San Diego Injury Law Blog

Researchers from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics a published a research paper which concludes that there is no statistical link between be the use of a cell phone while driving and car accidents.

“Using a wide array of data on crashes, ownership, cell phone plans, average call likelihood, as well as rare datasets of actual cell phone calls, we find no evidence that an exogenous rise in call volume, induced by the change in cellular prices, leads to an increase in crashes,” the researchers wrote in a paper published December 10, 2010." (Driving Under the (Cellular) Influence)

Much of the research was conducted by analyzing California cell phone use records and car accident data during peak usage times. If there was a correlation between use of the phones and crashes, the researchers posited, there should be an increase in accidents during those times of peak phone usage. There was not.

The researchers, of course, do not suggest that using a cell phone while driving is without dangers, and recommend that use of the phones be limited.

To read the entire research paper click here (.pdf)

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

The accident and injury lawyers at the Walton Law Firm represents individuals and families who have been impacted by all types of injury-producing incidents, including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death claims, worksite injuries, elder abuse and neglect, sexual molestation, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call toll free at (866) 607-1325 or locally at (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

The Los Angeles Times has an article on brain injuries, and the long-term impacts such injuries can have on those who survive. The story of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords created the national relevance for the story, but Iraq and Afghanistan wars, combined with better medical care, have shown just how tough the brain is, and how it is able to find remarkable ways to heal itself after a catastrophic injury.

Such havoc, you would think, would put an abrupt end to the brain's rhythmic buzz of activity and extinguish the life defined by its complex inner work-ings. But — as the awakening of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has demonstrated these last weeks — the human brain can be resilient, capable of withstanding brutish damage and then masterminding its reconstruction.

The brain is a marvel of redundancy, parallel networks and interlocking message centers that might, with time, rewire around obstacles. But many clusters have precise functions — governing word access or face recognition, or processing vision, hearing and smell. Damage to those can cause specific, maybe permanent, impairments.

People with severe brain injuries rarely fully recover. As the article points out, even those with miraculous recovery face a life of side-effects to the original injury. But many victims can go on to lead "normal" and productive lives.

Click here to read the entire L.A. Times story.

The Walton Law Firm represents individuals and families who have been impacted by all types of injury-producing incidents, including auto accidents, product defect cases, assault and battery, wrongful death claims, worksite injuries, elder abuse and neglect, sexual molestation, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call toll free at (866) 607-1325 or locally at (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

A San Diego jury returned a $14.4 million verdict this week in favor of three young boys whose parents were killed in 2006 in an auto accident in Arizona. The wrongful death verdict was rendered against Mossy Ford, after a jury concluded that the dealership's negligence in performing a tire repair caused the fatal accident.

Adam Shea, one of the attorneys for the three young boys, ages 8, 5, and 3 at the time of the accident, argued that the Ford E350 van being driven by Casey Barber experienced tread separation on one of the tires while traveling on Highway 98 in Arizona. The tread separation, according to the plaintiffs, was the result of a faulty tire repair at the dealership. According to Shea, the dealership should never have tried to repair it. The jury agreed.

The case was venued in San Diego because that is where the defendant, Mossy Ford, is located. According to news reports, there were originally additional defendants, who paid $8.3 million in settlement prior to trial.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Randall Walton of the Walton Law Firm represents individuals and families who have been impacted by all types of injury-producing incidents, including auto accidents, product defect cases, assault and battery, wrongful death claims, worksite injuries, elder abuse and neglect, sexual molestation, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call toll free at (866) 607-1325 or locally at (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

The California Office of Traffic Safety issued a report last week on 2009 car accident data, and included this year for the first time something called "collision rankings." These rankings a based upon data collected by the CHP and the Department of Transportation, which then compares cities with populations of 25,000 or greater.

According to the report, Carlsbad, Temecula, and Poway are some of the safest communities for drivers or cars and motorcycles, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists. In fact, Temecula is rated first in cities with a population of 100,000 to 250,000, and Carlsbad is ranked ninth. In the 50,000 to 100,000 range, Poway ranks fourth safest when compared to 104 similar cities. Escondido and Oceanside don't do as well. Escondido is ranked as the fifth worst and Oceanside the eighth worst.

Here's how the numbers breakdown. In 2009, Escondido had 844 injury or fatal accidents, Oceanside had 752, Carlsbad 350, and Temecula only 116. Cities like Encinitas, Murrieta, and San Marcos finished in the middle tier.

For motorcycle accidents, Lake Elsinore is the worst place to ride. In 2009 there were 12 fatal motorcycle accidents. Lake Elsinore also takes home the prize for most alcohol-related crashes. Murrieta ranks 18th worst in alcohol related accidents, but, oddly, is one of the safest cities for senior citizens to walk in.

Want to see how your city was ranked? Click here to read the entire report.

Source: NC Times

The personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represents individuals and families who have been impacted by all types of injury-producing incidents, including auto accidents, wrongful death claims, worksite injuries, elder abuse and neglect, sexual molestation, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call toll free at (866) 607-1325 or locally at (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

She is probably too young to have any understanding of what happened to her, but little Malyia Jeffers life will never be the same after her long emergency room wait at Methodist Hospital in Sacramento. Her father took her there with a fever and a rash, and was asked to wait to be seen. He waited, and waited, and waited, and after five hours, and his daughter's dramatic decline in health, he was seen by a physician. By this time it was almost too late.

Malyia's body began to shut down and went into liver failure. Doctor's moved her to ICU and quickly learned that she was suffering from a strep infection. They gave the parents a grim choice, amputate her hands and feet or Malaya will die.

"This is the hardest thing I was dreading the most... was having to make a decision,” Malyia’s dad, Ryan Jeffers, told reporters. “They said 'your daughter's dying and the only thing we can do to save her is to amputate."

The little girl was eventually flown to Stanford's children's hospital for the amputation surgery, and remains on a ventilator.

Did the delay in treatment cause this terrible outcome? Some reports say the father was demanding that his daughter be seen, and finally had to ambush a nurse. It does seem like an awfully long time for a two year old to be seen. But let's assume there is negligence on the part of the initial hospital for the long wait. The hospital has very little to worry about liability-wise.

Because of California's ridiculous cap on non-economic damages, little Malayia's case for medical negligence cannot be worth $250,000. That's right, if a jury were to determine that the hospital’s negligence caused the need for the amputations, and the jury gave this little girl $5 million dollars because of the struggles she will no doubt face for the rest of her life, the judge in the case would have no choice but to reduce that verdict to $250,000.

To learn more about the injustices of California's MICRA law click here (.pdf), or here.

The Walton Law Firm represents individuals and families who have been impacted by all types of injury-producing incidents, including auto accidents, assault and battery, wrongful death claims, worksite injuries, elder abuse and neglect, sexual molestation, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call toll free at (866) 607-1325 or locally at (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.