Car Accidents matters in Hollister
Where Hollister Car Crashes Happen
Hollister sits at the junction of two of the Central Coast's most heavily traveled state routes. SR-25 runs north toward Gilroy, where it feeds US-101 and the daily Silicon Valley commute, while SR-156 carries traffic west toward San Juan Bautista and Monterey County. Both corridors mix fast-moving commuter cars, agricultural trucks hauling produce, and slower farm equipment, a combination that produces frequent rear-end, sideswipe, and left-turn collisions.
Inside town, San Benito Street is the downtown spine, with closely spaced intersections, on-street parking, and pedestrians crossing near shops and county offices. The SR-25 and SR-156 interchange on the edge of Hollister concentrates merging traffic, and the long two-lane stretch of SR-25 between Hollister and Gilroy is notorious for impatient passing on a roadway that carries far more vehicles than it was built for. Many serious injury crashes in this area involve head-on impacts when a driver attempts to pass and misjudges an oncoming gap.
What Your Claim May Be Worth
California does not cap most personal injury damages, and no honest lawyer can promise a specific dollar figure. The value of a Hollister car accident claim depends on the facts: the severity of your injuries, the cost of treatment at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and any follow-up specialists, the wages you lost while recovering, and how the crash has affected your daily life. Recoverable damages can include medical expenses, lost earnings, future care, property damage, and pain and suffering.
California follows a pure comparative negligence rule, so even if you were partly at fault you may still recover, with your award reduced by your percentage of responsibility. Insurers often try to shift blame to lower what they pay, which is why preserving evidence early matters.
Dealing With Insurance After a Commuter Crash
Many drivers on SR-25 and SR-156 carry only minimum California liability coverage, and some carry none at all. If the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage may be the primary source of compensation. Reviewing your policy quickly helps identify every avenue before deadlines pass.
The firm handles communication with adjusters, gathers the CHP or Hollister Police report, identifies witnesses, and works to document how the collision happened. Cases that cannot be resolved fairly are filed in the San Benito County Superior Court in Hollister.
Acting Within California's Deadlines
Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, you generally have two years from the date of a car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a city, county, or other public entity may be responsible, a written claim must usually be presented within six months under Government Code section 911.2, a much shorter window. Calling promptly protects your evidence and your rights.
Our attorney
How Mihran M. Ghazaryan helps with car accidents
When you hire MMG Law Firm, attorney Mihran M. Ghazaryan handles your case personally — not a case manager you never meet. He reviews the police report and your medical records himself, takes over every call with the adjuster, and looks for coverage others miss, including your own uninsured/underinsured-motorist policy. He also manages the medical liens that can quietly eat into a recovery, so more of any settlement stays with you.
Types of car accidents we handle
Rear-end and stop-light collisions
Often clearer on liability, but insurers still routinely dispute injury causation in low-speed impacts. We pair the medical record with biomechanical context to defeat that argument.
Intersection and left-turn crashes
Disputed-fault claims where the right-of-way analysis matters. Reconstruction, signal timing, and witness statements drive the result.
Hit-and-run and uninsured-motorist
We work directly with your own UM/UIM coverage when the at-fault driver flees or has no insurance, and we make sure your insurer treats you as the customer, not the adversary.
Damages
What compensation can cover
Every car accident claim is different, but California law allows injured plaintiffs to seek several categories of damages. We build each one with documentation — medical records, wage statements, expert opinions — so nothing is left on the table.
Medical expenses
Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and the future treatment your providers say you'll need.
Lost wages
Income you lost while recovering — and, where the injury affects your ability to work, diminished future earning capacity.
Pain and suffering
Compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, and the ways the injury has changed how you live day to day.
Property damage
Repair or replacement of your vehicle and other property damaged in the incident.
Out-of-pocket costs
Transportation to appointments, medical equipment, household help, and the other expenses an injury forces on you.
How we work
- 1
Free, no-pressure consultation
We listen first. We answer your questions. There is no fee for the initial conversation — and you decide whether to engage us at the end of it.
- 2
Investigation and evidence preservation
Police reports, scene photos, witness statements, vehicle data, surveillance video, medical records. The earlier we collect, the harder it is for the other side to reshape the story later.
- 3
Treatment, demand, and negotiation
We coordinate with your providers, document the full extent of damages — medical, lost income, pain — and present a demand backed by evidence. We push back firmly when an insurer lowballs.
- 4
Litigation when necessary
Most matters settle. When an insurer refuses to be reasonable, we file. Preparing every case as if it will be tried is what makes the settlement number move.
What to do right away
- Get medical attention even if you feel okay — adrenaline masks injury for hours.
- Document the scene with photos before anyone moves the vehicles, if it is safe.
- Get the other driver's name, license, plate, and insurance info.
- Write down what witnesses saw and how to reach them.
- File a report with the responding agency (or, for minor crashes, with DMV via SR-1 within 10 days).
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance before talking to a lawyer.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Deadlines that matter
Most California personal-injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). Miss the window and the court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how strong it is.
Claims against government entities are much shorter — generally a written claim within six months (Government Code §911.2). Crashes involving city vehicles, public buses, or dangerous public-road conditions can fall under this rule.
Exceptions exist in both directions — discovery rules, minors, continuing violations, out-of-state defendants — so don't assume your deadline has passed or that you have time to spare. Call (818) 539-7969 and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.