Articles Posted in Personal Injury

A recent report released by the California Highway Patrol concludes that a big rig driver traveling at an unsafe rate of speed caused the fiery, catastrophic multi-vehicle crash in October 12, 2007. The accident had involved two dozen vehicles including several large trucks in a tunnel on the 5 Freeway in Santa Clarita and left three people dead and many others injured. The collision closed the busy highway for two days and cost Caltrans $17 million in cleanup and repairs. The truck driver, Jose Reyes, who was at fault for this major accident, suffered injuries but survived. Our source for this blog is this Associated Press news report.

CHP’s report concluded that the double-trailer truck with a faulty brake was traveling more than 65 mph when it jackknifed shortly after passing through a curving, dimly-lit bypass tunnel. Officials say although the trucks brakes failed, this fatal big rig accident could have been prevented had the truck driver slowed down given the wet weather and slick road conditions.

The company that owned Reyes’ truck, Saia Inc., is arguing that the CHP’s report is unfair because it failed to give appropriate consideration to a number of critically important factors including a poorly designed and maintained tunnel. A company spokeswoman said that at least 13 drivers in the tunnel were speeding, failing to maintain the legally required following distances. She also stated that four of the big rig drivers who were in the tunnel at the time of the fatal crash were operating in violation of truck drivers hours-of-service regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates the number of hours truck drivers can operate their big rigs without taking a break.
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A 13-year-old boy suffered serious head injuries after he was hit by a car while riding on a San Juan Capistrano street in his motorized scooter. The boy, whose name has not been released, was hit the afternoon of January 30, 2009 near the 31300 block of Via Las Palmas as he rode the scooter out of his driveway into the street. A 54-year-old woman who was driving a Volvo C90 hit the boy, dragging the scooter and the boy more than four feet. Our source for this blog is this news report in The Orange County Register.

Orange County Sheriff’s officials say the teenager was not wearing a helmet and suffered a fractured skull as well as other serious injuries. The driver of the Volvo has not been arrested or cited pending an investigation. The boy was taken to an area hospital in serious condition.

Please keep this young boy in your prayers. I cannot imagine what his family and friends must be going through. Let us all pray for his quick and complete recovery.

This news report does not have much information about how this tragic accident occurred. Did the boy ride his scooter into the path of the vehicle? Did the driver of the Volvo have enough time to stop before colliding into the teenager? If the driver of the Volvo is determined to be at fault for the boy’s injuries, then she would be financially responsible for the injuries caused. The teen and his family will be entitled to compensation including sums to cover medical bills, medication and therapy. Those costs could add up very quickly given this boy’s severe head injuries.
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Delano police officials have identified a 19-year-old female security officer who died in an industrial accident at a SEARS warehouse on January 17, 2009, as Rosemary Montiel. According to this news report, Montiel was found in a small electrical security patrol cart, pinned under a trailer, by other security personnel who were looking for her. SEARS workers had lost contact with her prompting the search. Police are still investigating how this fatal industrial accident may have occurred.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family, friends and co-workers of young Rosemary Montiel for their tragic loss. My heart especially goes out to the co-workers who found her pinned under a trailer.

I trust the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) is investigating this industrial accident. Based on this news report it is not at all clear how the accident occurred or how Montiel came to be pinned under the trailer.
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Three young boys were injured in a pedestrian accident January 19, 2009 after they were struck by a car at a Pasadena street intersection. According to this news report in the Pasadena Star News, the incident occurred when a mother and her three sons – ages 3, 4 and 15 – were struck by a car on the corner of Arroyo Parkway and Fillmore Street.

Pasadena police officials say the mother and her sons were about halfway across the street when the light turned green for southbound traffic. A car in the number one lane stopped, but a car in the number two lane continued going and hit the pedestrians who were apparently on the crosswalk, still making their way across the street. The boys were conscious and talking after they were hit in this Los Angeles County pedestrian accident. But the children were all taken to the hospital for treatment. Police now characterize their injuries as “minor.” There is no information about whether the mother suffered any injuries
This is an accident that could have turned tragic in a heartbeat. I’m extremely relieved that it didn’t take that tragic turn. I’m sure this family must be badly shaken up by this street intersection collision and I wish them the very best for a quick and complete physical and emotional recovery.
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The family of 46-year-old Ernesto Beltran who died after losing control of his car and plummeting into a Los Angeles flood-control ditch is suing the city and the county for not building a barrier along the freeway he was driving on, according to this news report. Beltran’s family alleges in their wrongful death lawsuit that the city and county acted negligently when they failed to install the barrier along the stretch of the 110 Freeway where Beltran dropped into the Arroyo Seco Channel.

The lawsuit states that transit officials had recommended that the safety barrier be constructed at that location more than a year before Beltran’s fatal accident in February 2007. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) officials say a $21-million plan to build a barrier in that section of the 110 Freeway is in the works and that construction of the barrier will begin in the spring.
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Arturo Campos, 3, of Los Angeles, died after accidentally wedging himself between a closing power window and a car door frame the evening of Sept. 12. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Arturo’s father parked the car at the 2900 block of Broadway near 92nd Street to make a phone call at a nearby pay phone. While the father made his phone call he left his son in the running car with the keys in the ignition.

LAPD officers say the father was watching the boy, but that the accident occurred when the dad had his back turned for just a few moments. Arturo reportedly moved to the passenger seat when his dad wasn’t looking and pressed the power window button. Arturo’s neck was crushed as he became wedged.

My heart goes out to the family of little Arturo Campos. This is a tragic lesson to all parents. You simply cannot take your eyes off young children even for a few seconds. More importantly, a child should NEVER be left alone in a motor vehicle, especially while running.
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Orange County, California is unique in that its inhabitants draw their cultural identity from the county instead of Anaheim, its major city or Santa Ana, the county seat. According to most publications’ portrayals, Orange County is a center for the affluent and politically powerful. Affluence is practically a must around Orange County given that its housing market is the second most expensive in the country. Orange County is also the home of Disneyland and, centered on Irvine, the southern California Technical Coast.

For over 30 years, the Orange County personal injury attorneys at Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys have represented the seriously injured in communities throughout the area. As personal injury and wrongful death attorneys dedicated to fighting for the rights of those injured due to the negligence of others, we focus our practice on handling only wrongful death and serious personal injury cases. Whether you were injured in an Orange County pedestrian accident, amusement park accident, suffered an on-the-job injury or you need representation in an Anaheim nursing home abuse, dog bite injury or auto product liability case, the experienced Orange County personal injury lawyers at Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys can help you and your family gain both the compensation you need and the peace of mind you deserve.

We do NOT charge a fee until there has been a monetary recovery in our client’s case and we advance all costs and expenses.

A Redwood City woman has filed a lawsuit against Redwood City after suffering severe injuries in a pedestrian accident, which she alleges occurred on a dangerous roadway that city officials have not done much about, the San Francisco Examiner reports. Deborah Jo Iverson was reportedly crossing Woodside Road at Orchard Avenue on April 23 2007 when she was hit by a car.

Although police concluded that the pedestrian accident was driver Raymond Herrera’s fault, Iverson has named Redwood City, the state of California and Caltrans in the lawsuit as well. Iverson filed the lawsuit after the city rejected her claim. The dangerous street in question is a state route maintained by Caltrans.

The city has apparently tried to make improvements on the street including lowering speed limits and installing red light cameras. Over the last four years the article cites at least six pedestrian fatalities on that part of Woodside Road and many others that resulted in critical injuries.

Apparently, the city has a problem with safety on this road, but is captive to the state’s jurisdiction of the highway. It certainly appears to be a dangerous roadway, highly unsafe for pedestrians, according to Iverson and the accident statistics. The agency, which is in charge of maintaining this street – whether it’s the city or CalTrans – should do its job. I would be using the city’s own records of attempts to make the road safer as evidence against CalTrans.
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A 15-month-old baby girl in Santa Ana miraculously escaped with leg injuries after falling from a third-story window after a screen on the window gave way, The Orange County Register reports. The baby’s name was not released.

The baby was asleep next to her father, by an open window in an apartment in the 500 block of East Sixth Street in Santa Ana. Santa Ana police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez said the accident occurred, when the baby woke up and made her way to the open window and her weight caused the screen to collapse. She fell down three floors and landed unconscious on the cement floor below.

I’m extremely relieved and happy that the child survived this catastrophic fall. With warmer weather approaching, danger from window fall injuries increase. Many of us tend to keep our windows open during these hot summer days.
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