California Injury Lawyers Blog

Jaycee Dugard, the woman who was kidnapped and held hostage for 18 years, has filed a claim notifying California's Department of Correction that she is intending to file a personal injury lawsuit. Her two daughters, who are minors, and her mother, Terry Probin, have also filed their injury claim forms.

Dugard was 11 when Nancy and Phillip Garrido kidnapped her outside her South Lake Tahoe residence in 1991. They held her hostage in a backyard compound and she eventually gave birth to two children by Phillip, who is accused of raping her. The girls are now 12 and 15.

Dugard and her daughters were discovered last August after campus security at UC-Berkeley saw Phillip and thought he was acting strangely. His parole officer brought him in for questioning and he admitted to kidnapping Jaycee.

In California, plaintiffs have six months from the date that an incident occurred to file a personal injury lawsuit. Dugard's California injury claim forms note that she is seeking over $25,000.

The California Corrections Department was supposed to closely monitor Phillip, who became a registered sex offender after he was convicted of raping a 25-year-old woman. He was under parole supervision from 1988 to 1999.

The Office of th Inspector General has determined that the state of California immediately erred in the way they handled Phillip's parole. They mistakenly classified him as a low-risk offender, and an agent who visited Phillip's residence took at face value the parolee's account that the girl who was there was a niece.

The Garridos are charged with kidnapping and raping Jaycee.

In certain California personal injury cases, there may be parties that can be held liable even if their actions or inaction only indirectly contributed to causing the injuries.

Dugard, Family File Claims Against Calif Officials, NY Times, February 26, 2010

Jaycee Dugard Found After 18 Years, Kidnap Suspect Allegedly Fathered Her Kids, ABCNews, August 27, 2009

Jaycee Dugard, Family File Claims Against California, Fox News, February 26, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Jaycee Dugard Abduction Timeline

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Continue reading "Jaycee Dugard, Her Two Daughters, and Mother File California Injury Claim Against the State's Department of Corrections" »

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 " »

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

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

A 19-year-old driver is suing the California county of Santa Cruz for personal injury after she became paralyzed from the chin down in a catastrophic single car crash on April 7. Alexandria Pomianowski claims she lost control of her vehicle and drove it into oncoming traffic because the wet road she was on did not have the proper signage and was dangerous.

While the California Highway Patrol contends that given the road conditions at the time Pomianowski was operating her Mustang convertible at an unsafe speed, the plaintiff's California car accident lawsuit is naming Santa Cruz County, which is responsible for maintaining the road where the accident occurred, the driver of the GMC pickup that she struck when her car drover across the double-yellow line, and Ford Motor Co., her auto's manufacturer. as the defendants.

Pomianowski's California injury lawyer says his client has already sustained more than $1 million in medical bills.

Spinal Cord injuries
Spinal cord injuries can result in various degrees of paralysis. An SCI can be costly to treat medically and depending on the degree of injury, the injured person may require specialized medical devices and round-the-clock care.

An SCI injury victim may have to work with surgeons, psychologists, spinal cord medicine specialists, and physical therapists to recover as much as is possible from such a serious injury. Medications, surgery, experimental treatments, and ongoing care may be required. Not only must an SCI be stabilized, but also the patient may have to combat secondary health issues, such as blood clots, pressure soars, bladder problems, respiratory infections, and other complications.

In many cases, spinal cord injuries are irreversible and can be traumatic for the patient, whose life will likely have changed forever. Having a loved one who is suffering from SCI can also take a toll on family members and friends.

Paralyzed San Lorenzo Valley high school grad sues Santa Cruz County over accident, Mercury News, November 18, 2009

Spinal Cord Injuries, Mayo Clinic

Related Web Resources:
Read the County's Recommended Action to the Tort Claim (PDF)

Quadriplegia, Spinal Injury Network

Too little sleep doesn't go a long way when it comes to driving safely. According to the National Sleep Foundation's new poll, in the last year alone up to 1.9 million drivers were either in a car crash or almost in one because they were driving while drowsy. Unfortunately, many motorists are unaware that driving while exhausted or sleepy can turn into negligent driving and become grounds for an Orange County, California car accident lawsuit if someone is injured or killed.

Each day, about 250,000 US drivers fall asleep while driving. The National Transportation Safety Board says there are about 8,000 drowsy driving-related deaths and 60,000 serious injuries a year.

Groups most likely to drive while drowsy are young people, shift workers, truck drivers, business travelers, and people with untreated or undiagnosed sleeping disorders. About 40 million people are believed to be suffering from some type of sleeping disorder that may make it hard for them to stay awake during the day.

Drowsy driving, not unlike drunk driving, delays reflex response times, impairs judgment, clouds the mind, and makes it hard for a motorist to pay attention. Some studies indicate that a person who has been awake for over 20 hours exhibits an impairment equivalent to someone with a .08% blood alcohol concentration.

A sleepy driver may not even realize that he or she has nodded off. Even just shutting one's eyes for a few seconds can cause the driver to drift into another lane, into oncoming traffic, or off the road, resulting in an Orange County truck accident, motorcycle crash, pedestrian accident, or bus collision.

In an effort to increase awareness about the dangers of driving while sleepy, National Sleep Foundation has declared November 2 - 8, 2009 Drowsy Driving Prevention week.

Signs you may be drowsy driving:
• Your head keeps nodding downward
• You suddenly notice that you are tailgating the vehicle in front of you
• You can't remember the last few miles that you drove
• You are having a hard time keeping your eyes open
• Focusing on the road is proving a challenge
• You keep yawning
• You just missed your exit

If possible, pull over and take a break. Caffeine helps. A better solution is to get a good night's rest and don't drive while drowsy. If you have to drive for hours at a time, take a break every 2 hours or 100 miles.

1.9 Million Drivers Have Fatigue-Related Car Crashes or Near Misses Each Year, Reuters, November 2, 2009

Drowsy-driving tragedies preventable, Boston.com, August 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Drowsy Driving, National SLeep Foundation

Continue reading "Sleepy Driving is Distracted Driving Habit that Causes Orange County, California Car Accidents" »

The Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino has reinstated boxing referee Ray Corona Sr's negligence lawsuit against the California State Athletic Commission. Corona had filed a San Bernardino County injury lawsuit against the commission for allowing a boxer with HIV to fight in the ring.

The California appeals court said that it is the commission's legal responsibility to ensure that all licensed professional boxers test negative for HIV, hepatitis-C, and hepatitis-B before letting them compete. According to Corona, one week after he officiated a June 2005 fight in San Bernardino County, the commission sent him a letter informing him that he may have been exposed to AIDS.

Apparently, one boxer's test results didn't come in until after the bout. The letter suggested that Corona get tested and exercise caution about engaging in activities that could spread the disease until he got his results back.

Corona and his wife sued for California personal injury because of the emotional distress they suffered. The two of them had not been aware until they received the notice that they needed to do anything to prevent spreading the disease. Since then, both of them have tested negative.

A California Superior Court threw out the California injury complaint in 2007. The court had stated that the state is immune from liability for any decision involving the denial or approval of a professional license. The appeals court, however, said that testing boxers for AIDS before they get in a ring is not a decision to be made at one's discretion but a mandate.

HIV
Although an HIV diagnosis doesn't have to be a death sentence, it is still not a virus that anyone wants to get. Not only can the disease be spread sexually, intravenously, via blood transfusion, from mother to fetus, and through other means, but living with HIV requires major lifestyle changes and treatments that can lead to serious health complications.

If you believe that your illness or injury was caused by another party's negligence, you may have grounds for filing a San Bernardino County, California injury lawsuit.

Referee can sue commission over boxer's HIV, SF Gate, October 26, 2009

Living with HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The California State Athletic Commission

The father of 17-year-old Adam Wilhite has filed a $75 million Orange County, California personal injury claim on behalf of his son, who is a minor, against the city of Westminster. Kurt Wilhite is blaming the city for a dangerous road condition at the intersection where the pedestrian accident that left his son in a coma happened on the evening of October 19, 2008.

Kurt's claim accuses the city of neglecting to provide proper signage, lighting, and other safety features at Sowell Avenue and Goldenwest Street. He says there are no crosswalks in the area that pedestrians can safely use.

Meantime, a police report blames Adam, a Huntington Beach High school student, for causing the traffic accident. Police claim the teenager was outside the unmarked crosswalk when he tried crossing the road and did not yield the right-of-way to vehicles that were close enough to be an "immediate hazard" to him. The report also says the street lights were on when the Orange County, California pedestrian accident happened.

Kurt, however, disagrees that the accident was his son's fault. He also wants to know how fast the female driver that struck his son was going. The motorist was not charged with any crime or cited for the Orange County, California car accident.

Adam is still in a Level 3 coma at an Orange hospital. He can open his eyes but is motionless, save for a few involuntary gestures. To date, his medical expenses have already cost the family over $2.5 million. Kurt and his wife, who lost their jobs following the economic collapse., no longer have insurance. They must pay approximately $2,400/month in co-payments. Adam is on Medi-Cal.

Dangerous Road Conditions
Dangerous road conditions can cause catastrophic pedestrian accidents and car crashes. It is the responsibility of the entity or entities in charge of overseeing a road to make sure it is designed in such a way that people are protected from becoming the victims of traffic accidents. This responsibility can extend to installing stop signs, traffic lights, road bumps, pedestrian lanes, bike lanes, and other safety devices. Failure to make sure that a road is free from defects or other hazards can be grounds for an Orange County, California injury lawsuit.

Father files $75 million claim over son's accident, OC Register, October 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Definition and Assessment of Coma, Miami.edu

City of Westminster

The Orange County, California personal injury lawsuit filed by Alexina Karsh against the Huntington Beach Union High School District has been settled for $37,500. Karsh injured her finger when wind pushed an open school door shut onto her finger.

Karsh's Huntington Beach premises liability lawsuit contends that the door was not secured properly. Karsh's finger bled and required stitches. Because of her injury, Karsh is not able to straighten her finger and she can't feel anything in its tip. She missed an Advanced Placement test and is scared to cut vegetables.

The school district has denied Karsh's allegations and accused the teenager of failing to use the door correctly. The compensation to Karsh was paid by Angeles Contractor. The company was in charge of installing the door as part of the school's remodeling plan.

This is not the first Huntington Beach personal injury lawsuit against the school district over finger injuries.

In May 2008, Huntington Beach High student Patricia McCormack filed her Orange County, California premises liability complaint after she cut her thumb while using a table saw. She dropped her lawsuit before the personal injury case went to trial.

Last December, Sowers Middle School Samuel Camm almost severed his thumb. His Orange County, California injuries to minor lawsuit is scheduled to begin in April.

California Premises Liability
Property owners have a legal obligation to exercise reasonable care to make sure that there aren't any hazardous conditions on a premise that could cause personal injury or wrongful death. It is also the responsibility of the property owner or the occupant of the premises to inspect the property for dangerous conditions--especially if people, such as students, customers, employees, clients, or members of the public, frequent the property.

Student gets $37,500 after door crushed finger, OC Register, October 27, 2009

Premises Liability Overview, Justia

Related Web Resource:
Huntington Beach Union High School District

Metrolink has agreed to settle for $30 million the majority of the 150 California train crash lawsuits that were filed against it over the catastrophic 2005 Glendale train accident. The remaining train collision lawsuits--about a dozen of them--are expected to be resolved before the end of the year. Any Metrolink lawsuits over the 2005 crash that are not resolved will go to trial in 2010.

11 people died and approximately 180 others were injured on January 26, 2005 when Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his jeep on train tracks and poured gasoline inside his vehicle in what he claims was a suicide attempt. He says that he had a change of heart at the last minute but couldn't get his vehicle off the tracks so he left it there.

The three-car train crashed into Alvarez's vehicle and derailed, causing the lead car to ram into an idle freight train, jackknife, and crash into a passenger train that was headed in the other direction.

The settlement amounts are substantial for some of the plaintiffs. The heirs of two Los Angeles wrongful death lawsuits will get $3.5 million per claim. Another California injury case settled for $5 million. One Los Angeles train crash case settled for $3.8 million. Many of the other victims received under $50,000.

Plaintiffs' lawyers have argued that the catastrophic train accident could have been avoided if Bruce Gray, the train engineer, had applied the emergency brakes when he saw, per his testimony, what looked like the reflection of an auto on the tracks about 3/4ths of a mile ahead. Meantime, Alvarez has been sentenced to life in prison for his conviction on 11 first-degree murder counts.

The 2005 Glendale train accident was considered the deadliest US railroad crash since 1999. That is, until 2008, when 25 people died and 135 others sustained injuries in a Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth.

Metrolink pays out $30 million in 2005 crash settlements, Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2009

Metrolink Lawsuit Settlement Reached, My Fox LA, October 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Metrolink

Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis

Police are trying to figure out how two people died and 19 others fell ill while in a sweat lodge at the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat on Thursday. The two people that died were 38-year-old Kirby Brown and 40-year-old James Shore. The two victims, along with other participants, were attending the "Spiritual Warrior" program run by James Arthur Ray, a self-help expert based in Southern California. Program participants paid over $9,000 each.

Up to 65 people may have been in the lodge for the purification ceremony, which lasted a couple of hours. According to Native American traditions expert Joseph Bruchac, who is quoted in the New York Times, there are usually only about 8 - 12 people at a time in a sweat lodge.

On average, the lodge is about four and a half feet tall. Water is poured on hot rocks and participants' bodies are supposed to undergo a cleansing while in the lodge. Bruchac says that sweat lodge ceremonies usually last no more than an hour.

Investigators have ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning as a cause of death. According to Yavapai County sheriff Steve Waugh, lodge participants fasted for 36 hours until early Thursday morning when they ate a breakfast buffet.

The other people who were taken to the hospital were suffering from a variety of conditions, such as elevated body temperature, kidney failure, and respiratory arrest.

Police are trying to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against anyone.

Personal Injury
Premise owners and supervisors, as well as those in charge of running or supervising an event on a property can be held liable for premises liability, personal injury or wrongful death if a dangerous or hazardous condition on a premise caused the injury or death. Negligent or careless or reckless actions by those in charge of a property or event can also lead to a civil suit against the responsible party.

You can find out if you have grounds for an Orange County, California personal injury claim or lawsuit by speaking with an experienced Anaheim injury law firm.

2 dead after hours in Ariz. sweat lodge identified, Associated Press/Google, October 10, 2009

Questions About 'Sweat Lodge' Rite Where 2 Died, New York Times, October 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
James Arthur Ray

Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat

In Orange County, California, a judge has ordered the Costa Mesa driver accused of fatally striking a Newport Beach pedestrian last year while text messaging on his cell phone to stand trial for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. If convicted, Martin Burt Kuehl faces a maximum 9-year prison sentences.

Kuehl's criminal defense attorney argued that there is no evidence, including cell phone records, to indicate that the 42-year-old driver was texting when he hit Nanny Martha Ovalle on Westcliff Drive last August. The lawyer had sought to have the charge reduced to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with ordinary negligence.

According to the newspaper the Daily Pilot, however, Deputy District Attorney Jason Baez says that the cell phone records indicate that Kuehl was texting for approximately 30 minutes before the Newport Beach pedestrian accident. One witness has also said that the motorist in the vehicle behind Kuehl had to strike the horn so the Costa Mesa resident would notice that the traffic light was green.

The latest developments in this Orange County, California pedestrian accident case came right before the US Department of Transportation's Distracted Driving Summit, which began today.

The dangers of texting while driving will be the center of focus, as lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and safety experts discuss the consequences of multitasking while driving. At today's kickoff, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled the latest figures from 2008: Almost 6,000 people in the US died in distracted driving accidents, while over 500,000 people sustained injuries. Each day last year, there were almost 800,000 people motorists using a hand-held cell phone while driving.

Teen drivers are the worst offenders, but adult motorists are not exempt from getting on the phone, texting on a Blackberry, listening to an iPod, playing a video game, or fiddling with a GPS system while driving.

Our Costa Mesa injury lawyers are aware of the hazards that come from distracted driving and the Orange County, California personal injuries and wrongful deaths that can result.

Orange County motorist accused of texting while driving faces trial for killing pedestrian, Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2009

Accused texter faces 9 years, Daily Pilot, September 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Drowsy and Distracted Driving, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Distracted Driving: Orange County, California Judge Says Costa Mesa Driver Accused of Texting Must Stand Trial for Newport Beach Pedestrian Accident" »

A Southern California Appeals Court says that a truck repair facility can be held liable for a 2005 Huntington Park truck accident that injured 8 people and killed 3 others. The commercial tow truck was stolen from the service yard of Maurice J. Sopp & Son. Video footage from the repair yards surveillance cameras show Raymond Bermudez walking onto the premise through an open gate and climbing into the 2003 Nissan truck. Just several hours ago, Bermudez was released on parole from Soledad State Prison.

Bermudez started the truck's engine, struck another vehicle that was behind it, hit a shade canopy, and drove off the property. He then struck several vehicles before driving into a group of people at a bus stop. A couple (they were the parents of seven children) and a single mom died from their injuries. Eight other people also sustained injuries from the deadly Los Angeles County truck accident.

The victims' families sued the tow truck company for Los Angeles personal injury and wrongful death. The defendant moved for summary judgment, citing causation and duty. The plaintiffs noted that "special circumstances" allowed for a vehicle's owner or bailee to be held liable for injuries caused by the thief of that vehicle, such as in the event that "heavy vehicles are left unattended," allowing for people who aren't used to driving them to do so.

The plaintiffs also noted that in 2004, Huntington Park had the highest car theft rate in the US and its violent crime rate was in the nation's top 14th percentile. They also argued that the car repair shop had contacted police 25 times over a five-year period because of reported break-ins and thefts and that the keys to the truck had been made easily accessible. While a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge granted the summary judgment motion, the California appeals court reversed the ruling.

California Truck Accidents
If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a Los Angeles County traffic accident involving a stolen vehicle, do not despair. The first step you need to take is to speak with an experienced Los Angeles truck crash lawyer immediately. A good injury attorney will know how to investigate your case and prove liability.

Truck crash injuries can be very serious and costly. There is no reason why you should have to cover the entire financial burden if someone else's negligence or carelessness caused your California truck collision injuries or your loved one's death.

C.A. Rules Truck Repair Shop May Be Liable for Fatal 2005 Crash, Metropolitan-News, September 4, 2009

Carrera v. Maurice J. Sopp & Son (PDF)

Related Web Resource:
Trucking Accidents: Common Causes and Liabilities, Nolo

Injured in a Truck Accident. What to Do?

A 23-year-old Long Beach, California woman has filed a claim against the city of Newport Beach because she says that police fondled her during a search. Her Orange County, California police brutality claim is seeking at least $1 million for the severe emotional trauma that she experienced as a result of the February 21, 2009 incident.

The plaintiff says that at around 10:30 at night, a Newport Beach cop signaled her to stop her car even though she had not broken any traffic laws. When she rolled down her window, she says the police officer used a threatening tone of voice to ask her where she was from. She says he yelled at her, demanding she identify her nationality.

The plaintiff says she "politely" told him she was American and he shined a flashlight beam into her face. After appearing to examine her face, she says he sardonically said, "Sure.. you're white!" He asked her to exit her vehicle and arrested her without probable cause. He then made her sit in the back of his car.

She says that the cop and the other officers who were there laughed when she said the handcuffs hurt. She claims she was interrogated for hours and underwent a very humiliating and invasive physical search. She that says one cop "felt" her up in a way that made her feel as if she were the victim of sexual assault. She says the police officer pressed his body close to her body while breathing heavily on her neck.

The plaintiff says that she was placed in a Newport Beach jail cell until a friend was able to secure a bail bond for her. She claims the cops never told her about her rights while they detained her.

Police Brutality
Arresting someone without probable cause is considered a false arrest and can be grounds for a police brutality lawsuit if there is evidence that the police officer exceeded his or her authority and abused power to make the arrest. False arrests are also a violation of an American's Fourth Amendment rights.

Police officers must abide by strict rules when doing their job. They are not allowed to use excessive force, verbal abuse, or sexually assault or fondle a suspect or anyone else for that matter.

Police brutality can be grounds for an Orange County, California personal injury claim or lawsuit.

Woman claims cops sexually assaulted her, Daily Pilot, August 26, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Newport Beach Police

City of Newport Beach

Police Brutality Info

4th Amendment, LectLaw.com

Continue reading "Long Beach Woman Files Claim Against Newport Beach for Alleged Police Sexual Assault" »

An Anaheim pedestrian accident in front of Palm Lane School has left a woman injured. The woman was crossing the street early this the morning when a Chrysler PT Cruiser struck her. Fortunately, according to an Anaheim fire captain, the car struck a parked truck first before hitting woman and the initial impact likely slowed the speed of the PT Cruiser before it hit her.

As of Wednesday, the Daily Pilot is reporting that an 11-year-old pedestrian who was injured in a Costa Mesa pedestrian accident is still in critical condition. Konrad Osgood has been experiencing bleeding in his brain after he and a 8-year-old boy, Antonio Fair, were hit by a car on Tuesday night.

The two of them were crossing the street with six other kids and two adults. They were headed to Wilson Park. According to police, the two adults were supervising the eight kids and were standing at the island that divides opposite lanes of traffic on Wilson Street when the two boys ran ahead into traffic. Newport Beach driver Ariel Claudio Mendozo, who was driving his car at about 25 mph, hit the two boys.

Last Friday, 75-year-old Ali Panahi died from injuries he sustained in an Irvine pedestrian accident that occurred in the afternoon at the intersection of West Yale Loop and Barranca Parkway. He was struck by a woman driving a Hyundai Accent. Witnesses are being sought to help determine what caused the Orange County, California traffic accident.

620 people died in California pedestrian accidents last year. That figure doesn't include the number of pedestrians who survived being hit by a car, bus, motorcycle, or truck with injuries. Because pedestrians have no protection whatsoever from the impact of getting hit by any kind of motor vehicle--especially one moving at a rapid speed--the consequences are frequently catastrophic and the medical expenses and recovery costs can be high.

Pedestrian hit by car in front of elementary school, OC Register, August 21, 2009

Boy still in critical condition, Daily Pilot, August 19, 2009

Elderly man dies after Irvine traffic collision, OC Register, August 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Traffic Safety Performance (Core Outcome) Measures* For California, NHTSA

Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety, FHWA Safety

Continue reading "Orange County, California Pedestrian Accidents Cause Injuries in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, and Irvine " »