatment creates a gap that the insurer will exploit.
- Your own written description. You remember things best right after the crash. Write down what happened as soon as you can.
Injuries That May Not Appear Immediately
Here’s one of the biggest things to get about injuries from car accidents.
- Whiplash is not always announced at the scene. The neck stiffens over 24 to 48 hours. What feels like small soreness turns into serious pain.
- Concussion symptoms, headaches, trouble concentrating, sleep problems, and light sensitivity often develop over days, not hours. Most concussion patients felt fine immediately after the crash.
- Herniated discs may slowly develop radiating pain, numbness, and weakness. A disc that is slightly compressed due to the crash can take weeks before clear symptoms appear.
- Painful and debilitating soft tissue injuries to muscles and ligaments all over the back, shoulders, and neck do not show up on X-rays. Insurance companies will often say that these injuries are minor or pre-existing.
- Internal injuries can be life-threatening and may not show obvious external signs. medical assessment after any major crash is important even if you feel okay
Getting medical care immediately after a Torrance car accident is about more than just your health. Es ist Dokumentation. “The most important evidence in your claim is the medical record made on the day of the accident.
What Compensation Can Actually Compensate
- Medical expenses. All the money you’ve had to spend on emergency care, imaging, surgery, physical therapy, specialist appointments, and medicine. Future medical bills if your injuries require ongoing treatment.
- Lost income. Income you could not earn when you were recovering. That is also recoverable if your injury limits your future earning capacity.
- Suffering and pain. The physical pain and emotional toll of having a serious injury. In cases where there is serious injury, this is often a major component of the total claim.
- Damage to property. Repair or replacement of your vehicle and the cost of a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired.
- Emotional pain. Anxiety, sleep problems, and post-traumatic stress from the crash, these are recognized damages in California personal injury cases.
- Future health care. If your injuries will necessitate ongoing treatment, physical therapy, pain management, or future procedures, those projected expenses are part of your claim.
How much is my case worth? The value of your case depends on the severity of your injuries, medical expenses, lost wages, clear liability, and available insurance policies. We don’t inflate the numbers. We review your records and the facts of your accident and give you an honest assessment of what your case is really worth.
About Adrianos Facchetti:
Licensed in California since 2006. State Bar No. 243,213. Over 20 years of experience handling car accident cases for clients in Los Angeles County, including South Bay and surrounding communities.
Avvo 10.0 Top Attorney. Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® 2025. Accredited by BBB. MyBurbank’s Top 2026.
Read more about my background ->
You Were Injured in Torrance. Here’s What to Do Next
The insurance company knows what they’re doing. You have a right to know your options too.
Free consultation. No strings attached. No win, no fee.
Call (626) 793-8607 any time, day or night, weekend. They speak Spanish here. We are Portuguese.
General information only, not legal advice. No two cases are the same. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
