California Injury Blog

By: Staff Writer

Last week, a federal jury in Waco, Texas, awarded $6 million to a man who lost four fingers and suffered major injuries to his left leg after his motorcycle collided with an 18-wheeler. According to an article in the Waco Tribune, jurors deliberated for nearly three years before deciding that a Tennessee-based trucking company was liable because truck driver, Julie Renee Collins, was at fault in the big rig accident.

According to the article, Walter Browning was riding his 2003 Honda Shadow on Interstate 35, when Collins reportedly changed lanes hitting Browning and knocking him off the motorcycle. The jury did not buy the defense argument that Browning entered an entrance ramp and “drove directly into the tractor trailer”. Both the plaintiff and defendant’s attorneys hired accident reconstruction experts, each of whom painted a different picture for the jury and gave their own versions of how the accident may have happened.

Continue reading "Federal Jury Awards $6 Million to Motorcycle Injured In Texas Big Rig Accident" »

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Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

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Byline: Carol J. Gibbons, J.D.

Is it just me, or do you also wonder why some of the most talented and accomplished people continue to self destruct? It’s Brandy and Paris and now Kiefer and others who could easily afford to call a cab! According to the LA Times not only was Kiefer Sutherland charged today with two counts of misdemeanor drunk driving, but he is also in danger of having his probation revoked. What is Kiefer on probation for? Drunk driving!

Fortunately, for the driving public when Kiefer faces the judge on October 16th it will be in the courtroom of Judge Michael Sauer. That is the same judge who sentenced Paris Hilton to a little jail time after she violated the terms of her probation for drunk driving. Kiefer could get up to one year in jail for the recent charges and six months on the parole violation.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in 2006 California suffered the loss of 4,236 of its citizens, mothers, fathers, daughters and sons-1779 [42%] of those were alcohol-related.

Continue reading "KIEFER SUTHERLAND CHARGED WITH DRIVING DRUNK?" »

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Posted In: Information/Personal Interest

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By: Carol J. Gibbons, J.D.

Hooray for Congress! Today President Bush signed into law The Prescription Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act (PDUFA), H.R. 3580. According to the American Association for Justice, the Congress passed a new law that creates new federal safety requirements for drug companies, and Congress was very clear that the bill does not change the burden on the drug companies to warn of a drug’s hazards.

Drug companies know more than anyone what the potential risks are of taking their medications. Why don’t they want to inform us of those risks on the label so we will know too? Are they afraid if we make informed decisions that we may not use a particular drug and their sales are negatively affected? We have a right to know the possible side-effects and risks to any medication we put in our bodies! This new law makes it a requirement that all drug manufacturers modify labels as new risk information is known, regardless of whether they have been mandated by the FDA.

Continue reading "DRUG MANUFACTURERS MUST IDENTIFY RISKS ON THE LABEL" »

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Posted In: Information/Personal Interest

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An Illinois woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against Simplicity Inc. and Target Corp. whose cribs were recently recalled because of manufacturing defects that caused the deaths of at least three infants. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, Amber Spritzer is on a mission to get justice for the parents who have been using these defective products. She herself had, until recently, put her 1-year-old daughter, Briana, to bed in one of these death traps every night.

This is what Spritzer had to tell the Tribune: “My daughter is my life, and I would do anything to protect her and I know that there are millions of parents out there that feel the same way. So if the government won't protect our children, then I will.”

Continue reading "Illinois Woman Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Maker of Defective Cribs" »

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Posted In: Product Liability

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A Colorado Appellate Court on Thursday upheld an $11.8 million judgment against Union Pacific Railroad after a 2002 train versus car collision in Castle Rock, Colo., severely injured a local teenager. According to a news article in The Denver Business Journal,
Maureen Martin was only 16 years old as she was driving to a high school class on Nov. 12, 2002. Her car reportedly stalled at a grade crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. Maureen’s boyfriend, who was following her in his truck, tried to push her car off the tracks, but couldn’t do it in time. Maureen’s car got hit by the train.

She was in a coma for two months after the accident. Maureen had suffered severe brain injuries and now after five years, still has slurred speech. The appellate court asked the trial court to look into the matter of whether the girl and her family should get triple the punitive damages originally awarded by the jury, the article said.

The article also says that the particular crossing where the train accident occurred had been “the subject of community debate for years.” In fact, Maureen’s accident was reportedly the fourth at that location since 1980. The lawsuit filed by Maureen and her parents alleged negligence on the part of the railroad and engineer. What was the railroad’s defense? That the train would not have hit Martin’s car if her boyfriend hadn’t tried to push it through the crossing and that Martin could’ve gotten out of the car and escaped when she heard the train’s whistle. Not only that, they said Martin “trespassed” on Union Pacific’s tracks!

Continue reading "Colorado Appellate Court Upholds $11.8 Million Verdict in Colorado Train Accident" »

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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By: Staff Writer

Here’s a story that won’t just make your stomach turn, but make you wonder what the heck is wrong with the world today! A Phoenix funeral home is reportedly under investigation after reports that they cremated a person’s body mixed up with the remains of up to three other people. According to a KPHO TV news report, the Greer Wilson Funeral Home is accused of adding three bags of body parts to be cremated with someone else’s body. The incident reportedly occurred four years ago.

Mixing remains in that manner is not only illegal in this country, but it shows a clear lack of respect for the deceased. What does the funeral home have to say in its defense? Nothing apparently -- other than a pretty weak “mea culpa.” An attorney for the funeral home said his clients admit they messed up. During a hearing, funeral home administrators said the incident occurred in 2003 when they found an unlabeled box from a hospital in their cooler with three bags of organs. CBS 5 reportedly confirmed through state records that those organs that were cremated with another body were brains.

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Posted In: Funeral Home Negligence

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By: Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council has voted unanimously to give $1.15 million to the family of a motorcyclist who died after he was struck by a Los Angeles city employee, who was reportedly driving a city vehicle at the time of the accident. According to an article on CBS’ Web site, 26-year-old Mgrdich Hovsep Fidanian of Glendale was traveling south on Barham Boulevard on Oct. 13, 2005 when he was hit by a car that was turning left into a store driveway.

Fidanian’s parents and siblings filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angles stating that the driver of the car, who worked in the city’s finance department, used his car as a “city mileage vehicle” and was driving the car within the scope of his job as a city employee, according to the CBS news report.

Another aspect of this lawsuit was the issue of the “dangerous road condition” on Barham Boulevard. The family claimed in its lawsuit that the roadway was perilous for drivers and commuters because of trees, signs and elevations, which hampered the view of motorists. The lawsuit also argued that the posted speed limit on Barham Boulevard was too high given all these dangerous conditions. At the time of the crash, Fidanian was driving over the brow of the hill at the top of Barham Boulevard and through two sets of traffic lights, the CBS article said.

Continue reading "Los Angeles City Council Gives Family of Deceased Motorcyclist $1.15 Million" »

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Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

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By: Carol J. Gibbons, J.D.
So you are having difficulty in breathing and chest pain, or both. Maybe you are losing weight and have a fever. Could you have the flu, or could it be something much more insidious? Something called Mesothelioma!

The symptoms of Mesothelioma can be confused with so many other diseases, and the onset of this deadly form of lung cancer can occur even up to thirty (30) years after exposure to asbestos. And, Mesothelioma does not just visit itself upon the person directly exposed to asbestos but can also affect family members by secondary exposure. In fact, there have been over 100 identified deaths of family members from mesothelioma in the United States. Exposure to asbestos for as short a time period as one to two months may cause mesothelioma to develop 30+ years later. Exposure may have occurred in the workplace when handling asbestos fibers or materials composed of asbestos or at home just by living in the close quarters with asbestos.
Source: National Cancer Institute

Continue reading "INVISIBLE, BUT DEADLY HAZARDS-WHO WILL HELP THEM NOW?" »

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By: Carol J. Gibbons, J.D.

A lot of things have happened in the last sixty some odd years, not the least of which was the joining together of nine plaintiff’s lawyers dedicated to making certain injured people would have their day in court regardless of status or financial means. They stood up for the everyday person and fought giants! Because we live in America, it can sometimes be easy to take our justice system and our courts for granted, but protecting victims’ rights to a jury trial is a vital part of advocacy and those rights are threatened every day.

Thankfully, back in 1946, those nine lawyers took their pledge to protect victims’ rights seriously! Because of their dogged determination, those nine lawyers, the group once called the National Association of Claimants’ Compensation Attorneys, has grown to a membership of 56,000 members worldwide. Today the group is known, fittingly, as The American Association for Justice, and its numbers include not only dedicated attorneys but law professors, paralegals and law students all with a single focus-to educate and advocate. At the center of their purpose is to promote fairness and justice for injured people and to safeguard victim’s rights - especially the right to a jury trial as envisioned by the Seventh Amendment!

It should be obvious to all that a person who is a victim, who is injured, may not in the best position to fight for their rights. For this reason it is imperative that the courthouse doors remain open to legal advocates who have the knowledge and skill to fight for those who have been injured. But, in some circles there has been discussion about the use of ‘judicial resources’ and ‘caps’ on awards, and whether or not it is necessary to provide every victim an opportunity to be heard by a jury and compensated. And, what about those large awards that are said to continue to drive up the cost of malpractice insurance? Say what? Maybe mandatory, binding arbitration would be the way to preserve the courts resources for more serious matters-like maybe strictly business vs. business litigation? I THINK NOT!

Continue reading "INJURED? HELP IS ON THE WAY!" »

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By: Staff Writer

The company that manufactures Simplicity and Graco cribs have recalled about 1 million of the defective products after at least two babies – including one from Citrus Heights, Calif. -- reportedly died of suffocation. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times. Keeping with the recent trend with defective or recalled products, these cribs were also made in China, further elevating the issue of quality control of imported goods – from food to toys and household products.

These cribs were apparently sold at major retailers all over the United States. One of the crib’s features, a “drop-side” railing, officials say, tends to pull away from the crib mattress causing infants to get trapped in the gap as a result and suffocate. According to a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, officials received reports of seven infant entrapments and a total of 55 incidents in these cribs. The report further states that the crib’s design is flawed allowing consumers to unintentionally install the defective drop-side feature upside down. This in turn weakens the hardware and causes the drop-side to detach from the crib creating the dangerous gap. A 9-month-old and another 6-month-old died in exactly such a situation where the drop-side was installed upside down.

Continue reading "One Million Defective Cribs Recalled" »

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Posted In: Product Liability

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By: A Staff Writer

Today, our law firm filed a class-action lawsuit against several Southern California towing companies who we believe are engaging in predatory towing practices. We filed the complaint on behalf of Alejandro Stephens of Los Angeles, whose car was towed when it was legally parked in the lot of a local Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. Here is the very disturbing and aggravating detail that spurred this lawsuit – the car was towed without the authorization of the restaurant owner or operator.

Unfortunately, this happens all the time in Los Angeles. Our complaint names several defendants including Nonstop Towing (the company involved in our client’s case), Melrose Towing, Pepe’s Towing, Heavy Metal Transport, Inc., MVP Tow Service, Midlands Towing, Mr. C’s Towing and Blackjack Towing. As Mr. Stephens found out in a very sudden and unpleasant way, these towing companies charge exorbitant and very high drop fees and release fees. In our opinion, it’s nothing short of extortion. These companies also tend to demand payment in cash and refuse to accept credit cards although the money they demand may run into hundreds of dollars.

That’s exactly what happened to Mr. Stephens. He was coerced into paying up $278 -- much more than what genuine towing companies charge. This is definitely not an isolated or rare incident in Southern California. We believe there are many more like Mr. Stephens who have been traumatized and victimized by these towing companies.

Continue reading "Bisnar Chase Files Lawsuit Against Predatory Towing Companies" »

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Posted In: Predatory Towing

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By: Staff Writer

One year after a widespread E. Coli scare caused by bagged spinach, officials are recalling E. Coli tainted lettuce after some inspectors in Canada found a bag of Dole’s Hearts Delight lettuce contaminated with the bacteria. According to an article posted on NBC’s Web site, so far, no one has reported being sickened by the product. Most of the 5,000 bags with the production code “A24924A” or “A24924B” were sold in the United States and some in Canada. According to official reports, the romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts that went into the bagged blends were grown in California, Colorado and Ohio and then processed in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 6.

All the recalled bags have a “best if used by” date of Sept. 19, 2007. Officials are still trying to track down the source and method by which this contamination occurred.

Last year, the spinach scare, also caused by the Dole brand, was said to have caused three deaths. The tainted spinach also reportedly sickened hundreds of people across the country. That contamination, investigators determined, occurred in a Central California cattle ranch neighboring spinach fields owned by Dole’s suppliers. Food safety standards were also strengthened in California after that scare and authorities say they are stumped by the recent scare, saying they don’t know how it may have happened again.

Continue reading "Dole Recalls About 5,000 Bags of E. Coli Tainted Lettuce" »

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Posted In: Foodborne Illness

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By: Staff Writer

Here is an example of how seriously you can get injured when you get rear-ended. Last week, a jury in Jacksonville Florida awarded a woman $3.4 million because she suffered permanent neck injury after a moving truck rear-ended her car in a 2004 crash, according to a news report in the Florida Times-Union.

Wendy Sugalski’s attorneys told the newspaper that the 37-year-old dance teacher will need lifelong medical treatment. She will have to go in to the doctor every six months to undergo a procedure that would numb the nerves in her neck so she wouldn’t be in constant pain, the article said. Sugalski’s injuries, which include a herniated disc, have caused her severe, consistent pain. According to her lawyer, she is able to teach dance classes but still cannot dance or demonstrate poses to her ballet and gymnastic dance students.

The accident reportedly occurred Nov. 8 2004 when a truck owned by Florida-based Reads Moving Systems hit her vehicle from behind. A Florida Circuit Judge ruled that the truck company was responsible for the damage from the crash. The six-person jury was given the job of putting a price on the damage.

Continue reading "Jury Awards Woman $3.4 million For Neck Injuries from Rear-End Truck Crash" »

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Posted In: Auto & Car Accidents

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By: Staff Writer

About 5 million people in the United States are injured each year as a result of dog bites. It is way too common and you don’t have to try too hard to find at least a dozen incidents that are serious enough to make their way to the day’s news. Just over the last few days we were able to find numerous dog bite news articles on the Web.

What is shocking is that fatalities are starting to become more and more common in these attacks. And it’s not just babies or toddlers who are the victims. We have grown men and women – who did nothing but pass by a dog; mail carriers are common victims. In fact, Bisnar Chase is representing David Carroll, a veteran mailman, who was mauled by a loose pit-bull in Westminster.

These incidents only reiterate the idea that we must hold dog owners responsible for their pets. If a dog runs loose and attacks or kills an innocent victim, guess who’s liable? The dog owner.

Continue reading "Recent Dog Attacks From Around the World" »

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Posted In: Dog Bites

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A 62-year-old man died this week in the Lincoln Acres area of San Diego, California when the truck he was driving collided with a piece of construction equipment that was reportedly abandoned on a freeway ramp. According to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, that equipment was actually an air compressor on wheels, which was later reported stolen.

Joaquin Baltazar Lopez, who officials said was wearing his seatbelt, had to be extricated from his 1989 Toyota pickup truck. The newspaper reported that he died from the injuries even before he could be transported to the hospital. Hours after this auto accident, a company located 20 minutes away from the accident site reported to police that someone had broken into their facility and stole two pieces of equipment used to sandblast plaster from swimming pools, the newspaper article said.

Unfortunately, Lopez slammed into the abandoned equipment minutes after California Highway Patrol officials were notified about it. Officials are now looking for the driver and the vehicle that was pulling the compressor. It’s a tremendous tragedy for Mr. Lopez and his family. Sadly, he is not alone. California’s freeways are among the most notorious for highway debris.

According to a New York Times new article, in California alone, 155 people lost their lives in the last two years as a result of accidents involving objects on highways. The list of these objects reads like a yard sale or a grocery list – from grapes, oranges and strawberries to furniture and mattresses. In fact, in a case that bears an eerie similarity to this San Diego incident, a Long Beach man is facing murder charges in the death of a Los Angeles County Sherriff’s deputy who was killed when he swerved to avoid a stolen stove that had fallen off the man’s truck.

Here’s another statistic from that same article. Pickup trucks and other vehicles piled high with loads not properly secured contribute 140,000 cubic yards of freeway waste every year. That’s debris enough to fill 8,750 garbage trucks, according to a CalTrans official quoted in the Times article.

Continue reading "Freeway Collision with Abandoned Equipment Kills San Diego Man" »

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Posted In: Auto & Car Accidents

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At last, a bill that bans teenagers from using cell phones while driving. This was a long time coming. According to a bill signed off by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last week, California’s youngest drivers – those under 18 -- can’t chat, can’t text-message, use laptops, pagers, walkie-talkies, handheld computers or even use a hands-free device while on the road, a news report by the Associated Press stated. This new law, which in my opinion should be enforced on adult drivers as well, will take effect July 1, 2008 – the same day another law requiring adult drivers to use hands-free goes into effect.

The new law for drivers ages 16 and 17 was prompted by the intense popularity of text messaging in these age groups, the AP report said. The governor, while announcing his support for SB 33, said the purpose of the legislation is to “eliminate any extra distractions so they can focus on paying attention to the road and being good drivers.” Violators will be fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses, the article stated. The only exception is for someone who is making an emergency call.

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Posted In: Information/Personal Interest

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A Metro Gold Line train from Pasadena derailed at a Highland Park crossing last week after it rammed into a pickup truck injuring six people and pushing many passengers out of their seats. According to a news report in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, witnesses told officials that the driver of the pickup may have been chatting on the cell phone or for some reason did not pay attention to the stop signal. There were 60 passengers on the train at the time of the incident, the newspaper reported.

Investigators are looking into the causes of the train accident and don’t know at this point if the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or if he was distracted by a cell phone. Some passengers reported neck and back pain from the impact of the train crash. The driver of the pickup truck did not suffer any major injuries, officials said. Once the collision occurred there was widespread panic on the train as it rocked and derailed, passengers told the newspaper.

Continue reading "Several Injured in Highland Park Train v. Pickup Truck Crash" »

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Posted In: Train Accidents

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One person died and several people were injured in a 15-passenger van accident in the Lee County area of Wisconsin this week, according to a news report on WISTV’s Web site. According to the report, the 1992 Ford van filled with members of the Prayer and Faith Temple in Hopkins, Wisconsin overturned on the freeway after its left tire blew. Officials say the van flipped several times. Several passengers were ejected from the vehicle and were transported to area hospitals.

One woman, believed to be in her 40s, died in the crash, the television station reported. According to EMT reports, at least 18 people were crammed into the 15-passenger van. Sixteen out of the 18, of which two were children, were taken to the hospital with injuries, the article says.

It is hard to believe that church groups and community organizations are still using these “death trap” 15-passenger vans. It is a disgrace that with all the information that is now available about these defective vehicles that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not mandated these vans off our roads. It is shameful that NHTSA still allows them to be sold to the unsuspecting public.

Why are religious organizations and schools still using these “death traps” when there is so much information and evidence showing how unsafe these vehicles are? Any organization that still uses these 15-passenger vans for the transportation of people must be held accountable for the consequences of their choices. The maker of this van must be held accountable as well. The maker is fully aware of the dangerous propensities of these vans. Just visit these Web sites http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/studies/15PassVans/15PassCustomerAdvisory.htm and http://www.15-passenger-van-accidents.com/recalls.shtml to see how dangerous these vehicles are.

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Posted In: 15 Passenger Van Accidents

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Dog owners must be held responsible for the full extent of the damages their dogs cause. This is especially so if they know their animals can be dangerous and can seriously injure or even kill someone. Take the recent case of a Westminster woman whose pit-bull, Maggie, attacked a veteran mail carrier causing severe injuries to his face and emotional well being.

David Carroll, who has been a mail carrier for the last 16 years, was the latest unsuspecting victim of one of Sherri Moody’s dogs. Carroll reported that he was delivering mail on his regular route in Westminster when, without warning or a sound, he was attacked from behind and knocked to the ground. Before he knew what was happening he was fighting for his life with a pit-bull on top of him biting and tearing at his face and head. Carroll says that if not for a passerby that jumped in to help, he may not have survived the attack. He said he felt the pit-bull was trying to tear him apart and kill him.

Carroll has a nasty wound from his left eyelid to the side of his nose, up across his eye brow to his forehead and across the middle of his forehead to above his r