San Diego personal injury lawyer

December 8, 2014

Trucking Accident Kills Grad Student

A dangerous truck accident in Fresno recently took the life of a 22-year-old graduate student, Ana Tapia, according to an article in the New York Daily News. Trucking accidents can be particularly deadly given the size and weight of these vehicles. If you or someone you love was injured or killed in an automobile accident, you should discuss your case with a San Diego truck accident attorney. You may be entitled to compensation.

Tractor-Trailer “Flying Wheel” Leads to Fatal Injuries

How did the recent trucking accident happen in downtown Fresno? It appears Tapia’s car was hit by a “flying wheel from a tractor-trailer.” Tapia had been behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla on Highway 99 when the wheel crushed her. Reports indicate that the wheel “rolled into her lane,” and then “smashed into the roof and driver’s side” of her vehicle. Investigators are not sure precisely how the wheel came detached from the vehicle, but the California Highway Patrol (CHP) continues to look into the matter. Some commentators described the scene as a “freak accident.”

November 28, 2014

Dangerous Airbag Recall Expands

by Walton Law Firm

It is always scary to learn that we could be driving an automobile that was subject to a product recall. In the past months, millions of vehicles were affected by a Takata airbag recall, and according to a story from PBS Newshour, it looks as if that recall is only continuing to expand.

Were you been seriou Airbag sly injured in a car accident caused by a defective automobile product? It is important to know that you can file a lawsuit to hold the manufacturer liable for your injuries. Contact an experienced San Diego product liability lawyer today to find out more about how we can assist with your case.

Airbags Can Release Metal Shrapnel, Resulting in Fatal Injuries

November 21, 2014

Not Enough Votes to Raise Medical Malpractice Cap

by Walton Law Firm

Over the last year, we have read many news stories and seen various advertisements related to California’s medical malpractice cap. A ballot initiative, Prop. 46, aimed to raise the current cap to $1.1 million and to allow for inflation adjustments. However, California residents “overwhelmingly voted down Proposition 46,” according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to voting against the medica meical-malpractice l malpractice cap increase, Californians also voted down an initiative that would have “required routine drug and alcohol testing for hospital doctors,” thereby reducing the number of preventable injuries in hospitals.

Background of the Medical Malpractice Cap Initiative

November 17, 2014

Can I Afford an Ambulance After My Injury?

by Walton Law Firm

Sky-High Ambulance Costs Deter Injury Victims

When you have sustained an injury in a severe accident, it is important to seek immediate medical care. Only a trained healthcare professional can assess the severity of your injuries, and this assessment can be essential to winning a personal injury lawsuit in Southern California. Yet the high price of an ambulance ride can deter injury victims from seeking immediate treatment after an accident. Should ambulance bills really cost such a high price? And why are they not covered by all health insurance plans?

An article in the New York Times reported that a swim instructor in La Jolla, California sustained an injury in the pool where she worked, and another person at the facility called 911 for an ambulance. The victim, Kira Milas, 23, had “swum into the side of the pool, breaking three teeth.” The ambulance arrived, and it took Milas to Scripps Memorial Hospital. Paramedics applied a neck brace as a precautionary measure. While Milas is one of the lucky accident victims who did not necessarily require an ambulance trip to the hospital, her story about the massive ambulance bill is all too common in Southern California and, indeed, across the country.

November 7, 2014

Spinal Cord Injury Breakthroughs: Fact or Fiction?

by Walton Law Firm

Many Californians who suffered d file0002014909352 ebilitating spinal cord injuries maintain the hope that scientific innovations will result in the possibility to recover from paralysis. But how realistic is such a cure? According to a recent article in The Independent, reports of medical breakthroughs often lack the results that most spinal cord injury victims hope for. Recent reports identified stem cell treatments and the possibility of transplanting regenerative cells into the spinal cord of those suffering from paralysis. Will these new studies make headway for people across the country who sustained severe spinal cord injuries?

New Treatment May Help Americans with Spinal Cord Injuries

Recently, Professor Geoffrey Raisman of University College London performed a cell transplant on a Bulgarian firefighter who previously suffered from paralysis. This “pioneering therapy” involved “transplanting regenerative cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.” According to Raisman, the treatment “represents an historic change in the outlook for people disabled by spinal cord injury.”

November 3, 2014

Fatal Pedestrian Accident in La Jolla

by Walton Law Firm

When automobile drivers ta file000911994102 ke their eyes off the road or experience distractions, serious and fatal accidents can occur. Indeed, according to a recent report from NBC San Diego, a woman suffered fatal injuries after she was struck by an automobile while unloading her car “along a busy La Jolla street.” The pedestrian accident occurred in the late morning on Girard Avenue, just across the street from Nosh Delicatessen and Orange Theory Fitness, the article reported.

Elderly Driver Strikes Victim

How did the accident happen? According to reports, the victim, a 45-year-old woman who was a resident of La Jolla, was pinned between her own parked car and the vehicle of the elderly driver who caused the collision. The driver, a 91-year-old, “backed out of a nearby parking spot on the west side of the street, crossed into the other side, and rammed into the woman,” according to San Diego Police Department Sergeant Joe A. Benavidas.

October 24, 2014

New Report Shows Record Number of Dog Bite Injury Claims

by Walton Law Firm

Insurance Policies and Dog-Inflicted Damage

How often do severe dog bite injuries occur? According to a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek, dog bite claims are on the rise across the country. To be sure, data collected by the Insurance Information Institute showed that insurance claims related to animal attack injuries rose by nearly six percent last year, for a total of 17,359 claims. This figure set a new record established back in 2003.

Across the country last year, a American-Pit-Bull-Terrier verage dog bite insurance claims resulted in payments of about $28,000. That is up by nearly 45 percent over the last ten years. And to give this figure another spin, dog bite claims account for more than 33 percent of “all homeowners insurance liability-claim dollars paid out in 2013.”

October 18, 2014

Fatal Nighttime Diving Accidents

by Walton Law Firm

Although the weather is beginning to cool down around the country, diving remains a popular sport in Southern California. Indeed, lobster diving takes place with frequency at this time of year. However, fatal diving accidents occur too often, and many of these deadly accidents are preventable. If you lost a loved one in a diving-related incident, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim.

Deadly Diving Accident Near Catalina

According to a recent article in CBS’s KUTV2, a vacationing physician was recently identified as the victim of a deadly diving accident off the coast of Orange County. The victim, Jared Royer, 40, was on a lobster-diving vacation with a group of other physicians. Royer’s brother-in-law indicated that it was an annual trip, and Royer “was an experienced diver who had been on several similar trips with his colleagues in previous years,” according to a report in The Spectrum. The group was diving in Emerald Bay late in the evening, and around 11p.m., the other physicians noticed that Royer had not returned to the boat.

October 10, 2014

Brain Impairment at Younger Age for Tackle Football Players

by Walton Law Firm

New Court Documents on NFL Brain Injuries

Even after the NFL settlement related to concussions and traumatic brain injuries last summer, many former players are still not satisfied. A current lawsuit accuses the NFL of “hiding information that linked concussions to brain injuries,” according to a recent story from ABC News. In response to those accusations, the NFL filed documents suggesting that “NFL players are likely to suffer chronic brain injury at a significantly higher rate than the general population,” and “show neurocognitive impairment at a much younger age.”

What kinds of long-term symptoms do tackle football players experience? According to the article, the following statistics concern rates for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia:

October 3, 2014

Patients at Risk of Injury in Smaller Military Hospitals

by Walton Law Firm

Many Californians are wondering about the outcome of a ballot initiative to raise the damages cap in medical malpractice claims. If the proposed legislation goes through, California residents who sustain injuries because of medical negligence will be eligible to obtain up to $1.1 million in certain compensatory damages, as opposed to the current cap at $250,000. But what types of medical errors usually result in medical malpractice lawsuits?

Small and Underused Military Hospitals

According to a recent article in the New York Times, military hospitals that care for about 1.35 million active-duty service members and their families show “signals of failing in a system” of care. What is wrong with these hospitals? Investigators for the New York Times identified two major issues.