California Injury Blog

A passenger was killed and a driver was injured in a Los Angeles car accident when a vehicle travelling about 100 mph crashed. According to a news report in The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the high-speed car accident happened the afternoon of August 30, 2010 on Turnbull Canyon Road in Hacienda Heights. Eyewitnesses told officials that a black Honda Accord and a blue Honda Civic were racing on the roadway.

The Accord, which was traveling at nearly 100 mph, crashed. The Honda Civic left the scene of the crash without waiting for authorities. The driver of the Accord sustained moderate injuries while the passenger died. Authorities are searching for the driver of the blue Civic. An investigation is ongoing.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Car Accident Caused by Suspected Street Race" »

Three people were seriously injured in a San Jose car accident, which officials say, was caused by a suspected drunk driver. According to a Bay City News report, the crash occurred early morning on August 29, 2010 on Highway 101 near Metcalf Road. The occupants of two cars, a Mitsubishi and a Toyota, were on the shoulder of the highway trying to fix a flat tire on a Toyota, when 18-year-old Eric Nun, driving a Mercedes, went off the roadway and crashed into the back of the Mitsubishi.

Continue reading "San Jose DUI Collision Injures Three" »

Currently, taking your civil case in front of a jury requires a lot of time and money. Large juries must be selected, and then after the jury is seated, the trial can drag on for days, weeks, or even months. The California legislature hopes to pass a Bill soon that will make jury trials much quicker and less expensive for the parties involved.

Assembly Bill 2284 (AB 2284) is an act that, if passed, will establish the Expedited Jury Trials Act. Currently, all trials heard in civil court are required to be heard in front of a jury of up to 12 people. The new law will require only up to eight jurors. This means it will take less time to get a proper jury seated and ready for trial.

Continue reading "New Rules For Jury Trials In Civil Matters Heard in California Courts" »

Five people including two children were injured in a Sacramento car accident after a pickup truck and a minivan crashed on the Interstate 80. California Highway Patrol officials say the accident occurred the morning of August 24, 2010 on the eastbound I-80 between the Watt Avenue and Auburn Boulevard exits. The driver of the pickup truck apparently ran away from the scene of the crash. Officials are still looking for the driver. All five injured victims were in the minivan. The extent of the victims' injuries is not known. An investigation is ongoing.

If you have any information about a hit-and-run crash, please visit our web site at www.hitandrunreward.com for more information about how to offer anonymous tips. Remember, any relevant information could prove invaluable to law enforcement officials and may help them apprehend the suspect and bring him or her to justice.

I sympathize with all those who were injured in this crash and wish them the very best for a quick and complete recovery. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Continue reading "Sacramento Car Accident Injures Five " »

Financial crimes against the elderly generally fall under two categories: fraud committed by strangers, and financial exploitation by relatives and caregivers. This blog will concentrate on financial elder abuse by relatives and caregivers.

Unlike strangers, relatives and caregivers often have a position of trust and an ongoing relationship with the elderly. Financial exploitation can be as follows:

1. borrowing money and not paying it back;
2. denying services or medical care to conserve funds;
3. giving away or selling the elder's possessions without permission;
4. signing or cashing pension or social security checks without permission;
5. misusing ATM or credit cards, or using them without permission;
6. giving away the elder's money to family or friends;

The financial abuser will use deceit, intimidation, emotional abuse, or promises of care.

Continue reading "Financial Abuse of the Elderly" »

Last year, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and other hospitals across the country, overexposed at least 330 patients to toxic levels of radiation when the hospital’s CT scan machines failed to work properly. Toxic levels of radiation -- in some cases eight times safe levels -- of radiation were forced upon unsuspecting patients who were being treated for various ailments. These extremely high doses of radiation could lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering. This suffering could have been avoided if legislation was in place that required State regulation of the CT scanning machines and the technicians who run them.

Toxic levels of radiation exposure occur in CT scans and MRI machines in hospitals across the country. Cedars-Sinai is not the first hospital to overexpose patients in its care. Senate Bill 1237 (SB 1237) is designed to protect your family from over exposure to radiation if you should ever need a CT scan. This will eliminate another tragedy like the one experienced last year at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Continue reading "What the Medical Radiation Safety Act Will Do For Your Family" »

Jesus Heredia Calixto, 18, and Candice Ann Bustamante, 32, a 16-year-old girl and another 19-year-old man were killed in a violent car accident in Long Beach, which officials say, was caused by two cars racing each other on a public roadway.

The Press Telegram reports that the horrific crash happened on the Long Beach Peninsula the morning of August 22, 2010 when a Ford Mustang and a 1997 Ford Taurus collided. The Mustang then hit a stone marker. All four of the fatally injured victims were occupants of the Mustang. The two teens in the Taurus fled the scene, but were later apprehended. They are expected to be charged with felony hit-and-run and murder.

Continue reading "Four Killed in Long Beach Car Accident" »

A man, who was fatally injured in a pedestrian accident in the Lakeview Terrace area, has been identified by local authorities as 49-year-old Alberto Sandoval. According to a City News Service report, the fatal collision occurred on Foothill Boulevard when 58-year-old Paula Larene Dautremont lost control of her vehicle, struck a parked truck and then collided with Sandoval. He died as a result of injuries sustained in this crash. No one was cited or arrested pending an official investigation.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Alberto Sandoval. I offer my deepest sympathies to them. They will be in my prayers.

Continue reading "Fatal Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident " »

Four people, identified as James Donald Anderson, 49, Emma Gabriela Anderson, 44, and Andrew David Anderson, 15, and James Edward Rowell, 40, were killed in a Modesto car accident the evening of August 24, 2010. According to a news report in The Modesto Bee, the fatal crash occurred when a Chevrolet van ran a stop sign at the intersection of East Las Palmas and Elm avenues in Patterson and crashed into a green Ford SUV. The van was northbound on Elm and the SUV was traveling east on Las Palmas. Another passenger in the SUV, 24-year-old James Anderson, sustained major injuries in the crash. Officials are looking into whether alcohol or drugs were involved in this crash.

Continue reading "Car Accident in Modesto Area Kills Four" »

Jerry Yates, 69, was killed in a dog bite incident after he was mauled on his own property by two large pit bulls that belonged to a neighbor. According to an ABC News report, Yates's body was found with large bite marks and torn flesh, the afternoon of August 22, 2010. Authorities say Yates' wounds suggest that he died trying to fight off the dogs. The owner of the dogs, Sheryl Sellers, has been arrested on a single felony charge of allowing vicious animals at large. Officials say she held the dogs in an enclosure, which was clearly inadequate to restrain dogs of that size. Sellers surrendered the pit bulls, which have since been euthanized.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jerry Yates. Apparently, Yates was a Marine Corps veteran who served three combat tours in Vietnam. Tragic! Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.

Continue reading "Man Killed in California Dog Attack" »

A fatal Santa Barbara personal injury accident took the lives of Leonel Leon, 22, Lorena Guadalupe Tellez-Pacheco, and Jaciel Tellez, 8 on August 24, 2010. According to a report in the Santa Maria Times, the truck driver and owner of the big rig, Joaquin Garcia Morales, rented a trailer that he loaded with 26 tons of gravel. As he was driving down a hill on Highway 152, he lost his brakes. The out of control big rig truck eventually came to halt when it collided with a 1,000 square foot wooden home.

The small 50-year-old wooden home was flattened and three of the occupants suffered fatal injuries. One of the families occupants had left the home moments before the devastating big rig crash occurred. In the height of the crash response, there were nine engines, a latter truck, two search and rescue vehicles, a search dog and 10 chief officers.

Continue reading "Fatal Santa Barbara Personal Injury Accident Kills Three " »

There has been some concern recently that the Attorney General's office has not been aggressively prosecuting elder abuse cases. The San Francisco Examiner reports that prosecution of abuse cases are down under this particular administration from that of the previous Attorney General. In defense of the allegation, Attorney General Brown's office states that the fewer prosecutions are due to the fact that the previous prosecutions had been successful in clearing up a good bit of the abuse problem. They are now concentrating on fraud cases against the MediCal system and saving the State some money.

Continue reading "Is California Protecting the Elderly?" »