If you were just in a crash in Bakersfield, the questions pile up fast. Who pays for your rental car? Can anyone prove the other driver was on their phone? What does the attorney actually take from your settlement? These are the questions real people are searching for answers to — and after years of handling car accident cases across California, I’ve seen how the wrong assumptions cost clients money and peace of mind. I’m Ali Razavi, and this post answers those questions directly, the way I’d explain them to someone sitting across from my desk. Read more about the author.

Do Defense Attorneys Do Car Accident in Bakersfield?

Yes — but they work for the other side. When people ask this question, they’re usually trying to figure out what kind of attorney they need after a crash. A defense attorney in a car accident context represents the insurance company or the at-fault driver. They are paid by the insurer to minimize what gets paid out to you.

The attorney you want after a crash is a plaintiff-side car accident attorney — someone who represents injured people, not insurance carriers. The distinction matters. Defense attorneys and plaintiff attorneys both handle car accident work in Bakersfield, but they are not interchangeable. If you call a law firm and they tell you their primary clients are insurance companies, you are talking to the wrong side.

At Razavi Law Group | Who Hurt You?, we represent injured people — not insurers, not corporations. Every case we take is on the plaintiff side. That means our interests are directly aligned with getting you the best possible outcome, not reducing the payout.

One more thing worth clearing up: some people confuse “criminal defense attorney” with “defense attorney” in civil cases. If someone was criminally charged after hitting you, that’s a separate proceeding. Your civil claim for damages moves independently of any criminal case.

Can Attorneys Help You Get a Rental Car After an Accident?

This is one of the first practical problems clients bring up, and it’s a legitimate one. Depending on how the crash happened and who is at fault, there are two ways to get a rental covered.

If the other driver is clearly at fault, their liability insurance is supposed to cover your rental. In practice, adjusters drag their feet. They dispute liability, claim the car needs more inspection, or simply delay processing. In the meantime, you’re without transportation.

Your own policy may include rental reimbursement coverage, and that can bridge the gap. If it does, your insurer pays for the rental and then pursues the at-fault driver’s insurance for reimbursement — a process called subrogation. Under California law, rental expenses are a form of economic damages, so if you paid out of pocket for a rental because the at-fault driver’s insurer refused to move, that cost gets included in your claim.

What I tell clients at this stage: document every rental receipt. Keep every email or voicemail from the adjuster. That paper trail becomes part of your damages calculation. An attorney can also send a liability demand letter early in the process, which often gets the adjuster moving faster than a phone call from you would.

If you’re dealing with a delay right now, contact us and we can advise you on the fastest path to getting a vehicle while your case is active.

Has Anyone Used KNR Attorneys for a Minor Car Accident?

KNR — Kisling, Nestico & Redick — is an Ohio-based personal injury firm. They are not licensed to practice law in California, and they do not handle Bakersfield car accident cases. If you’ve seen KNR mentioned in a forum or review site and wondered whether to call them, the answer is that they simply can’t represent you here.

The broader question behind this search is a good one: does it make sense to hire an attorney for a minor accident? My honest answer: it depends on the injuries, not the vehicle damage. A fender-bender can produce real soft tissue injuries — cervical sprains, whiplash, disc irritation — that get worse before they get better. If you felt pain the next morning, saw a doctor, or missed work, the case is worth a conversation with a California-licensed car accident lawyer.

One mistake I see regularly: people settle a “minor” claim quickly with the adjuster, then discover two months later that their neck injury is more serious than the initial diagnosis suggested. Once you’ve signed a release, that settlement is final. California law does not provide a do-over because your injury turned out to be worse than expected. An attorney can help you understand whether it’s too soon to settle — and that advice alone can be worth more than the attorney’s fee.

Can Car Accident Attorneys Find Out If Someone Was Texting?

Yes, and this is one of the most valuable things an attorney can do in your case. Proving distracted driving is not as simple as asking the other driver, but there are several tools available.

The most direct is a subpoena for the at-fault driver’s cell phone records. Under California law, attorneys can obtain phone records through the litigation discovery process. Those records show outgoing texts, calls, and data usage timestamped by the carrier. If the records show a text message sent within 30 seconds of the crash time, that is powerful evidence.

Beyond phone records, we look at the police report for any notation about distracted driving, interview witnesses who saw the driver looking down, and sometimes retain accident reconstruction experts who can analyze physical evidence from the scene. Traffic camera footage and dashcam footage from nearby vehicles are also sources we pursue early — before that footage gets overwritten, which can happen within days.

The key is speed. The FindLaw guide on distracted driving evidence lays out the general framework, but in California specifically, phone records subpoenas require compliance with strict procedural rules. Doing this wrong can result in inadmissible evidence. This is exactly why having an experienced car accident attorney on your side matters — not a general practice lawyer handling this for the first time.

If you suspect the driver who hit you was texting, tell your attorney immediately. We start the evidence preservation process as early as possible.

Do Attorneys Normally Take 50 Percent of the Total Award in a Car Accident Lawsuit?

No. Fifty percent is not the standard, and if an attorney quoted you that figure, I’d encourage you to get a second opinion.

I won’t publish specific percentage figures here because fee arrangements vary based on case complexity, stage of litigation, and other factors — and publishing a number without context can mislead more than help. What I can tell you is that California personal injury attorneys typically work on a contingency basis, meaning no fee unless you recover. The American Bar Association explains how contingency fee agreements work and what disclosures attorneys are required to make.

California also has specific rules governing attorney fees. Under California Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5, fees must be reasonable, and contingency fee agreements must be in writing with specific disclosures to the client. If an attorney hands you a one-page agreement and tells you to sign quickly, slow down and read it.

Before signing any fee agreement, ask these questions: Does the percentage change if the case settles before trial versus during trial? Are litigation costs — filing fees, expert witness costs, deposition costs — deducted before or after the fee is calculated? That distinction can significantly affect your net recovery. A reputable attorney will walk you through all of this clearly, without pressure.

Do I Need a California Attorney After a Car Accident — Even If I’m From Out of State?

The original question references New York state, so let me address that directly before broadening it.

If you were injured in a car accident in Bakersfield or anywhere else in California, California law governs the claim — regardless of where you live. A New York attorney is not licensed in California and cannot represent you in California courts. They may refer your case to a California firm, but you will ultimately need a California-licensed attorney handling the actual work.

California and New York have meaningfully different rules. California uses pure comparative fault, which means your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you are not barred from recovering anything even if you were partly responsible for the crash. New York uses a modified comparative fault system with different thresholds. These systems do not apply interchangeably. For a detailed breakdown of how comparative fault works under California law, Justia’s California negligence overview is a reliable reference.

California’s general deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. If a government entity was involved — say, a city vehicle caused the crash — a written claim must be presented within six months of the incident under Government Code Section 911.2. These are different requirements with different consequences for missing them, and they do not substitute for each other.

If you were visiting Bakersfield and got hurt here, you need to act on California’s timeline, not your home state’s. Do not assume your state’s deadline applies.

California’s Auto Insurance Rules Matter to Your Case

Since January 1, 2025, California’s minimum auto liability requirements changed under Senate Bill 1107. The current minimums are $30,000 per person for bodily injury, $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $15,000 for property damage. These are floors, not caps. An at-fault driver can be liable for damages far exceeding the minimum limits — and often is in serious crash cases.

One rule that comes up in cases I handle is Proposition 213. Under California Civil Code Section 3333.4, if you were uninsured at the time of the crash, you generally cannot recover noneconomic damages — things like pain and suffering — even if the other driver was 100% at fault. Your medical bills and lost wages remain recoverable. This rule does not apply to passengers in an uninsured vehicle, only to the uninsured driver. There is no lapse-of-coverage exception. If your policy had lapsed the week before the crash, the bar applies.

Understanding where you stand on this matters before you make any decisions about settlement. It’s one reason I always want to know the insurance status of everyone involved on day one of a case.

For a fuller explanation of California’s auto liability framework, the Cornell Law School overview of automobile liability is a solid starting point, though California-specific rules like Prop 213 require a California attorney’s interpretation.

Ready to Talk to a Bakersfield Car Accident Attorney

If you’ve been in a crash and you’re sorting through these questions — who represents whom, what evidence exists, what your attorney gets paid, whether you even need help — the next step is a direct conversation with someone who knows California law and handles these cases regularly.

Razavi Law Group | Who Hurt You? serves clients in Bakersfield and throughout California. We handle car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, and other serious injury cases on a contingency basis. There’s no fee unless you recover.

Call us at (949)-694-3760 or schedule a consultation online. You can also visit our office at 2601 Oswell St suite 206, Bakersfield, CA 93306, United States. We’ll review what happened, explain your options under California law, and give you an honest assessment of your case — no pressure, no vague promises.

Written by Ali Razavi. Read more about the author.