Expert Advocacy

Ramona Pedestrian Killed After Being Hit by Truck

Ramona Pedestrian Killed After Being Hit by Truck

An unidentified pedestrian, in the Ramona section of San Diego, was killed after being hit by in a semi-truck accident Wednesday morning while crossing the street.

The accident happened just after 2:30 a.m. when the driver of the truck was heading west on Main Street at the intersection with 7th Street. According to the driver, the pedestrian appeared to come out of nowhere and appeared in front of the truck. The truck driver stopped after the impact and found the man’s body pinned under the truck.

Both lanes of Main Street were closed until 5 a.m. while the California Highway Patrol investigated the accident. At the time of publishing this entry, the cause of the accident was still under investigation.

If our office was approached by the pedestrian’s family, we would first have to determine what happened that early morning. We would hire a professional accident investigator and a private investigator to track down witnesses and to document the facts of the accident, including sight lines for the truck driver, the traffic controls available at the intersection and obtaining witness statements. If the pedestrian was in the crosswalk, had the right of way, or even if the driver was not paying attention while he was driving, the pedestrian’s family might have a strong case for their wrongful death claim.

If you or a loved one has ever been involved in a pedestrian accident, including one that results in a wrongful death claim, please contact the experienced trial lawyers.…

San Diego Wrongful Death Verdict to be Reviewed by California Supreme Court

A San Diego jury awarded the widow of a motorcycle rider and his two children $4.9 million after he was struck on a motorcycle by a truck driver. After the verdict was read, the judge–as is typical–polled the jurors for their votes. However, the judge forgot to get the answers from one juror to two of the 13 questions asked during the polling process.

The juror did agree with the other jurors that the truck driver was negligent and caused the trucking accident. However, the judge forgot to ask him if he agreed with the other jurors on the apportionment of damages. The jury verdict found to the truck driver to be 80% responsible for causing the accident but also found the motorcycle rider to be 20% responsible.

On appeal by the insurance defense counsel for the truck driver, the judge’s mistake led to a reversal of the verdict by the Fourth District Court of Appeals. The Court of appeals held, in part, that:

…the trial court erred in accepting the juror declarations to inquire into and resolve the results of the jury’s decision making process, and also when it made a credibility determination that Santana could not effectively have voted other than 80/20 at any relevant time.

The Keeners, the family of the motorcyclist, have appealed to the California Supreme Court to reinstate the jury verdict.…

El Cajon Psychiatrist, Dr. Wayne Funk, Accused of Collecting And Dispensing Surplus Medication Pills to Patients

Dr. Wayne Funk, a longtime psychiatrist in El Cajon, is fighting to keep his medical license after being accused of medical malpractice by the Medical Board of California. The 87-year-old doctor is thought to have been collecting powerful surplus painkillers and sedatives, such as Oxycodone, Diazepam, Lorazepam and Temazepam, from his patients and then redistributing them to other patients as a means of making them cheaper.

Funk, licensed in California since 1954, was subject to an investigation started a year ago by the Medical Board of California and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. According to the accusation filed in the Administrative Law Court, “the investigators observed a counter with numerous sample medications and a basket containing prescription bottles, including controlled substances, which were returned by patients.”

The University of Kansas school of medicine graduate is also being accused of prescribing the anti-anxiety drug, Xanax, to a patient over a two month period without any proper reviews or examinations. The patient had to later seek medical attention from another doctor for detoxification.

During the investigation, Funk surrendered his DEA certificate to dispense controlled substances but denies any wrongdoing. No hearing date has been set.…

Goodyear Recalls 40,000 Tires for Dangerous Defect

Akron, Ohio-based tire manufacturer Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has issued a recall through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for 40,915 tires due to a serious defect. The tires, all under the model Wrangler Silent Armor, contain a defect that could cause tread separation, which can easily lead to a serious auto accident.

Although the recall was only recently announced, problems with the tire have been traced back to May 2010, when warranty and property damage claims involving the Wrangler Silent Armor tires began to increase.

However, serious investigation into the tires did not begin until August of 2011, when tread separation in one of the Goodyear tires caused a fatal rollover accident in Texas that took the lives of two people. It has been found that if the tire were to separate, a crash could result or the separated tire tread could strike and damage the vehicle. While there have been no more serious accidents reported since then, problems with the tires have warranted a recall.

Goodyear will be notifying owners of the tires shortly and will replace them for free beginning March 22. The specific models of Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor that have been recalled were manufactured from March 31, 2009 through May 31, 2009, and the tire sizes are:

• LT235/80R17 LRE
• LT245/75R17 LRE
• LT265/70R17 LRE
• LT275/70R18 LRE
• LT285/70R17 LRD
• LT325/60R18 LRE

Tire defects are very serious problems as anything that is wrong with the tire can result in a serious accident due to a vehicle’s reliance on the performance of its tires. If you or a loved one has been injured because of a defective vehicle part, the auto product defect lawyers in San Diego can find proper compensation for your losses from the companies responsible. For more information, call us today.…

Orange County Man Struck and Seriously Injured by Trains Twice in Two Weeks

A 57-year old California man faced grave injuries in an Orange County train accident as he fell onto the tracks at a station in Irvine on February 23, 2010. Ironically, the man was hit exactly two weeks before by a train in Laguna Nigel in which he got dragged 90 feet causing amputation of his wrist.

Although the man’s injuries are said to be serious, they are not life-threatening. He is also being mentally evaluated. Being struck by trains twice in two weeks indicates a heightened possibility that the man played a part in causing one or both accidents. He may have, in fact, been trying to commit suicide. However, such conclusions are premature and we have to wait for the treatment and evaluation to be completed.

Trains are extremely dangerous. They have a huge mass capable of seriously injuring or killing multiple persons at one time given the speed at which they travel and that they cannot stop quickly to avoid collisions. It is always a smart idea to give trains and trolleys wide berth and to stand back away from train tracks when trains pass.…

Elders Hit While Crossing Street in Palm Springs

87-year-old Robert Mathiasen and an 83-year-old woman were struck in a tragic pedestrian crash that occurred on February 24, 2012, around 7:28 p.m. in the 2000 block of North Palm Canyon Drive. According to Riverside County sheriff’s officials, both the victims were trying to cross the street when they were hit by a northbound Ford Taurus.

The pair was immediately transported to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment, where Mathasen was later pronounced dead around 9:18 p.m. The Taurus driver cooperated with the investigation.

From the present facts, it is unclear as to how this pedestrian accident occurred. Was the motorist distracted? Or was he speeding?

The victim’s family members should immediately seek counsel from an experienced Riverside County pedestrian accident lawyer, who would educate them about their legal rights.

The victim’s family members may file a wrongful death claim against the car driver to obtain compensation to cover funeral and burial costs, loss of love, care and companionship, and other accident-related damages.

Our law office sends sincere condolences to victim’s family members. We also hope and pray that the injuries suffered by the female pedestrian heal soon.…

FDA Issues Warning to San Diego About the Psoriasis Drug, Raptiva

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to San Diego doctors specializing in dermatology and patients about the psoriasis drug efalizumab, or Raptiva. This warning is linked to three deaths and possibly a fourth.

The three that were confirmed dead were all taking the drug Raptiva and were reported to have had a rare brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In October of 2008, the FDA forced the drug maker, Genentech to highlight in a warning regarding the risks of life-threatening infections, including PML, on their product packaging.

The FDA has also directed Genentech to develop a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to ensure that patients receive risk information about Raptiva. Also, the FDA wants to make sure that the risks do not outweigh the benefits.…

Pit Bull, Rottweiler, and Wolf Hybrid Dog Bites are Still Rampant in San Diego

Just take one look at the website DogsBite.org and you will be bombarded with stories about Pit Bull, Rottweiler, and Wolf Hybrid attacks. Just recently, in Texas, two adults got their eyes ripped out by pit bulls in a vicious dog attack.

Many times these dog attacks can be pretty gruesome and one of the scary things is that these attacks happen just as often on both adults and children. The combination of the three breeds amount to

* 77 percent of attacks that cause bodily harm
* 73 percent of dog attacks on children
* 83 percent of attacks on adults
* 70 percent of attacks that result in fatalities
* 77 percent that results in maiming

It is a myth that, in California, a dog owner is only responsible for his dog’s actions if the owner was negligent or irresponsible. In fact, California’s dog bite statute holds owners nearly “strictly liable”–meaning responsible even though they may have acted carefully–for their dog’s actions so long as the victim was legally allowed to be where the dog bite occurred (in other words, not a burglar, etc.).

Now, not all dogs of these breeds are dangerous. But Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Wolf Hybrids all have a higher propensity to be dangerous, which, when coupled with lax, weak, timid, or just irresponsible owners lead to the dogs losing control of their aggressive natures. Regardless, when a dog of any breed attacks, it is not man’s best friend and it is very savage in asserting its’ dominance over its’ victim.

If you or a neighbor have been involved in a dog attack or San Diego dog bite, please contact the San Diego dog bite lawyers to hold their owners accountable for their irresponsibility.…

Pedestrian Fatally Struck By Car in Riverside County

A woman was killed in a tragic pedestrian crash that occurred on February 26, 2012, around 6:21 p.m. at 7th Street and Grand Avenue. According to Riverside County fire officials, the victim was walking at the street when she was hit by a car.

The pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries and was pronounced dead at the accident scene. From the present facts, it is unclear as to how this pedestrian accident occurred. Was the motorist distracted? Or was he speeding?

The victim’s family members should immediately seek counsel from an experienced Riverside County pedestrian accident lawyer, who would educate them about their legal rights.

The victim’s family members may file a wrongful death claim against the car driver to obtain compensation to cover funeral and burial costs, loss of love, care and companionship, and other accident-related damages.

Our law office sends sincere condolences to victim’s family members.…

Department of Transportation Shuts Down Truck Operator for Unsafe Driving

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), regularly shuts down trucking companies due to repeated or serious safety violations. The agency recently ordered an individual California truck driver off the road, however – an extra step that the agency rarely takes except in serious cases.

According to the out of service order filed by the FMCSA, the driver had violated both state law and federal regulations regarding drug or alcohol use and driving several times over the past year. The agency says that the driver has been cited more than once for driving a commercial vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Impaired or drunk driving is dangerous in any vehicle, but when the driver is operating a large truck or bus, the results can be devastating.

The driver has also been cited for other safety violations, including areas such as the FMCSA’s Hours-of-Service rules and logbook requirements. The hours of service and logbook rules are intended to prevent accidents caused by fatigued driving. They limit the number of hours each day and each week a driver may be on duty, and require drivers to get rest during their off time.

Distracted, drowsy, or impaired truck drivers greatly increase the risk of harming others on the road. If you’ve been injured in a California truck accident, the experienced San Diego truck accident victim lawyers can help. Contact us today for a free and confidential case evaluation.…