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Ford Motor Company has lost an appeal in an $82.6 million lawsuit involving an Explorer rollover accident, which left Benetta Buell-Wilson, a mother of two, paralyzed from the waist down. Ford’s attorneys had previously succeeded in reducing a $109 million damage award to $82.6 million. But an appellate court in San Diego has ruled that Buell-Wilson was entitled the reduced award, out of which $55 million was punitive damages, according to a news report.

The 4th District Court of Appeal took on the case after the U.S. Supreme Court asked the appellate court to review it. Ford had appealed the award arguing that they were being unfairly punished even though its design met federal vehicle safety standards. Buell-Wilson was reportedly driving her 1997 Ford Explorer on a freeway in San Diego when she lost control of her vehicle while swerving to avoid some debris on the road. Her Explorer rolled over four and a half times and the roof of the SUV collapsed on her neck severing her spine.
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Posted in: SUV Rollovers
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Ford Motor Co. is recalling more than 100,000 of its 2008 F-Series trucks because of a flaw in the driver’s seat, consumer watchdog Web site, Consumeraffairs.com reports. Ford officials are saying that the weld connecting the driver’s front seat back with a bracket can crack. Because of this faulty weld, the vehicles do not meet with federal rules for seatback strength, the article said.

The recalls cover F-250 through F-550 Super Duty trucks. There are more than 87,000 of the trucks here in the United States and about 14,000 in Canada with these defective seatbacks. Ford says no injuries have been reported yet because of the defective product. Owners will be notified of the defect later in March.

Seatback defects are serious problems and can cause major injuries or death even in low-speed, rear-end collisions. The mechanics of it are important to understand. When a vehicle is hit from behind, the force of the impact propels the vehicle forward and the occupants are thrown backwards.

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Posted in: Defective Auto Products
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Five people went to the hospital after they were injured in a crash reportedly caused by a drunken driver who was heading the wrong way on the 5 Freeway in Anaheim. According to an article in The Orange County Register, the early morning crash happened on the southbound lanes of the freeway north of Brookhurst Street when a man driving an Infiniti rammed into a Dodge truck.

A male passenger in the Infiniti – which was the car traveling the wrong way – suffered major injuries including head trauma and cuts, the Register reported. Two 19-year-old women in the Dodge suffered moderate injuries. The 20-year-old driver of the Infiniti – reportedly the one who was driving under the influence – suffered minor injuries. No names were released in the incident. No information was available about the fifth person who was taken to the hospital.

This is no doubt a horrible crash, which could have turned out a lot worse. One of these young people could have been dead and it almost happened. Officials did not tell reporters yet what this driver’s blood alcohol level was. How drunk and how incapacitated do you have to be to drive the wrong way on the I-5 and not even realize it?
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Posted in: DUI Accidents
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One person was killed in a Minneapolis traffic accident when a tire flew off a dump truck into oncoming traffic, according to an Associated Press news report. Not much information was available about the victim, but the report states that the truck was driving south on the Interstate 35, but that the tire went into the northbound lane striking a vehicle.

This type of auto accident is not at all uncommon, especially in Los Angeles and Orange counties where big rig accidents and mishaps involving debris on the freeway are quite common, unfortunately. Our firm handled a case that was identical to the Minneapolis accident. It involved a moving van that lost the tire and struck a vehicle. The crash resulted in the driver suffering severe brain injuries and the passenger suffering multiple broken bones.

Freeway debris and trucks spilling all kinds of debris is certainly a reality in California. According to a New York Times article, about 140,000 cubic yards of debris are dumped on our freeways and in California alone 155 people lost their lives in the last two years after accidents involving objects on highways.
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Posted in: Car Accident
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A new report released by AAA shows that traffic accidents in Los Angeles and Orange counties cost nearly $11 billion annually, the highest in any metropolitan area in the United States. These counties lead the nation in massive costs associated with accident loss, damage and injuries, which beats even the steep price tag associated with traffic congestion, according to a study conducted by the Auto Club of Southern California.

What do these crash costs usually involve? They include costly items such as medical services, police and emergency response services, property damage, lost productivity and wages and more importantly for those affected a drastically reduced quality of life. As a personal injury law firm servicing Southern California – particularly Los Angeles and Orange counties, this is a daily reality for us. We see first-hand the loss, injuries, trauma and financial setbacks auto accident victims suffer. And it’s heartbreaking each and every time we see it.
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Posted in: Car Accident
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The family of a 91-year-old nursing home patient, who died after he choked on a piece of fruit, has filed a lawsuit against a Modesto nursing home alleging abuse and negligence through a Modesto lawyer who has declined to comment about the case, according to an article in the Modesto Bee newspaper. The report stated that State health authorities imposed a $100,000 fine against English Oaks Convalescent and Rehabilitation Hospital in connection with the death of Ernest Costa Sr. – a death, which could have been entirely prevented, had the nursing home staff done their job.

The citation reportedly accused the nursing home of not only failing to find out or recognize what was happening to the patient, but failing to provide emergency care and procedures such as the Heimlich maneuver to try and save Costa. Seriously, what kind of training did these nurses and nursing assistants receive? Apparently, not much. Costa needed help with eating and other everyday activities.

What’s more, this is not the home’s first citation. In 2000, they were slapped with a $60,000 fine for the death of a 74-year-old patient. In her case, state officials said the facility did not properly monitor the woman’s feeding tube, causing a lethal infection.
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Two people died and six suffered severe injuries after their 2003 Ford Expedition lost control and ran off Interstate 19 in Tucson, ramming into a tree. According to reports on KOLD News’ Web site, Idalia Montano, 34, and Margarita Gonzalo Leon, 55, died in the SUV rollover crash. Both women reportedly did not wear a seatbelt, according to the Tucson Citizen. In fact, the article states that other than the driver, no one in the Expedition was wearing a seatbelt, including four children who were in the vehicle, ages 11, 10, 4 and 1.

Officials are looking into why the Expedition went off the highway. It’s really unfortunate that a majority of occupants were not buckled up – not even the children. But the fact that they were traveling in a Ford Expedition also raises some questions. We just got off a case involving one of our clients, Gloria Levesque, who was severely injured in an Expedition crash and rendered paraplegic. Her trial ended in a hung jury, but soon after, Ford settled for an undisclosed amount.

Our firm has conducted several crash tests involving Ford sport utility vehicles such as the Explorer and Expedition. About 10,000 people die each year in the United States in rollover accidents. We have particularly found that Ford SUVs are unstable, ineffective and fail to protect their occupants, especially in rollover accidents. These vehicles have been known to tip over even in moderate speeds. What happens when the vehicle flips over is the weak roof caves in on the driver or the passenger, crushing their head and spine causing catastrophic injuries.

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Posted in: SUV Rollovers
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A 22-year-old caterer died after she was hit by a delivery van when she was preparing food for a large party in Redondo Beach. According to an article in the Daily Breeze, the woman was working in the loading dock of a power plant when a woman delivering speakers to the party, backed up the van and hit her, the newspaper reported.

Officials told the Breeze that the driver, a 62-year-old Ojai woman hit the gas pedal instead of the brake. The victim, who has not yet been identified, suffered severe internal and head injuries. She was pronounced dead in an area hospital.

There is no doubt that the van driver and her employer are responsible for the accident and injuries caused because this woman was clearly on the job at the time of the incident; making a delivery at the party. When a company’s employee causes an accident or injury, it is most likely that the employer will be legally held responsible for the actions of the employee who was “going about the employer’s business” at the time.
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Posted in: Wrongful Death
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A 21-year-old off-duty U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service firefighter died in a crash on the 241 toll road north of the 133 in Irvine, a news article in The Orange County Register reports. The off-duty firefighter, identified as Patrick Michael Henning of Rancho Santa Margarita, was found in his 1996 Toyota Tacoma that had reportedly rolled off the shoulder of the freeway.

Henning had died of injuries sustained during the crash when his truck rolled over several times, California Highway Patrol officials told the Register. Officials are not clear what caused the driver to lose control of the truck or what caused it to flip several times. But officials say that it apparently was a single-vehicle crash and no others were involved. CHP officials are looking for witnesses who may have seen the crash occur.
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Last week, we filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Nissan Motor Company alleging that the auto maker knowingly designed and manufactured the 2000 Nissan Frontier with defective and unsafe seats and seat backs. Our client, Jaklin Mikhal Romine suffered major injuries after the Frontier’s driver’s seat broke during a rear-end traffic collision in Pasadena, rendering her a paraplegic.

Jaklin was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Corson Street and Lake Avenue when another vehicle hit her truck from behind. The impact of the collision pushed her vehicle into the one in front of her. During the accident, her driver’s seat broke, sent her hurtling backward toward the rear seat cushions. Her seat back collapsed and her head was pushed into the rear passenger compartment causing severe head, neck and spinal injuries.
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