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$40M+ recovered. 32 documented settlements and verdicts from $500,000 to $6,500,000. Contingency fee only: you pay nothing unless you recover.
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Trusted Expertise
Monica Burneikis is a licensed California attorney in active good standing with the State Bar of California. Her admissions and credentials are publicly verifiable.
State Bar of California Licensed California attorney, State Bar #239860. Admitted December 1, 2005. Status: Active.
BBB Accredited Business Burneikis Law holds active accreditation with the Better Business Bureau.
Court Admissions - All California state courts, including Alameda County Superior Court (Rene C. Davidson Courthouse, 1225 Fallon Street, Oakland) - United States District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland division) - United States District Court, Central District of California
Federal court admission matters for civil rights cases against Oakland Police Department officers, cases involving federal defendants, and cases where diversity jurisdiction opens a federal venue. It is uncommon in solo personal injury practices. Monica is admitted and actively handles civil rights cases in federal court.
Your Local Oakland Attorney
Burneikis Law’s office is at 66 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor, in downtown Oakland. This is not a shared virtual office or a satellite of a San Francisco firm. It is Monica’s primary office, where she meets clients and prepares cases.
The office sits four blocks from Oakland City Hall and less than a mile from the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse at 1225 Fallon Street, where Alameda County Superior Court civil cases are filed and tried. When your case requires litigation, Monica knows the courthouse, the filing procedures, and the civil divisions. She has filed and tried cases at Rene C. Davidson. That familiarity is not a talking point; it shows in how cases are built from the start.
Getting here: - BART: 12th Street / Oakland City Center station, 3-minute walk - BART: 19th Street Oakland station, 6-minute walk - Parking: Multiple city garages on Franklin Street and Clay Street
Office access note: Monica consults in English, Spanish, and ASL. If you need a consultation in Spanish or ASL, let us know when you call or in your message.
Trusted Expertise
Oakland has some of the most dangerous streets in the Bay Area. The city’s own published data confirms it. Understanding where and why accidents happen in Oakland matters when building a case because it establishes context, pattern, and in some cases, government liability.
The City of Oakland’s Vision Zero program identified a High Injury Network (HIN): a set of streets that account for the majority of serious injury and fatal collisions. These corridors are disproportionately dangerous, and in many cases the city has known about the hazard for years without acting.
International Boulevard runs through San Antonio, Fruitvale, and East Oakland and is consistently the most dangerous pedestrian corridor in the city. Oakland’s own data shows International Blvd has the highest concentration of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries. Many victims are struck in poorly lit crosswalks or at intersections where signal timing was never calibrated for actual pedestrian volumes.
Broadway through downtown, Uptown, and into North Oakland is a high-speed commercial corridor with frequent pedestrian and bicycle conflicts at major intersections including Telegraph Ave, Grand Ave, and MacArthur Blvd.
MacArthur Boulevard from downtown through the Laurel District and East Oakland has a documented history of speeding, limited pedestrian infrastructure, and commercial truck traffic crossing residential streets. It appears on Oakland’s High Injury Network specifically because of its crash frequency.
Telegraph Avenue from downtown through Temescal and into Berkeley combines heavy foot traffic, bicycle lanes, bus stops, and vehicle lanes in a configuration that creates consistent collision risk at intersections. Cyclists on Telegraph face particular hazards where the bike lane disappears at commercial blocks.
Foothill Boulevard through East Oakland sees high volumes of pedestrian and bicycle activity in a corridor that lacks consistent lighting and crosswalk infrastructure across much of its length.
Oakland’s position as a major port city creates a category of accident other Bay Area cities rarely encounter: Port of Oakland truck traffic.
The Port handles millions of tons of cargo annually. Trucks move between the Port, I-880, Hegenberger Road, and the I-580 interchange around the clock. At peak hours, the I-880 corridor through Oakland is among the highest-volume commercial truck routes in Northern California.
Accidents involving commercial trucks near the Port and on I-880 are not standard car crash cases. Federal FMCSA regulations, such as hours-of-service rules, maintenance requirements, and cargo loading standards, apply alongside California law. Multiple parties are often liable: the driver, the carrier, the cargo shipper, the maintenance contractor. Evidence in commercial trucking cases disappears fast, from electronic logs to dashcam footage to maintenance records.
If you were injured in a crash involving a commercial truck near the Port, on I-880, on Hegenberger Road, or at the I-580/I-880 interchange, contact Burneikis Law immediately.
Oakland has more BART stations than any other East Bay city: 12th Street / Oakland City Center, 19th Street Oakland, Lake Merritt, Fruitvale, Coliseum / Oakland Airport, West Oakland, MacArthur, and Rockridge. Station areas concentrate pedestrians, rideshare pickups, cyclists, and vehicles in tight intersections that often were not designed for those volumes.
Rideshare accidents are especially common near 12th Street and 19th Street stations. Drivers pulling in and out of station drop zones create conflicts with pedestrians crossing to BART entrances, particularly during evening commute hours and after events at the Oakland Arena or Oakland Coliseum.
The Fruitvale Transit Village, adjacent to the Fruitvale BART station, is another high-activity zone where pedestrian and vehicle conflicts occur regularly on East 12th Street and Fruitvale Avenue.
AC Transit operates extensive bus service throughout Oakland. Bus accidents, including doors closing on passengers, drivers failing to yield, and rear-end collisions caused by bus operators, fall under government liability rules. Claims against AC Transit require filing within six months of the injury.
Not every Oakland accident case involves only private parties. Oakland, Alameda County, and the State of California each maintain road infrastructure. When a pothole, failed traffic signal, missing crosswalk marking, or inadequate lighting contributes to an accident, a government entity may share liability.
Government claims in California have a six-month deadline, not two years. If your accident happened because of a road defect, a broken signal, or a dangerous condition on public property, contact an attorney immediately. That deadline runs from the date of the incident.
Monica has experience with Alameda County civil procedures, government claim requirements, and the filing process at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse. She has recovered $700,000 for a pedestrian injured in a case naming the City of Berkeley and a private homeowner in Alameda County.
Our Service Area
Burneikis Law represents injury victims throughout all of Oakland. The neighborhood pages below cover local accident patterns, intersection risks, and the case types most common in each area.
Practice Areas
The settlements below represent cases from Alameda County. For Monica’s full record across all counties, including cases in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Marin, and Sonoma, see the California Personal Injury Lawyer page.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different.
These five cases in Alameda County represent more than $4.8 million recovered for clients in the county where Burneikis Law is based.
Monica Burneikis has a total of $40 million+ recovered across 32 cases ranging from $500,000 to $6,500,000.
Why Choose Us?
Most personal injury firms in Oakland handle large volumes of cases and settle the majority without filing suit. That approach works for minor injuries with clear liability. It does not work for serious injuries, disputed liability, government defendants, or civil rights cases.
Insurance companies track which firms litigate and which ones settle. When an adjuster reviews a demand letter from an attorney with a documented history of going to trial, the negotiation starts from a different position than when the demand comes from a firm known for volume settlements.
Monica built Burneikis Law around litigation-ready preparation from day one, regardless of whether the case ultimately goes to trial. Every file is investigated, documented, and organized as if it will end in front of a jury at Rene C. Davidson Courthouse. That posture is visible to the other side from the first demand letter.
Contact Us
There is no fee to speak with Monica about your case. Every consultation is confidential and carries no obligation to hire.
Monica is direct with clients. If she does not believe your case is viable, she will say so and still provide guidance on your options with the insurance company. If she believes you have a strong case, she will tell you what it is worth and what the path forward looks like.
When you call Burneikis Law, you speak with Monica, not a receptionist running through a script. She asks about your accident, your injuries, and your situation. If she believes she can help, she explains the next steps clearly. If she does not think you have a viable case, or if your case is better suited to a different type of attorney, she will tell you directly and point you in the right direction.
No pressure. No obligation. No cost.
Consultations are available in English, Spanish, and ASL. If you need a consultation in Spanish or ASL, let us know when you call or in your message.
FREE Case EvaluationHow To Reach Us:
Address:
66 Franklin Street
3rd Floor
Oakland, California 94607
Phone Number:
(510) 328-3238
Hours:
24 Hours a Day
Burneikis Law handles personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no upfront fee and no hourly rate. The attorney’s fee is a percentage of what you recover: typically 33.3% before litigation begins and 40% after a lawsuit is filed. Case costs (filing fees, expert witnesses, deposition transcripts) are advanced by the firm and deducted from the final recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe nothing.
On a $1,000,000 settlement, a 33.3% contingency fee is $333,000. The net to the client after the fee and case costs depends on total expenses incurred. Monica explains the fee structure in full at the first consultation.
Call 911 and get a police report on record with Oakland PD or California Highway Patrol, depending on where the accident occurred. Document the scene with photos if you are physically able. Get medical attention promptly, even if you feel fine. Soft tissue injuries and concussions often do not show full symptoms for 24-72 hours after a crash. Delay in seeking treatment gives the insurance company grounds to argue the injury was not serious or was caused by something else.
Do not admit fault at the scene. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. Contact Burneikis Law before that call at (510) 328-3238.
You can still recover compensation. California uses pure comparative negligence, which means your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault but not eliminated. If you were 25% at fault in an accident and your total damages are $200,000, you recover $150,000.
Insurance companies use this rule aggressively. Their standard practice is to assign as much fault as possible to the injured party to reduce the payout. An attorney builds the factual record to counter those arguments from the start, before you give the adjuster any recorded statement. Full explanation of California comparative fault is on the California Personal Injury Lawyer page.
Yes, but the timeline is different from a standard personal injury claim. Claims against government entities in California require filing a government tort claim within six months of the injury, not two years. If the city’s negligence contributed to your accident (a pothole, a failed traffic signal, a missing crosswalk marking, inadequate lighting), you must act within that window.
Oakland Department of Transportation and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) each maintain portions of Oakland’s roadway infrastructure. The responsible entity depends on which road was involved. AC Transit is a separate government entity with its own claims process. Missing the six-month deadline bars your lawsuit entirely.
You may have a civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. These claims are filed in federal court, specifically the United States District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland division. The legal standard differs from a standard negligence case: you must establish that an officer acting under color of state law violated your constitutional rights.
Monica is admitted to the Northern District of California and handles civil rights cases involving excessive force, unlawful detention, and related police misconduct. Oakland has a significant history with OPD oversight litigation. Very few Bay Area personal injury attorneys take these cases. Burneikis Law does.
Possibly. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your own policy may cover your damages when the at-fault driver carries no insurance. If you hold UM coverage, your own insurer steps into the role of the at-fault driver’s insurer for settlement purposes. California has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country, and UM claims are common in Oakland cases.
A $500,000 Alameda County recovery in Monica’s case record involved a couple whose claim was against an uninsured motorist through their own policy.
Cases filed in Alameda County Superior Court follow Alameda County’s civil case schedule. Simple cases with clear liability may settle within six to twelve months. Cases that require litigation, expert witnesses, or trial preparation at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse typically take one to three years.
Monica advises clients not to settle until reaching maximum medical improvement: the point at which the medical picture is as complete as it is going to be. Settling too early, before the full scope of injuries is known, is one of the most common and costly mistakes injured people make.
Two years from the date of injury for standard personal injury claims against private parties. Six months for claims against a government entity such as the City of Oakland, Alameda County, Caltrans, AC Transit, or BART. If the injured party is a minor, the deadline is tolled until their 18th birthday.
Full California statute of limitations explanation is on the California Personal Injury Lawyer page.
Compensation in a California personal injury case can include economic damages (medical expenses past and future, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). In wrongful death cases, surviving family members can also seek funeral expenses and loss of financial support and companionship.
The value of a case depends on the severity of injuries, the clarity of liability, available insurance coverage, and how thoroughly the case is documented. Monica does not provide case value estimates before reviewing the facts. She will give you an honest assessment at the consultation.
Burneikis Law represents injury victims throughout Oakland and across Alameda County. Each neighborhood below has a dedicated page with local accident information and case context.
All Oakland neighborhoods:
Downtown Oakland | Rockridge | Lake Merritt | Temescal | Montclair | Chinatown | Piedmont Avenue | Fruitvale | Grand Lake | West Oakland | East Oakland | Uptown | Laurel District | Dimond District
Nearby areas also served: Emeryville, Berkeley, Alameda, San Leandro, Piedmont, Albany
Alameda County courts: Rene C. Davidson Courthouse, 1225 Fallon Street, Oakland (Alameda County Superior Court civil division)
Burneikis Law, P.C. 66 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor Oakland, California 94607 (510) 328-3238 Available 24 hours a day
California State Bar | BBB Accredited | Best Lawyers | Super Lawyers Top 50 Women | AAJ Leaders Forum Services available in English, Spanish, and ASL.
