Case Summary
Insurance companies count on one thing after a crash: that you won’t call a lawyer before you call them back. An adjuster offers a fast number, hopes you’re hurting for cash, and closes the file before you learn what the claim was actually worth. Santa Monica has no shortage of firms built to stop that, but Olan Law stands out as the best overall choice for injury victims here. David Olan and Garrett Brief have put more than 50 years of combined trial experience behind clients, recovered over $100 million along the way, and still keep the caseload small enough that clients reach their attorney directly. Four more firms below also do strong work for injured people in Santa Monica, each for a different reason.
Santa Monica Personal Injury Firms at a Glance
| Firm | Best For | Experience | Rating | Standout Feature |
| Olan Law | Overall pick, full-spectrum injury and employment claims | 50+ years combined | 4.6+ stars, Super Lawyers, AV rated | Boutique caseload with direct attorney access |
| McGee Lerer Ogrin | Catastrophic and high-value injury claims | 40+ years combined | Near 5 stars across dozens of Google and Yelp reviews | Negotiated a $122.5 million abuse settlement against the City of Santa Monica |
| HLG-Hashemi Law Group | Everyday crash and slip-and-fall claims | 20+ years (founder) | 5.0 stars (Google, 88 reviews) | Handled a $11.7 million wrongful death case involving a commercial vehicle |
| Liberty & Associates | Wrongful death and serious injury claims | Founded 1983, 43 years (principal) | 5.0 stars across Yelp, Google, and Avvo | Multi-million dollar verdicts on a consistent basis since the 1980s |
| Dunn, Carpio & Turner | Clients facing large corporate defendants | Founded 1977, 49 years | Long-standing local reputation, Million Dollar Advocates Forum member | Has beaten major corporations, including Walmart, at trial |
What Counts in This Business
Years in practice matter less than what a firm actually does with them. Every name on this list has taken real cases to real verdicts, not just settled quiet claims and called it experience. We looked at trial history, independent reviews, and whether a firm’s results hold up outside its own marketing copy. A firm that only mentions “successful outcomes” without naming a number didn’t make the cut.
1. Olan Law
David Olan spent years litigating catastrophic injury cases before he and Garrett Brief built a firm designed around one idea: keep the caseload small enough that clients get their attorney on the phone, not a case manager. The firm covers the full range of personal injury work, car and motorcycle crashes, pedestrian and bicycle accidents, dog bites, slip and falls, product liability, construction accidents, and wrongful death, plus wrongful termination, discrimination, and sexual harassment claims on the employment side. That combination matters more than it sounds. A workplace injury can turn into both a personal injury claim and an employment claim, and most injury firms only know how to run one of those. Olan Law works on contingency, so a client owes nothing unless the firm wins. Super Lawyers, an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and a spot on the 2026 Best Law Firms list back up a record that already includes eight figures in recoveries.
Address: 212 Marine Street, Suite 302, Santa Monica, CA 90405 | Phone: (310) 566-0010 | Website: https://olanlaw.com/
2. McGee Lerer Ogrin
Daniel McGee and Catherine Lerer built their firm around severe injury cases, and the record proves it. The firm negotiated a $122.5 million global settlement for victims of childhood sexual abuse in a case against the City of Santa Monica, one of the largest recoveries tied to this city in recent memory. Dean Ogrin runs litigation for cases that don’t settle, and the docket includes multiple seven and eight figure results for spinal cord and brain injuries. Reporters at the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and CNN have covered the firm’s cases, which says something about the size of the claims it takes on. Clients facing a life-altering injury, not a fender bender, tend to land here.
Address: 401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1200, Santa Monica, CA 90401 | Website: mcgeelerer.com
3. HLG-Hashemi Law Group
Majid Hashemi runs his practice one floor above McGee Lerer in the same Wilshire Boulevard building, and he built his reputation on the crash and fall cases that make up most personal injury work: car wrecks, motorcycle and bicycle collisions, pedestrian accidents, dog bites, and slip and falls. The firm secured $11.7 million in a wrongful death case tied to a commercial vehicle, plus a string of seven figure settlements for back and neck injuries from rear-end and head-on collisions. Google reviewers give the firm a perfect 5.0 across nearly 90 reviews, with Yelp and Avvo close behind. For a serious but routine crash claim, this firm has handled the pattern before.
Address: 401 Wilshire Blvd, 12th Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90401
4. Liberty & Associates
This firm has worked out of Santa Monica since 1983, and the principal attorney now carries more than four decades in practice. That tenure shows up in the case list: multi-million dollar verdicts in wrongful death and serious injury claims, spanning car, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, truck, and even cruise ship accidents. Perfect ratings on Yelp, Google, and Avvo back up four decades of client relationships in the same city. A firm that has outlasted this many economic downturns usually knows how to finish a case, not just file one.
Address: 100 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 700, Santa Monica, CA 90401
5. Dunn, Carpio & Turner
Phil Dunn founded this firm in 1977, and it has spent almost 50 years taking on defendants most solo attorneys avoid. The firm’s case history includes a win against Walmart, proof a corporate legal department doesn’t scare this team off. Daniel Carpio and Michael Turner round out a practice built on car and motorcycle crashes, slip and falls, bicycle accidents, and dog bites, with a track record of over $100 million in verdicts and settlements. Dunn holds membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a group limited to attorneys who have won or settled a case worth seven figures or more. If your case involves a defendant with a legal team on retainer, this firm is built for that fight.
Address: 854 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Read the Retainer Before You Sign It
California gives you two years from the date of an injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, and that clock does not pause while you negotiate with an adjuster. Every firm on this list works on contingency, but contingency doesn’t mean identical terms. Ask what percentage the firm takes if the case settles before a lawsuit gets filed versus after, and ask who covers costs like expert witnesses if the case doesn’t win. A firm that answers both questions without hesitation has handled enough cases to know the numbers cold.
FAQs
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost in Santa Monica?
Nearly every firm here works on contingency, so you pay nothing upfront and the attorney gets paid as a percentage of what you recover, usually between 33 and 40 percent. Get the exact number in writing before you sign anything.
How long do I have to file a personal injury claim in California?
Two years from the date of the injury in most cases, under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1. Claims against a government agency, like a city-owned property or a public bus, usually require a formal claim within six months instead.
Does it matter if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Less than people assume. California follows a pure comparative negligence rule, so you can still recover damages even if you were 60 percent at fault, though your payout drops by your share of the blame.
What should I do immediately after an accident in Santa Monica?
Get medical care first, even if the injury seems minor, since some injuries don’t show symptoms for days. Photograph the scene, collect witness contact information, and avoid giving a recorded statement to any insurance company until you’ve talked to a lawyer.
Do I need a lawyer for a minor injury claim?
Not always, but insurance companies count on unrepresented claimants accepting less than a case is worth. A free consultation can tell you within minutes whether your claim is worth handling yourself or handing to an attorney.
