Huntington Beach Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

How These Injuries Happen

The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, which collects data from federally funded Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems, reports about 18,421 new traumatic spinal cord injuries a year in the United States. Vehicle crashes and falls account for almost 70 percent of recent injuries, and acts of violence and sports or recreation injuries for about 23 percent. The average age at injury has risen to 44 since 2015, and incomplete tetraplegia, meaning partial loss of function in all four limbs, is now the most frequent category. An incomplete injury still leaves some function below the injury level, and the amount that returns over the following months shapes everything about the claim.

On Huntington Beach roads, the California Office of Traffic Safety counted 1,076 people killed or injured in crashes in 2023, including 52 in motorcycle crashes. Caltrans counts about 109,000 to 150,000 vehicles a day on the 405 at Beach Boulevard, about 82,000 to 86,000 on Beach Boulevard itself near the freeway, and about 38,000 on Pacific Coast Highway near its junction with Beach Boulevard. A rollover, a motorcycle crash or a pedestrian hit at speed can fracture or dislocate the vertebrae and injure the cord. Falls cause many of the rest: from ladders and roofs on construction jobs, down poorly maintained stairs, or off balconies and decks.

Beach Injuries: City Beach or State Beach?

Huntington Beach’s coastline is split between different public owners, and that affects where a claim goes. The city’s Marine Safety Division guards the City’s Main Beach and Sunset Beach; its lifeguards patrol the 3.5 miles of Main Beach shoreline from Beach Boulevard north to Sea Point Avenue from dawn to dusk, every day of the year. Huntington State Beach, west of Magnolia Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, and Bolsa Chica State Beach are California State Parks units.

California Government Code section 831.7 gives public entities immunity for injuries to people taking part in a hazardous recreational activity on public property. The statute lists surfing and body contact sports, water contact activities, other than diving, where no lifeguard is provided and a reasonable warning was given, any form of diving into water other than from a diving board or platform, and diving anywhere it is prohibited and a reasonable warning was given. That covers many surf and shore-break injuries.

The immunity has limits. It does not protect a public entity that failed to guard or warn against a known dangerous condition that a participant would not reasonably assume as part of the activity, and it does not apply when the entity charged a specific fee to take part. Injuries at private pools, hotels, apartment complexes and homes are not covered by section 831.7 at all and follow ordinary premises liability rules.

Trauma Centers and Rehabilitation

Orange County’s Emergency Medical Services agency lists four designated trauma centers: UCI Health in Orange, Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and Rady Children’s Hospital in Orange for children. Designated trauma centers are where the county’s emergency system sends its most seriously injured patients.

After the acute stay, rehabilitation is where much of the long-term planning happens. Los Angeles County’s Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey lists spinal cord injury support groups, wheelchair sports and seating services among its patient programs. The rehab team’s notes on mobility, bladder and bowel function, skin care and equipment become central evidence when the claim turns to future needs.

Measuring What the Future Costs

The Statistical Center publishes average costs that show why these cases depend on detailed future planning. In 2024 dollars, it estimates average first-year health care and living expenses of about $1,410,000 for high tetraplegia (C1 to C4) and about $687,000 for paraplegia, with continuing costs every year after. Those figures leave out lost wages and benefits. The same data sheet reports that about 18 percent of people with a traumatic spinal cord injury since 2015 were employed one year after the injury.

These are national cost estimates, not case values, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. In an actual claim, the numbers come from the injured person’s own physicians, a life care planner who prices the specific care and equipment needed, and an economist who projects lost earning capacity. Insurers look hard at each of those reports, so they are built from the medical records rather than from averages.

Getting the Huntington Beach Police Report

For crashes inside the city, the Huntington Beach Police Department releases traffic collision reports to the parties state law allows, including the drivers, registered owners, passengers listed in the report, parents of a minor driver, insurers, people facing property damage or civil liability from the crash, and attorneys representing any of them. Witnesses cannot get a copy. The department’s fee schedule lists police reports at $5. For a crash on the 405 or another freeway, the report usually comes from the California Highway Patrol and can be requested with form CHP 190.

Where a Huntington Beach Case Is Filed

Orange County Superior Court hears unlimited civil cases for every city in the county at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana. The West Justice Center in Westminster is the branch court that lists Huntington Beach among the cities it serves, but it handles traffic, minor offense and criminal matters plus only some civil proceedings, and its page lists civil counter hours at the Central Justice Center only. A spinal cord injury lawsuit from Huntington Beach is filed in Santa Ana, not in a local branch court.

Deadlines

Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. A claim against the City of Huntington Beach, the state or another public entity requires a written government claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Spinal cord injury cases take time to value because the medical picture keeps changing in the first year, but the claim deadlines do not wait for that.

Contact Saeedian Law Group

The firm’s office is at 9100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500W, Beverly Hills. Meetings can happen by phone or video, at home or at a rehab facility when travel is hard. There is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery in your case. Call (310) 288-3000 for a free consultation.

Our California spinal cord injury attorney page covers the statewide picture. When the injury came from a crash, our Huntington Beach motorcycle accident lawyer and Huntington Beach car accident lawyer pages cover the crash claim, and the Huntington Beach brain injury lawyer page covers head injuries that often come with spinal trauma. Families in nearby cities can read our spinal cord injury pages for Irvine, Long Beach and Santa Ana.

Call (310) 288-3000 Free Consultation

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bring a claim for a spinal cord injury from diving or surfing at a Huntington Beach beach?

It depends on what caused the injury and who controls that part of the beach. Government Code section 831.7 generally shields public entities from liability for hazardous recreational activities, and the statute names surfing, body contact sports, any diving other than from a diving board or platform, and diving where it is prohibited and warned against. The immunity does not apply when the entity failed to guard or warn against a known dangerous condition that was not an inherent part of the activity. The facts of the location, the signs posted and the lifeguard coverage that day decide the question.

Who runs the beaches in Huntington Beach?

The City of Huntington Beach’s Marine Safety Division guards the City’s Main Beach and Sunset Beach, with lifeguards patrolling 3.5 miles of Main Beach shoreline from Beach Boulevard north to Sea Point Avenue. Huntington State Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach are run by California State Parks. A claim involving a city beach goes to the city, and a claim involving a state beach goes through the state’s government claims process. Both start with a written claim within six months of the injury.

Where are serious spinal injuries from Huntington Beach usually taken?

Orange County’s EMS agency designates four trauma centers: UCI Health in Orange, Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, and Rady Children’s Hospital in Orange for pediatric patients. Later rehabilitation may happen at a specialized program such as the spinal cord injury program at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey. Paramedics may bypass a closer emergency room to reach one of these centers, so the first records can come from a hospital outside Huntington Beach. Ask for the ambulance run report as well as the hospital chart, since together they show the condition at the scene and on arrival.

How are future medical costs shown in a spinal cord injury case?

Through the injured person’s treating doctors, a life care plan and an economic analysis. The life care planner lists the care, therapy, equipment, medication and home changes the person is expected to need, and prices each item. An economist then projects those costs and any lost earning capacity over the person’s expected lifetime. National data, such as the cost estimates published by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, can give context, but a claim is valued on the person’s own records.

Which court would hear my Huntington Beach spinal cord injury lawsuit?

Orange County Superior Court’s Central Justice Center, at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana, handles unlimited civil cases for all Orange County cities. The West Justice Center in Westminster, the branch court listed for Huntington Beach, handles traffic, minor offense and criminal matters and only some civil proceedings. Personal injury cases seeking more than the limited civil amount are filed in Santa Ana. Lawsuits against a public entity, such as the city over a beach or road condition, follow the six-month claim step first. Branch courts listed for a city do not change where an unlimited civil case is filed.

How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury claim?

Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally gives two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit against a private party. If a public entity may be responsible, such as the city, the county or the state, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim within six months. With a spinal cord injury, it can take a year or more to understand the long-term picture, so the early deadlines often arrive before the medical outlook is settled.

Can I get the police report if I was a passenger?

Passengers listed in the report can get a copy. The Huntington Beach Police Department releases traffic collision reports to authorized parties, a list that includes drivers, registered owners, parents of a minor driver, insurers and attorneys representing any of them. Witnesses are not. The department lists a $5 fee for police reports. For freeway crashes, the California Highway Patrol is usually the reporting agency, and its form CHP 190 is used to request a copy. Include the report number from the officer’s card with the request, along with the date and location of the crash.

About the Author

Michael Saeedian, Esq., Founding Attorney, Saeedian Law Group (California State Bar #265470). Michael founded Saeedian Law Group in 2009 and has spent more than 16 years representing injured Californians and their families in personal injury and wrongful death matters across the state. His practice includes spinal cord injury cases throughout Orange County. Content on this page is reviewed for legal accuracy by Michael Saeedian as editor-in-chief.

Legal disclaimer: This page provides general information about California injury law and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different; past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship with Saeedian Law Group. For advice specific to your situation, contact our office at (310) 288-3000 or schedule a free consultation.