San Diego Injury Law Blog

Two San Diego County teens suffered major personal injuries after separate auto accidents on Highway 76 in North County. Both accidents involve negligent drivers drifting into oncoming lanes, and neither accident was the fault of the injured teen. Remarkably, it appears that drugs or alcohol played no role in either crash.

The first accident occurred on April 20th. A 19-year-old Mira Costa College student was hit head on on her way to school at approximately 8:30 a.m. A late model Infiniti driving eastbound on Highway 78 crossed over into the westbound lane, striking the teen's car. The Jaws of Life were need to extract the victim from the car, and she was taken to Palomar Medical center where she underwent extensive surgery to repair a severely fractured right leg.

The other accident occurred on April 23rd, and involved a 19-year-old Conrad Murphy, a student at Valley Center High School. Murphy, a leader on the school's baseball team, was driving his pickup truck on Highway 76 on his way to baseball practice when he was hit head on by a Ford Ranger truck carrying pest control chemicals. The negligent driver told authorities on the scene that he inexplicably "lost control" of his truck, which probably means he was texting or otherwise distracted. Murphy suffered massive injuries and was also taken to Palomar Hospital.

According to his brother, a minor league baseball player, Murphy suffered "head trauma, a broken neck, a broken pelvis and a punctured lung." Hopefully the young man makes a full recovery and is back out on the baseball field before too long. The team played its Monday baseball game in Murphy's honor.

Continue reading "Two Teens Suffer Major Injuries in Separate Crashes on Highway 76" »

By all accounts Junethea Centeno was a popular girl with many friends and an active Facebook page. Sadly, the 18-year-old Palomar College student died last Tuesday after she lost control of her Honda Civic on northbound I-15 in Escondido and struck a concrete barrier where some roadwork was being performed. A memorial Facebook page has been set up with an astounding 25,000 followers.

Junethea's father, who was returning from Japan where he is stationed with the Navy at the time of his daughter's death, believes the death may have preventable. He told the North County Times that he believes the way the temporary concrete barrier was set up created a dangerous condition on the roadway, and that had it been set up correctly, Junethea's collision may have been far less severe. Her boyfriend visited the scene shortly after the crash told 10 News, "There were no orange drums, no cones, no reflectors, nothing like that."

Apparently CalTrans was contacted, but it has refused to comment on the condition of the road. In cases like this, the legal question is whether the construction zone and concrete barrier were set up in a way that created an unreasonably dangerous condition. If the answer to that question is Yes, then a lawsuit could be brought against CalTrans, and probably the construction crew doing the work, assuming it was being done by a separate third-party contractor under contract with CalTrans. Before a lawsuit can be filed, however, a governmental claim must first be made against CalTrans, and that claim must be denied.

Continue reading "Family Blames Freeway Design Flaw for Car Accident Death" »

On October 20, 2006, Andy Polakowski, a freshman at Ohio State, was in the dorm elevator with 23 other students when it stopped on the third floor. As Andy tried to step off the elevator, it suddenly descended, pinning him between the ceiling of the elevator and the third floor. Tragically, he was pinned in the torso area, and died almost immediately. He was only 18 and left behind his parents and three sisters.

As a result of his death, Andy's parents brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Ohio State alleging that the school was negligent in the inspection and maintenance of the elevator, creating the conditions that allowed the brakes to fail, and killing Andy. The university, in turn, filed cross complaints against several companies involved in the installation and maintenance of the subject elevator. According to reports, inspection of the elevator revealed that it had a faulty brake, an inadequate counterweight, and no overloading alarm system. It also didn't have a safety device to prevent sudden descents, something that is apparently required on modern elevators.

Continue reading "University Pays $1 Million to Elevator Malfunction Death Case" »

As part of our ongoing effort to assist the victims of automobile and other types of accidents, the Walton Law Firm has compiled a list of many prominent state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, including every police and sheriff's station in San Diego County. The purpose is to allow individual looking to obtain accident or police reports a single location to locate the correct agency. Those individuals involved in accidents have a right to obtain incident reports if they were prepared by a public agency (as opposed to a private business). If you think there are agencies that should be added to the list, please let us know and we look into. Our goal is to develop a comprehensive list for who might need it.

The San Diego County personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm offer free consultations to individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including automobile accidents, pedestrian injuries, dog attacks / bites, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 or (866) 607-1325.

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Rear-end auto accidents are by far and away the most common car accidents. And people tend to underestimate the harm they can cause, even if the impact is at a relatively low speed (think auto insurance companies). But yesterday afternoon a mother and her children were rear-ended in Vista on East Vista Way (at Barsby) and all the passengers were injured.

According to reports, the mother, 31, was hospitalized with what are being described as a broken leg and a knee injury after she was unable to stop her car and slammed into the back of a pickup truck stopped in front of her. Her 4 and 5-year-old daughters were in the car with her, and both suffered injuries, the younger one a fracture of her skull.

Police are still investigating the cause, and it's unclear if all the occupants were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

Continue reading "Local Mother and Children Injured in Rear-End Collision" »

A report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that the number of people killed in traffic accidents on American roads dropped to its lowest level in more than 50 years. According to the report, 32,788 people died in car accidents in 2010, a 3% decrease from the previous year, and the lowest reported level of accident related deaths since 1949.

Why the decline is unclear, specifically considering Americans are driving considerably farther distances these days.

“The recession is still a little bit of a factor,” said Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, “but the big reasons are programs aimed at driver behavior, safer vehicles and safer roads.”

The use of seat belts and anti-drunk driving campaigns have also played a role, but most believe that cars continue to get safer every year. Most new cars these days come with state-of-the art safety equipment, including multiple airbags. That wasn't the case only 10 years ago. Experts believe that next generation safety features will continue to cut the death rate, including warning systems that tell a driver when he or she is drifting into another lane, or when they are traveling to close to a car ahead.

Continue reading "Car Accident Fatalities at Lowest Level in 50 Years" »