UCLA Law Trained Attorneys in Tarzana
A DUI accident case has something most injury cases do not: a criminal proceeding running in parallel. The criminal case generates evidence that is invaluable in your civil claim. BAC results, field sobriety test footage, the driver's statements to police, and any prior DUI history. All of it is admissible in your civil case to prove conscious disregard for safety.
Arya handles DUI accident cases from Tarzana by coordinating with the criminal prosecution to obtain this evidence early. He does not wait for the criminal case to resolve. Your civil claim has its own two-year deadline, and building the punitive damages case starts now. These cases file at Van Nuys Courthouse West, where Arya has handled DUI injury claims before.
Grew Up Minutes Away and Knows Tarzana Firsthand
I grew up in Woodland Hills, attended El Camino Real High School, and earned my law degree at UCLA. I've spent my career representing injured residents in Tarzana and the surrounding Valley communities. I know this area well, from grabbing breakfast at Bea's Bakery to dinners with my wife at Sol Y Luna on Ventura and Winnetka, to spending evenings at Corbin Bowl. I handle every personal injury case from this part of the Valley personally, not a paralegal, not a junior associate.
What We Already Know When You Call
The high-risk corridors, the trauma hospitals, the filing deadlines, and the legal rules that apply to your case. This is the baseline knowledge we bring to every Tarzana injury claim.
Ventura Boulevard through Tarzana is one of the busiest surface streets in the San Fernando Valley. Combined with US-101 on-ramp congestion, this corridor sees consistent patterns of rear-end, pedestrian, and side-impact crashes.
Paramedics route to Northridge Hospital (Level II Trauma). Providence Tarzana Medical Center is right here on Burbank Boulevard but is not a trauma center. Critical cases go to UCLA Ronald Reagan (Level I).
California courts have repeatedly held that driving under the influence can constitute "malice" or "conscious disregard for the rights and safety of others" — the standard for punitive damages under Civil Code §3294. This can significantly increase your total recovery beyond compensatory damages alone.
California's dram shop law (Business and Professions Code §25602) limits social host liability but allows claims against commercial establishments that serve visibly intoxicated customers who later cause accidents. If a bar or restaurant over-served the driver, they may share liability.
What Shapes an Injury Case Here
The Reseda Boulevard medical corridor is one of the most concentrated clusters of treatment centers and specialist practices in the Valley. Providence Tarzana Medical Center sits on Burbank Boulevard. This is where many Valley injury victims end up for treatment whether or not they live here. The practical advantage: we already know the providers who are documenting your injuries, and we know which ones write reports that stand up when the insurance company's lawyer picks them apart.
Tarzana has one of the densest apartment corridors in the mid-Valley, especially along Vanowen and Oxnard. That means landlord and property management defendants are common. Slip and fall on a broken stairwell, assault in a poorly lit parking garage, trip on a cracked walkway: these are all premises cases against management companies, and management companies fight differently than individual homeowners.
The US-101/Reseda Boulevard interchange is a multi-vehicle crash corridor. When several cars are involved, there are multiple insurance policies in play and you need someone who will find all of them, not just the obvious one.
Cases here go to Chatsworth or Van Nuys Courthouse depending on the specifics. Both are courthouses we work in regularly.
The Accidents That Keep Happening
Ventura Boulevard through Tarzana never lets up. It is one of the busiest surface streets in the Valley, and the stretch near Reseda Boulevard combines heavy pedestrian traffic with drivers trying to get to the 101 on-ramp. The result is a mix of rear-end crashes, T-bones at intersections, and pedestrians getting hit in crosswalks.
Reseda Boulevard has the freeway interchange collisions and the medical district traffic. Vanowen and Oxnard run through the apartment belt and see lower-speed crashes that still cause real injuries: a car backing out of a driveway, a kid on a bike getting doored, a delivery truck blocking sight lines at an intersection.
One of our Tarzana cases involved a pedestrian hit in front of a restaurant on Ventura whose owner had removed bollards from the sidewalk patio. Another was a rear-end chain reaction on the 101 on-ramp at Reseda where three different insurance companies tried to blame each other. These cases required different evidence, different experts, and different strategies from day one.
Crash Data
Most Dangerous Intersections
Recent Crashes
View all crash reports in Tarzana →Compensation Available in Your Case
DUI accident victims are entitled to everything a standard injury victim receives, plus punitive damages. The driver's choice to drink and drive is what makes these cases different, and we make that difference count.
Medical Expenses
Trauma care at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, surgeries, and ongoing rehabilitation. DUI crash injuries tend to be severe because impaired drivers don't brake before impact.
Lost Wages
Paychecks lost during your recovery from a DUI crash. Every day you can't work because of someone else's decision to drive drunk is compensable.
Pain & Suffering
Physical pain, emotional distress, and the particular anger that comes from knowing this crash was completely avoidable. All of it is compensable.
Property Damage
Your vehicle and belongings damaged or destroyed in the crash. DUI collisions on Ventura Blvd and Reseda Blvd often involve significant impact.
Punitive Damages
California courts allow punitive damages in DUI cases to punish the driver's reckless choice. Prior DUI convictions and high BAC levels make the case stronger.
Wrongful Death Damages
If a drunk driver killed your family member in Tarzana, you can pursue both full compensatory damages and punitive damages.
Call us Today. No fee until you win!
818-224-7940What to Do After a Drunk Driver Accident
DUI accident cases have unique evidentiary opportunities — criminal prosecution records, BAC results, and prior history — that can significantly increase your recovery.
Call 911 and report suspected drunk driving
Tell the dispatcher the other driver appears intoxicated. Officers will conduct field sobriety testing and take a BAC reading.
Cooperate with police but don't speculate
Share your account of what happened. Ask whether the driver was arrested for DUI. Don't minimize your injuries.
Seek immediate medical care
Providence Tarzana Medical Center is nearby. DUI crashes are violent collisions. Get a thorough evaluation even if you feel okay initially.
Obtain the police report
The officer's DUI arrest report and BAC results become key evidence in your civil case. We obtain them as early as possible.
Document the at-fault driver's impairment evidence
Open bottles, alcohol smell, slurred speech, stumbling. Document what you saw at the scene while the details are still clear.
Contact Westwood Law
Arya Firoozmand handles Tarzana DUI accident cases. We coordinate with the criminal prosecution and build a civil case that includes punitive damages when the evidence supports them.