The personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles whose face fills a freeway billboard is rarely the one trying nine-figure cases downtown. Those are often two very different businesses. One runs on high volume and quick settlements, while the other picks fewer cases and takes them in front of a jury when the insurer won’t pay fair value.
The five firms below belong to the second group. Every one has jury verdicts on the public record, decades in Los Angeles courtrooms, and recognition from peer-reviewed sources such as The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, or the American College of Trial Lawyers. A few also lead the biggest disaster litigation the county has seen in years.
California Injury Law at a Glance (2026)
These rules shape every injury claim in Los Angeles, whichever firm you hire:
- Filing deadline: Most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
- Claims against government: If a city bus, county vehicle, or public property caused your injury, a written claim is generally due within six months.
- Shared fault: California follows pure comparative negligence. Even if you were 40% at fault, you can still recover 60% of your damages.
- Medical malpractice cap: Under AB 35, the cap on non-economic damages for 2026 is $470,000 in injury cases and $650,000 in wrongful death cases. It rises every year until 2033.
- Fee contracts: California requires contingency fee agreements to be in writing and signed by both sides.
Five Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorneys With Real Trial Records
1. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi: Brian Panish and Rahul Ravipudi
Brian Panish played college football at Fresno State and coached high school football in Bellflower before turning to law. That competitive streak shows in his record. In 1999, he won a $4.9 billion verdict against General Motors for a family burned when their car’s gas tank exploded in a rear-end crash.
He co-founded the firm in 2005, and it now claims more than $10 billion in client recoveries. Recent results include a $34.1 million verdict in October 2025 for an 80-year-old pedestrian with a traumatic brain injury. The driver who struck him had run a red light.
Partner Rahul Ravipudi carries a role that matters to thousands of Altadena families right now. He is one of three court-appointed liaison counsel for individual plaintiffs in the Eaton Fire litigation against Southern California Edison. In August 2026, a joint Cal Fire and LA County Fire report attributed the fire to SCE transmission equipment. The first bellwether trial is set for January 25, 2027.
Best for: catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and wildfire claims
Office: 444 South Flower Street, Suite 4150, Los Angeles, CA 90071 (the firm also has a West LA office on Santa Monica Boulevard)
2. Greene Broillet & Wheeler: Bruce Broillet and Partners
Browne Greene co-founded this firm on January 1, 1973, according to the Daily Journal, although the firm’s own website says it has handled cases since 1970. Bruce Broillet joined in 1977. Today the firm works out of El Segundo, near LAX.
Its verdicts tell the story:
- $78 million in Castillo v. Quality Shoring and Scaffold, a construction roof collapse
- $73 million against Ford Motor Company over a van rollover
- $55 million for sportscaster Erin Andrews, who was secretly filmed through a hotel room peephole
The Best Lawyers in America recognizes 13 of the firm’s lawyers. The firm has also trained a new generation of partners, many of whom started as law clerks there. That matters because injury cases can run for years, and you want the firm to be stable the whole way through.
Best for: product defects, construction accidents, and serious auto cases
Office: 222 North Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 2100, El Segundo, CA 90245
3. Dordick Law Corporation: Gary Dordick
Gary Dordick has been on the Super Lawyers Top 100 list since 2005, and he takes cases that other lawyers turn down. His 2016 Ventura County verdict of $125.2 million in an auto accident case was reported as the largest California personal injury verdict that year.
He also takes cases outside California. In 2023, a Phoenix jury awarded $31.5 million to a boy with cerebral palsy after alleged oxygen deprivation during birth. Dordick’s team believes it’s the largest injury verdict in Arizona history. In September 2025, he won a $115 million verdict in Los Angeles in a sexual battery case.
The firm handles a wide range of cases, from motorcycle and big-rig crashes to dog bites, drownings, and brain injuries. It offers free consultations.
Best for: severe auto and truck crashes, brain injury, and medical negligence
Office: 470 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212 (additional office at 1122 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90017)
4. Kiesel Law: Paul Kiesel
Some injuries affect hundreds of people at once, from a train derailment to a gas leak. Paul Kiesel has built his reputation on exactly those cases.
He served as plaintiffs’ liaison counsel after the deadly 2008 Chatsworth Metrolink collision. He later held the same role for more than 38,000 residents in the Porter Ranch gas leak litigation, which resolved in 2022 for $1.8 billion. He was also national lead counsel in the federal litigation over the diabetes drug Avandia, and he is currently co-lead counsel in litigation against JUUL Labs.
Kiesel served as president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association from 2015 to 2016. He has practiced in California since 1985.
Best for: mass torts, defective drugs, and multi-victim disastersOffice: 8648 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
5. McNicholas & McNicholas: John, Patrick and Matthew McNicholas
Three generations of one family run this Westwood firm. John McNicholas reports more than 150 jury verdicts over his career. He and his sons Patrick and Matthew are all Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a group that admits only by invitation.
The firm’s results span aviation and abuse cases, including a $44 million settlement for air crash victims and a $10.8 million verdict for a minor abused by a teacher. Partners Jeffrey Lamb and Juan Victoria also carry Best Lawyers recognition for plaintiffs’ personal injury work. If your injury overlaps with a workplace or civil rights claim, the firm’s employment practice is right down the hall.
Best for: aviation accidents, abuse claims, and injuries tied to employment
Office: 10866 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1400, Los Angeles, CA 90024
One $4.9 Billion Verdict, Claimed by Two Firms
Check the case results pages of Greene Broillet & Wheeler and Panish | Shea | Ravipudi. Both list Anderson v. General Motors. That isn’t a mistake. Brian Panish trained under Browne Greene and Bruce Broillet and tried the case while he was at their firm. He left a few years later to start his own.
That shared history says a lot about how the top tier of LA’s plaintiffs’ bar works. It’s a small world, and many of its best trial lawyers trained in the same few offices. For clients, the practical point is that a verdict listed on a website may have been won by a lawyer who no longer works there. Always ask who personally tried the case.
Billboard Firms vs. Trial Firms
Advertising isn’t a bad sign on its own. Volume firms can handle a straightforward rear-end collision quickly and efficiently. The trouble starts when a case is serious, such as a spinal injury, a death, or a corporate defendant, and the firm has no real plan to go to trial.
Before signing anything, ask these questions:
- How many cases have you personally tried to verdict in the last five years?
- Will my case be referred to another firm? Many advertising firms pass serious cases to trial firms and split the fee.
- What percentage do you take, and does it go up if the case is filed or tried?
- Who pays case costs if we lose? Expert witnesses can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Insurers keep track of which lawyers actually go to trial. Their settlement offers usually reflect it.
This content is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a licensed California attorney about the facts of your own case.
People Also Ask About LA Injury Lawyers
Q1. Who is the best personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles?
A: It depends on the case. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi and Greene Broillet & Wheeler lead in catastrophic injury, while Kiesel Law focuses on mass torts involving many victims.
Q2. How much do personal injury lawyers charge in Los Angeles?
A: Most work on contingency, typically taking a third to 40% of the recovery. California requires the agreement in writing, including how case costs are handled.
Q3. How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in California?
A: Usually two years from the injury date. Claims against a government agency generally need a written claim within six months, so act quickly.
Q4. Can I still sue if the accident was partly my fault?
A: Yes. California’s pure comparative negligence rule lets you recover damages minus your share of fault, even if you were mostly to blame.
Q5. Can Eaton Fire survivors still file a lawsuit?
A: Some firms report a January 7, 2027 deadline for certain claims against Southern California Edison. Survivors should speak with a fire litigation lawyer soon to confirm their own deadline.
