California Injury Blog

Published on: April 2, 2008

Three Injured In Huntington Beach Auto Accident

By Brian Chase

Is this a dangerous intersection? Is Huntington Beach flirting with liability for accidents at this intersection? What can be done to prevent future accidents?

Three people were taken to the hospital after an auto accident at a seemingly dangerous Huntington Beach intersection where a similar crash had occurred March 15, killing a 14-year-old boy. In the most recent incident, two drivers and a passenger were hurt after a Ford Mustang rammed into a Toyota Camry at Bushard Street and Banning Avenue after running a stop sign, officials told The Orange County Register.

This almost seems to be a replay of the March 15 incident when an Acura loaded with teenagers ran the stop sign and crashed into another car filled with young children. Phoenix Nguyen was killed in that crash and three others were injured. Officials say the 17-year-old driver of the Mustang, who ran the stop sign, was also speeding. There are four stop signs at that intersection and the speed limit is 45 mph, but police investigating the case say the teenager was traveling at a much higher rate of speed.

The Mustang driver’s name was not released because he is a minor. The passenger of the Mustang, 56-year-old Gregory Jackson, and the Camry driver, 76-year-old Malcolm McKenzie, both suffered multiple injuries but are said to be in stable condition. The teenager only suffered minor injuries.

It’s a miracle that this accident did not have the tragic consequences the earlier accident did. We’re happy for all involved that they escaped this crash only with injuries and are expected to recover. But this accident does leave a lot of questions unanswered, the biggest of them being ‘Is this a dangerous intersection?’ If the answer to that question is yes, did the city do anything to remedy that dangerous condition?
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Published on: April 1, 2008

Two Young Lives Lost In San Diego Motorcycle Accident

By Brian Chase

Two people died after a deadly motorcycle accident in Valley Center, San Diego, after the motorcycle they were riding on was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Officials have identified the two deceased as Lisa Marrazzo, 24, of Murrieta and Andrew Buchanan Gardenhire, 23, of Ramona.

Channel 10 News reported that Gardenhire, who was piloting the Honda CVR Ninja-style motorcycle at more than 100 miles an hour, veered into the path of an oncoming Toyota Corolla near Mac Tan Road. Both Marrazzo and Gardenhire reportedly died on the scene. Both were also wearing helmets, but that apparently did not help because of the crash’s impact. The motorcycle completely disintegrated and the Corolla was also totaled, the TV station reports.
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Published on: March 31, 2008

Study Shows Tort Reform Has No Correlation To Reduced Liability Costs

By Brian Chase

The Insurance Journal carried an interesting article recently highlighting a new study on tort reform that was performed by a business-backed institute. What did this study show? According to our good friends at the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the study proves that tort reform simply does not work. AAJ’s CEO Jon Haber was quoted in the article saying that the state rankings recently released by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) clearly show that there is no connection or correlation between tort reform and liability costs.

What is tort reform? In simple English, it refers to laws that are meant to reduce liability costs through limits on various kinds of damages awarded to plaintiffs. It is part of an effort by state lawmakers to change legal procedures to prevent lawsuit abuse and to make liability insurance more affordable. Tort reform includes revising the laws that determine responsibility for damages and reducing the amount of punitive damages that civil actions can seek.
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Published on: March 30, 2008

CHP Looking For Witnesses In Fatal San Andreas Motorcycle Accident

By Brian Chase

California Highway Patrol officials in San Andreas are still looking for witnesses to a fatal motorcycle accident that occurred there, according to a news report in the Amador Ledger-Dispatch newspaper. The body of 61-year-old Earl Wiggins, along with his Harley, were found at the bottom of a steep embankment by his family members and friends Tuesday. Officials believe the motorcycle accident must have happened three days before Wiggins was found.

All they have right now is some accident reconstruction and preliminary investigation reports. According to officials, Wiggins was traveling eastbound on his 1997 Harley Davidson on Murphys Grade Road in San Andreas when he failed to negotiate a curve on the road and ran off the edge, the article stated. Wiggins is reportedly the third traffic fatality in the CHP’s San Andreas area, but the first motorcycle fatality. Last year, the San Andreas CHP investigated five motorcycle fatalities, the newspaper reported.
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Published on: March 29, 2008

Bisnar Chase Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Oakland Trucking Company

By Brian Chase

Our firm recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the three daughters of Ronald Lee Nichols who was killed in a truck accident when an 18-wheeler, allegedly driven by Timothy Ray Johnson, jumped the curb and ran over Nichols. We filed the lawsuit in the Alameda County Superior Court seeking unspecified damages on behalf of Nichols’ daughters.

It’s important to note here that Nichols’ daughters filed their wrongful death lawsuit only after the Oakland-based trucking company denied their claim for compensation. Why did they deny it? Because they say Mr. Nichols was unemployed at the time, had a prior criminal record and that his daughters are grown and not minors.

The tragic incident occurred Feb. 18, 2006 when Nichols was walking on a public sidewalk adjacent to the East Bay Municipal Utilities District in Oakland. It was at that time when the large truck ran him over and crashed through a wrought iron fence surrounding the municipal utility. According to a police report, officers at first didn’t even think anyone was injured until they looked under the 18-wheeler. They then saw Nichols under the front axle impaled through his chest by the wrought iron fence.
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Published on: March 28, 2008

Teenager Injured In Artesia Hit-and-Run Bicycle Accident

By Brian Chase

A 17-year-old boy is in the hospital with major, but non-life threatening, injuries after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in Artesia, according to a CBS News report. The report states that the victim, whose name has not been released, and two other boys were riding their bicycles near South Street when a car sideswiped the back of the victim’s bicycle causing him to hit the pavement.

The driver of that older red Honda compact car reportedly never stopped. Officials, who are investigating this bicycle accident, suspect the Honda would have visible damage in the front. The teen is now in an area hospital recovering from his injuries. The article does not go into too much detail about what type of injuries the boy suffered although it states clearly that his life is not in danger.

Hit and run accidents have become way too common for comfort in Southern California. How does someone believe it’s OK to hit someone with their vehicle and then drive away as if nothing happened? It’s inhumane, unethical and outrageous. This is a tough time for the victim’s family that must be facing medical bills and hospital expenses on top of the trauma of having a loved one being involved in an accident.
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Published on: March 27, 2008

Man Killed In Deadly Banning Construction Accident

By Brian Chase

A 37-year-old Hesperia man died on the job after a trench collapsed around him while he worked on an underground power line in Banning, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. Martin Samaniego’s crew from Riverside contractor Pouk & Steinle Inc. was reportedly working on an electrical line on a Banning street when the trench collapsed. Samaniego was trapped seven feet under. He suffocated and died on the scene, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for the company told the newspaper that they have not yet determined what caused the trench to give way. According to the article, Samaniego was the sole breadwinner of his family, supporting his wife, Maria, and 2-year-old daughter. Family members, who were in apparent shock over the tragic accident, are still gathering money for Samaniego’s funeral, the article said. The industrial accident is being investigated by the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL-OSHA), the Banning Police Department and Pouk & Steinle, Samaniego’s employer.

Trench cave-ins are unfortunately common industrial accidents that cause death and injury. Over a five-year period, from 2001 to 2005, 26 Californians have been killed in trench collapse injuries and 207 injured in such incidents, according to CAL-OSHA’s Web site. In almost every instance of trench collapse, the cause was a failure to shore up the trench properly, the agency says.
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Published on: March 26, 2008

Ford Settles 15-Passenger (E350) Van Rollover Accident Case

By Brian Chase

Our firm recently won an out-of-court settlement in an auto defect claim involving a Ford E-350 15-passenger van accident. We represented Jose Estrada and Rita Cruz Quintero on behalf of the estate of Jessica Estrada, their daughter, who suffered fatal injuries in the May 27, 2006 accident. The settlement amount is confidential.

The accident occurred when Jose Estrada, who was driving the 2005 Ford 15-passenger van lost control of the vehicle when a rear Goodyear tire blew, according to a police report. The van carried several members of Estrada’s family and they were coming back from a family trip to San Diego. The van rolled over crushing the roof causing fatal injuries to Jessica Estrada.

There have been repeated warnings about 15-passenger vans from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). We alleged in our lawsuit that Ford knowingly designed and manufactured the Ford E-350 15-passenger van with defective roof supports. The auto maker did not use an advanced electronic stability system when that technology was readily available. What’s more – they used tires that were defectively designed and manufactured by Goodyear!
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Published on: March 25, 2008

Elderly Driver Hits Motorcycle, 12-year-old Boy Killed

By Brian Chase

A 12-year-old boy, who was riding in a motorcycle driven by his father, died after their motorcycle was hit by a 90-year-old driver making a left turn. According to an article in the Napa Valley Register, Eduardo Palafox was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by his dad, 32-year-old Jose Cruz Palafox-Iona.

The driver of a Subaru, driven by 90-year-old Marilyn Heinricher, collided with the motorcycle when the woman made a left turn, the article said. Paramedics performed CPR on the boy at the scene, but he reportedly died at the hospital. Both Heinricher and the boy’s father reportedly suffered minor injuries. Both father and son were said to be wearing helmets. Also, an accident reconstruction team is investigating whether Heinricher failed to yield right of way while making the left turn.

This is another tragic case involving an elderly driver possibly making an error on the road that turned out to be fatal. What a tragic loss for the young boy’s family. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Palafox family.
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Published on: March 24, 2008

Six Injured In San Bernardino Chevy Suburban Rollover Accident

By Brian Chase

A rollover crash in San Bernardino, which officials say was caused by speed and unsafe lane changes, sent six people to the hospital. According to a news report in the San Bernardino Sun, witnesses told police that the driver of a Honda Civic cut off a Chevy Suburban while making a turn. The driver of the Suburban then reportedly made a lane change and lost control causing the vehicle to rollover, the report said.

The crash caused minor to moderate injuries to four people in the Suburban and two in the Civic. The Suburban hit a Jeep Cherokee as it flipped over, but thankfully the driver of the Jeep did not suffer any injuries.

It is a miracle that this accident did not result in catastrophic injuries. It seems as if the driver of the Honda Civic was who triggered this rollover accident, but had the Chevy Suburban been better designed, it would not have flipped over. The Suburban has been known to cause serious injuries in rollover accidents because of its weak roof that caves in when it flips. The roof crushes the occupants within leaving them with severe traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries. The occupants of the Suburban are very fortunate that they did not suffer major injuries.
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