Our office opens regular office hours during COVID-19 Emergency.

Articles Posted in Personal Injury

by

If you are planning to stay at a hotel in San Marcos or elsewhere in Southern California, you should be able to expect that the hotel will maintain the premises in a reasonably safe manner, and that you will not be exposed to unreasonable risks of harm or injury. However, in the era of COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic, the idea of being reasonably safe in a hotel environment has shifted. Many people still want to travel within California, and others want to plan vacations to Southern California from other parts of the country. Ultimately, if you stay at a hotel where you contract COVID-19, can you file a negligence claim against the hotel?

 
This is a complicated question, and it ultimately depends upon a number of different factors. We will provide you with some clarifying information below, but it is important to speak with a hotel negligence attorney in San Marcos to determine whether or not you have a claim.

 
Was the Hotel Negligent in Failing to Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus?

Continue reading

by

Slips and falls can happen in many different ways and for many different reasons in and around Encinitas. Whether you got hurt in a slip and fall accident due to a liquid spill at a restaurant, or your child suffered a concussion in a slip and fall injury on a pool deck at a Southern California hotel, it is important to speak with an experienced Encinitas personal injury lawyer to learn more about your options for filing a claim for financial compensation. Yet you may be concerned that your own fault could prevent you from obtaining compensation after a slip and fall. For example, you might be thinking, “Even though that restaurant or grocery store did not clean up the liquid spill on the floor that caused my injuries, I was distracted because I was walking while texting on my smartphone.” Or, for instance, you might be wondering, “If my child slipped on a slick area of a hotel walkway, is the hotel still liable even if my child was running at the time?”

 
Here is what you need to keep in mind: California uses a “pure comparative fault” rule when it comes to determining damages in a personal injury claim, which is beneficial for plaintiffs who may be partially at fault. However, you should also know that, even if the possibility of your own fault is raised, you may be able to show that you are not responsible for your injuries. The following are steps you should take if you are concerned you are partially at fault for a slip and fall injury in Encinitas or elsewhere in Southern California.

 
Document the Scene Where the Slip and Fall Happened

Continue reading

by

Whether you are on the road heading to or from work, or you are driving up the California coast with your family for a weekend vacation, you should know that some types of accidents tend to happen more often in the summer than during other months. Winter weather collisions are not typically an issue in Southern California given that the weather is temperate year-round, but many of the summer and warm-weather accident hazards that exist throughout the country are certainly present in San Diego County and throughout the state in the summer. Travelers Insurance identifies some of the most common causes of car crashes from June through September. The following are tips for avoiding a summer auto accident.

 

  1. High Temperatures can Pose Dangers to Your Vehicle

 
High temperatures can wreak havoc on an automobile if it is not regularly and properly maintained. For example, if tires are underinflated and the weather is particularly hot, you could be at risk of a tire blowout while you are driving. Engines can also be at increased risk of overheating during the summer. Most of the vehicle-related risks that come with hot weather can be avoided if you have your vehicle serviced regularly.

Continue reading

by

Learning about the claims process after sustaining an injury in Oceanside can be confusing. How do you file a claim, and do you need to hire a lawyer? For most personal injury lawsuits in Southern California, it is extremely beneficial to work with an experienced injury attorney. Yet finding the best attorney for your case will require you to schedule consultations and to speak with lawyers about your situation. When you do, it is important to ask certain questions to make sure you hire the best personal injury attorney for your Oceanside case. The following are some tips to help you find experienced legal counsel.

 
Ask the Lawyer About Experience in Personal Injury Law

 
You should ask any attorney about his or her experience handling personal injury cases. How many years, for example, has the lawyer been practicing? Has the attorney spent his or her entire career in California, working on cases arising under California law? You want to make sure you have an attorney with experience advocating for injured plaintiffs in personal injury cases.

Continue reading

by

When researchers began to develop autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, the thinking was that these vehicles could eliminate the element of human error that contributes to so many car accidents in Southern California. Yet in the time that autonomous vehicles have been tested, they have not actually proven to be all that safe. Indeed, in some cases, self-driving cars have resulted in serious and fatal injuries, especially to pedestrians. According to a recent article in California StreetsBlog, a new study conducted by researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) suggests that autonomous vehicles will likely prevent only about one-third of all motor vehicle collisions in California and across the country.

 
Why are autonomous vehicles so ineffective? Is there a possibility that the technology will improve in the coming years such that self-driving cars will do more to reduce the rates of traffic collisions in California?

 
IIHS Says Identifying Hazards is Not Enough to Prevent Collisions

Continue reading

by

If you travel by yourself or with your family and book a room at a hotel or motel in San Diego County, what does that hotel owe you when it comes to your health and safety? Generally speaking, hotels and motels owe a duty of care to customers who are staying in the rooms. This duty of care means that the hotel needs to take whatever steps a reasonable person would take to ensure that customers are not exposed to unreasonable risks of injury or illness while staying on the property. Given that we are now living in the era of the coronavirus, it will be particularly important for hotels and motels to provide guests with appropriate safety and health precautions, and that they warn guests about potential hazards on the property. 

There are many different kinds of ways in which hotels and motels can be liable for guest injuries. The following are some examples of common hotel and motel negligence claims.

Slips, Trips, and Falls on Hotel Property

Continue reading

by

Whether you are driving on one of the major highways surrounding Poway or you are on a local road, a serious truck accident can happen without warning. Trucking accidents can happen for many different reasons, and it is important to work with an experienced truck accident attorney who can help you move forward with a claim and determine who may be liable for your injuries. Although every case has its own set of facts, the following are the general steps you should take if you have been injured in a Poway trucking crash. 

Gather Evidence at the Scene of the Truck Accident

Many truck accidents result in life-threatening and deadly injuries. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), large trucks usually weigh anywhere from 20 to 30 times as much as a smaller passenger vehicle, and they have a much higher ground clearance. As a result, a collision with a passenger car or light truck can mean that any occupants of those smaller vehicles sustain debilitating injuries. If you are physically and mentally able to do so, you should gather as much information as you can at the scene of the truck accident. You should take photos, and you should make sure to record the names and contact information of anyone else involved in the collision and anyone who witnessed it.

Continue reading

by

nabeel-syed-2856-copy-300x200If you were injured in a car accident in San Marcos or elsewhere in Southern California, it is essential to know how to file an auto accident claim. Every car accident case will have its own particular set of facts, but we want to provide you with more information about the claims process and the ways a San Marcos car accident lawyer can help. 

Gather Information to Support Your Claim

You will need to gather information and evidence to support your car accident case. This process starts at the scene of the accident, where you should take photographs of the scene on your smartphone. You should also obtain contact information for anyone else involved in the collisions as well as witnesses who may be able to support your version of the events. Beyond the initial scene, it is also important to get medical attention as soon as possible. By seeing a doctor quickly, you will be able to prove that your injuries resulted from the car accident, and your medical records will become important evidence in your case.

Continue reading

by

lance-asper-pAWY7xrsLwc-unsplash-copy-300x169If you live in Encinitas or in another part of San Diego County, you have likely been staying home as much as possible for the last number of weeks. All Californians are required to stay home “except to get food, care for a relative or friend, get necessary health care, or go to an essential job,” according to the state’s stay-home order. The order is in place until further notice, and it first took effect on March 19, 2020. While anyone who has an essential job—and thus must drive to work—or needs to leave the house for food or medicine is still at risk of being injured in a motor vehicle crash, it looks like that risk is significantly lower. Indeed, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, since the stay-home order took effect, motor vehicle collision rates have dropped significantly. 

We want to say more about the lowered risk of an auto accident during the pandemic, and to discuss what you should do if you are involved in a crash at this time.

Fewer Motor Vehicle Crashes With Lower Traffic Rates

Continue reading

by

sara-the-freak-v4lRAcrhBr8-unsplash-copy-300x200When you are driving in San Clemente or elsewhere in Southern California, are you at greater risk of being involved in a car accident than you think? Most San Diego County or Los Angeles County residents do not get behind the wheel with the expectation of suffering injuries in a serious motor vehicle collision. Many drivers have a false sense of security when it comes to driving and auto accident risk. According to a recent article in the Patch, a high percentage of Southern Californians are “in denial about safety” based on information from a recent study. We want to tell you more about the study and discuss actual car crash risks in Southern California. 

Driving is King in Southern California

More than in most other major urban areas of the U.S., driving remains the preferred mode of transportation in Los Angeles County and San Diego County. Indeed, in Los Angeles County, according to the article, “private vehicles are used at more than twice the rate of the second-most popular transportation mode, ride-hailing.” To put it another way, more than double the number of people drive than use Lyft or Uber.

Continue reading
Justia Lawyer Rating
Super Lawyers
BBB Rating A+
Avvo Rating 10.0
Elder Justice Advocates
Consumer Attorneys California
AV Preeminent badge
Contact Information
North County Office
338 Via Vera Cruz
#250
San Marcos, CA 92078
Toll Free: 866.607.1325 Local: 760.571.5500 Fax: 760.571.5501
San Diego Office
2169 1st Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Toll Free: 866.607.1325

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2021, Walton Law Firm
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design