California Injury Blog

Published on: December 18, 2008

Lead Tainted Defective Toys Cost Mattel $12 Million

By Brian Chase

Toy manufacturer Mattel Inc. will pay $12 million to 39 states in order to settle an investigation over lead-tainted toys made in China and sold in the United States in 2007.
Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher Price recalled more than 21 million of these defective toys fearing that excessive lead in many of these toys can cause brain damage in young children. Many of these toys also contained tiny magnets that young children could swallow accidentally. Our source for this blog was this Associated Press news report.

Mattel, as part of this $12 million settlement, has agreed to lower the acceptable level of lead in toys to 90 parts per million down from 600 parts per million, which is the federal standard now.
When new regulations go into place next year, the federal standard will also fall to 90 parts per million. California was one of the states that took part in negotiations for Mattel’s 12 million settlement, but also reached a separate agreement under its Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. Nine toy companies, including Mattel, will pay California $1.8 million in this separate settlement.
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Published on: December 18, 2008

Rancho Cucamonga Recycling Worker Killed On-the-Job

By Brian Chase

A recycling worker killed on the job in Rancho Cucamonga on December 10, 2008 was identified as 41-year-old Efre Aceituno-DeLeon. According to this news report in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Aceituno-DeLeon was fatally injured as he was working on a trash-collecting truck at CR& R Waste and Recycling. He was pinned under the truck tag axle. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) is investigating this incident.

My heart goes out to the family of Efre Aceituno-DeLeon, who was tragically killed when he was simply trying to do his job. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this man.

A huge challenge for families of deceased or seriously injured workers is to deal with the financial hardship that follows. Medical or funeral expenses, hospital bills and loss of wages cripple these families economically. The DeLeon family will certainly be entitled to receive workers’ compensation through Aceituno-DeLeon’s employer. However, workers compensation benefits in California are woefully inadequate to compensate a family for loss of income from a primary breadwinner, let alone the loss of a loved one.
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Published on: December 17, 2008

Anaheim Education Center Building Roof Collapse Injures 14

By Brian Chase

Twelve students and two teachers at the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program building in Anaheim were taken to the hospital with injuries after the roof of the adult classrooms collapsed on December 15, 2008 because a main drain failed. According to this news report in The Orange County Register, the injured victims suffered neck, back, muscular, skeletal and wrist injuries.

Officials are saying that the roof caved in after a main drain failed above one of the classrooms. This caused water to collect and the roof to cave in taking an air-conditioning unit down with it. The injured victims were said to have been between 17 and 50 years old. A 50-year-old female teacher had to be rescued after she was trapped under the debris.

I’m relieved that this Anaheim roof collapse did not result in catastrophic injuries. My heart goes out to everyone who was injured and possibly traumatized by this horrific incident. I wish all of the injured victims a complete and quick recovery – both physically and emotionally.
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Published on: December 17, 2008

Anaheim Train versus Auto Collision Kills Woman

By Brian Chase

Linda Krueger-Small, 68, of Lake Forest was killed after she was struck by a freight train on December 15, 2008. The Anaheim train accident occurred after Krueger-Small’s car became stuck on the railroad tracks near Lakeview and Orangethorpe avenues. A passerby tried to get her out of the vehicle, but couldn’t do so before the train hit the vehicle. Our source for this blog is this news report in The Orange County Register. The train’s engineer apparently told officials that he saw the vehicle on the tracks, but couldn’t stop the train in time to avoid the fatal collision.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Linda Krueger-Small, who died in this tragic accident. Going by readers’ comments to the news report, she was obviously well regarded and loved by many. Unfortunately, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My heart also goes out to the Good Samaritan who tried to help Krueger-Small get out of the car, but wasn’t able to do so. I pray for his emotional recovery from this traumatic incident.
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Published on: December 16, 2008

Hayward Big Rig Accident Kills Man

By Brian Chase

Vu Huy Phan, a 32-year-old Oakland man, was killed in a December 12, 2008 big rig accident after a large truck struck his car on Interstate 880 in Hayward. According to a news report in the San Francisco Chronicle, Phan was driving South on the Interstate 880 when he hit the back of a big rig near Industrial Parkway. Phan apparently pulled over on the far right lane of the freeway when another big rig struck his vehicle. Phan suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

My heart goes out to the family of Vu Huy Phan for their tragic loss. I offer my deepest condolences to them.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s truck accident statistics, there were 361 fatal accidents involving large trucks in California in 2007 and 10,635 injury accident involving big rigs during that same time. California tops the list of states with the highest number of fatal and major injury big rig accidents. Big rig accidents can be catastrophic simply because of the size and weight of the vehicle. Very often we see that the occupant of the passenger vehicle is seriously injured or killed in a big rig accident while the driver of the big rig usually escapes uninjured.
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Published on: December 16, 2008

Family of Balloon Accident Victim Settles For $1.4 Million

By Brian Chase

The family of an Oceanside, California woman who fell to her death during an October 2007 hot air balloon accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has reached a $1.4 million settlement with the company that managed the balloon rides. According to an Associated Press news report, 60-year-old Rosemary Wooley Phillips fell through a hole in the balloon’s gondola when the balloon’s pilot became entangled in power lines.

The accident happened immediately after the balloon’s pilot became distracted watching another hot air balloon crash into a house, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed months after the accident. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Phillips’ sister, named the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta pilot Tom Reyes and his two employers; Albuquerque based Star Trail Inc. and Rainbow Ryders. Four other passengers in the balloon, including Phillips’ partner Cheri Dias, suffered minor injuries. The $1.4 million was apparently the limit of what the Fiesta was insured to cover and was shared between Dias, Phillips’ two siblings and another friend, who was injured in the crash as well.
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Published on: December 15, 2008

Orange County Freeway Accident Kills Toddler

By Brian Chase

Two-year-old Sofia Sales died after her father’s sport utility vehicle was involved in a multi-vehicle auto accident on the northbound 55 Freeway in Orange on December 11, 2008. According to this news report in The Orange County Register, Sofia’s father, John Sales, and her 4-month-old brother, Connor Sales, suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The chain reaction crash began when a Toyota Corolla with a flat right-front tire, driven by 27-year-old Shaheen Patel of Irvine, was traveling at a very slow speed on the No. 2 lane of the freeway near Walnut Avenue. Orange resident John Sales was right behind Patel in his Mercury Mountaineer and began to stop his vehicle when he saw Patel’s vehicle was disabled. However a 2006 Chevy Silverado driven by 38-year-old Armstrong Kitchen was unable to stop and rear-ended Sales’ SUV. That in turn caused Sales’ Mountaineer to move forward and collide with the Toyota. Patel was uninjured and Kitchen was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries. Sofia died a few hours after the accident.

My heart goes out to this Orange County family that is grieving the loss of this little girl, Sofia Sales. I offer my deepest condolences to them. I also wish John Sales and his infant son, Connor, the very best for a speedy recovery. Although they suffered only minor injuries, I can only imagine the emotional aftermath of such a tragedy.
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Published on: December 12, 2008

San Diego Jet Crash Survivor Searches for Answers

By Brian Chase

Officials have identified the four people who died in the December 8, 2008 F-18 plane crash in San Diego as Young Mi Yoon, 36; her two daughters 15-month-old Grace and 2-month-old Rachel and mother 60-year-old Suk Im Kim. The only surviving member of the family is Yoon’s husband, Dong Yun Yoon, who was at work when the accident happened. Our source for this blog is this Associated Press news report.

One day after the heartbreaking tragedy that wiped out his entire family, Yoon held a press conference feet away from his destroyed home, asking people in the community for advice about what to do next. He asked guidance from people who have suffered “more terrible things.” The Associated Press article quoted Yoon as saying: “Please tell me how to do it. I don’t know what to do.”
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Published on: December 12, 2008

Northridge Pedestrian versus Auto Accident Injures Three

By Brian Chase

Three men in their 20s were seriously injured while trying to cross a Northridge street on December 10, 2008, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The three men were struck by a car at Louise Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard while trying to cross the street. They all suffered major injuries, but are said to be recovering. Apparently, this is the third serious pedestrian versus auto accident in Northridge since September.

It is indeed fortunate that no one was catastrophically or fatally injured in this pedestrian versus car accident. I wish all three injured victims the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

There is no information in this news article about how or why this collision occurred, but it does state that they were crossing the street at an intersection. As the law states, any time a pedestrian is walking across the street in a crosswalk or at an intersection, the motorist must yield right-of-way. California Vehicle Code Section 21950 (a): “The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.”
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Published on: December 11, 2008

Anaheim Nursing Home Residents Abused by Nursing Assistant

By Brian Chase

A 35-year-old male nursing assistant has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting two women in his care at Anaheim Terrace Care Center in the 100 block of South Knott Avenue. One of Alejandro Arias’ victims is 84 years old and the other 60, The Orange County Register reports. Both the victims alleged that Arias groped them and then forced them to touch him inappropriately.

Officials say Arias may have worked at another elder care facility in Orange County before he began working for Anaheim Terrace Care Center. He has apparently been a certified nursing assistant for the last two years. Administrators at Anaheim Terrace reported the allegations to police. Arias has been charged with three felony counts of sexual battery on an institutionalized victim and numerous other misdemeanor counts. Police investigators are still looking for others who may have been abused or victimized by Arias. If you have any information, please call Detective Omar Adham at 714-765-1623.

My heart goes out to both the victims and their families. These were vulnerable nursing home residents who could not care for themselves. They were dependent on this nursing assistant to tend to their basic needs and he apparently took advantage of it. Despicable!
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