Southern California Injury Law Blog

With oil prices reaching $100 per barrel, who wouldn’t want to find transportation alternatives to gas guzzling automobiles. In the last decade, motorcycle dealers have seen a 24% increase in sales. Moreover, the motorcycle industry reports that each year over 1 million units are sold so motorcycles are here to stay. Orange County as well as California in general, has lots of open spaces and country roads—places motorcyclists love to be!

Continue reading "MOTORCYCLE RIDERS ARE DEMONSTRATED TO BE SAFER THAN AUTO DRIVERS!!" »

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Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

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The recent death of Heath Ledger has brought some attention to the dangers of mixing over-the-counter drugs with various prescription drugs. Moreover, many teens and adults are taking these substances and driving without any concern that it will impact their ability to function behind the wheel of a car and cause personal injury to someone. In recent studies, there seems to be little difference if you use your cell phone, drink alcohol or take drugs when you’re behind the wheel of your vehicle.

Continue reading "DRUGS, CARS AND SPEEDING ARE A RECIPE FOR PERSONAL INJURY" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Insurance Disputes , Motorcycle Accidents

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It took the death of a 15 year old California girl, Brandi Mitock, to pass a law requiring elderly drivers to take a written and road test at age 75 or older here in California. She was killed by a 96 year old motorist that hadn’t taken a road test since 1918-- that was day he received his driver’s license! Although rules in states vary greatly, here in California, after age 70, no driver may get automatic renewals through the mail. Is this a case of age discrimination like many see it? Or is it a safety measure geared to save lives here in California? Let’s look at the facts and you can decide.

Continue reading "CALIFORNIA TOUGHENS DRIVING LAWS TO PREVENT PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY ELDERLY INCAPABLE DRIVERS" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Firm News , Injuries , Motorcycle Accidents

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Every 31 minutes someone is killed in an alcohol-related accident. In fact Americans who drink and drive after holiday parties and celebrations make the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s one of the year’s most deadly and dangerous seasons due to alcohol-related crashes. This is a main reason why since 1981, every President of the United States has demonstrated his commitment to preventing impaired driving by proclaiming December as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.

Continue reading "DRUNK DRIVING KILLS OR CAUSES PERSONAL INJURY IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Insurance Disputes , Motorcycle Accidents , Product Liability

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Whether you are having fun racing with your friends or just late for work, speeding is never a good idea. Just yesterday, another preventable speeding tragedy happened on a local toll road here in Orange County. A woman from Ladera Ranch, only 18 years old, was speeding her Porsche at over 100 miles per hour when she decided to pass on the right and clipped a motorist. She lost control and swerved into several lanes of traffic and then hit a toll booth.

This was a preventable tragedy that we hear about all too often. In fact, in 2006, speeding was a contributing factor in 31% of all fatal crashes, and 13,543 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes. The economic cost of speeding-related crashes is estimated to be $40.4 billion each year.

Continue reading "PERSONAL INJURY ON THE RISE WHEN PEOPLE FORGET THAT SPEEDING KILLS" »

Posted by Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Motorcycle Accidents

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Last week, Joseph McPhatter, a family man from Maryland was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident. Typical situation; cut off by a motorist, was ejected 100 feet from the site of impact and hit the ground at 140 mph. No, he did not die, but in fact, he had minor injuries and was able to return to his family that evening. How is this possible? He was wearing a new “impact jacket”. This new jacket essentially gives the motorcycle driver an “airbag” around them when they crash.

This was the first case in the US where an impact jacket has saved the life of a person. However, police departments in Japan, Spain, Brazil and Taiwan have recently benefited using these devices to save officers’ lives. Motorcycle accidents are the third killers of law

Continue reading "NEW MOTORCYCLE JACKET SAVES RIDER FROM SEVERE PERSONAL INJURY" »

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Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

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Last Thursday, Governor Schwarzennegger signed into law AB 478, which requires all bicyclists to use lights on sidewalks and other pathways. That’s great news for you nighttime bike riders, and for the cars that share the roadways with you.

The author of bill AB 478 is Assemblywomen Lois Wolk. She felt that the existing bicycle laws didn’t quite go far enough to keep cyclist safe after dark. The current law only required that the bicycle user use lights on bikes operated on a highway during the early morning, evening, and night hours.

Continue reading "NEW BICYCLE LAW PROVIDES MORE SAFETY FROM PERSONAL INJURY IN CALIFORNIA" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Motorcycle Accidents

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Cell phone use is one of the leading causes of distracted-driver accidents in California. In a recent study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers using cell phones are 4 times as likely to get into a serious auto accident. Serious accident is defined as one that would require the accident victim to be sent to the hospital.

With road safety in mind, last Thursday Governor Schwarzenegger joined 13 other states and signed a new law banning all teenagers from using cell phones, pagers, ipods and text messaging devices while driving an automobile

Continue reading "PERSONAL INJURY ACCIDENTS INCREASE IN CALIFORNIA DUE TO CELL PHONE USE" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Motorcycle Accidents

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Within moments of the Buffalo Bills' season opener, tight end Kevin Everett made what was thought to be a routine tackle, but in fact, that incident resulted in a life threatening serious spinal cord injury. Within seconds he became a quadriplegic and his prognosis was bleak. Fortunately for Everett, the medical staff reacted quickly to his paralysis and used an experimental treatment called moderate hypothermia therapy.

When most people think, “hypothermia,”, they normally react and think that this is something to avoid, right? After all, prolonged hypothermia can cause multiple organ problems and even death in severe cases. But since the 1960’s, doctors have been experimenting with using this cooling treatment on serious, life threatening injuries such as brain trauma, spinal injuries, heart attack and strokes.

Continue reading "THE LATEST ADVANCES IN PERSONAL INJURY SPINAL TREATMENT" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Motorcycle Accidents , Truck Accidents

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Back pain can start after an accident with difficult and painful disability thereafter. Without the right treatment and an understanding about your injury, recovery can be unnecessarily delayed. We will look at several causes of back pain from an auto accident injury.

Continue reading "BACK INJURIES CAN BE A REAL HARDSHIP, HERE IS A PRIMER!!" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries , Motorcycle Accidents , Truck Accidents

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Insurance premiums have been on the rise for several years. Most people stay with the same insurance company year after year because they assume they must be paying less for their insurance because they have been loyal customers. This may not be the case. If you review the rates you have been paying over the last five, chances are they have steadily increased.

Continue reading "My Insurance Premiums Keep Rising What Can I Do" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Insurance Disputes , Motorcycle Accidents

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By Suzanne Leslie Esq.
Most people are not familiar with their auto insurance coverage. I frequently hear “I have full coverage” when in actuality they have very little coverage and may be exposing themselves to personal liability. Here are some basics.

Liability Coverage:

Continue reading "INSURANCE COVERAGES, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOURSELF?" »

Posted by Allen, Flatt, Ballidis & Leslie | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Insurance Disputes , Motorcycle Accidents

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California statutes require a vehicle owner carry at least $15,000 of insurance. With the rates of insurance escalating, many people carry the minimum insurance; an amount set more than 25 years ago and unchanged since that time.

You and your family can protect themselves from uncompensated injury and damages. Obtain uninsured motorist coverage. It is very inexpensive, sometimes only several dollars per 6 months and if the other driver does not have insurance or minimum insurance, you are able to use your uninsured motorist coverage. This way you and your family are protected from that person who does not carry sufficient insurance or has no insurance at all.

If you need help with an uninsured motorist claim, call an experienced lawyer in california that can help with your case.http://www.allenflatt.com/lawyer-attorney-1129430.html

Continue reading "What can a California lawyer do when there may not be enough insurance to fully compensate a client?" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Dog Bites , Insurance Disputes , Motorcycle Accidents , Truck Accidents

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