California Injury Blog

Published on: August 28, 2010

Fatal Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident

By Brian Chase

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.
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Published on: August 27, 2010

Car Accident in Modesto Area Kills Four

By Brian Chase

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.
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Published on: August 26, 2010

Man Killed in California Dog Attack

By Brian Chase

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.
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Published on: August 25, 2010

Fatal Santa Barbara Personal Injury Accident Kills Three

By Brian Chase

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.
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Published on: August 25, 2010

Is California Protecting the Elderly?

By Brian Chase

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.
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Published on: August 25, 2010

Fatal Orange County Car Accident Involves Suspected Drunk Driver

By Brian Chase

Mai Hayakawa, 22, was killed in an Anaheim car accident which involved a suspected drunk driver, The Orange County Register reports. California Highway Patrol officials say that the fatal car crash occurred the night of August 22, 2010 on the southbound 57 Freeway’s transition road to the 91 Freeway.

Hayakawa was a passenger in a Toyota Celica driven by 24-year-old Michael Keating, who officials say, was under the influence at the time. The crash occurred when Keating attempted to pass a semi-trailer by driving on the right shoulder of the road. He lost control of the car, went off the roadway and struck a palm tree. Hayakawa was killed. Another female passenger in the Toyota, 22-year-old Alyssa Unruh, sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Keating was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving.
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Published on: August 25, 2010

Why Should You Put Your Recovery Into an Annuity?

By Brian Chase

Steve Moore a middle aged man with his wife was driving through N59th Avenue. In front of the Waffle House their Corolla came to a halt at a red light in between N59th Avenue and I-10 FWY Phoenix. Within few seconds a car driven by three young boys crashed into the corolla. The car was traveling at high speeds and the young boys were drunk. The seat belt and the air bag saved the man from fatal injuries but his wife was severely injured as the car was damaged.
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Published on: August 24, 2010

Calabasas Car Accident Injures Four Bicyclists

By Brian Chase

Four people were injured in a Calabasas personal injury accident due to an elderly driver. The intersection accident occurred when an 81-year old woman made a left turn in her Audi A4 and collided with Four bicyclists, according to a Los Angeles Times news report. The accident occurred while the elderly driver was traveling westbound on Mulholland Highway approaching Stokes Canyon Road at 7:30 a.m. Three of the riders suffered critical injuries while the forth received minor injuries. The driver of the vehicle was uninjured.

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Published on: August 24, 2010

Fatal San Diego Car Accident

By Brian Chase

Marc William Durham, 65, was fatally injured in a San Diego car accident, which officials say, was caused by a suspected drunk driver. According to a 10news report, the fatal collision occurred the night of August 20, 2010, at the intersection of Camino Del Norte and Carmel Mountain Road in San Diego. Police say a 57-year-old man rear-ended Durham’s vehicle, which was stopped at a red light and triggered a chain reaction crash involving several other vehicles. Several others sustained minor injuries. However, Durham was killed in the crash. The man who caused the crash is suspected of driving under the influence. An investigation is ongoing.

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Published on: August 23, 2010

Maritime Employers Will Undertake Surveillance of Injured Seamen

By Brian Chase

The following is a guest blog post by the Houston, Texas Maritime Lawyers of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. regarding surveillance of injured workers in a maritime context.

Our maritime lawyers want to warn injured seamen of an extremely common practice in the maritime industry. Most maritime employers or marine adjusters will hire private investigators to obtain videotape surveillance of workers who have been injured, often spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to catch their injured workers in a “lie.” Very often this videotape surveillance will begin almost immediately after the worker is injured in an offshore accident. There are at least three reasons that a maritime employer wishes to receive video surveillance tape of an injured offshore worker.
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