San Diego Injury Law Blog

A woman described as friendly and loyal was killed this weekend while selling flowers at her roadside flower stand in Lakeside. According to reports, Gwendolyn Wheeler was talking to a taxi that had pulled over on the shoulder of Lake Jennings Park Road when the driver of a pickup truck drove across lanes and on the raised shoulder, striking the parked taxi. Ms. Wheeler died at a nearby hospital, and the taxi driver was seriously injured.

The driver of the pickup was not injured, and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription medication.

This wasn't the only fatal car accident to plague San Diego County this weekend. A Fallbrook man suspected of driving under the influence died in a single car accident when he slammed his Toyota Camry into a power pole on South Mission Road. And in Oceanside, two men and a dog were killed in a fiery crash at the intersection of El Camino Real and Mission Road. Anyone with information about the Oceanside crash is asked to contact Officer Joe Torres at (760) 435-4930.

Walton Barber 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.

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Pedestrian Accidents , Personal Injury , San Diego Car Accident , San Diego Personal Injury

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Car accident injury and fatality statistics from 2007 were released yesterday by the California Office of Traffic Safety, and show a wide disparity among Northern San Diego County cities.

Escondido seemed to fair the worse, ranking third highest among 52 cities of similar size in alcohol-related accidents per vehicle mile. Faring better was Carlsbad, who ranked 41st lowest in the same category. The ranking are based on the number of people injured or killed in automobile accidents each year.

The purpose of the study was to assist cities in identifying problems with traffic safety, and to help the state in assigning federal tax dollars to the cities that need it most.

A copy of the study can be found here (.pdf).

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Personal Injury , San Diego Car Accident , San Diego Personal Injury

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San Marcos has one of the most dangerous intersections in North County at San Marcos Blvd. and Rancho Santa Fe Road. But just about a half-mile west is another dangerous intersection at San Marcos Blvd. and Acacia Rd., which sits at the bottom of both an eastbound and westbound dip, causing drivers to approach the intersection at a high rate of speed.

A few years ago there was a lawsuit arising from an auto accident at that intersection, and yesterday a 19-year-old Encinitas man was killed while riding as a passenger in a 2004 Jeep Loredo that, according to reports, was speeding on San Marcos Blvd. The Jeep was traveling eastbound, and ran a red light at Acacia. The Jeep seriously injured the driver of car trying to turn left onto westbound San Marcos Blvd. Hopefully, the injured (and apparently innocent) driver of that car makes a full recovery.

More on the accident can be found here.

UPDATE [8/30/08]: It is being reported in the North County Times this morning that the driver that ran the red light has been arrested for manslaughter and drunk driving. The woman who was hit in the intersection reportedly suffered only minor injuries.

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , San Diego Car Accident , San Diego Personal Injury

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One of the most frequent questions Walton Barber gets from potential clients is, "Do I need a lawyer?" While there is no set answer, here are some general guidelines. You probably need a lawyer if:

1) You need more than one doctor visit to treat your injuries. Generally, if your injuries are such that you require two or more doctor visits or physical therapy, in addition to incurring medical bills, you are going to miss some work. When the bills start mounting and medical insurance gets involved, you probably need a lawyer.;
2) You're in a car accident and your vehicle sustains over $1,000 in damage. Generally, the higher the amount of damage to the car, the higher the forces transferred to the occupants. Of course there are exceptions to this so the amount of damage to a vehicle alone is not a determinative factor.; or
3) The other party denies responsibility for the accident. If the other party was at fault but denies it, you will definitely need an attorney as their insurance will likely not settle without a fight.

If you've been in an accident which meets one or more of the three criteria above, please do not hesitate to contact Walton Barber for a confidential and free consultation. If you're going to need a lawyer, it's better to get them involved earlier rather than later.

Posted by D. Scott Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Personal Injury , San Diego Car Accident , San Diego Personal Injury

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A decline in auto accident deaths may be attributed to the increase in fuel prices, a new study shows. The report was released last month at a meeting of the American Society of Health Economists.

The study found that for every 10% increase in gas prices, there was a 2.3% decline in automobile accident fatalities. Surprisingly, there was a greater decrease in accident deaths for drivers ages 15 - 17, which was 6%, than for drivers 18-20, which was 2.3%. The auto death statistics were acquired from the National Highway Safety Administration.

The study's authors believe that the number of auto-related deaths will decrease by 1,000 each month that gas prices continue to rise. There are approximately 40,000 deaths every year resulting from car crashes.

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Personal Injury , San Diego Car Accident , San Diego Personal Injury

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More people, more roads, and more freeway congestion caused the number of auto accidents on North County San Diego roads to rise in 2007. Drivers looking to avoid the congestion of Highway 78, found the local surface streets no safer. Below are the top car accident locations in all the cities along the 78 corridor.

OCEANSIDE
College Boulevard and Oceanside Boulevard - 10
North River Road and College Boulevard - 7
Mission Avenue between Butler Street and Amick Street - 7
College Boulevard and Plaza Drive - 6
College Boulevard and Via Cupeño - 6
Oceanside Boulevard and Melrose Drive - 6
College Boulevard and Barnard Drive - 5
El Camino Real and Vista Way - 5
Mesa Drive and College Boulevard - 5
Oceanside Boulevard and Rancho del Oro - 5

CARLSBAD
El Camino Real and La Costa Avenue - 28
El Camino Real and Palomar Airport Road - 27
Armada Drive and Palomar Airport Road - 15
El Camino Real and Marron Road - 15
Alga Road and Aviara Parkway - 14
El Camino Real and Faraday Avenue - 14
Palomar Airport Road and Paseo del Norte - 14
Carlsbad Village Drive and Harding Street - 13
Cannon Road and El Camino Real -12
Car Country Drive and Paseo del Norte - 12

VISTA
Escondido Avenue and Hillside Terrace - 26
Melrose Drive and Vista Way - 15
Santa Fe Avenue and Vista Village Drive - 15
Emerald Drive and Vista Way - 15

SAN MARCOS
Rancho Santa Fe Road and San Marcos Boulevard - 41
Grand Avenue and San Marcos Boulevard - 24
Business Park Drive and San Marcos Boulevard - 17
Knoll Road and San Marcos Boulevard - 17
Descanso Avenue and Rancho Santa Fe Road - 16
San Marcos Boulevard and Twin Oaks Valley Road - 16
Via Vera Cruz and San Marcos Boulevard - 16
Bent Avenue and San Marcos Boulevard - 15

ESCONDIDO
Washington Avenue and North Broadway - 17
East Valley Parkway and Midway Drive - 16
Lincoln Avenue and North Broadway - 16
El Norte Parkway and Centre City Parkway - 14
East Valley Parkway and Rose Street - 14
East Mission Avenue and Ash Street - 13
Mission Avenue and Fig Street - 13
Washington Avenue and Ash Street - 13
East Valley Parkway and Harding Street - 12
East Valley Parkway and Ash Street - 12
Centre City Parkway and Mission Avenue - 12

Posted by Walton Barber | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Personal Injury , San Diego Car Accident , San Diego Personal Injury

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