San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyer

Who Can Be Held Liable for Personal Injury in San Francisco?

Under California Civil Code §1714, any person whose negligence causes injury owes full compensation for the resulting harm. San Francisco recorded more than 3,200 traffic collisions in 2024, and distracted or drunk drivers are among the most common defendants—causing car accidents on the Bay Bridge approach, truck collisions on I-80, and motorcycle crashes along Lombard Street. When a rideshare operator or commercial carrier employs the at-fault driver, the company can be held jointly liable through respondeat superior.

Property owners who ignore known hazards face premises liability exposure. A landlord who leaves a wet floor unaddressed near the Ferry Building or a cracked sidewalk outside a SoMa venue can be sued for slip and fall damages. The City and County of San Francisco is also a potential defendant—under the Government Claims Act—when a pothole on Cesar Chavez Street or a poorly marked crosswalk in the Mission causes a pedestrian accident.

Dog owners face strict liability under California Civil Code §3342 for bites in public spaces such as Dolores Park, with no requirement to prove the animal had a prior history of aggression. Product manufacturers are liable when defective parts—a faulty airbag or blowout-prone tire—cause a burn injury or traumatic brain injury on a Bay Area freeway.

• A drunk driver who runs a red light at Market Street and Van Ness Avenue
• A property manager who fails to repair a broken handrail at a North Beach apartment building
• A delivery company whose on-duty driver rear-ends a vehicle on the Embarcadero
• The City and County of San Francisco for an unmarked pothole on Potrero Avenue that causes a cyclist to crash
• A dog owner in Dolores Park whose unleashed dog bites a visitor on a public pathway

Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in San Francisco

San Francisco’s dense traffic corridors — from the congested US-101 interchange to the mixed-use lanes of Market Street — generate a disproportionate share of serious vehicle injuries. Our attorneys handle car accident and truck accident claims, motorcycle accident cases on the city’s winding streets, and pedestrian accident and bicycle accident injuries from busy crosswalks and protected bike lanes. We also represent victims in rideshare (Uber/Lyft) accident claims, drunk driving accident cases, and bus accident injuries involving Muni and regional carriers.

Property owners across San Francisco — from landlords in the Tenderloin to retailers on Union Square — carry a legal duty to maintain safe premises. We pursue slip and fall claims arising from wet storefronts, uneven sidewalks, and BART platform hazards, along with dog bite injuries, burn injury cases stemming from dangerous property conditions, and broader premises liability claims. When negligence costs a life, we also handle wrongful death cases in San Francisco on behalf of the surviving families left behind.

The most severe injuries — traumatic brain injury from high-speed collisions, spinal cord injury from construction falls, and civil claims arising from sexual abuse — demand attorneys who understand both the medicine and the local legal landscape. San Francisco Superior Court at the Civic Center operates under procedural rules and judicial preferences that directly affect case outcomes. San Francisco County victims deserve representation from attorneys who appear in these courts regularly and know how to build cases that win.

Call (415) 969-7889 — we handle all personal injury cases on a No Win, No Fee basis.