Contra Costa accident claims do not behave like other Bay Area cases.
Contra Costa County stretches from Richmond and San Pablo on the bay to Antioch, Brentwood, and Discovery Bay in the east. Commuter traffic on I-680, Highway 4, and Highway 24 produces serious freeway crashes, while busy surface roads in Walnut Creek, Concord, and Pleasant Hill see constant intersection and pedestrian collisions. And Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez runs at its own pace, with its own local rules and its own pool of defense firms.
The Herman Firm has been representing accident victims across the Bay Area for nearly 14 years. Attorney Michael D. Herman handles every case personally. There is no handoff to a paralegal, no high-volume settlement mill, and no rushed advice. Just a focused approach to building strong cases against well-funded insurance companies.
Cases We Handle in Contra Costa
- Car and rideshare accidents
- Pedestrian and bicycle injuries
- Motorcycle crashes
- Commercial truck collisions
- Slip and fall claims
- Wrongful death
- Workplace injuries
- Hit and run accidents
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims
Three things that actually shape your case.
Direct Attorney Access
You work with Michael Herman directly. Not a junior associate. Not a paralegal forwarding messages. When you call, you talk to the attorney handling your case.
Real Trial Experience
Insurance companies track which firms actually take cases to trial. We do. That changes what offers come in, and how seriously the other side takes a demand letter.
No Fee Unless We Win
Contingency fee representation. No retainer, no hourly billing, no out-of-pocket cost during your case. If we do not recover for you, you owe nothing.
Every type of Contra Costa injury case we handle.
Real results across the categories that drive Bay Area injury claims. Past results are shown where available. Each case is different.
Pedestrian Accidents
Downtown Walnut Creek, Concord, Richmond, and the areas around BART stations see frequent crosswalk injuries. We fight crosswalk, hit-and-run, and intersection cases.
Wrongful Death
Compassionate, focused representation for families after a fatal accident. Survival actions and wrongful death claims handled together.
Truck Accidents
Commercial truck cases on I-680, I-80, Highway 4, and local delivery routes. Federal regulations, multiple insurers, urgent evidence preservation.
Rideshare Accidents
Uber and Lyft cases across Contra Costa County, from BART station pickups to late-night rides home. Three-period insurance coverage analyzed correctly.
Motorcycle Accidents
Riders face real bias from insurance adjusters. We push back hard, including on lane-splitting and left-turn cases.
Slip & Fall
Premises liability claims against property owners, businesses, and landlords across Contra Costa County.
Bicycle Accidents
Dooring crashes, bike lane violations, and intersection collisions. Cyclists deserve aggressive representation.
Workplace Injuries
Workers’ comp plus third-party claims where applicable. Many injured workers have more than one path to recovery.
Car Accidents
From minor rear-end crashes to high-speed freeway collisions. Comprehensive auto accident representation.
Where Contra Costa accidents happen, and why they matter.
Local knowledge is not marketing. It is filing requirements, judicial preferences, opposing counsel patterns, and the streets and corridors where cases actually originate.
I-680, Highway 4, and Highway 24 carry heavy commuter traffic and generate the most serious multi-vehicle crashes in the county. CHP usually responds, and seriously injured people are often taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, the county trauma center.
Ygnacio Valley Road, Treat Boulevard, Contra Costa Boulevard, and San Pablo Avenue are busy corridors where intersection, pedestrian, and cyclist crashes happen year after year.
Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez handles personal injury lawsuits filed in the county. The court has its own scheduling and motion practice.
BART stations in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Richmond, and Antioch are busy rideshare pickup points, and Period 2 and Period 3 insurance disputes are routine.
Crashes involving public buses or vehicles, such as County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, or BART, trigger the six-month government claim deadline under California Government Code 911.2. Miss it and the case ends.
The Caldecott Tunnel, the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, and the Carquinez Bridge approaches can raise jurisdiction questions and often involve Caltrans and CHP reports.
Real cases. Real numbers.
A sample of past recoveries by The Herman Firm. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but they show the firm’s track record on the cases that matter.
Pedestrian struck by vehicle, defense alleged client stepped into traffic.
Recovery for surviving family after a fatal collision.
Spine injury despite defense argument of minor impact.
Premises liability case involving an unsafe property condition.
Wrongful death involving a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.
Rideshare collision involving complex insurance coverage analysis.
Third-party workplace claim outside the workers’ comp system.
Motorcycle accident with significant injuries to the rider.
From free case review to final recovery.
Free Case Review
We listen, ask questions, and give an honest assessment of your case.
Investigation
We preserve evidence, secure footage, and document the full scope of damages.
Medical Coordination
We help you get treatment without paying up front through medical liens when needed.
Insurance Negotiation
We handle every communication with insurers and push back on lowball offers.
Settlement or Trial
Most cases settle. When they do not, we are prepared to take them to a jury.
Michael D. Herman
- Founder, The Herman Firm
- Licensed California Attorney
- Personal Injury Litigation Focus
- Trial Experience Across the Bay Area
- Direct Client Representation
An attorney who actually handles your case.
Michael D. Herman founded The Herman Firm to do personal injury law differently. No high-volume settlement factories, no junior associates handed your file, no hiding behind an intake team.
When you call about a Contra Costa accident, you talk to the attorney who will represent you. Every case gets focused attention, real preparation, and the willingness to take it to trial if that is what the case needs.
That approach has produced settlements and verdicts in the millions across pedestrian, motorcycle, truck, rideshare, and wrongful death cases throughout the Bay Area.
Questions Contra Costa accident victims actually ask.
California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 gives you two years from the date of the accident to file most personal injury claims. Claims against government entities (Contra Costa County, cities like Walnut Creek or Concord, BART, County Connection, or Caltrans) require a formal claim within six months under Government Code 911.2. Missing either deadline almost always ends the case.
Yes. We represent accident victims in all 19 cities of Contra Costa County, including Walnut Creek, Concord, Antioch, Pittsburg, Richmond, San Ramon, Danville, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Brentwood, Oakley, Hercules, Pinole, El Cerrito, San Pablo, and Clayton, plus the wider Bay Area. Michael Herman can meet with you at our office, at your home, or at the hospital where you are receiving care.
Nothing up front. The Herman Firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means we only get paid if we recover compensation for you. The fee is a percentage of the settlement or verdict, not an hourly bill. If we do not win, you owe nothing.
If you carry uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy, that coverage may pay your claim even when the at-fault driver has no insurance. This is technically a claim against your own insurance company, which often surprises people. We handle these claims regularly.
Freeway crashes in Contra Costa are typically investigated by California Highway Patrol rather than SFPD. These cases often involve higher speeds, more vehicles, and more complex insurance disputes than surface street accidents, which means evidence preservation and accident reconstruction become especially important.
California follows pure comparative negligence. You can still recover compensation even if you were partly at fault. Your recovery gets reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance companies routinely argue you share blame to lower their payouts, which is one of the most important reasons to have an attorney involved early.
No. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and statements made early routinely get used to reduce or deny claims. Politely decline, take their name and claim number, and let your attorney handle the rest.
Every case is different. Clear-fault cases with full medical recovery sometimes resolve in three to six months. Cases involving serious injuries, disputed liability, government entities, or commercial defendants can take a year or more. The biggest variable is the length of medical treatment, since no case should settle until injuries are fully understood.
Hurt in Contra Costa County? Talk to The Herman Firm today.
Same-day callbacks. Attorney Michael Herman handles every case personally. No fee unless we win your case.
Available 24/7 · No Fee Unless We Win · Free Consultation