San Diego Injury Law Blog

A five-year-old boy was killed at the intersection of Big Bear Boulevard and Pine Knot Avenue when he was struck by a car while crossing the road with his mother and brother. All three individuals were struck by an SUV. The boy’s mother and 8-year-old brother were taken by helicopter to Loma Linda Medical Center with moderate injuries.

Police need help in locating the hit-and-run driver, who witnesses say was driving a dark-colored SUV, maybe a green Chevy Tahoe. Anyone with information is encouraged to call (800) 78-CRIME [782-7463].

Here is a news video piece about the accident:

Source: KABC TV-Los Angeles

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families throughout Southern California who have been injured in automobile accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, and all other injury-producing incidents. Call (866) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

A study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting while driving is more dangerous than previously thought. According to the study, texting while driving increases the risk of a car accident 23 times greater than not texting.

It was thought that talking while driving and texting while driving posed a similar risk, but study establishes that is not the case.

"Talking/listening to a cell phone allowed drivers to maintain eyes on the road and were not associated with an increased safety risk to nearly the same degree," the report said. "These results show conclusively that a real key to significantly improving safety is keeping your eyes on the road."

The study also revealed that just before crashing, drivers spent nearly five seconds distracted from the road by their cell phones, which, at 55 mph, is enough time to cover the distance of a football field. The study concludes that texting while driving should be banned in all states. California currently has such a ban.

Source: AP

Walton Law Firm LLP is a personal injury law firm that represents injury and wrongful death clients throughout San Diego County. Contingency fee arrangements available and consultations are always free. Please call toll free at (866) 607-1325.

A Vista jury awarded $2 million to the widow of a man killed when his golf cart plunged down a steep cliff at Pala Mesa Resort and on to the freeway. The total award was reduced to $1.4 million when the jury found that the deceased golfer was 30% responsible for the accident.

The golfer, 65-year-old Edwin Payne, was in the middle of a round of golf on May 22, 2007 when he lost control of his golf cart, jumped a curb, and fell down an 80 foot cliff and on to Old Highway 395. Payne's attorney alleged that the resort was negligent in the maintenance of its property, and that the negligence caused Payne's death. The jury agreed.

In a wrongful death case, where sufficient proof is made, the plaintiff, here the wife, is entitled to both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are typically the lost of financial support, and non-economic are the loss of love, society, companionship, etc. The impact caused by the death. The jury awarded Mrs. Payne $483,426 in economic damages, and $1.5 million in non-economic, then the overall was reduced by 30%.

Source: North County Times

The San Diego accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals injured or killed in all types of accidents, including construction accidents, auto accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and malpractice matters. Call (790) 607-1325 for a free consultation, or fill out an online contact form.

There is remarkable video of a passerby stopping at the scene of a car accident on the wesbound 10 freeway in Los Angeles and pulling a young girl from the fiery wreckage. While three of the four passengers were able to get out of the car on their own, one young girl was trapped, until the Good Samaritan pulled her out just as the car was becoming engulfed in flames.

Watch it by clicking here.

Source: KABC TV - Los Angeles

The San Diego personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals injured in all types of accidents, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, assaults, dog bites, and malpractice matters. Call (790) 607-1325 for a free consultation, or fill out an online contact form.

A 37-year-old library volunteer died Tuesday while riding his bike south on Cole Grade Road at Bernabeo Court. According to reports, the driver of a Chevy pickup noticed Angel Guadalupe Galvez, and tried to pass, but accidentally hit himhttp://www.waltonbarber.com/lawyer-attorney-1278138.html while traveling at least 50 mph. Galvez's helmet was knocked off on impact, and died at a nearby hospital.

Witnesses said Guadalupe was riding on the right-hand side of the road as required when he was hit.

Police believe that neither drugs nor alcohol played a role in the incident, but said that the negligent driver may have bee speeding and could be charged with misdemeanor manslaughter.

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Galvez will be missed at the Valley Center Library, where he volunteered regularly. “He was here every morning. He was just part of our family,” said branch librarian Sandy Puccio. “A lot of people knew him and loved him.”

Source: signonsandiego.com

The San Diego personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been injured in all types of accidents. Call (866) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

In 2003, researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed a long-term study to examine the risks posed by drivers who use cell phones while driving. Then, as know, it was believed that distractions caused by such use represented a serious safety risk to drivers on American roadways.

But because of politics, the study was never undertaken. According to reports, the NHTSA chose not to make public copious amount of research data for fear of angering members of Congress.

After discovering this fact, two consumer groups filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain documents, which will be published on the New York Times website (click here). The researchers estimate that drivers using cell phones account 240,000 in 2003, including 922 fatalities. The research also suggested cell phone users were four times more likely to cause an auto accident than other drivers, and that hands-free devices did not remove the risk of crashes, because it was the conversations that were distracting, not necessarily holding the phone.

According to news reports, the concerns was that the agency would use the information to lobby states to pass laws prohibiting cell phone use in the car, laws strongly opposed by the powerful cell phone industry.

California State Senator Joe Simitian, who tried to pass a hands-free cell phone law from 2001 to 2005 over industry objections, said the research data would have been helpful in moving hands-free legislation forward, “Years went by when lives could have been saved.”

Source: New York Times

The San Diego accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, pedestrian accidents, and all other accidents caused by negligence. Call (760) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

While deaths in the workplace have declined over the last 20 years, the number of Hispanic workers who are killed on the job has increased. According to federal statistics, deaths of Hispanic workers increased from 533 in 1992 to 937 in 2007, an increase of 76%.

"I am particularly concerned about our Hispanic workforce, as Latinos often work low-wage jobs and are more susceptible to injuries in the workplace than other workers," U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told USA TODAY. "There can be no excuses for negligence in protecting workers, not even a language barrier."

According to records, Hispanic workers have fallen off roofs and scaffolding, been crushed under machinery and run over by trucks, according to workers' rights advocates. One reason for the increase is the number of Hispanics in the workforce. In the last decade, Hispanics have increased their percentage in the workforce from 10% to 14%. Another is that many Hispanic workers are without legal documentation to be in the U.S. and are less likely to join a union, which helps protect workers.

Source: USA Today

The San Diego accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals injured in all types of accidents, including construction accidents, auto accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and malpractice matters. Call (790) 607-1325 for a free consultation, or fill out an online contact form.

The residents of Huntington Beach are devastated by the death of an 11-year-old girl, who was struck by a lifeguard boat during junior lifeguard camp. Allyssa Squirrell was participating in "speed drop" training, where lifeguards jump off a moving boat to quickly approach drowning victims. According to reports, the senior lifeguard operating the boat was unaware of the girl presence in the choppy water, and accidently ran over her.

This is the first death in the 45-year history of the Huntington Beach lifeguard program, which has trained thousands of kids. Similar programs exist up and down the California coast, and primarily designed as a fun summer camp and not so much a training program.

Huntington Beach closed the junior lifeguard program Wednesday but will resume classes on Thursday. The boat pilot, Greg Crow, an experienced lifeguard was said to be "devastated" by the incident, and is on administrative leave.

Questions remain about the death. For example, many surf rescue boats have guards around the propeller to prevent this very type of incident. Did this one? And want about jet skis. Aren't they the preferred rescue device for reaching troubled swimmers in the surf? Investigations are underway to determine exactly what caused this devastating accident.

A Facebook group memorializing the girl has been set up. Members can send condolences to the family of Allyssa and suggest raising money for the family. Click here for the Facebook page.

Southern California natives Randy Walton and Scott Barber have been representing individuals and families in matters involving personal injury and wrongful death for more than a decade. All consultations on cases are free and confidential.

This weekend the New York Times had two good opinion pieces about reform in the medical liability system. Both contributors agree that the real problem is medical errors, not medical malpractice lawsuits, and that arbitrary caps on damages do little or nothing to address the underlying problem of too many preventable medical mistakes.

Professor Tom Baker writes that medical liability actually improves patient safety, because it has led hospitals to hire risk managers and create policies and procedures that work to improve safety. He also mentions an important fact lost on many tort reform advocates, that most victims of medical malpractice to not file lawsuits. Ultimately, he says,

… the real problem is too much malpractice, not too many malpractice lawsuits. So medical providers should be required to disclose injuries, provide quicker compensation to deserving patients and — here’s the answer for doctors worried about their premiums — shift the responsibility for buying malpractice insurance to hospitals and other large medical institutions. Evidence-based liability reform would give these institutions the incentive they need to cut back on the most wasteful aspect of American health care: preventable medical injuries.

Professors Michelle Mello and Amitabh Chandra contend the medical liability system isn’t working. Both the doctors and victims are battered by it, the doctors always playing defense, worried about insurance costs, litigation, and their reputations. And the victims, embroiled in stressful litigation, have to wait up to five years, on average, to receive compensation.

Mello and Chandra propose two reforms: The first, where there is reliably scientific evidence of what constitutes optimal care, the doctors should be able to present that evidence in defense before a lawsuit is filed. Second, pull out of the liability system certain types of cases, such as birth injury cases, and move them into a no-fault system. They point out that other states have done this with some success, and conclude that their proposals would not do away with the malpractice system, but would curb the worst of it.

Both pieces and be found by clicking here and here.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been impacted by medical negligence and other negligence related accidents. Cases are taken on a contingency fee, and all consultations are free and confidential.

There is a great story in yesterday's Orange County Register about the lone survivor of the car accident that killed Angel's pitcher Nick Adenhart. Jon Wilhite was a passenger in the car with Adenhart when the collision occurred, and was hit with such force that he suffered atlanto-occipital dislocation, better known as "internal decapitation."

Internal decapitation occurs when the skull literally separates from the spine, which kills 95% of its sufferers at the scene of the accident. Of the five percent who survive, half of those are rendered quadriplegic. Jon was one of the lucky ones.

"Jon is the first Orange County survivor of internal decapitation," said Dr. Nitin Bhatia, director of the Spine Center at UCI Medical Center.

When Dr. Bhatia arrived at the hospital to examine Jon, the x-ray revealed that his head was held on only by skin and muscle. What unfolded next is nothing short of a medical miracle, and now, only three months post-accident, Jon can walk and talk, and doctors expect him to make a near complete recovery.

To read the entire OC Register story click here.

Walton Law Firm LLP is a personal injury law firm that represents injury and wrongful death clients throughout San Diego and Orange County. Contingency fee arrangements available and consultations are always free. Please call toll free at (866) 607-1325.

A 68-year-old woman in a motorized wheelchair was hospitalized Thursday after being struck by a car in Mission Valley. According to witnesses, the woman was crossing in the cross-walk at the 200 block of Camino de la Reina at approximately 6:30 p.m. when a man driving a Ford Mustang not paying attention to the road, turned and ran into the woman. The woman was thrown from her wheelchair and suffered a fractured femur.

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The San Diego personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been injured in all types of automobile accidents. Call (866) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

It was a relatively quiet Fourth of July weekend on San Diego County roadways. Countywide there were 88 arrests for suspicion of driving under the influence, which represents 66 fewer arrests than last year. While that is great news, the story wasn't the same on North County roads, where 21 people were arrested, an increase of three from the previous year.

The San Diego Sheriff's Department reported four arrests in Encinitas, San Marcos and Vista each, and the arrest of an intoxicated bicyclist in Solana Beach. Carlsbad only reported on DUI arrest.

Only one serious accident was reported in North County. In Oceanside, a 30-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was ejected from his vehicle after crashing near the intersection of Lake Boulevard and Evening Canyon.

The North County accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, and construction accident. Call (760) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

A retired teacher visiting San Diego from Illinois died over the weekend after falling out of a pedicab at the 100 block of Harbor in San Diego's Marina District. Sixty-year-old Sharon Miller was participating the National Education Conference when she and another participant decided to take a pedicab ride on Saturday. At about 11:30 a.m. the driver of the pedi-cab began serving back and forth, causing Ms. Miller fall out and strike her head.

Ms. Miller was taken to UCSD Medical Center and diagnosed with a closed-head injury. She was placed on a ventilator and pronounced brain dead at approximately 6:15 p.m. that evening.

Police are still investigating the accident, and have not yet confirmed the cause.

UPDATE: Police are reportedly investigating the 23-year-old pedicab driver and contemplating manslaughter charges for his role in the death of Ms. Miller. The pedicab driver is from Turkey and here in the US on a work visa. According to witnesses, he was driving the pedicab with Ms. Miller in back in an area marked for pedestrians. One witness said he was driving in an "unsafe manner."

UPDATE II: The pedicab story has taken on a life of its own. San Diego officials are now proposing new rules regarding the operation of pedicabs (a little late, don't you think?), the driver of the pedicab that claimed Ms. Miller's life was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Sukru Safa Cinar, from Turkey, was taken into custody and faces up to four years in prison.

The San Diego accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents. Call (866) 607-1325 for a free and confidential consultation.

Anthony Beninati was attending the iconic Burning Man Festival, when he fell into the fire at the annual ritual of actually burning the “Burning Man” was performed. Beninati suffered burns in the incident, hired a lawyer, and sued the Burning Man promoter for personal injury damages, alleging it was negligent in the operation of the festival.

The trial court would have none of it, and dismissed the case on summary judgment. Beninati then appealed. Yesterday, California’s Court of Appeal, First District, affirmed the trial court, holding that the promoter owed no duty of care to Beninati, and that Beninati was barred by the doctrine of primary assumption of risk.

The facts are actually pretty interesting. Beninati, who is a college educated man employed in real estate, was attending the festival for the third time. In his deposition, he testified that he attended to get away from his workaholic life, and get together with other people who shared his interests in art and spirituality. He planned on attending with his friend, who died in a motorcycle accident six weeks before the festival. Beninati decided to attend alone, and planned to place a photo of his deceased friend in the bonfire.

That’s when things went wrong.

As the fire died down, and Beninati slowly approached it, stopping at a spot where fire was on both sides of him. He threw his friend’s photo on the fire and watched it burn. He then took a few steps forward and tripped on something “solid," falling into the fire and badly burning his hands.

The appellate court considered all the facts, then ruled (correctly probably) that Beninati assumed the risks of what he was doing:

Once much of the material had burned, and the conflagration had subsided but was still actively burning, Beninati and others walked into the fire. At that point, the risk of stumbling on buried fire debris, including the cables which necessarily had collapsed along with the sculpture, was an obvious and inherent one. Thus, the risk of falling and being burned by the flames or hot ash was inherent, obvious, and necessary to the event, and Beninati assumed such risk.

To read the entire opinion click here. (.pdf)

The San Diego personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals injured in all types of accidents, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accident, slip and falls, dog bites, and malpractice matters. Call (790) 607-1325 for a free consultation, or fill out an online contact form.