Nine Injured in Northridge Multi-Car Crash | Who Pays in a California Pileup
- Tom Feher, Esq.
A multi-vehicle crash on Sunday morning, October 25, 2026, in the 9900 block of North Reseda Boulevard near Lassen Street in Northridge left nine people hurt, CBS Los Angeles reported. Los Angeles Fire Department crews freed two people trapped in the wreckage and took them to a hospital in critical condition, three more were transported in unknown condition, and four people declined transport, according to an LAFD spokesperson. Video from the scene showed as many as five cars involved. The Los Angeles Police Department was looking into the cause as of the report, and no cause had been announced.
Nine injured people, several cars, and no clear answer yet on who caused it: that is the hardest kind of crash to sort out under California law. Here is how fault, insurance limits, and deadlines work when a pileup like this one happens in Los Angeles County.
Tom’s Opinion
“The mistake I see after every pileup is the assumption that the last car in line pays for everyone. California does not work that way. A jury assigns a percentage of fault to each driver, and each driver’s insurer pays its share. The real problem is math: a minimum policy carries $60,000 for everyone hurt in one accident, and nine injured people can exhaust that in a day. The coverage that actually protects you is your own uninsured and underinsured motorist policy, and too many people sign the waiver to save a few dollars a month.”
Thomas Feher, Esq. · Founding Attorney, Feher Law APC · 50+ jury trials to verdict · $170M+ recovered
What California Law Says
Fault is divided among every driver who contributed
California holds everyone responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care under Civil Code section 1714, and it uses pure comparative fault: each driver in a chain-reaction crash can be assigned a percentage of the blame, and an injured person can still recover even if partly at fault, with the award reduced by that percentage. Under Civil Code section 1431.2, each at-fault defendant pays non-economic damages such as pain and suffering only in proportion to its share of fault. Economic damages, meaning medical bills, lost wages, and vehicle damage, are not divided that way, so a seriously injured passenger can pursue the full economic loss from any driver found at fault. Our guide to who is at fault in a three-car accident walks through the common scenarios.
Minimum insurance runs out fast when nine people are hurt
Since January 1, 2025, Vehicle Code section 16056 has required auto policies issued or renewed in California to carry at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage. Those are the floors, and many drivers carry nothing more. In a crash with nine injured people, a single $60,000 per-accident limit is shared by every claimant against that driver. That is why the policy that often matters most is your own: Insurance Code section 11580.2 requires insurers to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in every California auto policy unless the named insured deletes or reduces it in a signed written agreement. If you kept it, it can pay the gap when the at-fault driver’s limits are exhausted. If you waived it, read our explainer on what happens when the other driver is uninsured and you have no UM coverage.
Deadlines
Most injury claims from a car crash must be filed in court within two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a government vehicle or a dangerous road condition turns out to be part of the cause, a written claim must first be presented to the public entity within six months under Government Code section 911.2, and missing that window can end the claim before it starts. The cause of the Northridge crash had not been announced as of the report, so anyone involved should treat the shorter deadline as live until the facts are clear. See our California car accident statute of limitations guide for the exceptions.
If This Happened to You or a Loved One
Multi-car crashes generate competing stories, and the insurers for several drivers will each try to push fault somewhere else. These steps protect your claim:
- Get checked even if you declined the ambulance. Four people at this crash refused transport. Adrenaline masks injuries, and a gap between the crash and your first medical visit is the first thing an adjuster will use against you. See a doctor within a day or two and describe every symptom.
- Preserve the evidence while it exists. Photos of every vehicle’s position and damage, dash cam files, witness names, and the LAPD report number. Businesses along Reseda Boulevard may have cameras that overwrite footage within days, and a lawyer can send a preservation letter immediately.
- Do not give a recorded statement to another driver’s insurer. You must report the crash to your own carrier, but you are not required to be interviewed by anyone else’s. In a pileup, a casual remark about braking late becomes a fault percentage.
- Pull your own policy and check for UM/UIM. Find the declarations page and confirm whether you carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and at what limit. Put your own carrier on notice of a possible UM/UIM claim early.
- Talk to a lawyer before anyone offers money. When limited coverage has to stretch across many injured people, organized early claims and documented injuries matter. Our Los Angeles car accident lawyers handle multi-vehicle cases on contingency, and you can get a rough sense of value with the car accident settlement calculator. You pay nothing unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually more than one driver. Investigators and insurers look at who started the chain, who was following too closely, who was speeding, and who had time to stop. Each driver gets a percentage of fault, and that percentage determines what each insurer pays. Being hit from behind does not automatically make you blameless, and causing the first impact does not make you responsible for every car behind you.
A minimum California policy issued or renewed since 2025 carries $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident. When several people are seriously hurt, that per-accident limit is shared, so each claimant may receive far less than their damages. Your own underinsured motorist coverage can pay the difference up to your UIM limit, and any other at-fault driver's policy may also be available.
Yes. California uses pure comparative fault, so you can recover even if you were mostly to blame, and your award is simply reduced by your percentage. If you were 20 percent at fault for $100,000 in damages, you could recover $80,000. Insurers often inflate your share in multi-car crashes, which is why the evidence from the scene matters so much.
Two years from the crash for a lawsuit against another driver under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If a city, county, or state vehicle or a dangerous road condition contributed, a government claim must be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Insurance claims should be opened much sooner, and evidence such as camera footage disappears within days.
No, not without talking to a lawyer first. You are required to cooperate with your own insurer, but another driver's adjuster works for that driver. In a multi-vehicle crash, adjusters use recorded statements to shift fault percentages, and an offhand remark about your speed or following distance can cost you a large share of your recovery.
Yes. Declining transport is common and does not waive anything, but it creates a gap the insurer will point to. Get examined by a doctor as soon as possible, tell them you were in a crash, and keep every record. Soft-tissue, concussion, and spinal injuries often show up a day or two later, and prompt documentation ties them to the collision.
Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq., October 2026
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is for general information and is not legal advice for any specific matter.
