California Injury Blog

Published on: December 7, 2007

Prominent Lawyer Severely Injured In Bus Crash Settles For $7 Million

By Brian Chase

A Kentucky man, who suffered severe brain injuries when he was struck by a bus, will get about $ 7 million in an out-of-court settlement that was finalized this week. According to a UPI news report, Kevin Hable, himself a successful attorney, was forced to quit his job and his career because of brain damage and debilitating injuries.

Hable’s attorneys say they found out that the bus company, was negligent in hiring driver Terra Walter, a woman convicted of possessing cocaine and a crack pipe, according to an article in the Courier-Journal. She had also failed two drug treatment programs and had been ordered by a court to a third rehab program.

But the TARC bus company put her behind the wheel of a city bus and continued to keep her in spite of the fact that she tested positive for cocaine the next year. What was the result of that decision? It changed Hable’s life in an instant. According to the newspaper, the man was managing partner of law firm Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, making more than $400,000 a year, a 52-year-old outdoorsman who ran 5 miles a day and top aide to two Kentucky governors. Now he cannot even walk his dogs.
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Published on: December 6, 2007

Lexus Drifts Off 210 Freeway Slamming Into Parked Big Rig

By Brian Chase

A 26-year-old man died after he crashed his Lexus ES 300 into a tractor trailer that was parked on the shoulder of the 210 Freeway in Claremont, according to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

The article says that Arthur C. Yeh, an Upland resident, was in his Lexus doing about 70 miles an hour when he drifted on to the shoulder, speeding up as he approached the disabled tractor trailer. The driver of the big rig was reportedly standing right in front of his truck when Yeh slammed into it, the Daily Bulletin reports. Fortunately he suffered only minor injuries and got a cut to his arm when the headlight from the Lexus flew off and struck him in the arm, the newspaper reports.
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Published on: December 5, 2007

Woman Killed In Ford Explorer Rollover Crash In Fontana

By Brian Chase

Officials suspect it could’ve been caused by road rage or street racing

A 29-year-old woman was killed after her 1999 Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle veered off the 15 Freeway in Fontana, causing her car to flip several times. According to an article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the crash was reportedly caused by road rage or street racing.

The newspaper reported that Lauda Young, 28, and Maxine Ferry, 29, were both driving in separate vehicles south on the 15 Freeway. According to eyewitness accounts, both women were traveling at a high rate of speed – 80 to 85 miles an hour. At one point, Young cut off Ferry with her 2004 Toyota Corolla in the slow lane leaving no more than three to five feet between the two vehicles, the article stated.

Ferry was forced into the dirt on the right shoulder because Young was tapping on her brakes while driving in front of Ferry, California Highway Patrol officials said. It was then that the Explorer veered back on to the road and began to fishtail. But at this point the Explorer was reportedly way out of control. Back on the shoulder, the SUV rolled over three or four times before it came to a stop.
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Published on: December 5, 2007

Does Drinking At A Wedding Reception Warrant A Death Sentence?

By Brian Chase

Hermino Gonzalez, 27, of Costa Mesa was killed Saturday night when crossing a street in Chino. The driver of the car, Danielle Cheney, 21, was neither arrested nor cited. This is all according to an article in the Orange County Register.

The newspaper quoted Michelle Vanderlinden, a public information officer for the Chino Police Department, as saying Gonzales was pronounced dead at the scene. Gonzalez was crossing Edison Avenue in the 5300 block, not in a cross walk, when he was struck by a white Geo Prism, Vanderlinden said.

Vanderlinden also said that investigators believe alcohol was involved and that toxicology tests have not been completed. She also said Gonzalez was attending a wedding reception on the Chino Fairgrounds in Brinderson Hall, when the pedestrian accident happened.
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Published on: December 4, 2007

Hit and Run – A Crime Without Consequence?

By Brian Chase

A disturbing article in the Los Angeles Daily News says that many drivers who cause hit-and-run traffic collisions in the San Fernando Valley and the city of Los Angeles actually get away with it. According to this news report, last year nearly half of all 16,792 traffic collisions in the Valley were hit-and-runs. But apparently, Los Angeles Police Department investigators have solved only 54 percent of those cases.

Just from watching the news and keeping track of recent accidents, we know that hit-and-runs are only going up in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Increasingly, many of these accidents involve major injuries or deaths. But it’s outrageous and disgusting that in the San Fernando Valley, there’s a 50-50 chance that if you hit someone and leave them to die on the street, there’s a good chance you’ll get away with it!

The incidence of hit-and-run accidents is reportedly higher in the Valley and city of Los Angeles than neighboring cities such as Burbank (13 percent), Santa Clarita (24 percent) and Glendale (29 percent). So, who are most often the culprits in hit-and-run crashes? There’s no surprise there – a majority of them are drunk drivers, people driving without licenses or those who have a warrant out for their arrest, the newspaper reports. Sometimes, these folks are so drunk that they don’t even know if they’ve damaged someone’s vehicle or have struck and killed a pedestrian.
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Published on: December 4, 2007

Who Is at Fault for Truck Driver’s Death?

By Brian Chase

The driver of a Ford F-150 that collided with a CalTrans vehicle Thursday morning on Interstate 5 died at the scene and his passenger was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance according to an article on The Signal’s website. The Signal is a Santa Clarita newspaper.

According to the newspaper, the accident occurred at about 10:15 a.m. on southbound I-5 before the Parker Street overpass in Castaic. A CalTrans signal vehicle that was following a street sweeper was struck from behind by a white Ford F-150 pickup truck. The Ford pickup sustained severe damage. The signal vehicle’s collision impact cushioning device was only grazed. The street sweeper was working on the shoulder of the far left lane of southbound I-5.

The report did not mention any injuries to any CalTrans employees.
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Published on: December 3, 2007

Defective Ford Expedition Trial Starts Today in Los Angeles

By Brian Chase

Gloria Levesque is getting her day in court today. Gloria was catastrophically injured in an auto accident when the Ford Expedition she was a passenger in rolled over and the roof caved in crushing her. As a result of the roof crushing in on her, Gloria suffered severe head and spinal injuries. She is permanently disabled.

The auto product liability lawsuit, Gloria Levesque vs. Ford Motor Company, started today, December 3, 2007, in Los Angeles Superior Court, Central District, before the Honorable Ricardo Torres. Brian Chase, my partner and chief litigator for the firm, is heading Gloria’s trial team.

Mr. Chase will offer evidence that Ford knowingly manufactured and sold the Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle (SUV) with a defective roof that collapses during rollover accidents. Gloria Levesque, was permanently paralyzed on July 25, 2003 when the Expedition she was a passenger in swerved to avoid a collision with a big rig and the Expedition rolled over several times. During the rollover, the roof crushed inward, causing her permanent head and spinal injuries.

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Published on: December 2, 2007

Street Racing Takes Yet Another Young Life In Orange County

By Brian Chase

A speeding driver traveling at more than 90 miles an hour and involved in a dangerous street race may have caused a fiery crash in Anaheim Hills last week that killed one man and seriously injured another, according to a news article in The Orange County Register.

Justin Simpkins died after losing control of his 1987 Mercedes on Santa Ana Canyon Road and his 22-year-old brother, Ryan, who was a passenger in that car, is fighting for his life. Witnesses who spoke to investigators said the Mercedes was racing another car at the time of the crash, the newspaper reported. The speed limit on that street was 45 mph, but Justin Simpkins may have been doing more than 90 mph, officials said.

Justin was pulled out of the car by firefighters just before the car burst into flames, the Register reported, while his brother was ejected from the vehicle. According to Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez who is quoted in the Register news article, these type of speed-related accidents are quite common in that area.
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Published on: December 1, 2007

Seatbelts Save Lives, Study Says

By Brian Chase

Most recent fatality statistics compiled by the Farmers Group Inc. auto insurance company show something a lot of us already know – seatbelts save lives. According to a UPI news report these numbers indicate that the best chance for a person to stay alive in an auto accident is to remain buckled up.

Farmers Group reportedly looked at Department of Transportation data and information from 2006 for the purpose of this study. Researches concluded that drivers who used seatbelts were 70 percent less likely to be killed in a car crash than drivers who were not wearing their seatbelts, the UPI report said.
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Published on: December 1, 2007

Is The Ford Explorer Settlement a Victory for the Consumer or Ford?

By Brian Chase

Big news out of Sacramento came late Wednesday afternoon. Ford Motor Co., which was facing a humungous class-action lawsuit involving a million consumers from four states, announced that a settlement has been reached and awaits approval by the court (http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/529480.html).

So what’s the deal? Consumers, who said in this class-action lawsuit that they were duped by Ford’s claims that the Explorer sport utility vehicle was a safe vehicle, will now qualify to apply for $500 discounts on a new Ford Explorer or $300 discounts other Ford vehicles. The settlement will apply to Explorers from model years 1991 to 2001. The lawsuit was brought forth by 414,000 Explorer owners in California, Illinois, Texas and Connecticut.

Thousands of deaths and injuries over the last decade have been suffered by occupants of Ford Explorers involved in rollover accidents. We have represented many of the injured and their families. As an example, on Monday, we are scheduled to start a trial against Ford in Los Angeles Superior Court. We are alleging that one of Ford’s poorly designed SUVs rolled over in an accident and the roof crushed in, paralyzing a passenger, Gloria Levesque. Gloria was a Montessori school teacher for 25 years before being catastrophically injured and permanently unemployable as a result of the accident.

So, really, who benefits from this class action lawsuit settlement? Maybe the attorneys, definitely Ford – but what about the consumers? Let’s look a little closer. How does a measly $500 or $300 discount toward another Ford vehicle compensate consumer, punish the manufacturer and prevent unsafe products from entering the American market place?

Pedro Morillas of the California Public Interest Research Group (www.calpirg.org) is quoted in a Sacramento Bee article as saying,” Five hundred million dollars does sound like a lot of money, but Ford may have gotten a better deal than they deserved.”

In some respects I agree with Morillas. If the case had not settled and the plaintiffs won, Ford, according to its lawyers, would be in bankruptcy. It may not have been able to pay the judgment. It that sense Ford may have gotten a better deal than they deserve.

This lawsuit should’ve aimed to make sure that Ford was punished for producing defective vehicles and ensure that no auto manufacturer in the future would dare market an unsafe product to the American public. To take it further, it should been a warning to every manufacturer that pushing any unsafe product into the American market place will not be tolerated and the manufacturer will be held accountable.
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