Why ordinary drivers rarely end up as the target
Injury claims are, in practice, claims against policies. Chasing a person past coverage is slow and often empty, so most files close inside limits. The system points at your declarations page, not your kitchen table.
What you already bought if papers arrive
Two duties people forget: defense (the carrier hires and pays counsel) and indemnity (it pays covered judgments to the limit). A summons served in ZIP 92501 goes to the insurer the day it arrives. Your job is notice and cooperation, not a speech on the porch.
Where the worry is fair
- No insurance — no defense, no indemnity, personal exposure, and Prop 213 also strips your own pain-and-suffering rights if you were hurt.
- Minimum limits, serious medicine — 15/30 does not stretch far after an interchange wreck. Excess judgments can reach assets. Umbrella policies exist for this exact gap.
- Impaired or extreme conduct — punitive damages are not insurable, which is why some defendants become personally interesting. See punitive damages explained.
The two-year quiet period
The statute of limitations lets an injury claim arrive up to two years later. A silent crash can still produce a complaint. If yours was serious, notify your carrier properly and let them hold the file. If you are reading this from the injured side, injury-claim help after a Riverside crash is the other half of the same courthouse.
