California Injury Lawyers Blog

Maria Arellano, a 71-year-old assisted living facility patient, became the victim of California nursing home abuse when a nursing worker assaulted her in 2006. Videotaped footage shot with a hidden camera show Monica Garcia dragging the elderly stroke victim by her hair, slapping her, bending her wrists, fingers, and neck, and violently handling her.

Prior to taping the abuse, Arellano's family members complained to the Fillmore Convalescent Center that she had unexplained bruises on her body. The nursing home allegedly failed to investigate, which prompted her relatives to look for evidence. Garcia would go on to plead no contest to the simple battery charge.

Earlier this month, a California jury awarded Arellano and her family $7.75 million for California elder abuse. The award consists of $2.75 M in damages and $5 M in punitive damages. The nursing home was held 40% liable, its owner, Eduardo Gonzales, was held 40% liable, and Garcia was found 20% liable.

Now, the California nursing home's lawyer says his client will combat the multimillion-dollar verdict. He claims that the family waited a number of months before reporting their abuse concerns and that the assisted living facility fired Garcia the moment they found out about it.

Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing homes cannot afford to ignore allegations of abuse, neglect, or assault. In California nursing homes and in long-term care facilities throughout the US, there have been too many incidents involving resident victims that have been abused or neglected by nursing home workers or other residents.

Physical assault, sexual assault, and other abusive actions are violent acts that can cause great harm to the victims--especially if they are nursing home patients who are already sick or frail. Family members shouldn't have to come up with their own evidence to stop nursing home abuse from happening.

There are steps that a California nursing home should be taking to prevent abuse and neglect from happening. There are actions that family members of a nursing home patient can take to obtain compensation for the harm their loved one has suffered.

Fillmore Convalescent Center to fight $7.75 million abuse verdict, VCStar.com, December 28, 2009

$7.75 Million lawsuit settled with Fillmore Convalescent Center, Fillmore Gazette, December 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
California Department of Public Health

The Ca Nursing Home Guide

All but one of the 186 complaints filed against Metrolink over the 2005 train derailment accident on the Glendale border has reportedly been tentatively settled for $39 million. 11 Los Angeles County wrongful death settlements and 15 out of 16 California personal injury settlements have been reached. The rest of the cases involve persons who sustained non-serious injuries.

Over 200 people got hurt when a Metrolink train hit a Jeep Cherokee that Juan Manual Alvarez had left on the train tracks close to Chevy Chase Drive. Until last year's Chatsworth train accident that kill 25 people, the 2005 Glendale train collision was the most catastrophic accident in Metrolink's history. Alvarez is serving 11 life sentences for causing the train derailment.

Recent Los Angeles Train Accidents
On Sunday, a man died in Los Angeles when he was hit by a Metro Blue line train. 65-year-old Ramon Villanueva was standing on the tracks at around 10 am when the deadly train crash happened. The crossing-gate bar, the bell, and lights should have prevented him from crossing the tracks.

Last Wednesday, another 14 people were hurt in a San Fernando Valley train crash when a Metrolink commuter train hit a pickup truck. The truck had just collided with a car before driving into the path of the train.

Six people who were riding in the vehicles were injured---two of them (one of them a baby) were in critical condition. 8 train passengers said they were hurt, but only two victims appear to have been transported to hospitals for minor injuries.

Train Crashes
Each year, about a thousand people are killed in US train crashes. Common causes of train crashes include:

• Negligent train operators
• Train accident with another train
• Engineer errors
• Train defects
• Defective railroad tracks
• Poor maintenance
• A negligent pedestrian or motor vehicle driver
• Toxic or hazardous cargo
• Texting while operating a train

Metrolink reaches tentative $39-million settlement, Burbank Leader, December 30, 2009

Man Killed by Metro Blue Line Train Identified, KTLA, December 28, 2009

LA commuter train hits truck in freak accident, Google/AP, December 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Metrolink

California Department of Transportation

Continue reading "Metrolink Tentatively Agrees to $39 Million Los Angeles County Train Accident Settlement Over Deadly 2005 Glendale Derailment " »

A 24-year-old Orange, California motorcyclist is dead after he was involved in a Garden Grove motorcycle accident with two autos on Tuesday. David Tanner was riding on Orangewood Avenue when he was involved in a collision with a BMW sedan that made a left turn in front of him onto Mac Nab Street.

Tanner and his bike went down and that was when he was struck by a Ford Mustang. He died at the Orange County, California motorcycle crash site. Police are investigating the cause of the fatal collision.

Motorcycle riders are always at a disadvantage when involved in a California motor vehicle crash. They only have their helmet and protective clothing to cushion them from impact. In many instances, this is not enough to prevent catastrophic injuries or death. While motorcycle crashes can occur because of rider error, many motorcycle injuries and deaths happen because the other driver was careless or reckless or did not see the motorcyclist.

Nolo.com lists the most common cause of motorcycle accidents:

• Head-on crashes
• Autos making left-hand turns
• Lane splitting
• Speeding
• Drunk driving
• Collisions involving fixed objects
• Road hazards, including road defects and potholes
• Motorcycle defects
• Red light running
• Rear end crashes

Our Garden Grove motorcycle crash attorneys know how upsetting it can be to have the course of your future irrevocably altered because another party was negligent. The consequences of becoming the victim of an Orange County, California motorcycle accident can wreak havoc on many aspects of one's life, which is one of the many reasons that it is so important that you obtain compensation for the harm you have suffered.

Motorcycle rider hit twice, killed, OC Register, December 30, 2009

Motorcycle Accidents: Common Causes, NOLO

Related Web Resources:
Motorcycle Helmet Use and Head and Facial Injuries, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (PDF)

Summary of the Hurt Report

Continue reading "Garden Grove, California Motorcycle Accident Claims Life of Orange Rider Struck by Two Vehicles" »

Two more claims have been filed against the city of Huntington Beach over a catastrophic boating accident under the Gilbert Drive Bridge that killed two boaters and injured a third on June 27. Shawn Wilson and Caleb Steele died after their inflatable boat hit one of the bridge's beams. The third boater, James Geekie, sustained serious head injuries.

In November, Wilson's wife Deanna filed an Orange County, California wrongful death lawsuit against Huntington Beach, the county, and the state of California. Deanna's previous claims seeking $5 million in damages for herself and another $5 million for her 3-year-old daughter with Wilson were denied.

Last week, Steele's parents, Patricia and Scott Steele, filed separate wrongful death claims against Huntington Beach. Like Deanna Wilson, the two of them claim dangerous bridge conditions, including poor lighting and failure to warn boaters of how the tides can impact navigability, caused the wrongful death.

It was high tide when Wilson struck the bridge beam. If the men had known to duck, they would have avoided striking the bridge beam.

On Tuesday, the only boater to survive the Huntington Beach boating crash, James Geekie, filed his Orange County, California personal injury claim against the city. Geekie, who sustained brain injuries, a concussion, and fractured his skull, also contends that poor conditions on the bridge contributed to his California boating accident injuries.

Orange County, California Premises Liability
An Orange County, California city can be held liable for premises liability if there was a hazard on the public property that should have been remedied but instead was not repaired or removed and caused injury or death. Public and private property owners or those in possession of the premise owe a duty of care to keep a property safe so that visitors, patrons, and others do not get hurt.

Another claim over deadly boat crash, OC Register, December 23, 2009

Relatives ask for $2 million in bridge death, OC Register, December 23, 2009

Widow Sues Huntington Beach, Orange County, and State of California for Wrongful Death Following Husband's Deadly Boating Accident, California Injury Lawyers Blog, November 10, 2009

13 months after Jose Ramirez, 66, his wife Wendy, 51, and their son Robert, 15, were killed in a tragic Los Angeles County truck accident involving multiple tractor-trailers and other vehicles, his surviving sons are suing the California Highway Patrol, the state of California, the California Department of Transportation, four trucking company, and a number of truck drivers for their California wrongful deaths.

According to the California wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the Ramirez family was stopped behind a JP Hunt Transport tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 during a dust storm on November 9, 2008 when their vehicle was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer driven at a high speed by truck driver Randy Thomas Starks in a large Midway Transportation Inc. truck.

The impact of the collision caused the Ramirez's vehicle to crash into and go completely under the semi-trailer in front of it. The multi-vehicle crash also involved SUVs, pickup trucks pulling trailers, and a Porsche. The Ramirez's died from the California truck crash. A Fullerton woman died from her injuries and at least four people were taken to hospitals.

The Los Angeles County truck crash lawsuit accuses the defendants of illegal and negligent conduct. The plaintiffs say that Starks risked people's lives when he continued to drive at 50- 55mph even though visibility was drastically reduced by the dust storm. They contend that the other tractor-trailers should have driven off the roads when the dust storm happened because that would mean visibility was significantly reduced. They say that the JB Hunt truck driver did not put up emergency warnings to indicate it had stopped.

The Ramirez brothers are blaming California, the CHP, and Caltrans for failing to post proper advisory warnings about the hazardous conditions that the weather could create. They say that the area on I-40 where the truck accident occurred is known for its dust storms and strong winds.

Lake Elsinore family files lawsuit after fatal crash, The Press-Enterprise, December 18, 2009

Canyon Lake family dies in desert crash, The Friday Flyer, November 14, 2008

Related Web Resources:
California Highway Patrol

California Department of Transportation

A 42-year-old woman is dead because of fatal injuries she sustained during an Orange County, California car accident on I-10E yesterday morning. The Ontario motorist was on the San Bernardino Freeway at around 2:40 am when her vehicle was rear-ended by a 2009 Acura driven by Thomas Vanauken, a 43-year-old Anaheim driver.

The California Highway Patrol says that the woman had decreased her speed as traffic slowed. Meantime, Vanauken, who is accused of drunk driving, was allegedly operating his vehicle at a speed greater than 120 mph.

The woman sustained major injuries and was pronounced dead at Baldwin Park hospital. Two women were riding in the vehicle with her, a 32-year-old Pomona resident and another passenger. They sustained moderate to mild injuries.

The CHP says Vanauken faces numerous criminal charges, including driving while intoxicated and causing injury or death and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Careless or Reckless Driving
Driving at a speed that is higher than the posted speed limit always increases the chances that an Orange County, California motor vehicle crash will happen. Speeding while driving drunk is even more dangerous and very irresponsible.

Our Anaheim car crash lawyers understands how devastating it can be for anyone that has gotten seriously hurt or lost someone in a traffic crash because another motorist was driving drunk, under the influence of drugs, speeding, disobeying traffic laws, texting or talking on the cell phone while driving, reading a magazine, putting on makeup, surfing the Web, or engaged in another form of dangerous driving. Driving while impaired is negligent driving. Even if the motorist did not intend to hurt or kill the car crash victim(s), they can still be held responsible in both civil and criminal courts.

CHP: Anaheim driver drunk, driving 120 mph before fatal crash, OC Register, December 21, 2009

Motorist killed by suspected drunk driver going over 120 mph, Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
California Highway Patrol

California Department of Motor Vehicles

Continue reading "Ontario Woman Killed in Orange County, California Car Accident Involving Allegedly Drunk Anaheim Motorist Accused of Speeding at 120 mph" »

To protect children from injuries, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced two large recalls this week. Today, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the CPSC recalled 447,000 Dorel baby carriers following 77 reports of the carrying handle coming off. This creates a hazard that has hurt at least three infants. These injuries have included bumps, bruises, and one head injury.

The carrier can also be used as a stroller and a car seat. The CPSC says the hazard only exists when the handle is used on the carrier, which means it can still be used to secure infants in motor vehicles. Brands that use the Dorel carrier include Cosco, Safety First, Disney, and Eddie Bauer.

With so many parents taking such great care to ensure that they don't accidentally drop their babies or allow them to fall onto the ground unprotected, a child carrier with an improperly working carrier handle can be cause for concern--especially if the baby ends up striking his/head on a hard surface. An experienced Anaheim head injury attorney can help you determine whether you have grounds for filing a products liability claim because of a defective baby carrier.

Just three days ago, the CPSC announced the recall of 50 million roll-up and Roman shades because they can cause strangulation injuries if a child's neck gets tangled in the window covering's cord or becomes trapped between the cord and the blind or shade. At least 16 near strangulations and 8 deaths have been linked to these window coverings since 2001.

The CPSC and Window Covering Safety Council are reminding adults to keep the shade cords away from kids. If a cord does extend low enough for a child to reach, then it needs to be properly secured so the cord can't wrap around a child's neck. Furniture that toddlers and young kids can climb onto should be kept away from corded window coverings.

While recalling defective or hazardous products is a good way to prevent injury accidents from happening, it would be even better if manufacturers were to stop making dangerous and defective goods. Entrapment injuries, choking injuries, strangulation injuries, lead poisoning, and fall-related injuries are just some injuries to children that have been known to happen.

447,000 baby carriers recalled, CNN Money, December 18, 2009

Fall Hazard Prompts NHTSA, CPSC and Dorel Juvenile Group to Announce Recall of Infant Car Seat/Carriers, CPSC, December 18, 2009

Retailers Recall 50 Million Blinds on Choking Risk, Bloomberg, December 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Window Covering Safety Council

Baby Products, Consumer Reports

Continue reading "CPSC Recalls 447,000 Dorel Baby Carriers and 50 Million Roll-Up Blinds and Roman Shades to Prevent Injuries to Children" »

Police in Orange County, California are getting help from the state to combat drunk driving with $400,000 in grants for 2010. The Office of Traffic Safety is planning to call next year the "Year of the Checkpoint" and is announcing $8 million in checkpoint grants statewide. The Orange County, California cities that received checkpoint "mini-grants" include Yorba Linda, Westminster, Seal Beach, Placentia, Orange, Laguna Beach, La Habra, Irvine, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Cypress, and Costa Mesa. Over 250 checkpoints are to be set up beginning the end of this week and into the first weekend of the New Year in an increased effort to stop drunk drivers and prevent more California car crash deaths.

The increased emphasis in checkpoints in the last three years has decreased the number of California drunk driver-related deaths. However, in 2007, Santa Ana ranked number 5, Costa Mesa ranked number 2, Anaheim was number 8, and Newport Beach was number 3 (population size plays a part in a city's ranking) among California cities for having the most number of alcohol-related injuries and deaths.

As long as people continue to get injured or killed by drunk drivers, there will always be more that law enforcement authorities can do to prevent alcohol-related collisions from happening. On Saturday, Costa Mesa authorities arrested a 20-year-old woman for allegedly striking a man during a Newport Beach pedestrian accident. Shana Lynne Calderon is accused of drunk driving, hit-and-run, and driving without a license. The victim sustained serious head injuries.

Also, in another Orange County, California drunk driving accident, prosecutors have charged 22-year-old Jessica Lynn Shekell with two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated. The Anaheim woman's BAC was 26% when she drove her pickup the wrong way on October 26 and struck the pickup truck driven by Sally Miguel, 49. Miguel and her sister Patricia died from their injuries. Sara Miguel, 11, and Mary Miguel, 15, sustained internal injuries. Shekel suffered arm fractures and facial trauma. At her arraignment on Tuesday, she pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.

Police plan big crackdown on drunk driving, OC Register, December 17, 2009

Woman charged with killing 2 while driving wrong way, drunk, OC Register, December 17, 2009

Woman arrested in hit-run accident, Daily Pilot, December 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Fatalities and Fatality Rates in Alcohol- Impaired-Driving Crashes by State, 2007-2008, NHTSA (PDF)

California Office of Traffic Safety

Continue reading "Local Police Agencies Attempt to Prevent Orange County, California Drunk Driving Accidents with Year-End Enforcement Blitz" »

Two new studies are reporting that tens of thousands of people might get cancer in the future because they were exposed to radiation when they underwent CT scans. The findings from both studies can be found in the latest edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. This is disturbing news, considering that more people are opting to undergo this type of imaging technology, once touted as painless, safe, and able to detect diseases. In 2007, 70 million CT scans were performed.

According to one study, led by University of San Francisco researchers, 1 out of 600 men and 1 out of 270 women who undergo CT coronary angiographies when they are 40 will end up getting cancer. For patients who undergo head CT scans at the same age, one out of 11,080 men and one out of 8,100 women will suffer from cancer as a result.

The findings come from an analysis of 1,119 patients who were given 11 of the most common kinds of examinations at four facilities in California's Bay Area last year. The amount of radiation given to patients varied.

The second study, which was conducted by National Cancer Institute researchers, estimates that about 29,000 future cancers will be linked to CT scans that were performed in this country two years ago: 2,700 cases will come from CT angiographies, 4,100 cancers from chest exams, 4,000 cancer cases from head scans, and 14,000 cancers from pelvis and abdominal CT scans.

These findings will undoubtedly cause additional worry to the over 200 patients who sued Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for Los Angeles medical malpractice after it became known that patients had been exposed to high radiation levels during CT brain perfusion scans. Over 18 months, the patients were exposed to eight times more than the usual dose of radiation that is recommended for this type of noninvasive procedure.

CT brain perfusion scans are performed about 150,000 times annually in this country.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it was investigating whether patients treated at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, another Los Angeles County hospital, received CT scan-related radiation overdoses In November, officials from Glendale Adventist Medical Center, also in Los Angeles County, announced that 10 patients also received radiation overdoses when they had their CT scans. The CT scanners used in the three California hospitals to perform the procedures were made by General Electric or Toshiba.

If a CT scan is a cause of someone's cancer, the patient may have grounds for filing an Orange County, California medical malpractice complaint against the medical professional or facility that recommended the procedure. A CT manufacturer could also be held liable for designing dangerous medical device that causes cancer.

Cancer Risks and Radiation Exposure From Computed Tomographic Scans, Archives of Internal Medicine

New Focus on Dangers of CT Scans, CBS News, December 14, 2009

3rd L.A.-area hospital in radiation overdose probe, Los Angeles Times, December 8, 2009

Radiation overdoses found at second hospital, Los Angeles Times, November 21, 2009

Related Web Resource:
CT Brain Perfusion Scans Safety Investigation: Initial Notification, FDA

Continue reading "CT Scans Can Increase Cancer Risk, Says Two New Studies" »

A woman who says that debt collectors so upset her husband when they allegedly harassed him about paying the mortgage is suing Green Tree Servicing for his wrongful death. Stanley McLeod died of heart failure in 2005.

In 2006, his family sued the company over his death. Green Tree has been seeking to have the case resolved through arbitration but in September, an appeals court ruled against the company. A wrongful death trial will be scheduled.

Dianne McLeod says that debt collectors from the mortgage company called up to 10 times a day and left harassing messages. Dianne says the stress her husband experienced as a result of the debt collectors scare tactics caused his death.

Stanley suffered his second heart attack in 2002. He went on disability and, as a result, the couple was behind about three months on paying their mortgage.

Green Tree Servicing is denying that its employees' collection activities caused Stanley's death. The company is calling the complaint "meritless." Green Tree Servicing senior vice president Brian Corey denies that its collection workers made so many calls a day to the McLeods and is disputing the content of the messages.

The US Federal Trade Commission regulates debt collection and forbids harassing phone calls. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has a number of rules that debt collectors must follow, including:

• They are not allowed to harass clients with repeated calls.
• Threats of violence, verbal abuse, profanity, and obscenity are forbidden.

California Wrongful Death
An entity or a person can be sued for intentionally or negligently causing a victim's death. Wrongful death recovery allows surviving family members to receive compensation for their losses and damages, as well as get back costs related to the wrongful death.

Woman sues debt collector over husband's death, CNN, December 10, 2009

Dianne McLeod: Debt Collectors Hounded My Husband To Death, Huffington Post, September 24, 2009

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Green Tree Servicing

Federal Trade Commission

Continue reading "Widow Says Debt Collector Caused Husband's Wrongful Death" »

In Brea, friends and family gathered to remember Nicholas Vela Mortley, the 9-year-old fourth grader who was killed in an Anaheim bicycle accident on December 3. Nicholas was cycling home from school when he was struck by a pickup truck. The child bicyclist was transported to an Orange, California hospital where he later died.

According to Anaheim police, the driver of the Ford F250, a raised truck, had stopped at a stop sign. Nicholas proceeded to cross the street. The truck then moved forward, striking him. The driver says he never saw the child bicyclist. There is speculation that the truck's height may have prevented the motorist from being able to see Nicholas. So far, no charges have been filed.

Since the tragic Orange County, California bicycle accident, one person who witnessed the accident, a Garden Grove middle school student, has been having trouble sleeping.

Nicholas leaves behind his parents and Kayla, 4, and Leilani, 3.

Child Bicycle Accidents
Second to motor vehicles, Bicycles continue to be the consumer product most associated with child injuries. One reason for this is that so many children in the 5 - 14 age range are bicycle riders.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2008 Traffic Safety Facts, 12% of pedalcyclists that died in 2008 were kids between the ages 5 to 15. This age group's injury rate was 293/million population. The injury rate for all pedalcyclists is 172.3/million population. 109 California pedalcyclists died last year.

In 2007, the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital published a study in the journal Injury Prevention regarding young bicyclist injuries. Among the findings:

• About 10,700 young bicyclists a year spend about three days in the hospital for their bicycle injuries.
• 1/3 of child bicyclists injured sustained traumatic brain injuries during their bicycle accidents

Loved ones say goodbye to 9-year-old boy killed while riding bike, OC Register, December 9, 2009

Bicyclists and Other Cyclists, 2008 Traffic Safety Facts, NHTSA (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Safe Kids USA

Injury Prevention

Continue reading "9-Year-old Brea Boy Killed in Anaheim Bicycle Accident " »

On Monday, Youn Bum Lee, A 42-year-old former Hyundai executive, was sentenced to a 9-year prison term for causing the hit-and-run, drunk driving Santa Ana car accident that killed a 23-year-old Fountain Valley motorcyclist on the 55 Freeway on October 19, 2005.

Ryan Dallas Cook was riding his motorcycle in the carpool lane when he was struck by the Hyundai SUV that Lee was driving. Lee was coming back from attending a Hyundai sponsored event at the Seoul Korean BBQ Restaurant in Garden Grove. The impact of the vehicle and motorcycle colliding caused Cook to be thrown from his bike and onto the freeway where he was run over by several other vehicles. He was pronounced dead at the Santa Ana motorcycle crash site.

Meantime, Lee, who investigators say was inebriated and driving without lights, fled the Orange County, California motorcycle accident site. He backed his car into a parking space at Hyundai's Fountain Valley offices in an alleged attempt to hide the vehicle damage.

Within less than 24 hours, a Hyundai employee took Lee to Los Angeles International Airport where he took a flight to South Korea. His wife and child stayed behind in Irvine. After prosecutors filed criminal charges against Lee, he was extradited to Orange County, California last December.

Last month, the 42-year-old former Hyundai executive pleaded guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and fleeing a crime scene.

Cook's family is suing Lee and Hyundai Motor Company of America for Orange County, California wrongful death. They are accusing the company of encouraging a corporate culture that promotes drinking at work events.

The host of the Hyundai event that Lee attended supposedly made a number of toasts. During a conditional exam for the criminal case, one Hyundai staffer testified that it is considered rude if guests don't drink when the host makes a toast. 14 bottles of Soju and numerous drinks were consumed by Hyundai employees who attended the work event.

Cook's family is also suing Hyundai for helping Lee leave the US after the Santa Ana motor vehicle collision.

The wrongful death trial is scheduled to begin in Orange County Superior Court on May 17, 2010.

Former Hyundai exec sentenced to 9 years in cycle death, Press-Telegram, December 8, 2009

Former Hyundai executive gets 9 years in DUI death, OC Register, December 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Drunk Driving (DUI/DWI) Overview, Justia

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

A carpenter who was injured in a Los Angeles County fall accident while working on movie star Barbra Streisand's home is suing the celebrity for California premises liability. Daniel Ortiz says he was working on the award-winning singer's Malibu home when he fell into a ditch.

As a result of the Malibu, California fall accident, Ortiz says he experienced discomfort, humiliation, anxiety, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, physical distress, and emotional distress. He is accusing Streisand of both neglecting to warn him of the unsafe conditions on her property and not making the hazardous conditions safe.

California Premises Liability
A property owner can be held liable for California premises liability if a victim is able to prove that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazardous condition, is responsible for the danger on the premise, neglected to warn that the danger existed on the property, and failed to act as a "reasonable" person would have by taking steps to prevent the fall accident from happening.

Los Angeles fall accidents can result in hip injuries, fractures, back injuries, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, and other painful and debilitating injuries.

Examples of fall accidents:

• Falling into an opening on a property
• Falling down a flight of stairs
• Slipping and falling onto the ground
• Tripping over an item on the ground and falling

Fall accidents can be costly to treat and can take a long time to recover from. The Center for Disease Control reports that 2.2 million people were treated in US emergency rooms in 2007 because they were injured in fall accidents--the number one cause of emergency room visits and one of the leading causes of injuries and deaths to minors. According to the National Safety Council, falls were the number one cause of accidental death for people older than 85 in 2008.

If a worker was injured in an Orange County, California fall accident while on the job, he or she may be entitled to personal injury compensation from third parties that are not the victim's employer.

Barbra Streisand Sued By Carpenter Over Ditch Fall, All Headline News, December 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Proving Fault in Accidents on Dangerous or Defective Property, NOLO

Premises Liability Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Barbra Streisand Sued for Los Angeles County Fall Accident" »

The US Supreme Court is refusing to review the $83 million verdict awarded in the California SUV rollover lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. The auto manufacturer has sought to have the auto products liability award against it overturned since 2004 when a jury awarded $369 million to Benetta Buell-Wilson for her personal injuries. That was the first time Ford had ever lost a products liability lawsuit involving a Ford Explorer.

During the appeals process, the award amount was reduced. Eventually Buell-Wilson and her husband were awarded $55 million in punitive damages and $27.6 million in compensatory damages.

In 2002, Buell-Wilson sustained a spinal cord injury that left her a paraplegic. The then 46-year-old mother of two swerved her Ford Explorer to avoid striking a metal object that fell from another vehicle. Her sport utility vehicle then rolled over four times.

Buell-Wilson and her husband sued Ford for California personal injury. They claimed that the Ford Explorer had a poorly designed roof and that it was prone to rollovers.

SUV Rollover Accidents
Thousands of motor vehicle crashes are caused by auto rollovers. The vehicle may be an SUV, a van, a passenger vehicle, or a light truck. Out of all these vehicles, however, SUV's have the highest rollover rate.

Auto defects that can lead to SUV rollover injuries:

• Poor vehicle design with its higher center of gravity
• Defective tires
• Roofs that easily crush inward during a rollover accident
• Defective seat belts
• Inadequate safety features

An Orange County, California SUV rollover accidents can lead to spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, massive internal injuries, and wrongful death.

Auto manufacturers are supposed to design vehicles that are not easily prone to rolling over. The motor vehicles should also come with the proper safety devices to protect passengers in the event of a rollover accident. An SUV rollover can be caused by a defective auto part or by a negligent motorist. Injured parties may have grounds for filing an Orange County, California auto products liability lawsuit.

Supreme Court rejects Ford's appeal in rollover case, Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2009

$369M Verdict In SUV Rollover, CBS, June 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Statement of Benetta Buell-Wilson, Public Citizen, March 23, 2004

US Supreme Court

Rollover: The Hidden History of the SUV

The family of Alyssa Squirrell, the 11-year-old jr. lifeguard who died when she was struck by a boat during a training exercise in the ocean, has filed an Orange County, California wrongful death claim against the city of Huntington Beach. The complaint, filed on November 12, accuses lifeguard Lt. Greg Crow of negligent boat operation. The city of Huntington Beach runs the Jr. Lifeguard program.

Alyssa, a Laguna Hills resident, sustained leg and hip cuts when the boat struck her. She was in the water waiting to join her training group when the boat operator turned the boat around, causing the propeller to strike her. Alyssa was pronounced dead after surgery.

Following an investigation into the tragic accident, Orange County, California prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against Crow.

California Boating Accidents
Most boating accidents are caused by operator inattention or inexperience. Drunk driving while operating a vessel has also caused unnecessary boating injuries and deaths.

Boat operators owe a duty of care to operate their vessels safely. Failure to fulfill this duty of care can lead to criminal charges, as well as to California personal injury or wrongful death claims if other people are injured as a result of boat operator negligence even if the boat operator never intended to harm the victims. Many California boating accidents are preventable.

Family files claim in junior lifeguard death, OC Register, November 19, 2009

No charges in junior lifeguard death, ABC 7, November 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
2007 California Boating Safety Report (PDF)

Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguards

Continue reading "Huntington Beach Wrongful Death Claim Seeks Damages from City After Boat Strikes Jr. Lifeguard During Training" »