Kubota & Craig represents injured people in Costa Mesa, California — from the South Coast Plaza district and the Interstate 405 corridor to the residential neighborhoods east and west of the 55. We are a personal injury firm based a short drive inland in Irvine, and founding partners Yoshiaki Kubota and Cynthia A. Craig personally handle every Costa Mesa matter the firm accepts, from motor-vehicle collisions to premises-liability and wrongful-death claims.
Where Personal Injuries Happen in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa sits at the meeting point of two heavily traveled freeways. Interstate 405 (the San Diego Freeway) crosses the north of the city and State Route 55 (the Costa Mesa Freeway) feeds traffic from the 405 down toward the coast, with the 73 Toll Road clipping the eastern edge. The California Highway Patrol handles collisions on all three, and serious car, truck, and motorcycle collisions on them are matters our firm handles. At the surface-street level, Harbor Boulevard, Bristol Street, Newport Boulevard, and Baker Street carry the largest share of intra-city traffic and the rideshare and intersection collisions that come with it.
Premises-liability injuries in Costa Mesa concentrate at the city’s high-traffic commercial destinations. South Coast Plaza, the Segerstrom Center district, the OC Fair & Event Center, and the retail and dining corridors along Harbor and Bristol draw dense foot traffic that produces slip and fall injuries, falling-merchandise incidents, and parking-structure falls. Residential streets and parks produce dog bite claims, and the city’s commercial-construction activity produces construction injuries. The most severe collisions and falls result in traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, and other catastrophic injury claims.
How Kubota & Craig Serves Costa Mesa
Kubota & Craig represents injured Costa Mesa residents from our office at 16530 Bake Parkway, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618, a short drive from Costa Mesa via Interstate 405. We are not a Costa Mesa–based firm with a storefront in town — we are an Irvine personal-injury firm that serves Costa Mesa, and we say so plainly. Founding partners Yoshiaki Kubota (California State Bar #175555) and Cynthia A. Craig (California State Bar #226318) personally handle every matter the firm accepts. Initial consultations are free, available in English and Spanish, and the firm works on a contingency basis — no fee unless the case results in a recovery. When an injury makes travel impractical, we come to you, including at the hospitals serving the Costa Mesa area.
Driving Directions to Kubota & Craig from Costa Mesa, California
Our office is at 16530 Bake Parkway, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618, reachable from the Bake Parkway exit off both I-5 and I-405. High-level routes from around Costa Mesa:
- From South Coast Plaza: take I-405 toward Irvine and exit at Bake Parkway.
- From the OC Fair & Event Center: take SR-55 to I-405 toward Irvine and exit at Bake Parkway.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim Arising in Costa Mesa
Personal injury cases arising in Costa Mesa are filed in the Orange County Superior Court. Most injury and wrongful-death cases are unlimited civil matters, filed and heard at the Central Justice Center, 700 Civic Center Drive West, in Santa Ana; only cases designated as complex litigation are handled at the Civil Complex Center (751 W. Santa Ana Boulevard). Venue follows where the injury happened, not where you live.
Three deadlines matter most:
- Two years from the date of injury — the general statute of limitations under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 (most car-accident, slip-and-fall, dog-bite, and product-liability claims).
- Three years for property-damage claims under CCP § 338; if your case involves both injury and vehicle damage, the periods run independently.
- Six months to file an administrative claim if the City of Costa Mesa, the County of Orange, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), Caltrans, or any other government entity is a potential defendant — California Government Code § 911.2. Sidewalk defects, dangerous road design, signal failures, and government-owned vehicles fall here, and missing the deadline ordinarily extinguishes the claim.
If you are not sure whether a government entity may be involved in your Costa Mesa case, ask us early rather than late.
Frequently Asked Questions — Personal Injury in Costa Mesa
I was injured in a collision on the 405 or the 55 near Costa Mesa. Which police report and court apply?
The California Highway Patrol writes the reports for all Orange County freeway collisions, including the 405, the 55, and the 73. The case is filed in Orange County Superior Court, and California’s two-year injury statute of limitations applies statewide regardless of which city the collision was closest to. If your crash occurred near a city line, the CHP report will fix the location and we work from that record.
I was hurt on a public sidewalk or road in Costa Mesa. Can I sue the city?
Possibly, but the deadline is short. Claims against the City of Costa Mesa or any California government entity require a written administrative claim within six months of the injury under Government Code § 911.2. The city then has 45 days to respond; if it rejects the claim, you have six months from the rejection to file suit. If a sidewalk defect, road-design problem, or signal failure may have contributed, consult an attorney immediately.
I was injured at South Coast Plaza or another Costa Mesa shopping center. Whom do I sue?
Often more than one party. California premises liability applies to anyone who owned, controlled, or managed the property and failed to use reasonable care — which can include the individual retailer, the property-management company, contracted security or janitorial vendors, and the property owner. Sorting out the right defendants requires the incident report, the lease, and the management contracts, which we investigate routinely.
I just want to know what my case is worth. Can you give me a number?
Not honestly, without first reviewing your case. Value depends on the nature and permanence of your injuries, your medical bills, lost income, available insurance coverage, and the strength of the liability evidence. We can give you a realistic range after reviewing the police report, the medical records, and the policy limits. The assessment is free.
Other Locations We Serve
Nearby: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Irvine, Tustin. See full coverage on the Orange County, CA page.
To discuss a personal injury or wrongful death matter that arose in Costa Mesa, call (949) 218-5676 or use our contact form. Consultations are free, available in English and Spanish, and the firm works on a contingency basis — no fee unless we recover for you.
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