San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Authorities are investigating a fatal motorcycle accident that occurred Saturday afternoon in northern San Diego County. According to news reports in the San Diego Union Tribune Carl Davis Jr., 28, of San Diego, was riding a 2007 CVR 6000 east on Highway 78, when for unknown reasons, his motorcycle crossed into westbound traffic. Davis collided head-on with a 1976 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by a 47-year-old San Diego man. Davis died at the scene of the crash. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash, and will determine if speed or other factors contributed to the accident.

Please keep the family of Carl Davis Jr. in your prayers. Our deepest sympathy goes out to everyone who knew and loved him. The sudden and unexpected loss of a family member is always devastating and heartbreaking.

California State Route 78 transitions from a freeway to a two-lane highway through the Santa Rosa Mountains to Julian. Portions of this road are notoriously dangerous, and people are killed in accidents on Hwy 78 each year. While the cause of this fatal crash remains under investigation, the family may consider speaking to a San Diego motorcycle accident lawyer with experience in wrongful death cases. If a defective road condition or motorcycle mechanical failure contributed to the motorcyclist's loss of control and resulting fatal crash, the family may be entitled to compensation in a wrongful death claim.

Sheriff's Deputies are looking for the driver of a white Toyota Camry who struck and killed a 15-year-old Vista boy Friday night. The boy was taken by ambulance to Palomar Medical Center with critical head injuries, where he died. The incident occurred on Thibodo Road, east of Edna Way at about 7 p.m. Friday. The victim, identified by the San Diego County medical examiner as Lucas Giaconelli of Vista, was skateboarding with friends when he was hit from behind by the speeding Toyota Camry.

Please keep the family of Lucas Giaconelli in your prayers, as they are coping with this terrible tragedy resulting in the loss of this young man's life. For the family's sake, we hope the driver is located or that he or she will turn himself or herself in to authorities. Witnesses or anyone with information about this accident is asked to contact sheriff's deputies at (858)565-5200. If you live in the Vista area, be on the lookout for the vehicle. The Camry has tinted windows and likely has a broken headlight and front-end damage.

Leaving the scene of an accident that results in injury or death is against the law. Under California Vehicle Code § 20001, "The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of a person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident..." In this case, because the victim was in fact injured, the driver had a responsibility to stop.

Continue reading "Vista Teen Killed in Hit-and-Run Crash " »

A child passenger on a school bus was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries after the bus was struck Friday morning in Santee, the California Highway Patrol said. The crash occurred around 8 o'clock Friday at the intersection of Carlton Oaks Drive and West Hills Parkway in Santee. According to the CHP, only one child was hurt. Six other students on the bus were not injured.

Based on the reports of this accident, the cause of the crash is unclear. Regardless of whether the bus driver or the driver of the other vehicle that collided with the school bus caused this accident, the parents of the child hurt in this accident would be well-advised to speak with a San Diego personal injury attorney, who will ensure the child's legal rights are protected and that the family will be fairly compensated for their child's injuries and all associated costs.

Continue reading "Child Taken to Hospital After School Bus Crash in Santee " »

A Ramona woman was killed Tuesday afternoon in a head-on crash on a notorious stretch of Highway 67 in Lakeside, authorities reported. The head-on collision occurred at about 2:30 p.m., between Willow Road and Johnson Lake Road. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as Bridgette Hale, 36, of Ramona. According to news reports, Bridgette Hale was driving south on State Route 67 when her Chevy Astrovan was hit head-on by an Oldsmobile 98. The driver of the Oldsmobile, John Hallaway, 51, of Las Vegas, was driving northbound when his car veered into northbound lanes and collided with Hale's van.

Hale was wearing a seatbelt, and according to the CHP, there was nothing she could have done to avoid the crash. San Diego 6 News reported that the Hallaway may have fallen asleep at the wheel. Hallaway reportedly told paramedics that he couldn't remember what happened and thought he fell asleep. He was flown by Mercy Air to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's press release, Bridgette Hale was the mother of an infant boy. We extend our deepest sympathy to her family and everyone who knew and loved her. Please keep her family and her young son in your prayers.

Continue reading "Ramona Woman Killed in Head-On Crash in Lakeside " »

A San Diego woman was one of two people killed Sunday night in a head-on crash in Riverside County, authorities reported. The crash occurred moments before 11 p.m. on Highway 79, north of Gillman Springs Road. According to reports, Julia Chang Wen of San Diego was driving a mid-size pickup truck southbound on State Route 79 when she collided with a sports coupe driven by Dorothy Scott, 91, of Beaumont. One other person was critically injured in the accident and was taken to a local hospital.

The San Bernardino Sun reported that the Beaumont woman's sports car veered into southbound traffic, resulting in the collision with Wen's truck. It is not clear what caused this lane change, if Scott was attempting to pass another vehicle, or if she swerved to avoid something in the road, or if something was mechanically wrong with her vehicle. The California Highway Patrol-San Gorgonio is still investigating the accident.

Our thoughts go out to the families of both victims in this horrific head-on accident, and everyone who knew and loved them. Please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Continue reading "San Diego Woman Killed in Double-Fatal Head-On Crash in San Jacinto " »

A motorcyclist killed an accident Tuesday morning in Temecula has been identified by the Riverside County Coroner as John Anderson, 62, of Encinitas. According to reports of the accident, Anderson was riding a motorcycle south on Highway 79, about 2.7 miles south of Woodchuck Road in the Vail Lake area at about 10:30 a.m. Monday when for unknown reasons, he collided head-on with a northbound semi-truck. Anderson died at the scene of the crash. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the fatal Riverside County accident.

Please keep the family of John Anderson in your prayers. We share our deepest condolences with everyone who know and loved him.

Fatal Riverside County Motorcycle Accidents

In 2007, 41 people were killed in motorcycle accidents in Riverside County. The year before, in 2006, only 29 people died in motorcycle accidents, and 25 people died in 2005 in Riverside County motorcycle accidents. The number of people injured has also gone up in recent years. In 2005, 433 motorcyclists were injured in Riverside County. In 2006, 487 were injured and in 2007, 562 people were hurt. In San Diego County and statewide, motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities are also on the rise.

Continue reading "Encinitas Man Killed in Motorcycle Crash with Big Rig in Temecula " »

Owners of the third-generation Toyota Prius, launched in 2010, have been sharing concerns over braking issues with the 2010 Prius. At least 33 complaints have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation, MSNBC reported on December 29. Motorists report a sensation of losing control or a brief delay in the brakes employing after putting pressure on the pedal.

Prius brakes are more complex than other, non-hyrbid conventional automobiles. When a driver puts their foot on the brake petal, the Prius brakes must first recapture kinetic energy lost and turn it into an electric current to recharge the car's batteries. A more conventional, hydraulic braking system is employed for more aggressive stops. Mechanics have speculated that the sensors that control the hybrid braking system could malfunction when the wheels are jarred by a hard bump. However, the NHTSA has not made a determination yet whether or not there is a safety related defect.

The California product liability attorneys at Estey & Bomberger are closely monitoring the situation with Toyota and reports of brake failure incidents involving the 2010 Prius. If you have a safety-related complaint involving any motor vehicle, you are urged to report it at safercar.gov, or by calling the NHTSA's hotline at (888) 327-4236. Government engineers will analyze the problem, and if warranted, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will open an investigation to determine if a safety defect trend existis. Some of these investigations result in safety recalls. If you have been injured in an accident, you may also contact the product defect attorneys at Estey & Bomberger for more information about your legal rights.

On the eve of a trial scheduled to begin next Monday, a $1.6 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed after the drowning of a 23 year old Baltimore woman nearly five years ago. The lawsuit was filed against a Baltimore, Maryland apartment complex and its pool management company by the victim's family.

In August, 2005, the Cassandra Blake and her 4-year-old son were visiting friends who lived at the Cedar Towers Apartments when they went in the community pool. The pool was reportedly murky, and lifeguards had to use goggles to locate Blake after she drowned in the deep end of the pool. According to the suit, a lifeguard and security guard reportedly told Blake and others that it was okay to use the pool, despite the poor conditions. At some point, Blake, who didn't know how to swim, either fell or was pushed into the deep end of the pool, where she drowned.

The victim's family filed a $100 million wrongful death suit alleging the lifeguards were not qualified and that the conditions of the pool were not safe. The lawsuit also accused the pool compnay of hiring Jamaicans to train lifeguards for a week and then issue licenses, even if the trainees did not past the test. The defendants did not admit liability under the terms of the settlement.

Continue reading "$1.6 Million Settlement Reached in Baltimore Drowning Case " »

A 9-year-old girl critically injured in a car accident on New Years Eve in San Diego has died, the San Diego Medical Examiner's Office reported on Tuesday. The victim, Ashley N. Heffington, 9, was a rear-seat passenger in 2000 Toyota Camry involved in an accident at the intersection of Sports Arena Boulevard and West Point Loma Boulevard on December 31, 2009.

The Camry was struck from behind by a Toyota 4Runner while stopped at a red light. Although the accident is still under investigation, the driver of the 4Runner is suspected of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Ashley's mother, who was driving the Camry, was also hurt in the crash. Three other vehicles were also involved, but the Camry took the brunt of the collision. Ashley was admitted to Rady Children's Hospital following the accident with a serious head injury. She passed away on Monday afternoon.

Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who knew and loved Ashley. Please keep her family in your prayers.

Continue reading "Nine-Year-Old San Diego Girl Dies of Injuries After New Years Eve Crash " »

The California Highway Patrol has reported a 49-year-old El Cajon man was killed following a head-on collision in Alpine on Saturday afternoon. Virgil Frank Garrett was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Alpine Boulevard when he crossed into westbound lanes and into the path of a Honda Accord travelling westbound. The crash occurred at about 3:15 p.m.

According to reports in the San Diego Union Tribune, the driver of the Honda tried to swerve but was unable to avoid colliding with the motorcycle. Garrett was ejected from his motorcycle and his helmet was knocked off during the accident. He died shortly after the collision before he could be taken to the hospital.

Continue reading "El Cajon Man Killed in Motorcycle Crash in Alpine " »

Acer America Corporation, of San Jose, California, has announced the recall of about 22,000 Acer Aspire-serious laptop notebook computers due to a short-circuit problem that could cause the laptop to melt. The recall, which is announced in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, includes the Acer AS3410, AS3410T, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG. The computer's screen size is about 13.3 inches measured diagonally. The laptops were sold on Amazon.com and at retailers nationwide, including Fry's Electronics, Radio Shack, and other computer retailers from June 2009 through October 2009 for between $650 and $1,150.

Burn Injury Hazards

According to the press release from the CPSC, an internal microphone wire under the palm rest can short circuit and overheat, which can cause the external case to melt. This could potentially result in a serious burn injury to consumers. Owners of the recalled units should stop using the recalled notebook computers immediately and contact Acer to determine if their notebook is affected and to receive a free repair. More information can be found on the CPSC website.

Continue reading "Acer Recalls about 22,000 Laptop Computers Due to Burn Hazards " »

A 63-year-old woman suffered very serious injuries Tuesday evening when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Lakeside. The January 5th accident occurred on Old Highway 80, east of Los Coches Road, at about 5:30 p.m. The woman, who was not identified, suffered broken legs and a severe head injury. The vehicle was described as a dark-colored Ford Expedition. Investigators would like to speak to witnesses who left the scene prior to the arrival of the California Highway Patrol, or anyone else with information. If you have any information related to thi accident, contact the El Cajon CHP at (619)401-2000. The CHP urges the driver to turn himself or herself in.

Hit-and-run is a very serious crime in the state of California. Leaving the scene of an accident that results in injury or death is against the law, and there are no exceptions. According to Section 20002 of the California Vehicle code, [a] driver must stop and locate owner or person in charge and exchange driver documentation. If owner of damaged property cannot be located, the driver is not permitted to leave the scene of the accident until the following actions have been completed:a) Leave a note with facts surrounding the case and driver documentation information; or b) Report the accident to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) or local police."

Continue reading "Woman Seriously Injured In Hit-and-Run Crash in Lakeside " »

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Dorel Juvenile Group has recalled about 213,000 play yards sold under the names Safety 1st Disney Care Center™ Play Yard and Eddie Bauer Complete Care Play Yard. The play yards present a risk of suffocation or positional asphyxiation if the one piece metal bars supporting the floorboard of the bassinet attachment come out of the fabric sleeves and create an uneven sleeping surface.

The play yards, which were manufactured in China, were sold at Babies "R" Us, Kmart, Sears, Target and Walmart from January 2007 through October 2009 for between $100 and $130. According to the CPSC, the models included in the recall are 05025, 05026, 05037, 05088 and 05350. The model number is printed on a sticker on one of the support legs underneath the play yard. "Safety 1st" or "Eddie Bauer" are printed near the bottom of the fabric sides of the play yards.

The CPSC says consumers should immediately stop using the bassinet attachment to the play yard and contact Dorel Juvenile Group for a free repair kit including replacement bassinet fabric, bassinet bars and installation instructions. For more information, visit the CPSC website or the Dorel Juvenile Group website.

Continue reading "Disney and Eddie Bauer Play Yards with Bassinettes Recalled Due to Suffocation Hazards " »