San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyer

It depends on the road. On city streets, it's the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), which says it prepares traffic collision reports only for hit-and-run, drunk driving and personal injury cases. Crashes on the freeways and the Bay Bridge are generally handled by the CHP's San Francisco Area office, at 455 Eighth Street, whose area covers the city and runs down the Peninsula to Millbrae. Ask the officer at the scene for the report number before you leave, if you can.

Getting a copy of an SFPD report

SFPD calls its online Incident Report Request Portal the most secure and convenient way to request a report, and says copies are free. For a traffic collision, allow at least five business days from the date of the crash before you ask, and upload a copy of a valid ID with an online request. You can also ask at the records window in the first-floor lobby of police headquarters, 1245 3rd Street, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (SFPD (opens in a new tab)).

If anyone was hurt, the drivers involved must also make a written report within 24 hours to the CHP or, inside a city, to the CHP or the city police department, and report the crash to the DMV within 10 days (Vehicle Code §20008 (opens in a new tab); §16000 (opens in a new tab)). Our car accident page walks through the other steps.

You generally must file a written claim first. In San Francisco, claims against the City and County go to the Controller's Office, Claims Division, at 1390 Market Street, 7th Floor. For an injury, the claim generally must be filed within six months of the incident (Government Code §911.2 (opens in a new tab)). The City says it may take up to 45 days to investigate, and that if it denies the claim, it will tell you your deadline to sue. Injuries on or by Muni buses and trains go through this same claim process; the SFMTA says its accessibility complaint hearings don't address injury damages (SFMTA (opens in a new tab)).

Some local agencies are separate. The claim form says the City does not accept claims for the San Francisco Housing Authority, the San Francisco Unified School District or the San Francisco Community College District, and lists their own addresses. If a California public agency rejects a claim in writing, a lawsuit generally must be filed within six months after the notice is delivered or mailed (Government Code §945.6 (opens in a new tab)).

Usually in the San Francisco Superior Court. Its Civil Division is at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street, where the Civil Clerk's Office is in Room 103. The court's judicial assignments effective October 5, 2026 place its civil trial departments, and its civil master calendar and settlements department, at the Civic Center Courthouse.

The CHP's San Francisco Area office lists I-80, US 101, I-280, I-380 and State Route 1 among its routes (CHP (opens in a new tab)). The City's General Plan names 101/280 to the Bay Bridge and 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge as regional links that are often at capacity. The city has fewer freeways than once planned: the plan recounts the "Freeway Revolt," in which residents' protests led the City to drop several planned freeways, a 1966 Board of Supervisors decision that permitted only the Southern Freeway (I-280) among new cross-town connections, and the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway and parts of the Central Freeway after the 1989 earthquake (General Plan (opens in a new tab)).

Many serious crashes happen on a small share of streets. The SFMTA's 2024 High Injury Network, built from 2020 to 2024 data, identifies the 13 percent of city streets where 74 percent of serious traffic injuries or deaths occur (SFMTA (opens in a new tab)). If you were hurt while walking or biking, our car accident page covers some of the rules California drivers must follow, such as speed and right-of-way.

In an emergency, call 911. Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, at 1001 Potrero Avenue, says it is the only Level I trauma center in San Francisco and northern San Mateo County, and the state EMS Authority also lists it at Level I for adults. Its emergency department, in Building 25 on the first floor, is open 24 hours. The state's HCAI profile lists a comprehensive emergency service level (ZSFG (opens in a new tab); EMSA (opens in a new tab); HCAI (opens in a new tab)).