--- title: "Duarte Personal Injury Attorney | Call Jacob" canonical: "https://www.calljacob.com/areas-we-serve/duarte-personal-injury-attorney/" description: "Hurt in Duarte? What to do in the first 72 hours: Temple Station reports, trauma care outside City of Hope and claim deadlines. Free consultation." --- # Duarte Personal Injury Attorney Los Angeles County Duarte has no police department of its own, and the best-known medical campus in town, City of Hope, is a cancer research and treatment center rather than a designated trauma center. Between them, those two facts decide who shows up after a Duarte collision, where an injured person is driven and whose report an insurer will ask for. Anyone who needs a Duarte personal injury attorney after a crash on Huntington Drive, Buena Vista Street or the 210 will deal with Temple Station, a trauma bay in Pasadena or Pomona and an insurer’s adjuster within the first seventy-two hours, roughly in that order, and this page takes them one at a time. When What to focus on The Duarte detail Hour 0 Calling 911, photographs, witnesses Sheriff’s deputies from Temple Station answer calls on city streets Hours 1–6 Emergency care Serious trauma patients leave town for a designated center Day 1 Getting the report number Crashes on the Irwindale line can belong to Irwindale police Days 2–3 First insurer contact Say little until the Temple Station report is in hand Month 1 Treatment records and wage loss Keep every bill, discharge sheet and pay stub Month 6 Public-agency claim deadline Applies if a Metro train, bus or A Line station played a part ## At the scene on a Duarte street Duarte contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and **Temple Station** at 8838 Las Tunas Drive in Temple City lists the City of Duarte among the areas its deputies patrol ([LASD](https://lasd.org/temple/)). Call 911 from Huntington Drive or a side street and the patrol car will come from there. Los Angeles County Fire Station 44 is the city’s own firehouse; the paramedic units that back it up are based at Station 29 in Baldwin Park and Station 32 in Azusa ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duarte,_California)). A crash on the Foothill Freeway is a different matter. I-605 ends at the 210 just south of the Irwindale–Duarte border, with ramps that reach north to Huntington Drive ([Interstate 605](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_605)), and the CHP rather than the Sheriff investigates collisions on those freeway lanes and ramps. If you are able to move around safely, collect four things before the cars are towed: - Photos of both cars where they came to rest, and of the signal heads if it happened at a Huntington Drive intersection - The other driver’s name, plate and insurer, copied from the cards themselves rather than told to you - Witnesses’ phone numbers, before the tow trucks clear Huntington Drive - The agency printed on the card you receive: Temple Station, the CHP or, near the eastern edge, Irwindale police ## What the 2023 numbers show State rankings put Duarte in a group of 103 cities of similar size, and a 1 in the right-hand column would mean the worst record among them ([OTS](https://www.ots.ca.gov/media-and-research/crash-rankings-results/?wpv-wpcf-year=2023&wpv-wpcf-city_county=Duarte)). The 210 and 605 belong to the CHP, and the state leaves their crashes out of these city rankings. 2023 category Duarte Rank of 103 All victims killed or injured 50 65 Pedestrians killed or injured 7 34 Bicyclists killed or injured 5 42 Nighttime crashes (9 p.m.–3 a.m.) 7 43 Motorcyclists killed or injured 2 63 Composite ranking — 95 On most measures Duarte is one of the lower-risk cities in its group, and only **2** drunk-driving arrests were recorded in the city that year (10th on that table, which counts up from the fewest). Walkers are the exception. Pedestrians are the city’s worst-ranked victim category, and the city has paid attention: in July 2023 Duarte and the Southern California Association of Governments staged a Safe Routes to School demonstration at Beardslee Park with a painted crosswalk, a pedestrian refuge island and a separated bike lane, and more than 200 people came ([SCAG](https://sp.scag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/duarte_summer_concert_-_go_human_summary_v2.pdf)). ## Where paramedics take you People who live near City of Hope often expect the ambulance to go there. The hospital does not appear on California’s list of designated trauma centers, and Santa Teresita, which once operated as a full-service hospital in Duarte, closed its emergency room and now offers outpatient care only ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duarte,_California)). For a serious injury, the ambulance heads out of Duarte, to one of the designated centers on either side of town ([EMSA, August 2025](https://emsa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/2025/08/California-Designated-ACS-Verified-Trauma-Centers-8.22.25.pdf)): Hospital Trauma status Huntington Memorial, Pasadena Level II Pomona Valley Level II City of Hope, Duarte Not designated Which one receives you turns on the injury and on where the ambulance crew finds an open bed that day. Some people drive home from the scene and wake up the next morning with a stiff neck or a headache that will not lift. Whiplash and concussion symptoms commonly arrive late, and a two-week gap before the first doctor’s visit is the first thing an adjuster will cite to argue the crash did not cause them. ## The first day and the report By the end of day one you should know which agency investigated. For most crashes inside the city it is Temple Station. Near the eastern edge the answer can change. On February 7, 2019, a fatal collision at Huntington Drive and Irwindale Avenue led the City of Duarte to close eastbound Huntington at Las Lomas Drive and route drivers onto the 210, Buena Vista Street or Arrow Highway, yet the investigation belonged to Irwindale police because the intersection sits on the city line ([City of Duarte alert](https://nixle.us/AQWQ2)). **Watch out:** Sending a records request to Temple Station for a crash Irwindale handled only delays the claim. The Metro A Line has stopped at the Duarte/City of Hope station since 2016. If a train, a bus or something about the station area played any part in what happened to you, a public agency is now involved, and its claim deadline is far shorter than the one for a private driver. ## Days two and three By the second day, expect a call from the other driver’s insurance company, quite possibly before the Temple Station report is even available. You have no obligation to give that company a recorded statement, and an account taken while you are still being examined at Huntington Memorial or Pomona Valley tends to be quoted back later as proof that you were fine. **Tip:** Your own policy probably requires prompt notice of the crash, so call your insurer, but keep that first call to the date, the place on Huntington Drive or the 210 and the vehicles involved. ## The rest of the first month Treatment for a back or shoulder injury usually becomes a routine of appointments in these weeks. Keep a folder with the Temple Station report number, discharge papers from Huntington Memorial or Pomona Valley, pharmacy receipts, mileage to physical therapy and any note from your employer about shifts you missed. Wage loss and medical bills are proven with those papers, and pain and suffering is easier to show when the record of care has no gaps. Huntington Drive, the old Route 66 alignment through the middle of town, has a long record of serious crashes. In July 2012 a two-car collision at Brycedale Avenue injured three people, and one was airlifted to County-USC with major injuries ([Patch, 2012](https://patch.com/california/arcadia/major-traffic-collision-reported-in-duarte)). That crash is more than a decade old, but it shows what tends to decide fault on this corridor: lane position, signal phase and what each driver could see. ## Short answers for Duarte families ### Can I ask the ambulance to take me to City of Hope? You can state a preference, but with a serious injury paramedics go to a designated trauma center such as Huntington Memorial in Pasadena. City of Hope treats cancer patients and is not one of those centers. ### Why does Duarte have deputies instead of police? The city does not have its own police force. Its police contract is with the Sheriff’s Department, so deputies assigned to Temple Station take traffic calls on Duarte streets. ### The crash was right at the Irwindale line. Who has the report? Irwindale police may have it. They, not the Sheriff, investigated the 2019 fatal crash at Huntington Drive and Irwindale Avenue, so check the agency printed on your card before requesting anything. ### I was hit near the Metro A Line station. Does that change anything? Yes, if Metro’s train, bus or station played a part. Metro is a public agency, so the claim must reach it within six months of the day you were hurt, long before the two-year lawsuit deadline. ### What if the driver who hit me had no insurance? That is the situation uninsured motorist coverage was designed for, so find out whether your auto policy carries it and in what amount. The same coverage applies to a hit-and-run, which is uncommon in Duarte: the state counted 1 such injury crash in 2023. ### Do I have to pay a lawyer up front? No retainer is charged. If nothing is recovered, nothing is owed. ## Deadlines that run longer A Duarte resident hit by a private driver on Huntington Drive in March 2026 would have until March 2028 to file a lawsuit, the two-year limit in [CCP §335.1](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=335.1). Change one fact: suppose a Metro bus made the turn, or a broken crosswalk signal maintained by the City of Duarte played a part. In that case the deadline to present a written claim to Metro or the City would fall in September 2026 ([Gov. Code §911.2](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=911.2)). Damage to the car itself carries a three-year limit, and a child hurt walking near Beardslee Park is subject to different timing rules than an adult. Fault is shared, not all-or-nothing. If an insurer argues you stepped off the curb near the A Line station against the signal, the question becomes how large your share is, because California reduces an award by the injured person’s percentage instead of barring it ([CACI 405](https://www.justia.com/trials-litigation/docs/caci/400/405/)). If the case reaches Los Angeles Superior Court, the courthouse follows the crash, not your home address. Since General Order 2024-GEN-003-00 ([LASC](https://lascpubstorage.blob.core.windows.net/cpw/LIBOPSCivil-119-GeneralOrderReAssignmentandTransferofPersonalInjuryCases%28EffectiveMay17,2024%29.pdf)), the crash location has set the district, so for a Duarte collision we look the address up in the court’s [filing locator](https://www.lacourt.org/filinglocatornet/ui/filingsearch.aspx?CT=CI) instead of guessing from a map. ## Our work for people hurt in Duarte We represent Duarte residents, City of Hope patients and staff, and commuters on the 210 and Huntington Drive who have been hurt in collisions. On a Duarte case we request the Temple Station or CHP report first, and when a crash happened near the Irwindale line we confirm which agency wrote it before the insurer does. The cases we take from Duarte include: - [Car accidents](https://www.calljacob.com/personal-injury/car-accidents/) along Huntington Drive and Buena Vista, or on the 210 - [Pedestrians](https://www.calljacob.com/personal-injury/pedestrian-accidents/) struck near the A Line station or on the way to Beardslee Park - Cyclists hurt on city streets, where the state counted 5 bicyclist victims in 2023 - Motorcycle riders and truck-crash victims hurt near where the 605 meets the 210 - Passengers injured on a Metro bus or train - Slips in a grocery aisle and dog bites from a loose animal - Wrongful death claims, which California lets a surviving spouse, child or other heir bring The Law Offices of Jacob Emrani also takes on the records and deadlines described above: collecting the charts from Huntington Memorial or Pomona Valley, preparing any six-month claim against Metro or the City of Duarte, and negotiating with the adjuster. A Duarte car accident attorney from our firm will meet you in a Pasadena hospital room or at your kitchen table, whichever is easier. There is no charge to talk it through: **(888) 952-2952** reaches us, and the [case evaluator](https://www.calljacob.com/case-evaluator/) takes a written account if you would rather not call. Duarte clients who prefer Spanish can use [nuestra página en español](https://www.calljacob.com/es/). _This page explains how Temple Station, Metro and the courts handle Duarte crashes as general information, not legal advice._ ## Sources 1. [Census V2025](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025.csv) — Census 2. [OTS 2023, Duarte](https://www.ots.ca.gov/media-and-research/crash-rankings-results/?wpv-wpcf-year=2023&wpv-wpcf-city_county=Duarte) — OTS 3. [Temple Station](https://lasd.org/temple/) — LASD 4. [Duarte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duarte,_California) — Wikipedia 5. [Interstate 605](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_605) — Wikipedia 6. [Trauma list, 2025](https://emsa.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/71/2025/08/California-Designated-ACS-Verified-Trauma-Centers-8.22.25.pdf) — EMSA 7. [Nixle alert, 2019](https://nixle.us/AQWQ2) — City of Duarte 8. [Duarte collision, 2012](https://patch.com/california/arcadia/major-traffic-collision-reported-in-duarte) — Patch 9. [Go Human summary](https://sp.scag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/duarte_summer_concert_-_go_human_summary_v2.pdf) — SCAG 10. [2024-GEN-003-00](https://lascpubstorage.blob.core.windows.net/cpw/LIBOPSCivil-119-GeneralOrderReAssignmentandTransferofPersonalInjuryCases%28EffectiveMay17,2024%29.pdf) — LASC 11. [Filing locator](https://www.lacourt.org/filinglocatornet/ui/filingsearch.aspx?CT=CI) — LASC 12. [CCP §335.1](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=335.1) — Legislature 13. [Gov. Code §911.2](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=911.2) — Legislature 14. [CACI 405](https://www.justia.com/trials-litigation/docs/caci/400/405/) — Justia ## Find Out How Much Your Case Is Worth Complete the form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. ## What Our Clients Say ![Google](/images/optimized/google-logo.png) "I definitely had no trouble at all during the whole process of my case. Yanira Benitez was excellent and very responsive when it came to questions and concerns regarding my case and very helpful in walking me through everything together so i understand it fully. I can safely say if i get into another accident, knock on wood, I’ll come back to Jacob Emrani!" ![Google](/images/optimized/google-logo.png) "Me and my wife had a great experience with Jacob Emrani! The staff were very friendly and nice! I was very satisfied with them helping with my lawsuit! 5 stars" ![Google](/images/optimized/google-logo.png) "I just want thank every at Jacob Emrani for an outstanding job, working on my accident. His staff was really helpful working on my case. Everytime i call for an update, they were able to provide me with what the status of the case and Miss Junaica was able to give me update and explain how every always going, overall Jacob staff knows how to get the job done. I really appreciate the job they and give good customer service. Thank you Jacob Emrani and staff. Specially to Junaica and Rowena. Thanks 😊" [See All 556+ Reviews →](/reviews/) ## Injured? 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