Hurt while visiting Riverside County: reports, rental cars and deadlines

Before you leave Riverside County

• Get the report number. The agency that responded writes the report; our crash report guide shows which agency serves each city and how to request it from home.
• Make the required reports. A driver in a crash that injures anyone must make a written report to the CHP or, in a city, the CHP or city police within 24 hours unless one is made for them (Vehicle Code § 20008). Many crashes must also be reported to the California DMV within 10 days (Vehicle Code § 16000).
• Get medical care here if you need it, and ask for copies before you go. Our trauma center guide explains how to request records from each Riverside County trauma center.
• Collect contacts and photos: other drivers, witnesses, insurance cards, the scene, the vehicles, and your injuries.

California deadlines follow you home

Where you live does not change the California deadlines for an injury that happened here. Most lawsuits must be filed within two years (CCP § 335.1). If a city, the County, the State or a transit agency may be responsible, for example for a road defect or a public vehicle, a written claim is generally due within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2). Our claims guide lists where to file with each public agency.

Rental cars: who is responsible

A rental company is generally not liable just because it owns the car you or another driver rented. Federal law bars that kind of owner liability when the company is in the rental business and was not itself negligent or engaged in criminal wrongdoing (49 U.S.C. § 30106). The driver who caused the crash remains responsible, and the rental company can still be liable for its own negligence, such as renting out a car it knew had bad brakes.

A borrowed car is different. When a private owner lets someone drive, California makes the owner liable for that driver's negligence (Vehicle Code § 17150), but only up to $15,000 for one person's injuries and $30,000 per accident (Vehicle Code § 17151).

How much insurance the other driver must have

For California policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the minimum liability limits are $30,000 for injury or death of one person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage (Vehicle Code § 16056). Serious injuries often exceed those limits, which is why your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage can matter; check the policy you carry at home.

Handling a claim from out of state

Keep everything in writing, keep copies of every form you submit, and keep a simple log of calls with insurers. Be careful with recorded statements before you have your medical records and the crash report. If you want to talk with a lawyer here, our contact page explains how to reach us.

Every fact on this page links to the official source it came from. We checked each one in September 2026. Agencies change fees and procedures, so confirm with the agency before you go. How we research.