After a Car Accident in Sonoma County

This guide follows the order things usually happen, with the Sonoma County offices involved at each step. For the bigger picture of an injury claim after a crash, see our auto accidents page.

What happens, step by step?

At the scene. Every driver in a crash that injures someone must stop, exchange information and help an injured person get care (Vehicle Code 20001 and 20003). Call 911 if anyone is hurt.
The police report. An officer from the CHP or a city police department may take the report at the scene. If no one did and anyone was hurt, a driver must make a written report within 24 hours (Vehicle Code 20008).
Medical care. See a doctor, and tell every provider about every symptom, including a headache or dizziness after a blow to the head.
The DMV report. Within 10 days, each driver files an SR-1 with the DMV when anyone was injured or killed, or property damage to any one person was over $1,000 (Vehicle Code 16000). See whether you have to report a crash to the DMV for what the form asks for.
Insurance claims. You open claims with the other driver's insurer and, where it applies, your own. The insurer's 40-day clock starts once it has proof of the claim.
Records and the report copy. You request your medical records and a copy of the crash report.
Looking past day 30. You check whether a public agency is involved, because its six-month claim deadline may come first.

What are the deadlines in the first 30 days?

When	What happens	California law
At the scene	Every driver in a crash that injures someone must stop, give their name, address, vehicle registration number and the owner's name and address to the people involved and to any officer, show a driver's license if asked, and help get an injured person to medical care when it is clearly needed or requested.	Vehicle Code 20001 and 20003
Within 24 hours	If anyone was hurt or killed, a driver must make, or have someone make, a written report of the crash to the CHP or, inside a city, to the CHP or that city's police department.	Vehicle Code 20008
Within 10 days	File an SR-1 report with the DMV if anyone was injured, however minor the injury, or killed, or if property damage was over $1,000.	Vehicle Code 16000
Within 15 days of your request	Doctors and hospitals must send copies of your records within 15 days after they receive your request, for a fee that covers the copies.	Health and Safety Code 123110
Within 40 days of proof of claim	An insurer must accept or deny the claim, in whole or in part. If it needs more time, it must tell you in writing, then update you in writing every 30 days.	California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.7

Who handles my crash in Sonoma County: the CHP or city police?

It depends on where the crash happened. The CHP Santa Rosa Area office, at 6100 LaBath Avenue in Rohnert Park, serves most of Sonoma County. The Sonoma Valley east of Trinity Road is served by the CHP's Napa Area office instead. If you were hurt in or near the City of Sonoma, our page for the City of Sonoma lists the Napa Area office and the city's police.

Inside a city, the city's own officers may take the report. Rohnert Park Public Safety asks people to report incidents on Highway 101 to the CHP, as our Rohnert Park page explains. Windsor and the City of Sonoma contract with the Sonoma County Sheriff for their police departments, and Cotati has its own police department (see our page on injuries in Cotati). In the county seat, city reports come from the police Records Bureau described on our Santa Rosa page.

Knowing which agency responded tells you where to ask for the report. Our guide on how to get the crash report in Sonoma County lists each office. For the court, the County claims office and the other agencies a case may involve, see our page on personal injury cases in Sonoma County.

Do I have to file a DMV report if the police already came?

Yes, when the crash meets the SR-1 rule. The DMV states that an SR-1 is required in addition to any report made to the police, the CHP or your insurance company. You, your insurance agent or broker, or your legal representative can file it, and the DMV accepts it online; paper forms take longer to process.

Skipping it has a real cost: the DMV must suspend the driving privilege of a driver who fails to make a required accident report, and the suspension stays in place until the DMV receives the report or proof of financial responsibility, such as insurance (Vehicle Code 16004).

What does the insurance company have to do, and when?

California's fair claims rules set the pace. Once an insurer has proof of your claim, it has 40 calendar days to accept or deny it, in whole or in part. If it needs more time, it must say so in writing within those 40 days, explain what it still needs, and send a written update every 30 days after that. Our guide on how long the insurance company has to respond lists each of those deadlines.

A claim against the other driver's insurer that is denied, in whole or in part, must be denied in writing. A written denial must also tell you that you can have it reviewed by the California Department of Insurance. Once an insurer accepts a claim, it must pay within 30 days, after receiving a signed release when one is needed.

Keep the date each letter arrives. Those dates are how you check whether the insurer is keeping to these rules.

What if the other driver had no insurance or too little?

Your own policy may pay. Read how uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage works in California before you talk to your insurer. If the other driver fled, that coverage has extra steps, including a report within 24 hours to the city police, the Sheriff or the CHP (Insurance Code 11580.2(b)). Our guide on hit-and-run crashes in Sonoma or Marin County explains them.

What changes the answer?

No one was hurt. If the crash damaged only property, the driver must stop and either give the owner their name and address or leave a written note, and then notify the city police or, outside a city, the CHP (Vehicle Code 20002). An SR-1 is then needed only if damage to any one person's property was over $1,000 (Vehicle Code 16000).

A government vehicle was involved. The driver of a vehicle owned or leased by the United States, the State or a local agency does not file an SR-1 for that vehicle (Vehicle Code 16000(b)), but your own reporting duty does not change. The bigger change is the claim: the public agency usually must receive a written claim within six months, as our guide on crashes with a government vehicle or a dangerous road explains.

The crash happened in Marin County. The steps are the same, but the CHP office and the claims offices are different. See our page on personal injury cases in Marin County.

The other driver fled. The 24-hour report becomes a condition of your uninsured motorist coverage, not just a duty (Insurance Code 11580.2(b)).

Someone died. The coroner and a criminal investigation may become part of the first month. Our guide on what happens after a fatal crash in Sonoma County covers those steps.

No one reported the crash to the DMV within a year. If none of the drivers reports the crash to the DMV within one year, the DMV is not required to file a report, and the suspension rule no longer applies (Vehicle Code 16000(c)). That does not excuse your own report; it only explains why the DMV may have no record.

What could the first month look like? An example

For example, imagine a driver rear-ended at a red light on Old Redwood Highway outside city limits. A CHP officer from the Santa Rosa Area office comes to the scene, takes statements and hands her a card with a report number. Her neck is sore, so she goes to urgent care that evening.

On day 3 she reports the claim to the other driver's insurer and to her own, writing down each claim number. On day 5 she files the SR-1 online, well inside the 10 days, and asks the urgent care clinic for her records, which must arrive within 15 days of her request. On day 12 she requests the crash report from the CHP. The insurer receives her proof of claim on day 10, so its 40-day answer is due by about day 50; if it needs more time, it must tell her in writing. This example is made up to show how the steps line up; it says nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do people make in the first month?

Skipping the doctor because the pain seems minor, then having no record linking later symptoms to the crash.
Assuming the police report replaces the DMV's SR-1, and risking a license suspension.
Giving a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer before knowing the full extent of the injuries.
Throwing away the officer's card or the report number.
Missing that a county truck, a city bus or a public road was involved, and with it the six-month claim deadline.
Signing a release with the other driver's insurer before checking whether your own underinsured motorist coverage could also pay.

What deadlines come after the first 30 days?

Two matter most. If a public entity may be responsible, such as a county vehicle or a road the County maintains, a written claim is due within six months (Government Code 911.2). In Sonoma County, claims against the County go to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at 575 Administration Drive, Suite 100A, Santa Rosa. Against a private driver or business, a lawsuit for injuries must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1). Our guide to California personal injury deadlines covers the exceptions.

What should I do this week?

Write down the name of the agency that responded and the report number.
Take photos of the vehicles, the road and your injuries, and save the names and phone numbers of witnesses.
File the SR-1 with the DMV if the crash meets the rule, and keep a copy.
Keep every claim number and every letter or email from an insurer, with the date it arrived.
Request your medical records, and keep the bills and appointment dates together.
Start a simple log of missed work and of how the injuries affect your day.

If anyone hit their head, tell every provider, even if symptoms seem mild. Our guide on how a traumatic brain injury is proven and valued explains why.

Frequently asked questions

Who files the SR-1 if I was a passenger?

The duty belongs to the driver (Vehicle Code 16000). A passenger does not file one, but it helps to know whether each driver did, because the DMV report names the people who complained of injury.

Can my insurance agent file the SR-1 for me?

Yes. The law lets the driver report personally or through an insurance agent, broker or legal representative, within 10 days (Vehicle Code 16000). Confirm in writing that it was filed.

How soon will the insurance company decide my claim?

Within 40 days after it receives proof of the claim, or it must tell you in writing why it needs more time and update you every 30 days (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.7).

What if the crash was on Highway 101 inside a city?

Rohnert Park, for example, asks that incidents on Highway 101 be reported to the CHP. Ask the CHP Santa Rosa Area office for that report.

Do I need a lawyer in the first 30 days?

Not to file the reports. Many people call a lawyer early when the injuries are serious, when fault is disputed, or when a public agency or an uninsured driver is involved, because those cases have extra deadlines and conditions.

What if I only felt pain days later?

See a doctor as soon as you notice it and say when the crash happened. The date of the first visit is part of the medical record an insurer will read.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident in Sonoma County, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page to schedule your free consultation and learn how we can help.

What happens after a car accident in Sonoma County, step by step, in the first 30 days?