California Injury Blog

Published on: March 2, 2008

Anaheim’s Tree Negligence Costs a Life and $700,000

By Brian Chase

Anaheim City Council members apparently settled in a hurry authorizing the payment of $700,000 to the family of a 49-year-old man who died when a large Ficus tree came crashing down, smashing his parked van. Michael Gandy, a church maintenance worker who usually took lunch breaks while parking his Ford Aerostar van under the shade of the 50-foot tree, was celebrating his 49th birthday the day he died, The Orange County Register reported.

Gandy’s family members alleged in their claim that the city allowed a dangerous condition to exist on the roadway with its faulty tree-trimming practices. It certainly seems to me like they created the dangerous roadway condition. The family alleged that the city cut the tree’s roots making the tree unstable and prone to falling during Santa Ana winds.

Gandy’s sister, Carole Gandy-Strong, told the Register that she hoped her brother’s death will draw the city’s attention to the tree hazard in the area so no more lives will be lost tragically. Hopefully, Michael Gandy’s death and his family’s resulting lawsuit will lead the municipalities and property owners in Orange County to make wiser choices regarding their tree maintenance procedures.
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Published on: March 1, 2008

Community Heroes in Blythe Save Dog Bite Victim From Vicious Attack

By Brian Chase

An off-duty police chief and two neighborhood women had to fend off two vicious dogs as they brutally attacked a woman on the street in the city of Blythe, the Palo Verde Times reports. According to the article Blythe Police Chief Robert Whitney and two other women, who happened to be passing by, rescued 58-year-old Jilyne Gouvion who was viciously attacked by two American bulldogs while walking her friend’s dog.

Elaine Merritt and her friend stopped as they saw the commotion with the chief trying to fend off the aggressive bulldogs. The ladies immediately acted and were able to save the Australian Shepherd that Gouvion was walking, which was also being attacked by the bulldogs. The smaller dog was covered in blood when the women rushed it into their car, the article said. Whitney told the paper that one of the bulldogs must have weighed about 100 pounds.

Gouvion reportedly suffered severe bites and cuts to her hands and legs as a result of the dog attack. The dogs apparently first attacked the Australian Shepherd and then turned their attention to the woman as she tried to protect her friend’s dog. The dog’s owner, 37-year-old George Castro, not only got cited at the scene, but is facing additional felony charges relating to his dogs being a public nuisance, the newspaper reported. Both dogs have been quarantined at the local animal shelter and a decision will be made later about their fate.
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Published on: February 29, 2008

Florida Jury Awards $11 Million To Parents of SUV Rollover Victim

By Brian Chase

A Florida jury has ordered auto maker Mitsubishi to pay $11 million in compensatory damages to a couple whose son was killed after being partially ejected from the Montero sport utility vehicle that rolled over, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The lawsuit brought against Mitsubishi by Donna and Peter Laliberte, alleged that the carmaker put its Montero SUV on the market in spite of knowing about problems with the seatbelt.

Their 25-year-old son, Scott, was thrown backward through the rear window in the SUV rollover crash, which occurred nearly four years ago. Scott was a passenger in the vehicle and was reportedly wearing his seatbelt. Jurors were convinced after attorneys argued that Mitsubishi took the unprecedented step of releasing a new version of the Montero halfway through the 2000 model year to fix those problems. But Mitsubishi officials never told consumers about the seatbelt defect in their earlier model.

Attorneys for the auto maker still denied that, which is typical. However, they did acknowledge that the changes in the Montero happened because of “poor crash test results,” the newspaper reported. Jurors awarded the couple $10 million for pain and suffering and the rest for funeral expenses and losses. The newspaper also reported that the trial was emotional for jurors and that many of them embraced the couple teary-eyed after the verdict.
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Published on: February 28, 2008

Ford Settles Expedition Rollover Accident Case After Three Week Trial

By Brian Chase

Ford Motor Company has agreed to an out-of court settlement in an automobile defect/rollover accident case that we have been pursuing for our client, Gloria Levesque. She was seriously injured in a Ford Expedition rollover accident five years ago and rendered quadriplegic. The initial trial in Los Angeles Superior Court lasted three weeks and ended in a hung jury last December.

Of course, we’re pleased that Ford decided to settle with our client for an amount that is being kept confidential pursuant to Ford’s condition of settlement. But the more important fact in this case is that Ford’s top officials know – and have known for a very long time – that the roofs of their sport utility vehicles leave much to be desired in terms of strength. What happened to our client has happened to thousands of others.

The roofs of Ford’s SUVs such as the Explorer and Expedition are made so weak that they cave in during a rollover accident. Gloria’s accident happened on the 5 Freeway in Fresno County. She was a passenger in the vehicle. The driver swerved to avoid a collision, lost control of the vehicle, which rolled over many times. The Expedition roof collapsed and crushed inward causing her severe head and spinal injuries leaving her quadriplegic.

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Published on: February 28, 2008

BLOG EXTRA: Ford Recalls 400,000 Mustangs for Defective Airbags

By Brian Chase

Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 400,000 model year 2005 to 2008 Mustangs because the passenger-side airbags may cause neck injuries to small women or large children riding in the seat without being buckled up. According to an article on consumer watchdog Web site Consumeraffairs.com, federal officials informed Ford last year of this problem after conducting a lengthy investigation. Mustang owners are asked to contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332 or the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration at 1-888-327-4236.

Published on: February 28, 2008

Neglected Patient Burns To Death In San Diego Nursing Home

By Brian Chase

An Escondido nursing home, which has been repeatedly cited for serious violations and abuse in the past, was slapped with the highest penalty of a $100,000 fine after a resident receiving oxygen caught on fire when he was smoking unsupervised. According to a news article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, this was the fourth accusation in three years made by state officials against Palomar Heights Care Center.

Nursing home officials apparently have nothing more to say about the incident other than it was an accident. But state records cited by the newspaper clearly show there is a lot more to this story. The man, who died of severe burns Jan. 11, was left alone with an oxygen tank smoking a cigarette and he wasn’t even wearing the flame-retardant apron as required by law. And the nurse who was supposed to be watching him was somewhere else filling out charts.

Could this be a case of understaffing in this nursing home? That is certainly a possibility. Nursing homes cutting staff to boost profits is considered to be one of the leading causes of nursing home abuse and negligence, according to the advocacy group, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. In fact, the nurse in this facility wasn’t even aware that her patient was on fire until she heard someone else call out a “code red.” The man reportedly burned for six minutes.
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Published on: February 27, 2008

BLOG EXTRA: News Update On Fatal Newport Beach DUI Crash

By Brian Chase

The Orange County Register reports today that a 21-year-old U.S. Marine has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter in a rear-end crash that killed a prominent radiologist. Click here to read our blog about this auto accident. Michael Aung Sein and his wife Grace were sent to the hospital with major injuries. Elijah Ferguson was reportedly driving under the influence and his blood alcohol level was reportedly more than the .08 legal limit. He was also driving without a valid license, the newspaper reports. Ferguson is being held on a $100,000 bail and will be arraigned March 21.

Published on: February 27, 2008

Florida 15-Passenger Van Crash Injures 12

By Brian Chase

A church van crash in Florida is yet again raising concerns about the use of unsafe 15-passenger vans by churches, schools and community organizations to transport small groups of people. On Sunday night a 15-passenger van crash in Ocala left 12 passengers, all from a church group, injured. One of them is still in the hospital with critical injuries, according to an MSNBC news report.

The accident reportedly happened in the northbound lanes of the I-75. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which landed on its side. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate one passenger whose leg was trapped between the ground and the van, according to the report.

It’s a miracle that no one was fatally injured in this crash. For many years now, the federal government has repeatedly issued warnings that these 15-passenger vans are nothing short of death traps. Yet community groups, universities, childcare centers and schools continue to use them. Some of them may not know the hazards, but most groups roll the dice and operate the vans anyway because they are cheaper and can conveniently transport these groups, but at what cost? Some church groups are now switching to more expensive minivans, which is great. But there are still too many of these 15-passenger vans out there, which in itself is cause for concern.
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Published on: February 26, 2008

Fresno Fatal Rollover Crash Kills 1, Injures 4

By Brian Chase

One man died and four Fresno State football players were injured after their car veered off Highway 99 in Selma and rolled over. Terren Hall, 18, the only one who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, died in the crash after he was ejected from the 1998 Ford during the rollover crash. According to an article posted on the local ABC News Web site, investigators are looking into whether the driver lost control of the vehicle because a big-rig may have cut him off.

Those injured were the driver Jermaine C. Thomas, 19, of Duarte; Isian Green, 18, Sharrod Davis, 22 and Terrance Dennis, 19 – all football players from Cal State Fresno, the Fresno Bee newspaper reports. Thomas was reportedly the one who told investigators that the big-rig cut him off and sent him careening off the roadway.
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Published on: February 25, 2008

Illegal Towing Company In Riverside Could Face Criminal Charges

By Brian Chase

If you’re still not convinced that illegal towing is a huge problem in Southern California, you’ve got to read this story. The Riverside County District Attorney and several police departments are investigating a local towing company called Desert Automotive Specialists, for illegally towing as many as 2,500 cars, sometimes with people still inside them. According to an article in the Desert Sun, sometimes this company paints curbs red just to make people think they parked in a tow-away zone!

Once they had towed away vehicles with their owners kicking and screaming, this company charged astronomical fees to release those vehicles back to the desperate owners. Who were these unfortunate owners? Mostly Spanish-speaking folks and seniors. Sounds like a pretty targeted and well-planned operation to me.
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