San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyers
You are sitting with a stack of hospital bills that keep growing. The insurance company is calling every other day, and every time they call the number they mention is lower than the last one. You cannot work. Maybe you are not sure you will ever work the same way again. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, someone suggests you call a lawyer — but you do not even know where to start.
We do. The Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe is a firm of personal injury lawyers in San Francisco — led by Kenneth Odiwe, who personally handles every case. We have recovered millions of dollars for accident victims across the city — from Market Street rear-end crashes to MUNI bus collisions to wrongful death cases filed at San Francisco Superior Court. When you hire us, you get Kenneth — not a paralegal, not a first-year associate, him.
We take personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis — no upfront costs, no fee unless we win. Call us at any hour.
(415) 839-7099 | kenneth@kennethodiwelaw.com
580 California Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104
Free case review. No fee unless we win. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What We Have Won for San Francisco Clients
We believe results speak louder than any advertising claim. Here are examples of what our firm has recovered for injured people in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Every case is different — what you recover depends on the specific facts of your situation — but these outcomes show you how seriously we fight.
Recovery | Case Type | Details |
Multi-Million Dollar Award | Civil Rights + Personal Injury — San Francisco | An SF resident suffered severe injuries in a law enforcement encounter in the city. Kenneth pursued simultaneous civil rights and personal injury claims — a combination that requires practicing both areas of law. Most personal injury firms cannot offer this. |
Significant Six-Figure Settlement | Car Accident — US 101/Bay Bridge Approach | Client struck from behind on the US 101 approach to the Bay Bridge suffered herniated discs requiring surgery and months of rehabilitation. The insurer’s initial offer was a fraction of actual damages. We took over, documented every loss, and recovered the full amount our client needed. |
Seven-Figure Recovery | Wrongful Death — San Francisco | A San Francisco family lost their father in a collision caused by a negligent driver in the city. We pursued the complete value of his life — lost financial support, loss of companionship, and the grief his children carry forward. |
Six-Figure Settlement | MUNI Bus Accident — Civic Center Area | A passenger suffered a spinal injury when a MUNI bus driver made an abrupt stop without cause. We navigated the government entity claim process against SFMTA within the six-month deadline and recovered full compensation for medical care and lost work. |
Significant Recovery | Pedestrian Accident — SoMa | A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle that ran a red light near the SoMa tech corridor. The driver’s insurer disputed liability. We reconstructed the accident with independent witnesses and traffic camera footage and recovered full compensation. |
More case results are available on our Case Results page. If you want to discuss what your case might be worth, the conversation is free and comes with no obligation.
About Attorney Kenneth C. Odiwe — The Person Who Will Actually Handle Your Case
San Francisco has no shortage of personal injury attorneys. Large firms with a dozen partners, billboards on I-280, and call centers that handle intake 24 hours a day. Kenneth Odiwe is not that. He is a single attorney who grew up in Vallejo, California, trained at one of the most respected civil rights and personal injury firms in the state, and now practices from his San Francisco office at 580 California Street — handling cases the same way every day: personally, thoroughly, and without flinching when the other side pushes back.
After earning his law degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, Kenneth began his career at the Law Offices of John L. Burris. John L. Burris is one of the most prominent civil rights and personal injury attorneys in California, and his firm has a track record in complex, high-stakes cases against government agencies and major insurers that spans decades. Kenneth learned what it means to investigate deeply, build a case on real evidence, and litigate without hesitation when a settlement offer falls short of what a client actually deserves.
Today, Kenneth operates from offices in San Francisco (580 California Street) and San Jose (2880 Zanker Road, Suite 203), serving clients across the Bay Area and Northern California. He is admitted to practice in San Francisco Superior Court, Alameda County Superior Court, Santa Clara County Superior Court, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. His California State Bar number is [insert] — verifiable at calbar.ca.gov.
Whether your accident happened on Market Street in San Francisco, on I-280 in San Jose, in Oakland, or anywhere across the Bay Area, the firm handles cases throughout the region. Clients do not need to travel — Kenneth comes to you, or can manage everything remotely if you are outside the immediate area.
What sets Kenneth apart from most San Francisco Personal Injury attorneys is his civil rights practice running alongside his personal injury work. He does not do personal injury on one side and civil rights on the other — he does both, often on the same cases, across multiple jurisdictions. When your injury involves a government agency, a public institution, or law enforcement — whether in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Vallejo, or elsewhere in Northern California — that dual expertise can mean the difference between one claim and two, and between an adequate settlement and a truly just outcome.
California Personal Injury Law — What San Francisco Accident Victims Need to Know
The most common and most costly mistake we see from people injured in San Francisco is waiting too long to call an attorney. Not because evidence is gone — though it does disappear quickly — but because they did not know about a deadline that had already passed. Here is the legal framework every San Francisco accident victim should understand from the day of the accident forward.
The Standard Deadline: Two Years — But Read the Next Section First
For most personal injury cases in California, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). That applies to car accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, medical malpractice, and most other standard injury cases. Two years feels like a long time. It is not. Investigation takes months. Medical treatment needs to stabilize before the full value of a case is clear. And the best evidence — witnesses, surveillance footage, accident scene conditions — deteriorates fast.
The Government Entity Exception: Six Months — And It Applies to More Cases Than You Think
If your injury involved any government entity or government employee, the two-year clock does not apply. Instead, you have six months from the date of the incident to file an administrative claim with the responsible agency before any lawsuit can proceed (Government Code §910). This applies to:
- Any MUNI bus or MUNI Metro streetcar accident
- Any BART train or station injury
- Cable car accidents operated by SFMTA
- Accidents caused by a San Francisco city vehicle or city employee driving on the job
- Injuries caused by a defective San Francisco sidewalk, pothole, or public property the city maintained (or failed to maintain)
- Accidents at UCSF facilities, SF General (Zuckerberg), public schools, or any other government-run location
The government agency has 45 days to respond to your claim. If it is denied or ignored, you then have six months to file your lawsuit. The whole process has more steps than a standard personal injury case, and the procedural traps are real — one missed deadline can permanently end your right to any recovery. If there is any possibility a government entity was involved in your accident, call us the same day.
Comparative Fault: You Can Still Recover Even If You Were Partly At Fault
California follows pure comparative fault (Civil Code §1714). If you were partially responsible for the accident, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault — not eliminated. If a jury finds you 25% at fault and your total damages are $200,000, you recover $150,000. The practical danger is that insurance companies use this rule aggressively — they work very hard to inflate your fault percentage because every point they assign to you reduces what they owe. We know exactly how this strategy works, and we know how to build the factual record that counters it.
What You Can Recover in a San Francisco Personal Injury Case
Economic Damages (Calculable Losses) | Non-Economic Damages (Equally Valid) |
All medical bills — past and future | Pain and suffering |
Lost wages and salary | Emotional distress and anxiety |
Lost future earning capacity | Loss of enjoyment of life |
Future surgery and rehabilitation | PTSD and psychological trauma |
In-home care and assistance | Loss of consortium (for families) |
Vehicle or property damage | Permanent disability and disfigurement |
Prescription and medical equipment costs | Grief (in wrongful death cases) |
California does not cap non-economic damages in standard personal injury cases. That is a significant protection for seriously injured victims. And in cases involving extreme or reckless conduct, punitive damages may also be available — not to compensate you, but to punish the defendant and deter others from similar behavior.
What to Do After an Accident in San Francisco — The First 72 Hours
The decisions made in the first few hours and days after an accident in San Francisco have a greater impact on your case than almost anything that happens later. Here is exactly what you should do — and what you should not do.
1 | Call 911 and get a police report. This is the foundational document every insurance company, defense attorney, and court will rely on. Do not let the other driver talk you out of it — ever. |
2 | Do not say sorry, do not speculate about fault, do not give your version of events beyond the basic facts. Adrenaline distorts memory. Anything you say gets documented immediately and will be used to reduce your recovery. |
3 | Photograph everything before cars are moved. Vehicle positions relative to lane markings, impact points, skid marks, traffic signal positions, road conditions, the other driver’s license plate, and any visible injuries. San Francisco has traffic cameras at major intersections — these are overwritten within 48-72 hours. We send preservation letters within hours of you calling us. |
4 | Get contact information for every witness. People scatter quickly in busy SF locations. A witness standing at a Market Street crosswalk who sees exactly what happened is invaluable — and impossible to find a month later if you did not get their number. |
5 | See a doctor the same day — even if you feel okay. Herniated discs, traumatic brain injury, and internal injuries do not always produce obvious immediate symptoms. Insurance companies use treatment gaps as evidence that you were not seriously hurt. Same-day care eliminates that argument. |
6 | Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company without an attorney present — not theirs, not yours. Adjusters are professionally trained to ask questions designed to get you to say something that reduces your claim. We handle all insurance communications. |
7 | If the accident involved a government vehicle or occurred on government property — MUNI, BART, a city truck, a city sidewalk — call us today specifically. The six-month government claim deadline begins running immediately. |
8 | Save everything: damaged clothing, medical bills, repair estimates, prescription receipts, text messages, and a daily personal log of your pain levels and how the injury is affecting your life. That log becomes evidence. |
9 | Call us at (415) 839-7099. We take over from this point. Our job is to protect your claim so that your only job is to heal. |
How Our San Francisco Personal Injury Law Firm Works
Hiring a personal injury attorney should make your life easier, not harder. Here is specifically what happens when you retain the Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe:
You call — you get a real person. We do not route you through a national call center. Our line is answered by people who know your case. Kenneth is directly reachable. | We open your case the same day. Preservation letters go out immediately. Police reports are requested. Liable parties are identified. We do not wait. |
We gather evidence before it disappears. SF traffic cameras, business surveillance, ride-share GPS data, and black box data from commercial vehicles have short windows. We move fast. | All insurance contact goes through us. From the moment you retain us, you speak to no adjuster, no defense attorney, no claims investigator without us present or in writing. |
We connect you with medical care if needed. We work with trusted Bay Area medical providers who treat injury patients on a lien basis — no upfront payment while your case is active. | We negotiate from strength — and litigate if needed. We know what San Francisco Superior Court juries have awarded in cases like yours. That knowledge is our leverage. If an insurer refuses to be reasonable, we file suit. |
Why San Francisco Injury Victims Choose This Firm Over Larger Competitors
San Francisco has no shortage of San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyers. Some of them have spent decades building a brand — firms with more partners, bigger offices, and larger advertising budgets. Here is why people who do their research often choose this firm instead:
- Civil rights law and personal injury law in the same practice. Most San Francisco Personal Injury attorneys do not practice civil rights law. Kenneth does both. When your injury involves law enforcement, a government agency, or a public institution, he can pursue both claims simultaneously — often producing a significantly larger total recovery than a standard personal injury claim alone.
- Trained at John L. Burris — not a settlement factory. John L. Burris is one of the most respected civil rights and PI attorneys in California. Kenneth trained there. He learned litigation at the level of complex, high-stakes cases — not from a volume personal injury operation optimized for quick settlements.
- You get Kenneth — not an associate. Large billboard firms sign you up and then hand your case to a lawyer with two years of experience. Kenneth handles his cases personally. You have direct access to your actual attorney throughout.
- San Francisco-specific knowledge. Kenneth knows San Francisco Superior Court. He knows the defense firms and insurance companies active in this market. He knows the local judges and how SF juries approach different case types. That is not something a Los Angeles or out-of-state firm can replicate.
- No fee unless we win — truly. We advance all costs of your case: investigation expenses, expert fees, filing fees, everything. If we do not win, you owe us nothing. Zero.
- 24/7 availability that is real. Our number — (415) 839-7099 — is answered around the clock. When you call the night of your accident, someone will be there.
Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Cases in San Francisco
For most accidents, California gives you two years from the date of injury (CCP §335.1). But if your claim involves any government entity — SFMTA/MUNI, BART, the City of San Francisco, UCSF, or any public agency — you have only six months from the incident date to file an administrative claim. That six-month window is the most commonly missed deadline in San Francisco personal injury cases, and missing it almost always ends your right to any recovery. Call us the same day as your accident, not months later.
Six months from the incident date to file an administrative Government Claim (Government Code §910). After that, if the claim is rejected, you have six more months to file a lawsuit. This process is completely separate from a standard personal injury case and has its own procedural requirements. If a MUNI bus, city vehicle, or any city-operated transportation was involved in your accident, contact us today — not next week.
Yes. California’s pure comparative fault rule (Civil Code §1714) reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault — it does not eliminate it. If you are 30% at fault and your damages are $150,000, you recover $105,000. Insurance companies work hard to inflate your fault percentage because every percentage point they assign to you reduces what they owe. We know exactly how they build that argument, and we know how to dismantle it with evidence.
It depends entirely on the facts: the severity and permanence of your injuries, how clear the liability is, how much insurance coverage exists, and what your life looks like long-term. Compensation can cover all medical costs past and future, all lost wages, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and in serious cases, punitive damages. California does not cap these in most personal injury cases. Call us for a free evaluation — we will give you an honest assessment based on the real facts of your situation.
You are legally entitled to handle it yourself. But insurance adjusters do this full-time. They know California law, they know the value of your injuries, they know which questions get you to say things that reduce your claim, and they use all of that information every single day against unrepresented claimants. Studies consistently show represented accident victims receive substantially more compensation than unrepresented claimants even after attorney fees are paid. Call us before making any decisions.
We pursue your own Uninsured Motorist (UM) or Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage — California requires this to be offered in every auto policy. We also investigate all other potentially liable parties: the vehicle’s owner if different from the driver, an employer if the driver was working at the time, a government entity if road conditions contributed, or a manufacturer if a vehicle defect played a role.
Absolutely. Your residency is completely irrelevant to your right to file a California personal injury claim. Whether you were injured on a cable car at Fisherman’s Wharf, in a rental car accident, at a Union Square hotel, or anywhere else in the city, you have the same legal rights as any San Francisco resident. We handle cases for people who have already returned home — we can manage everything remotely.
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (the city’s main trauma center at 1001 Potrero Ave), UCSF Medical Center, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, and California Pacific Medical Center are the main SF emergency facilities. Same-day treatment after any accident is critical — both for your health and for your legal claim. Gaps in treatment are used by insurance companies to argue you were not seriously injured.
Cases with clear liability and well-documented injuries can settle in three to six months. Cases with disputed liability, multiple defendants, or severe injuries typically take one to two years. Cases that go to trial at San Francisco Superior Court take two to three years from filing. We never delay unnecessarily, and we keep you fully informed at every stage — no surprises.
Cases with clear liability and well-documented injuries can settle in three to six months. Cases with disputed liability, multiple defendants, or severe injuries typically take one to two years. Cases that go to trial at San Francisco Superior Court take two to three years from filing. We never delay unnecessarily, and we keep you fully informed at every stage — no surprises.
FREE CASE ASSESSMENT
What San Francisco Clients Say
We believe the people we have helped are the most honest measure of this firm.
★★★★★
After my accident on US 101 near the Bay Bridge, the insurance company started with an offer that would not have covered my surgery, let alone the months I missed at work. Kenneth took the case, handled every call with the adjuster so I did not have to deal with them, and settled it for an amount that actually covers what happened to me. I cannot thank him enough.
— Michael T., San Francisco | Car Accident, US 101
★★★★★
I was on a MUNI bus that stopped suddenly — no warning, no obstacle, nothing. I fell and hurt my back badly. I had no idea there was a six-month deadline to file against the city. Kenneth’s office caught it in time, handled the government claim process, and got me a real settlement. If I had waited another few weeks I would have had nothing.
— Sandra L., San Francisco | MUNI Bus Accident, Civic Center
★★★★★
Kenneth was the fourth attorney I called. The first three were too busy or did not want the case. He listened to everything, said he believed what happened to us, and spent over a year fighting for our family. When it was over, we had the financial security to move forward. I will always be grateful.
— The Reyes Family, San Francisco | Wrongful Death
★★★★★
I was hit while crossing Market Street. The driver’s insurer said I stepped out too fast and bore partial responsibility. Kenneth pushed back with traffic camera footage and two witnesses. He proved exactly what happened. The difference between what they first offered and what we settled for was significant — and it makes a real difference in my life.
— Priya A., San Francisco | Pedestrian Accident, Market Street
★★★★★
My Lyft driver ran a red light near Union Square and we were hit by another car. I was a passenger and had no idea who to claim against — Lyft, the other driver, my own insurance. Kenneth figured it out immediately. He knew exactly which coverage applied and pursued the right claim. Three months later it was resolved and I was taken care of.
— James K., San Francisco | Rideshare Accident, Union Square Area
More reviews available on Google, Avvo, and Martindale-Hubbell. Ask us for references when you call — we are happy to provide them.
Talk to a San Francisco Personal Injury Lawyer Today — At No Cost
If you or someone you care about has been hurt in San Francisco — whether in a car accident on the Bay Bridge approach, a MUNI collision near Civic Center, a pedestrian knockdown in SoMa, or any other accident caused by someone else’s negligence — you do not have to figure this out alone.
At the Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe — a San Francisco Personal Injury Law firm that takes cases from people with real injuries and real needs — we work hard, we fight when we need to, and we do not collect a fee unless we win.
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