Southern California Injury Law Blog

Last week, Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie settled a hotly contested claim for $140,000. A wonderfully active woman in her 80's was driving in Huntington beach through an intersection, when struck by a patrol car. The officer testified that he was operating under lights and siren to a previous accident and therefore was justified in traveling through the intersection on a red light.
There was also a contention that our client did not have a hearing aid in at the time of the accident, and therefore was negligent and the cause of the accident.

The police report was unfavorable for our client. In our opinion, the investigating officer was biased. To see the truth about ">officer bias, click on the link.

We obtained several names of witnesses to the accident. Those witnesses interviews were key to proving liability. We have long promoted the concept that early investigation is the key to success in this case and all others.

On interview of those witnesses shortly after the accident, they refuted the officer testimony about operating his vehicle under lights and siren. Instead, he had chirped as he entered the intersection. No reason was given why he could not inch into the intersection, or wait for a green light. Because of early investigation, we prevented any witness from ruining our theme as well.

Ultimately, after deposition of all the witnesses and the investigating officers, the City settled with our client. This case demonstrates a real live example of the importance of early investigation by a competent California personal injrury attorney, and the results that come from it.

In the hands of an attorney not familiar with personal injury or less aggressive in locating the witnesses, this nice lady may not have prevailed. In fact, several attorneys turned this case down before she called us. If you need help, call us at 1 888 752-7474 for a free consultation.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Firm News , Injuries

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Several injuries to children have led to two separate high chair recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) in the last month. The first brand is the Fischer- Price, 3-1 high chair that was sold in Target stores from December 2008 to March 2009. This model poses possible traumatic brain injury risk to young children. In one case the child fell backwards when the seatback detached unexpectedly and fractured the child’s skull.

The second brand is the Evenflo Majestic high chair. These chairs were sold to nationwide retailers Babies ‘R’ Us, Toys ‘R’ Us, Walmart.com and Burlington Coat Factory. This chair has had several moderate to serious injuries reported by not only falling incidences but choking hazards as well.

For a full list of model numbers and brands you can visit the CPSC’s website at www.cpsc.gov.

If your child has experienced a high chair/ baby products personal injury or accident from a dangerous product contact an Orange County personal injury attorney immediately to review your case and find out your rights.

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Posted In: Injuries , Product Liability

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The Orange County Register wrote yesterday that a report released by the CHP identified 7,262 collisions involving big rigs in California last year. It also concluded that 56% of those collisions were caused by passenger car drivers. Therefore the CHP launched a “drivers education” program.

Response to the article was immediate, swift and in my opinion correct. Mail name “nijode”, who drives 100,000 miles a year noted that big rigs drive too closely behind each other, speed, tailgate, and car drivers have to cut in front of big rigs just to get on and off freeways. Mail name “harleyjazz” wrote that there are far more cars on the road than trucks, so it stands to reason that per vehicle, trucks statistically cause far more accidents than cars.

Both responders have great points, and I have a few more. While the cause of these accidents is statistically higher for automobiles, truck drivers are “Professional Drivers”. Their statistical average accident per truck should be much, much less. Trucks also cause devastating injuries. They are a menace if not driven safely. Injuries and wrongful death to passengers and drivers of autos are much more severe than to a truck driver.

So of the 7,262 collisions, 3050 were truck driver error and the damage caused by those 3050 collisions is monsterous. I would prefer that the CHP educate truck drivers and companies about the dangers they pose and keep our highways safe. The “Professional Drivers” should have an accident cause rate of 10% or maybe even 5%. After all, they are getting paid to drive. We are all just trying to get to work and around town. Imagine you are driving on a freeway with NASCAR drivers. Wouldn’t you think that the cause of accidents should be much less for the NASCAR drivers?

Truck drivers and the companies that employ them need to police themselves to be safer on the road. For every accident caused by a truck driver and reported to the CHP, I bet there are several unreported incidents that give a clue to the incompetence of that truck driver. Until then, victims will need to be protected by an attorney to at least get compensation for the tragedy trucks cause.

Suzanne Leslie, a California Truck Accident lawyer with Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie states “Trucks are necessary on our roads, but that does not mean that they can’t be safe. Year after year, trucks are increasingly causing more accidents.”

Instead of improving safety, the truck drivers, and companies they work for, are causing more accidents. I do not agree that we should be educating the auto drivers, but actually enforcing the truck safety laws and penalizing truck driver conduct to minimize the danger on our roads.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Truck Accidents

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As some of you know, I am frequently writing about dangerous roads, and Oak Canyon Road in Trabuco Canyon is one of them. But tthe roadway does not seem to be playing a part in this accident.

Just two weeks after the fatal car accident that left two teens dead in Trabuco Canyon’s Oak Canyon Road, another accident left three people with serious personal injuries. Dureti Bishop was the most seriously injured person and she needed to be flown via helicopter to Mission Hospital. She was the passenger in a Yellow Cab mini-van being driven by Bunny Deuk of Long Beach. Deuk was also seriously injured as was the truck driver that was involved in the crash.

Orange County authorities are currently investigating this accident but witnesses said that the Yellow Cab was not speeding but was weaving back and forth on the road. The mini-van eventually clipped the front-left side of the truck and it was pushed into a ditch and caught fire. A local Park Ranger needed to break the windows of the taxi to rescue the driver and passenger.

In cases like this and other serious auto accidents, it is important to have someone who is an expert in personal injury law on your side. Call the experts at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis and Leslie who are experienced Orange County personal injury attorneys.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Construction Accidents , Injuries , Product Liability , Truck Accidents

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A delivery truck driver, Maximo Hernandez, was driving his pickup truck to deliver newspapers when a drunk driver crossed the road and killed him on March 29, 2009. Normally we note truck driver negligence in this blog, but this accident underscores the danger of drunk drivers, to all motorists.

Strict laws have been placed on the books for some time now, yet the message has not reached the public. Drunk drivers continue to injure and kill others on the road. Statistics from the California CHP calculated that 1/3 of all accidents were caused by drunk driving. In 2006, nationally 13,470 fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes equates to one alcohol-impaired-driving fatality every 39 minutes. Night time driving has a much higher incidence than during the day. Is there a way to stop this senseless injury and wrongful death on our roads?

Education of those who drink and drive has not been a viable solution. While a great deal of effort has been undertaken, there has been virtually no change in the statistics for the last three years. Despite the classes, MADD campaigns and editorials by all those affected by such conduct, accidents still occur with regularity and frequency.
Checkpoints and crackdowns at a road block have done little to stop accidents. While we may catch some on the road, a greater deterrence is needed. Drunks simply avoid the hot spot areas and drive on. We cannot possibly check every driver, every time he or she gets behind the wheel. Or can we?

Recent advances in medical and car technology allow for breathalyzer installation in all vehicles. BUT WAIT you say! I didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t want the hassle and expense of such equipment.

Here are some interesting facts to consider. A competent personal injury attorney will demonstrate to a jury or anyone for that matter, that a life can be worth 1 to 2 million dollars. The loss each year because of deaths then means a potential cost to society of over 10 billion dollars per year. The Math you say: (13,470 deaths times $1,000,000).
You don’t think we all pay for this? If the drunk driver had insurance, they pay the damages and we pay the increased premiums. If there is no insurance, or little insurance, many families become a ward of the State. They use Social Security, Medical, Medicare, underinsured motorist coverage welfare assistance programs, meaning you pay for their unfortunate circumstances.

Add this tidbit. Of the accidents that do not cause death, 2,572,482 emergency visits arose because of Motor Vehicle accidents in 2004 according to the Center for Disease Control. It is estimated that 1/3 of those accidents were DUI related. An average hospital emergency room visit is in excess of $1,000.00. That equates to $857 Million dollars in E/R bills per year. You don’t think you pay for that. Next time your health insurance bill comes with a fat increased in premium, remember you are paying for those charges even if the drunk driver insured in the form of premium increases, and you pay even more if that driver is underinsured or has no insurance because his or her license was taken away.

Add the damages for Lost wages, lost support, additional treatment, lost business productivity, and you get the grand estimate by the Center for Disease Control of $ 50 Billion dollars a year because of drunk drivers.

Considering that the cost of devices can now be less than $500 dollars and great strides have been made in more convenient testing methods than breath, testing, the idea of a breathalyzer in every car which stops the drunk from starting the car has come to fruition. Think of the savings in premiums we can enjoy in health insurance, car insurance, taxes and avoidance of loss of life.

The number one objection (other than inconvenience) seems to be that someone else can start the car for the drunk driver and let him or her be on their way. Of course that person is sober and not impaired. Let them weigh whether they want to be responsible for the economic damages, pain and suffering and government debt caused by this person, and whether they want to commit and be prosecuted for a felony. Otherwise they can simply call their friend or relative a cab.

James Ballidis is with the law firm of Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie and specializes his practice as a Personal Injury Attorney in California.

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Doug and Vicki Perry were happily walking their dogs through their normally quiet Anaheim neighborhood one day when suddenly and brutally they were attacked by a sole pit bull. The couple recalled that the pit bull literally “came out of thin air” and attacked both them and their dogs.

Motorists pulled to the side of the road, neighbors heard the loud screams for help and eventually the pit bull had to be beaten and stabbed to release the tight grip. At one point, Doug Perry ran into a house to grab a knife to help defend against the vicious dog. In the end, both dogs and the couple had been seriously injured in the chaos.

The Anaheim police department is now looking into aggressive behavior complaints by this pit bull dog earlier in the week. If this is correct, then the dog owner could be facing criminal charges. In California, the owner will face civil liability because of our dog bite statutes.

If you own a dog in the state of California you are responsible for its behavior, and if it is a breed that has a propensity for violence, California has a strict liability statute that hold you responsible even if the dog had never attacked another before.

If you have been injured or bitten by a dog and have incurred an injury, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced Anaheim California Dog Bite attorney as soon as practical. We can help maximize your recovery and also make sure that the dog owner is held fully accountable.

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Posted In: Dog Bites , Injuries

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The recent tragic accident of a small plane flying from Catalina Island to John Wayne’s Orange County Airport highlights a series of errors that led to the deaths of three people; a couple and the pilot.

The couple was vacationing at a prominent hotel in Orange County and one day they decide they wanted to visit Catalina, a small island off the OC coast. They arranged for a local agency, SkyBlue USA to fly them to Catalina. The owner and pilot was identified as Mark Hogland. Mark Hogland may have only had a private pilot’s license, not a commercial one that is required to fly people for hire.

Catalina Island has had several plane accidents in the past 5 years and 10 deaths. It is a difficult airport to take-off and land on because it has no air traffic controllers and it has a short runway with steep cliffs on both sides. Additionally, the plane took off in poor weather and near sunset which would have made the take-off even more treacherous.

California Personal injury attorneys for the couples' family are questioning the accident cause, and how an air tour business could be in business without proper licensing. Three people lost their lives unnecessarily that day. Can such tragedy be prevented? Later reports will be updated when they are received.

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Nordstrom retail stores all across Orange County and nationwide are recalling various girls’ shoes due to excessive lead paint according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

All the shoes were manufactured in China and violate the federal lead paint standard for shoes. The shoes were sold in stores from September 2006 through February 2009 for between $35 and $45.

The recall includes six styles of Nordstrom-brand shoes for girls. “Clarice-Fab” flats are bone colored with a bow. “Eva-Fab” are bone colored T-strap sandals. “Fern-Fab” are ankle strap sandals sold in bone, pink, white, blue polka-dot or pink polka-dot. “Lilly-Fab” are fuchsia gingham ballerina flats with a bow. “Rita-Fab” are ankle strap dress shoes sold in ivory linen, pink linen, white linen, cafe satin, silver satin or white satin. “Vivi-Fab” are open-toe dress shoes in bone, white, green polka-dot, lavender polka-dot or yellow polka-dot. The shoes were sold in girls’ sizes 10 through big-kids 7. All shoes have an embossed “NORDSTROM” printed on the insole. Only the colors identified above are subject to the recall.

Although no injuries have yet been reported, lead poisoning in children is very subtle and can be masked by behavior disorders, learning disabilities, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder.

If you have any of these recalled shoes, take them back to your nearest store for a full refund. If you think your child has sustained any personal injury from these shoes, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately.

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Attorneys for the family of Oscar Grant have filed a multi-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency (BART), former officer Johannes Mehserle, former BART police chief and other officers for their client’s shooting death on New Year’s Day.
This California shooting became an Internet sensation since the incident was captured on several cell phone cameras. The video eventually made it to the news media and subsequently the community was outraged at this incident.

Grant and his friends were first pulled off the train because of reports of fighting among youth on one of the trains. Although the transit officers did not see this behavior, it is alleged that Grant’s civil rights were violated and that the shooting was unnecessary and intentional.
Attorneys for the officer Mr. Mehserle say that the officer intended to Taser the young man instead of shooting him and that the whole incident was accidental. He has pleaded not guilty and will be in court this month.

If you have been seriously injured in a bus, train, subway or any public transit accident, don’t hesitate to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Know your rights and have the best lawyers on your side.

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Truck Accidents

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Two people were killed and two were seriously injured when a huge blast rocked a business in Rancho Santa Margarita last week in Orange County. The explosion shook the industrial area of this otherwise quiet city overnight. Luckily for those injured, the fire department was directly across the street and they sprang into action immediately to treat the seriously injured workers.

Although the blast is still under investigation, department officials believe that a huge water heater exploded in the rear of the building. The blast was so strong it damaged the outer façade of the building and pushed equipment into the walls of the structure. When the fire fighters ran into the structure, they found two dead night shift workers. Two other workers with serious injuries were transported to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and the remaining two workers refused treatment.

The Orange County Fire Authority‘s Hazmat team will be investigating this blast until all questions are answered. Was there a defect in this water heater? Was it installed improperly? If you’re been seriously injured by a defective product, remember to contact an experienced California personal injury attorney early so we can do our own independent investigation with the best experts available.

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