San Diego Injury Law Blog

Every year, millions of shoppers get out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to trek out to their local malls and shopping centers in hopes of being able to get some great deals on Christmas presents for their loved ones. The best sales are typically offered at the earliest part of the day, with some even starting Thanksgiving night around 10 or 11 o'clock, and the supplies are limited. The idea is, of course, to get lots of shoppers out to get the good deals and then to hopefully keep them there long enough to get them to buy more. .

Unfortunately, the items that are offered up for what are sometimes ridiculously low prices are often in such limited supply that many of the customers that make the trip out to get them end up leaving empty-handed. In some cases, customers become so desperate to be one of the lucky few to take advantage of these deals that they actually become violent. Our San Diego injury lawyers know that every Black Friday comes with news of shoppers being injured across the country in various ways, the most common of which is trampling by over-eager customers rushing to get to the shelves before they are cleared.

This year, a female shopper made the news after unloading a can of pepper spray on her fellow shoppers at a crowded Los Angeles Wal-Mart. Shoppers were permitted to enter the store around 10 p.m., but some merchandise was still inaccessible at that time. When the covers over an electronics display were lifted to allow customers to access them, the woman fired pepper spray at the other shoppers in what was presumably an attempt to gain some sort of tactical advantage and get to the display before anyone else could. Twenty people were injured as a result of the incident, with some of them suffering reactions to the pepper spray and others being caught up and jostled in the crowd. The woman has not yet been identified.

Sadly, as our San Diego injury attorney knows, this is not all that unusual of an occurrence, whether on Black Friday or at different times throughout the year. While most people do not look to violence as a means to accomplish their goals, there are those who do not even think twice about turning to physical assault and battery if they believe it will help them achieve what they are trying to do. Under California assault and battery law, a civil assault occurs when the perpetrator causes the victim to reasonably believe that the victim is in imminent danger of bodily harm or death. A battery occurs when the perpetrator touches a victim in a harmful or offensive manner or when the perpetrator causes something else to touch the victim in a harmful or offensive way. So, for example, although the woman with the pepper spray did not actually touch any of the victims, she caused the harmful touching by the pepper spray, so the victims could sue her for battery.

If you have been the victim of an assault and/or a battery, please call our office to see whether you might be entitled to compensation from your attacker. Being a victim can lead to long-term emotional damage and fear, but taking action against your attacker in the courtroom can be a great step towards healing and recovery. No one is entitled to commit an assault or battery against you. Call our San Diego accident attorneys today to learn how you can fight back without stooping to the level of your attacker.

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Many San Diego wrongful death lawyers will be watching the legal battles of Dr. Conrad Murray, doctor of the late pop-star Michael Jackson, even more closely in the coming year. Dr. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on November 7 in a criminal trial that caught the world’s attention. After hearing the verdict, the pop-star’s father, Joe Jackson, told waiting crowds, “There’s more.”

Two California wrongful death lawsuits have already been filed, one each by Mr. Jackson’s parents and also on behalf of his three children, against Dr. Murray and the company behind Michael Jackson’s final “This is It” tour, AEG Live LLC. On November 9, a Los Angeles judge ruled that the civil suits can move forward, so Dr. Murray’s court battles are by no means over. Under California tort law, a criminal verdict can be used as evidence in a civil trial. Also, the burden of proof in a civil trial is lower than in a criminal trial. A prosecutor has to show the defendant committed the crime “beyond a reasonable doubt,” which is a difficult standard to meet. In a civil case, the plaintiff need only show responsibility by a “preponderance of the evidence,” which in layman’s terms means it is more than 50% likely that the defendant is responsible. Also, evidence laws are more lenient in civil cases than criminal, meaning that evidence excluded from the criminal trial may be used in the upcoming civil cases.

The end result of these actions is hard to guess at this point, even for San Diego medical malpractice lawyers. AEG’s responsibility will likely depend on the specific wording of the contracts involved and also the nature of the company’s ties to Dr. Murray. With the appeal of his criminal verdict pending, Dr. Murray may also wish to avoid further court battles and the accompanying media frenzy by settling the suit out of court. It is unclear at this point what kind of medical malpractice insurance he may have, as well.

While the media attention focused on the death of an international superstar like Michael Jackson may seem unrelated to the lives of average Californians, the National Safety Council estimates that over a hundred thousand families lose a loved one to a preventable accidental death each year. And wrongful deaths alleged through medical negligence are very complex cases regardless of whether the victim is famous or not. There are specific rules on who may file these types of civil suits. There are also deadlines as to how long after the death of a loved one a California wrongful death lawsuit may be filed—generally up to a year after the death for a medical malpractice claim. But the varying timelines and rules depending on the type of wrongful death alleged and what type of defendant is being implicated, along with the complex nature of these cases that often involve expert testimony, mean that it is very important to consult a San Diego wrongful death lawyer. These professionals can answer any questions you have about filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Because of the short deadlines for filing such cases, if you have suffered the loss of a loved one in what you believe was a preventable accident or through medical negligence, please seek legal advice from an experienced medical malpractice and wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible.

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According to Sign On San Diego, Friday was one of the worst days for traffic accidents in the San Diego region for a very long time. The rain that the region endured at the end of the workweek resulted in some 340 traffic accidents around the San Diego County region.

The worst time for such collisions was between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday, according to figures released by the California Highway Patrol. The peak hour was 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., when a whopping 38 collisions occurred, averaging more than one accident every two minutes. California Highway Patrol was stretched thin tending to the accidents that clogged major arteries across the metro area.

This rate is better put into perspective when compared with a typical, non-rainy day when San Diego County car crashes number between 50 and 75. That means that the Friday commute saw some fivefold increase in the number of crashes. Though any time there’s rain the number of accidents increase, this Friday saw an especially full day of San Diego auto accidents.

San Diego commuters had to contend with more than just dinged bumpers; there were multiple rollover accidents, including a rollover on Highway 94 in which Border Patrol agents were forced to cut a seatbelt to free a woman trapped inside her vehicle. Rain should not be underestimated as a hazard and drivers need to be cautious when getting behind the wheel in wet weather.

Rain makes it significantly more difficult to stop and thus more difficult to stay on a roadway or to avoid colliding with other vehicles. This is even truer when it first begins to rain when roads are at their most slippery. Oil rises to the top at the outset of any rainstorm and the roads become a greasy mess. In addition, water sprays onto drivers’ windshields and obscures their sight of the surrounding lanes of traffic. Dirty, oily water coating drivers windshields combined with a slick surface leads to a dramatically increased chance of injury producing collisions.

Rain is set to return, so drivers need to be prepared for another slippery commute. To stay safe on the road our San Diego car accident attorney recommends the following tips: 1) drive slowly; 2) keep your eyes on the road; 3) avoid breaking quickly as stopping time increases and other drivers will have a difficult time breaking; and 4) avoid standing water or flooded roads.

Following these tips can keep you out of harms way. However, if you’ve been injured by someone not as well informed, you may be entitled to compensation for the harm you suffered. Our San Diego car accident lawyer would like to help you determine what your rights are and whether you are entitled to receive damages from losses you sustained. If you were injured by a careless driver please call our office today to set up a free, no-obligation consultation with our San Diego accident attorney. He will discuss your case with you and assist you in deciding where to go from here.

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Our San Diego truck accident lawyer was saddened this week to read reports of yet another deadly crash on our area highways. This latest San Diego truck crash struck last night on Interstate 805. According to reports in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the crash occurred just past 10 p.m. on the highway’s southbound lanes just south of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. It involved a small sedan and a Federal Express semi with two trailers being pulled.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the accident is still being investigated, however a few early details are known. It seems that a Federal Express semi truck somehow T-boned the car. The car suffered significant damage, with the impact occurring on the passenger side of the vehicle. The broadside impact caused the car to spin off the roadway; the tractor-trailer eventually made its way to the center divider of the freeway. As is often the case, this San Diego Fed-Ex crash was deadly. A front seat passenger, 56-year old Thoy Insixiengmay as well as a woman in the back-seat of the car, 59-year old Tem Thirakul were both killed in the collision. The driver has yet to be identified; however, she was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital in serious condition. All of the victims are thought to be from the San Diego area.

Our San Diego trucking crash attorney knows that so many of these collisions involving semi-trailer end up causing severe injury and death. It is no surprise that these large machines are capable of severely injuring those in the smaller vehicles around them, particularly when traveling in high-speed areas like freeways. The immense risks associated with these collisions make it imperative that truck owners and operators do everything possible to ensure that there are no lapses of safe driving practices.

Authorities are still investigating this crash to better understand what went wrong. When these incidents strike, there are usually a variety of legal issues to be considered. Any potential liability will likely depend on different facts such as the speed of the truck at the time of the incident, the condition of the weather, the specific reason that the car spun out, and similar issues. In addition, it will be important to determine if there were any problems with the roadway at the time and if both involved vehicles were in proper working order. While it is usually a combination of personal mistakes on the part of drivers that lead to crashes, other parties may also play a role. For example, those who provide maintenance to a vehicle may be liable for mistakes that their negligence causes. Similarly, public bodies charged with maintaining roadways safely may bear responsibility if any problems are found with the road structure, its signage, and other road maintenance issues.

No matter what the investigation uncovers, all those involved in this incident and their families should be sure that their interests are protected. It is vital that a San Diego truck accident lawyer be consulted. The attorney can explain how the law applies in this situation and reveal what options are available to the victims following the tragedy.

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