San Diego Injury Law Blog

Caroline McElhaney would have been 53 years old in two weeks. The mother of three, grandmother of five won't see her next birthday because of the poor judgment of a negligent driver on Interstate 15 near the Ninth Avenue exit.

Yesterday during the morning commute, the southbound driver of a 1999 Dodge Ram was coming upon stopped traffic and quickly changed lanes only to have the cars ahead of him stop as well. According to unconfirmed reports, he was speeding at the time, and unable to stop his truck, which slammed into the back of Ms. McElhaney's Mercedes Benz, which in turn rear-ended the car ahead of it. In total there were five cars involve in the accident.

Paramedics transported four people, including McElhaney, to Palomar Medical Center. The three other victims were treated for minor injuries and released.

View Larger Map

Source: 10News.com

The accident and injury attorneys at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, nursing home neglect, food poisoning, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation, or fill out an online inquiry.

The fireworks show at San Marcos' Bradley Park turned out to be a bit of a dud, and a painful dud at that, when an errant firework shot into a crowd of spectators and injured four people. Thankfully, the injuries don't sound serious, but one individual was taken to Palomar Hospital for treatment and apparently released.

It's unclear what caused the firework to shoot sideways instead of up, and the company Pyro Spectators of Rialto did not return calls from the North County Times.

The misfire occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. just as the crowd of about 4,000 was waiting for the grand finale. Those injured were all sitting near the caretaker's residence inside the park. According to city spokesperson Jenny Peterson, this is the first time in 25 years there was a mishap.

News of the incident was first publicized via Twitter by witnesses on the ground, including one person who promptly posted a video of incident. The video does show the actual misfire, but is audio of the aftermath, including the victim in what is obviously severe pain.

Source: North County Times

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of incidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, nursing home neglect, food poisoning, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

A Del Mar man was struck and killed Friday while trying to cross Centre City Parkway with a group of people. Escondido police said that 29-year-old Wesley Askins III died when he was struck at about 10:25 p.m. near the cross-street of Brotherton Road. Askins was thrown several yards by the collision, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The southbound driver who struck pulled over at the scene and cooperated with police officers. Police are reporting that the driver did not appear to be under the influence of any drugs or alcohol.

Anyone with information about the accident is encouraged to call Officer Mike Nelson at (760) 839-4407.

Source: SDNN.com

The San Diego County accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

Car accidents caused by the use of cell phones while driving is starting to show up in statistics. Dave Downey of the Californian has a column this morning about the dangers of driving at night. While the number of people dying in car accidents has been falling over the last decade, the number of deaths occurring at night has actually increased.

According to a study by the Texas Transportation Institute the percentage of auto accident fatalities occurring is on the increase, particularly among teenage drivers.

Back in 1999, the proportion of fatal crashes caused by drivers age 20 and up that occurred at night was 38.6 percent for the nation as a whole and 42.2 percent in California. Nine years later, those percentages had increased to 41.5 percent and 45 percent, respectively. When it came to fatal accidents caused by 16 to 19-year-olds, the proportion occurring at night increased from 45.1 percent nationwide in 1999 to 49.7 percent in 2008.

The question is Why?

According to Downey, who cites researchers, the rise in deadly crashes involving teens driving after dark is the use of the cell phone. More specifically, it's texting while driving. This is becoming a very serious problem, and justifiably getting the attention of public safety organizations, and even Oprah Winfrey, who has been very active in her "No Texting" campaign.

Source: The Californian

The North County accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals and families who have been impacted by personal injury accidents. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free and confidential consultation.

Tri-City Medical Center is probably in the news way more than it wants to be. For the last few years, the hospital has been the subject of much turmoil, from serious budget problems, to battles with unions, but it had hoped to move beyond all of that a year ago when it hired Larry Anderson as its CEO. Anderson had a track record of turning troubled hospitals around and making them profitable.

Last week, however, that all changed when Anderson was fired, then rehired in a 24-hour period. On Monday the board of directors voted 4-3 to oust Anderson, and then reversed itself the following day, allowing Anderson to stay on until August, when his job performance is scheduled to be reviewed.

Anderson spoke to the North County Times about the turmoil, and said his flirtation with unemployment was due to fundamental disagreements over recent business deals he has entered into on the hospital's behalf. One of those deals addresses how uninsured personal injury victims would be treated, and how the hospital could be compensated.

Personal injury lawyers throughout North County will tell you that it is not uncommon to have legitimate personal injury clients without medical insurance call for legal advice. It's a conundrum. These folks (most of them fully employed) have good cases, need non-emergent medical help, but have no insurance and no family doctor. Yet the insurance company of the negligent actor that caused the injury (auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, etc.), won't pay a claim until the injured party has completed medical treatment. What do most attorneys do? The either try to find a doctor that is willing to treat the client on a lien, or send them off to the emergency room.

This is where Anderson got it right, but where he has ruffled feathers. He entered a deal with a company called Medical Acquisitions Corp., which will underwrite the medical expenses of individuals with valid personal injury claims, then, when the case resolves and the victim is compensated, the cost of medical care will be reimbursed to the hospital. This is a way to recoup costs for treatment that would otherwise have been provided to a patient without any ability to pay. Tri-City hospital provides about $20 million in care to individuals who are uninsured. A certain percentage of those are accident victims who arrive at the hospital without insurance, but who the hospital will provide care. This program at least provides a chance that the hospital will get compensated for some of the care.

Board member Ron Mitchell, without explanation, thinks it’s not "ethical" for a community hospital to be in "this type of business." But Anderson sees a way for his hospital to get compensated. Regardless of what one thinks of personal injury claimants (and, ahem, their attorneys), this is simply smart business.

Source: North County Times

The North County accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

Fatal motorcycle accidents fell by 16 percent in the first nine months of 2009 after rising steadily for the previous decade, a report just issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association found. The reasons for the sudden plunge in motorcycle deaths are unclear, but there was some speculation that current economic conditions were keeping motorcyclists off the road. Indeed, new motorcycles sales were down 42% in 2009.

But the decline in deaths is obviously good news. Professor Samir Ahmed, who studies the causes of motorcycle accidents at Oklahoma State University, was stumped as to the cause of the decline. He told the Washington Post, "It's good news that fatalities are decreasing, but I really don't have a clue as to why. I really don't see anything that would cause that, unless people are just not riding."

In addition, motorcycle riding has changed dramatically over the decades. It boomed in the years after World War II, when it was primarily popularized soldiers coming home from the war, but over the years the age of the average rider has risen dramatically. In 1987, the average age of a rider was 27, but by 2004 the average age was 41. Statistics from 1975 show that the riders under 50 years old accounted for 97% of all motorcycle accident deaths, whereas now more than 28% of all deaths are riders over 50.

Source: Washington Post

The Walton Law Firm represent accident victims throughout San Diego County and has recovered millions of dollars for individuals involved car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, insurance disputes, and medical malpractice suits. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

The San Diego Union Tribune is out with a story today about the risks elderly drivers pose behind the wheel, and the problem of "pedal misapplication." What is pedal misapplication? An innocuous way of describing what happens when a driver accidentally hits the gas when they think they are applying the brakes.

In the article there are several accounts of San Diego accidents caused by elderly drivers, several of them fatal (and a few covered in this blog). Although pedal misapplication can happen with a driver of any age, the evidence suggests that it is mostly elderly drivers that are the cause.

“I get these cases maybe one week, and three the next week,” said San Diego police Detective Dan Wall. “They’re usually hitting several cars or several people, dealing with very rapid acceleration, flying through the back side of a garage, driving through the front of a post office, a bank, a convenience store, a restaurant, a fast-food store.”

At the Sharp Memorial Hospital Rehabilitation Center’s Driving Performance Lab elderly drivers are tested for the driving acuity, and frequently have problems. Dr. Peter Rosen, the director of the center told the Union Tribune that it’s common for the elderly to confuse the pedals.

“As we get older, our neurological processes slow down. Our vision and reaction time slow down,” he said. “The conduction rate at which neurons fire slows, so that our brain function slows. Brain function determines driver fitness — that is 99 percent of it.”

What to do about the problem. There is an effort to change law, and require elderly drivers to obtain annual certifications to continue driving.

Click here to read the entire Union Tribune story.

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including dog attacks / bites, auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

SANDAG officials will tell you that Highway 67 is not the most dangerous highway in San Diego County. In fact, the windy, mostly two-laned road from Lakeside to Ramona ranks 17th in priority of roads in the county in need of improvements according to SANDAG. Tell that to the numerous individuals who have been seriously injured on the road, or who, as stated by the San Diego Union Tribune, "completed their trips in a hearse."

In 2007, Supervisor Diane Jacob called a transportation summit to address concerns about the road. There were 46 recorded deaths on the road from 1998 to 2008, and in the last decade, there have been numerous lawsuits against the State of California for defects in the road. Those lawsuits argued, many successfully, that the road constitutes a "dangerous condition" and that state must address.

Attorney Ben Bunn has represented many families in cases involving the 67, and he'll tell you first hand how dangerous the road is. In a letter published by the San Diego Union Tribune last year, Bunn argued strongly that the road is unreasonably dangerous, that the fatality rates exceed the state average, and that the many injuries and deaths on the road are preventable with some alterations to the road. (Read it here .pdf)

The San Diego Union Tribune has also weighed in. It ran a series of editorials critical of SANDAG and the slow government response to the obviously risky road. The UT editorials followed a high profile incident where a young mother, Alexandria Drake, was killed in March of 2009. But while the attention has subsided, the injuries and deaths continue. (Just Google "Highway 67 Accident.") The most recent being Bridgette Hale a young mother who died on the road in January when a driver fell asleep and drifted into oncoming lanes. And more recently, a head-on crash that occurred yesterday, injuring three people.

View Larger Map

Until there are major changes to the road, there are going to be very serious automobile accidents, and more innocent lives lost.

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals and families who have been impacted by personal injury accidents, including auto accidents, worksite injuries, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

The number of local Marines killed while riding motorcycles decreased for the first time in three years. The decrease is the result of new safety classes made available to Marines at Camp Pendleton and Miramar Air Force Base. In particular, the Marines are targeting those who ride sport bikes which are lightweight, powerful and popular with younger riders. The course teaches practical skills and mental training according to Richard Stampp, who works with Camp Fox Professional Services which designed and delivers the new course. The Marines have made the new course more accessible, and riders don't have to wait to get into the course. At both Miramar and Camp Pendleton, riders can enroll very soon after signing up for it. As another means to promote safety, the Marines are encouraging more experienced riders to act as mentors for those with less experience. The mentors hold monthly rides and demonstrate safe riding techniques. Marine leaders are committed to training riders and helping them avoid injury and death.

Source: North County Times.

Walton Law Firm, a North San Diego County law firm, represents accident victims throughout San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties and has recovered millions of dollars for individuals injured by car accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, insurance disputes, and medical malpractice suits. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

It is being reported that a Fallbrook school bus struck a man in the 1700 block of Reche Road killing him. According to news reports, the man was "drawing on the road with chalk" when the bus hit him and knocked him into a Ford Explorer. The accident occurred in front of Potter Junior High School.

The driver of the 25-seat bus, Gabriel Perez, told SHP that the pedestrian looked up but did not move out of the way in time. It is not clear what the man was doing in the middle of the road.

Local news coverage of this story can be found by clicking here, here, and here.

The North County based personal injury law firm of Walton Law Firm represents accident victims throughout San Diego County and has recovered millions of dollars for individuals involved car accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, insurance disputes, and medical malpractice suits. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

In the 24-hour period after the death of 15-year-old Lucas Giaconelli, the Vista boy hit by a car while riding his skateboard, police were looking for a hit-and-run driver. Those of us who followed the story assumed it was some felonious character, who probably fled the scene because he (or she) had something to hide. When a 92-year-old man turned himself in the following day, people were stunned. Not necessarily because he was 92, but because despite a major impact - his car was damaged - he was totally unaware that he had hit a person.

This terrible tragedy raises the question: when is someone too old to drive? For friends and family of Lucas, this man should never have been allowed to have his license renewed. As one said, “If he's 92 years old, why is he on the streets driving?"

There has been a recent spate of San Diego car accidents involving elderly driver, including fatalities. Last year an elderly driver slammed into a Chula Vista home. In October, a 75-year-old man drove of a cliff in Point Loma and died when he mistook the accelerator for the brake. And just a few months ago, an elderly man with no known medical problems drove into an El Cajon Carl’s Jr., killing a diner.

According to the DMV, a California driver over 70 years can not renew a driver's license by mail, but there are no other mechanisms in place monitor elderly drivers. It is really up to individuals and families to determine when it is too old to drive.

Source: 760Kfmb.com

The car accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals throughout San Diego County who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, construction accidents, property injuries, and malpractice matters. Call (760) 571-5500 for a free consultation.

VISTA - A man working on the refrigeration system at Northgate Market in Vista suffered concussive injuries yesterday when a pressurized tank exploded. The explosion caused major damage to the store. The injured man was taken to a local hospital.

It is currently unclear what caused the explosion, but authorities say the company was hired by the store to replace a compressor. The store remained open during the work, and arrangements were made to keep foods chilled while the compressor was changed. It's unclear how that was done, and whether or not it contributed to the accident.

The injured man may have barely escaped with his life. According to Vista Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Hahn, "a containment tank about the size of a scuba tank exploded with significant force, and did a lot of damage to the refrigeration system. The man was very close, but was not hit by the tank."

View Larger Map

Source: sandiego6.com

The San Diego North County injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm represent individuals throughout San Diego County who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, property injuries, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, construction accidents, and wrongful death cases. Call (866) 607-1325 for a free consultation or submit a confidential online form.

A major injury can cause major financial burdens, particularly at Christmas time. In San Diego County, there are a few non-profit charitable organizations founded by injured individuals and their families that are there to help. The Can't Keep Me Down foundation, founded by Bobby DuCharme of Mira Mesa who was paralyzed in a surfing accident, and the Del Mar foundation HeadNorth, founded by Eric Northbrook, who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident, have stepped up big time.

In today's Union Tribune are stories of local families who face the arduous task of caring for someone who has suffered a serious injury. For example, Maria Rodriguez was having a tough year and an event tougher Christmas. She cares for her 15-year-old son, who was rendered quadriplegic in an accident, when the transmission on the transport van failed. Then the home she was renting was foreclosed upon, forcing her to move. The events drained her savings.

That's when the Can't Keep Me Down foundation entered the scene. The DuCharme family filled the Rodriguez' living room with a big television, clothes, toys, and holiday decorations. The HeadNorth foundation added to the giving with furniture and a Christmas tree.

As an unemployed single mother with four children, Maria Rodriguez already has a tough life. But it’s been even tougher lately. “We’ve been blessed with amazing, amazing people in our lives,” said Rodriguez.

Watch this video for more about her story.

The Union Tribune story, which can be found by clicking here, profiles the stories of other accident victims.

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals who have been injured in all types of accidents, including auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, construction accident. Call (866) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

Two people suffered serious injuries in unrelated car accidents in San Marcos this weekend. The first occurred on Saturday afternoon when a woman driving a GMC Yukon was traveling north on Woodland Parkway and was t-boned by a Dodge truck as she entered the intersection at Rancheros Drive. The force of the collision caused the Yukon to overturn, and partially ejected the driver, who suffered serious injuries in the crash. According to news reports, the woman is expected to survive.

View Larger Map

The other accident occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Pico Avenue near the Corky Smith Gym. In that accident, a Saturn car hit a pedestrian as he was trying to cross Pico. The collision caused the pedestrian to roll onto the Saturn's roof and on to the road. Interestingly, the man got up from the scene and walked to his home nearby. His daughter called for medical help, and the mane was taken to Palomar Medical Center with a broken arm and a skull fracture.

View Larger Map

Source: North County Times

The North County based Walton Law Firm represents accident victims throughout San Diego County and has recovered millions of dollars for individuals involved car accidents, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle accidents, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, insurance disputes, and medical malpractice suits. Call (760) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

The car accident deaths of two San Diego teens and prompted a reexamination of the enforcement of teen driving laws that were enacted a decade ago. Under those laws, teen drivers ages 16 to 18 are prohibited from driving a vehicle with anyone under 20 years old in the car during the year after they first get their license, unless an adult was present. [Cal. Veh. Code 12814.7] The teen license is called a provisional license.

It is widely agreed that teenagers that follow the law are safer drivers. In the case of the two local deaths, there is a good chance both accidents would have been presented with an adult in the car. Studies have shown that when a teen has one other teen in the car, the risk of a car accident doubles. With three or more passengers, the risk quadruples.

But many believe that the teen driving laws are rarely enforced. Under the law, a teen cannot be cited solely for violating the provisional license. They must be pulled over for some other infraction first. According to CHP officer Lew Hall, most officers don't write many tickets for provisional license violations because they are more focused on the driving infraction, and may not notice that the driver had been licensed for less than a year.

Last year, CHP cited 2,106 teen age drivers for driving in violation of their provisional license. Many believe the laws have been working. Only two years after the laws were enacted in 1998, car accidents involving 16-year-old drivers dropped 24 percent. In 2007, the last year data was available, personal injury and fatal accidents involving 16-year-old drivers were at a 13-year low.

Source: North County Times

The Walton Law Firm represent accident victims throughout San Diego County and has recovered millions of dollars for individuals involved car accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian injuries, uninsured motorist claims, defective products, construction accidents, slip and fall injuries, dog bites, insurance disputes, and medical malpractice suits. Call (760) 607-1325 for a free consultation.

A terrible story out of Ramona this evening, where a motorcycle rider lost his life after being hit by the negligent driver of a rental car. According to reports, the driver was unlicensed.

The unlicensed driver was driving a 2007 Dodge Caliber westbound on Hanson Lane when she stopped, then attempted to make a U-turn. She didn't see 46-year-old Mark Taylor, who was riding his Honda motorcycle. The front of the rental car clipped Taylor's bike, sending him into the road. He suffered major injuries and died at the scene of the crash.

Many questions remain about this accident, and CHP is continuing its investigation. The big question is how does an unlicensed driver end up behind the wheel of a rental car. Presumably rentals can only be made to licensed drivers. Second, why is the woman unlicensed? Did she have a license that was taken away for reasons related to her ability to drive? According the news article, criminal charges may be made against the woman.

View Larger Map

Source: SignOnSanDiego.com

The accident and injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm LLP represent individuals and families who have been injured in all types of accidents, including car accidents, motorcycle accidents, property injuries, and other negligence related injuries. Call (760) 607-1325 for a free consultation.