Quick Answer: To look up a Los Angeles Superior Court case, use the court’s online case-access system at lacourt.org and search by case number or party name. Civil, family, and small-claims summaries are available online; some records require an in-person request. Below, we walk through each step and explain what the case-summary fields mean.

Whether you’re tracking the status of your own case, researching a defendant, or simply need to verify court dates, knowing how to perform a Los Angeles County Superior Court case lookup can save you hours of frustration. The LA Superior Court system is the largest unified trial court in the United States, handling over a million cases annually, and finding specific records requires knowing exactly where to look.

At Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC, we navigate this court system daily on behalf of accident victims and their families throughout California. We understand that clients often want to monitor their case progress or access documents without waiting for a callback. That’s why we’ve put together this step-by-step guide.

Below, you’ll learn how to search for civil, criminal, and traffic cases using official court portals, what information you’ll need to run a search, and how to request records that aren’t available online.

What you can and cannot find online

The LA Superior Court’s online system gives you access to case summaries, hearing dates, and filing information for most civil, criminal, probate, and traffic matters. You can search by case number, party name, or defendant name to pull up basic details without visiting a courthouse in person. However, the system does not display full court documents, sealed records, or certain sensitive case types.

Public records you can access

When you run a search, you’ll see case status updates, upcoming court dates, and party information for standard civil litigation, including personal injury lawsuits, contract disputes, and property claims. Criminal cases show charge details, plea status, and sentencing information if the case has been adjudicated. Traffic cases display violation type, court dates, and fine amounts for moving violations and DUI matters.

You can also view probate case summaries and some family law case numbers, though family law details are often restricted. Small claims cases appear in the system with plaintiff and defendant names visible to the public.

Restricted or unavailable records

The online portal does not provide access to actual court filings, motions, or exhibits. If you need to review a complaint, declaration, or settlement agreement, you must request copies from the court clerk’s office or hire an attorney to obtain them on your behalf. Juvenile cases, adoption records, and certain mental health proceedings are completely sealed and will not appear in any public search results.

Cases involving minors or protected individuals often require a court order to access any information beyond a basic case number.

Additionally, confidential settlements and arbitration outcomes rarely show detailed results in the public system. You’ll see that a case was resolved, but you won’t see the settlement amount or terms unless those details were filed publicly.

Before you start: details to gather

Running a case search works best when you have specific identifying information ready before you open the search portal. The system searches millions of records, so the more details you provide, the faster you’ll locate the right case. You can search with minimal information, but having complete details prevents you from sifting through dozens of similar names or case numbers that match your criteria.

Information that speeds up your search

You’ll get the best results if you have the case number, which appears on any court document you’ve received and follows a specific format (like 23STCV12345 for a civil case filed in 2023). If you don’t have the case number, gather the full legal name of at least one party involved. Court records use formal names, so “Robert Smith” won’t pull up cases filed under “Bob Smith” or “R. Smith.”

Other helpful details include:

• Date range when the case was filed (year or month)
• Case type (civil, criminal, traffic, probate)
• Court location or district (Central, West, North, South, East)
• Attorney name if you know who’s representing a party

The more precise your search criteria, the fewer irrelevant results you’ll have to review.

Step 1. Choose the right LA Superior Court search tool

The LA Superior Court maintains multiple search systems depending on the case type you need to access. Your first decision is whether to use the online portal or request assistance from the court clerk’s office. Most people start with the online system because it’s available 24/7 and provides instant results for public cases.

Online portal for civil, criminal, and traffic cases

You’ll find the court’s search portal at the official LA Superior Court website under the “Case Information” section. This system covers civil cases, criminal cases, traffic violations, and probate matters filed in any of the court’s district locations. The portal requires you to accept terms of use before searching, and it runs best on desktop browsers rather than mobile devices.

The online portal is free to use and doesn’t require you to create an account or log in. Here is the link: Court Portal

When to contact the clerk’s office

If your search doesn’t produce results online, call the clerk’s office directly at the courthouse where the case was filed. Sealed records, recently filed cases that haven’t been entered into the system yet, and certain family law matters require in-person requests or phone verification of your identity before clerks will release information.

Step 2. Search by case number, party name, or defendant

Once you’re in the online portal, you’ll see three primary search fields that let you access case records using different criteria. The case number field provides the fastest results if you have that information, while name searches work when you only know the parties involved. Each search method follows specific formatting rules, so understanding how to enter information correctly prevents “no results found” errors.

Search by case number

Enter the full case number exactly as it appears on your court documents, including letters and hyphens. Civil case numbers follow the format 23STCV12345, where “23” indicates the year filed, “ST” shows the court location (Stanley Mosk Courthouse), “CV” means civil case, and the remaining digits are the sequential case number. Criminal cases use their own numbering system. You don’t need to add spaces or change capitalization because the system recognizes standard court formatting automatically.

Search by party name

Type the last name first, followed by a comma and the first name (Smith, John) in the party name field. The system searches both plaintiff and defendant fields simultaneously, so you’ll see all cases where that person appears. Avoid nicknames or middle initials unless those appear on official court filings, as the system matches exact legal names registered when cases were filed.

Name searches may return multiple results if the person has a common name, so you’ll need additional details like the case type or filing year to narrow results.

Step 3. Read the case summary and track key updates

After your search returns results, you’ll see a case summary page that displays the most important details about the litigation or proceeding. This summary provides real-time information about case status, upcoming hearings, and parties involved without requiring you to visit the courthouse. You can access this page as many times as needed to check for new developments or confirm upcoming dates.

Key details in the case summary

The case summary displays the case number, filing date, case type, and current status at the top of the page. Below that, you’ll find a list of all parties involved with their attorney information if they’re represented by counsel. The summary also shows the judge assigned to the case and the courtroom location for hearings.

You’ll see a chronological list of events and filings that includes:

• Complaint or petition filing date
• Answer or response deadlines
• Motion hearing dates
• Trial dates and continuances
• Disposition or judgment information

Most court systems update case information within 24 to 48 hours after new documents are filed.

Tracking ongoing case activity

Check the “Next Event” or “Future Hearings” section to see when you need to appear in court or when your attorney will handle proceedings on your behalf. The system lists hearing dates with specific times and courtroom numbers, so you know exactly where to go if required to attend.

A Note From Our Office

The most common call we get about the portal is “my case still says pending.” That is normal. In LA County a personal injury case can sit at “pending” for eighteen months or longer while discovery, mediation, and a case management conference play out, and the portal only reflects filed events, not what the lawyers are doing between them. Do not use the portal to track your own deadlines; that is your attorney’s job, and the entries can lag by days. What the portal is useful for is confirming a hearing date and department the night before you have to appear.

If you still can’t find the case

Some cases don’t appear online because they were recently filed, sealed by court order, or archived after closure. Newly filed cases take 24 to 72 hours to appear in the database, so check back if you’re searching immediately after filing. Sealed cases require a court petition to access, while archived records older than a certain date need in-person requests at the courthouse records division with valid identification and sometimes a small processing fee.

If you’ve tried multiple search methods and still can’t locate your case information, contact the clerk’s office directly at the courthouse where you believe the case was filed, or speak with an experienced personal injury attorney who can request official records on your behalf. At Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC, we help clients track case progress and obtain court documents throughout their legal proceedings at no upfront cost.

Related Resources: Orange County Superior Court Case Lookup and Riverside and San Bernardino Superior Court Case Lookup

Los Angeles streets have become increasingly deadly over the past decade, with traffic fatalities now exceeding homicides for three consecutive years.[1] Recent analysis of comprehensive crash data from the Los Angeles Police Department reveals the specific intersections where serious collisions occur most frequently, painting a stark picture of where the city’s traffic safety crisis is most acute.

Between February 2021 and February 2025, certain intersections in Los Angeles emerged as consistent danger zones, with some recording more than 60 serious crashes during this four-year period.[2] The data, compiled by Crosstown LA through analysis of over 10 years of LAPD collision records, identifies patterns that city planners and traffic safety advocates have long suspected: proximity to freeway exits, inadequate traffic signals, and high pedestrian activity create deadly conditions at specific locations across the city and make LA a high rate area for traffic incidents.

The Deadliest Intersection: South Figueroa and Slauson Avenue

At the intersection where South Figueroa Street crosses Slauson Avenue in the Vermont Slauson neighborhood of South Los Angeles, dangerous conditions have created the city’s most hazardous crossing. Over the past four years, this single intersection has been the scene of 66 serious collisions, including 17 felony hit-and-run crashes, five severe injuries, and seven pedestrian strikes.[2] The intersection sits just one block from an exit to the 110 Freeway, a pattern that repeats throughout the list of most dangerous locations.

Gabriel Kahn, a professor at the University of Southern California and editor of Crosstown LA, explains the freeway proximity factor: “First of all, it’s just a lot more traffic and lanes, and cars turning, but there’s also a lot of people coming off the freeway driving 70 miles an hour when they’re entering a city street.”[1] This transition from high-speed freeway traffic to urban intersections creates conditions where split-second misjudgments become catastrophic.

Complete Rankings: The 25 Most Dangerous Intersections

The following table presents the complete ranking of Los Angeles’s most dangerous intersections based on total serious collisions from February 2021 to February 2025:

Geographic Patterns: South LA Bears Disproportionate Burden

A striking pattern emerges from the data: 15 of the 25 most dangerous intersections are located in South Los Angeles neighborhoods. This geographic concentration reflects longstanding infrastructure inequities, with South LA communities experiencing inadequate traffic signals, poor signage, and street designs that prioritize vehicle speed over pedestrian safety.

The concentration of dangerous intersections near freeway corridors is equally pronounced. Nearly half of the top 25 intersections sit within two blocks of freeway exits, particularly along the 405 and 110 corridors. At Sepulveda and Roscoe in Panorama City, which ranked second with 65 serious crashes, the intersection’s proximity to the 405 Freeway creates constant danger. Tony Wilkinson, chair of the Panorama City Neighborhood Council, notes: “The Sepulveda intersection is just two blocks from the 405, so you’ve got lots of traffic coming from far north and far south to turn on Roscoe.”[1]

The Escalating Crisis: Year-Over-Year Trends

Traffic fatalities in Los Angeles have followed a deeply troubling trajectory over the past decade, with deaths spiking dramatically in recent years despite city initiatives aimed at improving street safety.

The data reveals several critical trends. After relatively stable fatality numbers from 2015 to 2020 (ranging from 186 to 261 deaths annually), the pandemic era brought a sharp increase. Fatalities jumped to 294 in 2021, then climbed to 314 in 2022, before reaching a decade-high peak of 345 deaths in 2023.[2] While 2024 saw a modest decline to 303 fatalities, this figure still represents a 63% increase from the 2015 baseline and remains well above pre-pandemic levels.

The year-over-year comparison tells a story of failed interventions and worsening conditions:

These numbers stand in stark contrast to the city’s stated goals. In 2015, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti launched the “Vision Zero” initiative with an executive order designed to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025 through comprehensive improvements to road design, education, and enforcement.[3] Instead of progress toward zero deaths, the city has experienced an 63% increase in fatalities since the program’s inception.

Contributing Factors: Why These Intersections Are So Dangerous

The crash data reveals several recurring factors that contribute to intersection dangers across Los Angeles. Understanding these patterns is essential for developing effective safety interventions.

Freeway proximity emerges as the single most significant risk factor. Intersections located within two blocks of freeway exits experience dramatically higher crash rates due to drivers transitioning from high-speed freeway travel to urban street conditions. The sudden need to navigate traffic signals, pedestrian crossings, and turning vehicles while still traveling at elevated speeds creates conditions ripe for serious collisions.

Inadequate traffic control infrastructure compounds these dangers. Many of the most dangerous intersections lack modern traffic signals with protected left-turn phases, pedestrian countdown timers, or leading pedestrian intervals that give people on foot a head start before vehicles receive green lights. Poor signage and faded road markings further reduce driver awareness of intersection configurations and right-of-way rules.

High traffic volumes combined with complex intersection geometries create situations where driver error becomes more likely and more consequential. Intersections like Sepulveda and Roscoe, where multiple lanes converge and heavy traffic flows in all directions, leave little margin for the split-second decisions that prevent crashes.

Declining traffic enforcement has removed a critical deterrent to dangerous driving behaviors. Damian Kevitt, founder of the advocacy organization Safe Streets Are for Everyone, notes: “We have a spike in fatalities that is related to the drop in traffic citations. The streets are the same, but the fatalities are greater. The biggest change was that they stopped enforcing traffic citations.”[2]

Lieutenant Jesse Garcia of the LAPD’s West Traffic Division identifies the primary crash factors his officers observe: “The top factors: speed, stop signs, cell phone, red lights, obeying posted signs. We’re not even talking about DUI. That’s a whole different animal.”[2] The prevalence of distracted driving, particularly cell phone use, represents a behavioral shift that infrastructure improvements alone cannot address.

Vehicle design changes have also contributed to increased danger. Garcia notes: “To be brutally honest, one of the big things we have seen through COVID is that a lot of these vehicles coming off the showroom floor are, for all intents and purposes, race cars. They are coming in with 400-500 horsepower. In more affluent areas, you have kids driving mom and dad’s car. They’re getting behind the wheel of a monster.”[2]

A note from our office: A crash history like the one at Figueroa and Slauson isn’t just a warning to drivers; it’s evidence. When a collision happens at an intersection the City has known for years to be dangerous, an injured person may have a claim against the City itself under Government Code § 835 for a dangerous condition of public property, separate from the claim against the other driver. The prior-crash data is what proves the City had notice. Those cases have a six-month claim deadline and a harder liability standard than an ordinary car accident case, but at an intersection on this list, it is a question we ask on every intake.

The Vision Zero Failure: What Went Wrong

The contrast between Los Angeles’s stated traffic safety goals and actual outcomes represents one of the city’s most significant policy failures of the past decade. When Mayor Eric Garcetti launched Vision Zero in 2015 with the ambitious goal of eliminating all traffic deaths by 2025, the initiative promised comprehensive changes to street design, enforcement, and education.[3]

A lengthy audit released in spring 2025 identified multiple causes for the program’s failure.[2] Only half of the listed “actions” were ever completed, leaving critical safety improvements unimplemented. The plan lacked a program for accountability among city departments, allowing agencies to deprioritize traffic safety work without consequences. Poor coordination and diminishing participation from the LAPD’s traffic division further undermined the initiative.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation responded to the audit findings by noting that “since 2017, LADOT has implemented over 7,000 safety treatments from its Safety Toolkit at priority corridors and intersections, and redesigned more than 20 miles of High Injury Network streets.”[1] However, the data clearly shows these interventions have been insufficient to reverse the upward trend in fatalities.

Some safety measures have faced community pushback despite their effectiveness. Garcia noted that in the Valley, rumble strips installed on several major thoroughfares “have some success with slowing down prevailing speeds. The downside was the noise, and the community complained.”[2] Speed bumps, another proven traffic calming measure, cannot be installed on major thoroughfares due to concerns about emergency vehicle access and traffic flow.

Emerging Solutions: Red Light Cameras and Legislative Action

Despite the overall failure of Vision Zero, some promising interventions have emerged. Red-light cameras, which have been shown to reduce collisions by as much as 30%, represent one evidence-based solution.[2] However, until recently, California law governing their usage contained significant flaws that limited deployment. There are currently no red-light cameras installed by the city of Los Angeles, though LA Metro has installed several near rail lines.

In a potentially significant development, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 720, the Safer Streets Act, in October 2025.[2] This legislation should pave the way for more red-light cameras across the state by addressing the legal barriers that previously limited their use. Whether this will translate into meaningful deployment in Los Angeles remains to be seen.

What This Means for Los Angeles

Behind every statistic in this analysis lies human tragedy—lives lost, families shattered, and communities traumatized by preventable violence on city streets. The 345 people who died in traffic crashes in 2023 were parents, children, workers, students, and neighbors. The thousands more who suffered serious injuries face long recoveries, mounting medical bills, and permanent disabilities.

The concentration of dangerous intersections in South Los Angeles neighborhoods reflects broader patterns of inequity in how the city invests in infrastructure and safety. Communities that have historically received less investment in street improvements, traffic calming measures, and pedestrian infrastructure continue to bear a disproportionate burden of traffic violence.

The failure of Vision Zero demonstrates that aspirational goals without accountability, adequate funding, and political will produce no meaningful change. As Los Angeles surpasses the 2025 deadline with traffic deaths 63% higher than when the initiative launched, city leaders must confront the reality that current approaches are not working.

Effective interventions exist—protected bike lanes, leading pedestrian intervals, road diets that reduce vehicle speeds, red-light cameras, and increased enforcement of traffic laws all have proven track records of reducing crashes and saving lives. The question is whether Los Angeles has the political will to implement these solutions at the scale necessary to address a crisis that claims more than 300 lives each year.

For residents navigating these dangerous intersections daily, the data provides crucial information about where to exercise extra caution. For city planners and elected officials, it offers a clear roadmap of where interventions are most urgently needed. The question now is whether this information will finally catalyze the comprehensive action that Vision Zero promised but failed to deliver.

References

[1]: New data shows 50 most dangerous intersections in LA – ABC7 (October 16, 2025)

[2]: The most dangerous intersections in Los Angeles – Crosstown LA (October 15, 2025)

[3]: Vision Zero Safety Study – LADOT (March 25, 2025)

[4]: Traffic Collision Data from 2010 to Present – Los Angeles Open Data Portal (Last updated January 2, 2026)

This analysis was compiled using public crash data from the Los Angeles Police Department, and Crosstown LA investigative reporting.

As a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer that has been helping accident victims and their families for over 25 years, I wanted to write a blog about something that I have begun hearing more and more of in the past few years. Clients are coming to me stating that they hired a personal injury attorney, they attorney submitted a settlement demand to the insurance company, the settlement offer was either nothing or not a reasonable amount and then they were told, “You’ll have to find another lawyer, we don’t litigate cases.” This is preposterous to me! If an attorney was willing to sign up your case because they believed that the claim had merit, why would they not be willing to file a lawsuit? The answer is simple and it goes back to something I’ve been “harping on” for some time now: There are too many self-proclaimed “personal injury attorneys” in Los Angeles that are simply out to do the least amount of work on each case, get what they can get, and move on to the next case!

What are “settlement mills” and why are they bad for every personal injury victim in Los Angeles?

As I blogged about extensively here, there is a disturbing trend across the United States especially in large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles when it comes to “Personal Injury Law Firms.” The trend is for lawyers to spend big bucks on advertising or use other methods to get a high volume of clients, try to do very little work on the case, try to get a settlement as quickly as possible and then move on to the next case. Why is this their business model? In order to sustain a high volume practice where the majority of the overhead consists of money spent on advertising such as television ads, radio spots or plastering the sides of the freeways with billboards, less money must be spent on the actual pursuit of the claim. For example, if a law firm is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a month (which some in L.A. are doing) to get new “sign ups”, how does this leave any resources to be spent on things like attorney and staff salaries, court costs, costs of taking depositions, cost of hiring expert witnesses and other expenses that go into fully prosecuting the claim? The answer is there it doesn’t! From a time standpoint, how is it possible to give each claim enough attention to ensure that the best result happens when you have thousands of files at any given time? The answer is it isn’t!! The business model of the settlement mill, therefore, is to bring in as many cases as possible, try to spend as little money and time as possible to get the case to settlement, get paid quickly and move on to the next case.

What this has done is empowered the insurance companies to make “low ball” offers and attempt to get away with it. Insurance companies are not in business to pay out full value on every claim! They must be persuaded that you have the time, resources and ability to file a lawsuit and take them to court, if necessary, before they will make a reasonable offer! Why? Because they are a business looking to maximize profits just like any other corporation in America. So the fact that Los Angeles has more and more attorneys trying to do the bare minimum work (i.e. just sending a settlement demand letter, doing some basic negotiation and convincing people to take the first offer) means that the “fair market value” of ALL personal injury claims brought in L.A. is being driven further and further down! As a personal injury lawyer that actually gives proper attention to each and every case I sign up, I have seen this first hand. Over the past 25 years, I have seen a steady decline in the average pre-litigation settlement offer on my cases. Do I have to file a lawsuit on every case? No, fortunately it hasn’t gotten that bad but, I can say that I have to file suit on more cases now than I did 10 or even 5 years ago to get a reasonable offer from the insurance company. Why? They want to know that I am not the type of lawyer that is afraid to “litigate” a case!

If my lawyer is telling me that they “don’t litigate cases” is that an indication I hired the wrong lawyer?

In a word: YES! Think about it. If a lawyer thought that your case was good enough to have you sign an agreement that they would “represent you”, why are they now telling you that they can’t take the case further simply because it requires filing a lawsuit? The answer goes back to the “settlement mill” business model discussed above. It likely means that they simply don’t have the time or resources to fully prosecute your personal injury claim because they have too many files. It may also mean that you hired an inexperienced group of lawyers that doesn’t have the expertise to bring a lawsuit, properly litigate the case, and be prepared to go all the way to trial, if that’s what it takes to get a top dollar offer or a reasonable jury verdict.

What should I do if my Los Angeles injury lawyer says they don’t litigate cases?

Short answer: find a new attorney! Better yet, you should always ask up front before you ever hire a personal injury lawyer, “Are you willing to take my case all the way to trial if necessary?” Do you have experience in filing a lawsuit and litigating this type of case through the court system? If they can’t answer these questions adequately and in a credible way, you should not hire that personal injury law firm. Some of these types of firms may try to tempt you by offering you a discounted rate of their fees. To this I always tell clients, hiring a lawyer is like every other transaction you make, you get what you pay for! Experienced lawyers with a reputation for filing lawsuits in court and not simply settling every claim without having to do the work or spend the money that a lawsuit requires, will consistently obtain higher settlement offers from insurance companies. This has been proven time and time again in studies on the subject (Again, feel free to check out my prior blog on this subject: “What are the characteristics of a settlement mill?” Academic research has proven that this is the case!

Free consultation from real litigators and trial attorneys are available for Los Angeles personal injury victims:

The good news is that Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC do “litigate cases”! Mr. Sweat has over 25 years of experience in the litigation of personal injury claims. He also has a team of lawyers that have years of experience filing lawsuits, conducting discovery, taking depositions, hiring experts, preparing and conducting trials of personal injury claims. Does this mean that we will have to go through the entire litigation process on your particular case? No. Most cases do settle prior to going to trial but, without the experience and reputation of being a personal injury litigation law firm, you will never obtain the highest possible settlement offer on any personal injury claim in our opinion. For a free consultation 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, call our toll free accident and injury helpline at 866-966-5240. We are here to give your personal injury claim the personal attention it deserves!