Houston Personal Injury Attorney Makes Bet on Texas vs. Texas A&M Game with the Law Group

As many of you may know Houston personal injury attorney and Vujasinovic & Beckcom founding partner Brian Beckcom is a third-generation Fighting Texas Aggie. Even though Brian went to “trade” school at the University of Texas (or t.u. and “The University of Texas School of Law” to Aggies), he claims he was actually educated at Texas A&M. Brian’s a maroon-blooded Aggie and season-ticket holder for the football games and has been since the day he graduated from Texas A&M.

The Texas – Texas A&M game is one of the oldest rivalries in college football. Traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day, the game pits two in-state rivals against each other and often pits friends and families against each other, at least on Thanksgiving Day.

Although the rivalry is pretty intense already, we’ve decided to bring it up a notch. Brian Beckcom, a Houston personal injury attorney, and the Law Group, founded and run by a Texas Longhorn fan and supporter, are placing a bet on this year’s game.

Whoever loses the game has agreed to change their Facebook avatar to the opposing school’s mascot for one week. Although this doesn’t sound like much, to a U.T. or Aggie grad and fan changing your Facebook logo to the opposing school’s mascot for even one millisecond is enough of public humiliation to cause teeth to grind, hair to fall out, and tears to shed.

Gig ‘em and Hook ‘em!…

San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Answers Client’s Question: How Much is My Injury Accident Case Worth?

Prospective clients to our San Diego personal injury law firm often ask, “How Much is My Personal Injury Case Worth?” It is the most frequently asked question besides, “How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take?“.

Our San Diego injury accident law office takes pride in providing as much helpful and useful free information as we can to our personal injury clients and members of the public. We want to make sure the public is as educated as claims adjustors so we all can effectively fight the insurance companies and their hardball tactics.

San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer Answers Client Question: How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take?

One of the most frequent questions our San Diego personal injury law firm receives from prospective clients is, “How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take?“.

Our office takes pride in providing as much helpful and useful free information as we can to our personal injury clients and members of the public. Only by ensuring that the public is as educated as claims adjustors and insurance company employees can we help effectively fight them and their hardball tactics.

How Long Will My Personal Injury Case Take?

San Diego personal injury lawyer and car accident attorney answers a very common question of injury accident victims: How long will my personal injury case take?

Aside from asking “How much is my injury claim worth?”, this is probably the most frequently asked question our office receives.…

Fatal Mission Bay Cruise Leads to Death of La Jolla Man

San Diego’s Mission Bay had a deadly even this week when lifeguards and divers found the body of a 28-year-old La Jolla man in the bay on August 9, 2009, over 12 hours after he dove off the Bahia Belle cruise ship with two friends. He did not make it to shore and drowned.

Sean Rae and his friends jumped off of the tour boar during the night time cruise around 12:35 a.m. in the early morning of August 9, according to San Diego Lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum. The San Diego Police Department released dive teams and joined with the Port of San Diego to search, along with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, and even with lifeguards from the North County, to all search the waters. Before the body was found, Lerum was worried the area would be too large to search and successfully locate the body.

The Bahia Belle is a mock paddlewheel restaurant-bar cruise boat based at the Bahia Resort, which regularly cruises Mission Bay. Rae lived in La Jolla with his girlfriend.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego boating accident, please contact San Diego personal injury attorney. You may also contact these San Diego boating accident lawyers online here.…

San Diego Bicyclist Dies on North Torrey Pines Road

An elderly man cycling in San Diego County died last week while out on his ride. His identity had not yet been released, but he was known to have been riding his bicycle south along North Torrey Pines Road when he died, and had apparently experienced a medical problem, which was to blame for his death, according to San Diego Police Department officers who reported on the matter.

Police had received a call around 10:45 a.m. the day of the accident last week about a solo bicycle accident along North Torrey Pines Road just north of Callan Road, and found the man alone and on the pavement when they arrived. The official cause of death is still pending an autopsy to be conducted by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego bicycle accident, please contact San Diego personal injury attorney. You may also contact these San Diego accident attorneys online here.…

San Diego City Council Takes on Pedicab Accidents and Injuries

The highly publicized death of a San Diego tourist by a pedicab driver last month has given way to new regulations being put in place on pedicab drivers by the San Diego City Council, who met on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, to re-regulate many of the rules.

The council approved a long list of changes that they find will help to improve safety as well as protect the customers. The Council also was adamant that they were not done with the regulations, and would be making more as they continued to research and find what was best to improve the entire oversight.

New regulations will cap the number of pedicabs allowed to operate in high-traffic zones and will require drivers to display fares in a prominent location. It will also ban the three-wheeled bikes from sidewalks and streets with speed limits of more than 25 mph, unless they safely use a bicycle lane. They will no longer be allowed to take up metered parking space and must carry proof of insurance and require their passengers to wear seat belts. All regulations will be taking effect in 30 days.

Many pedicab owners are very upset about the new laws, as it is projected to hurt their business by having to cut their workers by as much as 60 percent. Currently, 430 pedicabs are legally registered to operate in San Diego, and 817 people have received operator permits to drive the pedicabs within the past year. You can read more about the San Diego City Council’s hearing and proposed new laws to regulate pedicab safety in this SignOnSanDiego.com story.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego pedicab accident, please contact San Diego personal injury lawyer and the San Diego injury attorneys.…

Man Injured After Attack at San Diego House Party

A San Diego house party on July 18, 2009, turned dangerous when a man in attendance there was knocked unconscious before he left in the early morning hours, according to police. The Rancho Bernardo assault occurred around 5 a.m. when the assailant insulted the victim’s girlfriend at the party that was held on Grassy Trail Drive.

After the insult, the girlfriend threw her drink on the man and he pushed her. The woman’s boyfriend then grabbed the assailant and told him to leave immediately. Although the man left with his friends, they waited outside for the couple to leave. When they did leave, the attacker reportedly punched the victim in the face, knocking him to the ground. The assailant did not stop there, however, as he stomped on the man’s face and then fled. The man had to be taken to the hospital by his friends for serious injuries, although they were not believed to be life-threatening. You can read more about this San Diego assault and battery in this SignOnSanDiego.com story.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego private property injury please contact San Diego personal injury lawyer and the San Diego injury attorneys.…

New Court of Appeal Case: Horseplay Around Pool an “Accident” Under Homeowners’ Insurance

On Friday, the California Court of Appeals denied State Farm Insurance’s Petition for Writ of Mandate seeking to have the trial court issue judgment in favor of the insurance company. At issue in the case, titled State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. Superior Court, was whether the trial court erred in ruling that State Farm owed a duty to defend its’ insured from a lawsuit for personal injuries where its’ insured threw the victim into a pool, landing on an exposed step.

An insurance company’s duty to defend it’s insured is extremely broad. It is broader than the duty to pay a covered loss. The duty to defend applies to any claim that could possibly involve a covered loss.

In this case, the insureds’ 21 year-old son, who lived with the insureds, argued with another young man, Mr. Wright, at a party. When Wright went outside, the son grabbed Wright and picked him up and threw him into the shallow end of the swimming pool. Wright landed on the pool’s concrete step which was above the water line. As a result of this action, Wright fractured his right clavicle and was hospitalized for four days. The son apologized immediately to Wright and claimed that he was just horse-playing.

The son was later arrested for the incident and pled nolo contender to misdemeanor battery.

Wright then sued the son seeking compensation for his injuries. The claim was tendered to the parents’ homeowners’ insurance policy with State Farm. The policy covered “damages because of bodily injury…caused by an occurrence” with an “occurrence” being defined as “an accident…which results in a. bodily injury; or b. property damage.”

State Farm denied a defense to the parents on several grounds, including:

The claim against you does not meet the insuring agreement in the policy, as the actions do not arise out of an accident. Also, the policy specifically excludes damages which are either expected or intended by the insured or the result of willful and malicious conduct.” In short, State Farm treated the son’s actions as a willful assault rather than mere horseplay.

The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s ruling that State Farm acted improperly when they denied the parents with a defense to Wright’s claims. The Court found that under the stipulated facts, an “accident” did occur which would give rise to the duty to defend. The Court held that although the son intentionally picked up Wright and threw him at the pool, the son did not intend or expect the consequence (that Wright would land on a step). Therefore, the duty to defend existed because Wright’s injury was neither expected nor intended by the son, nor was it the result of a malicious act by the insured.…

San Diego Motorcyclist Killed in Accident Identified

A Wednesday evening motorcycle crash in San Diego County’s El Cajon last week had left one man dead who had been traveling on his motorcycle. The rider was recently identified by the San Diego Union-Tribune as 37-year-old Lance Michael Hagerty. Hagerty had been killed when his motorcycle rear-ended a pickup truck as it was attempting to turn into a driveway about 5 p.m. in El Cajon on West Bradley Avenue near Wing Avenue, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Officer. Hagerty had lived and worked in El Cajon.

Hagerty was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision and was riding a newer-model sports bike, according to El Cajon police. He was taken to a hospital after the wreck, where he died. The westbound traffic on Bradley Avenue had been diverted for about five hours as investigators examiner the scene, police said. The driver of the pickup truck had not been hurt.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego motorcycle accident, please contact San Diego motorcycle wreck attorney and the San Diego personal injury lawyers.…

Hot Coffee the Movie Shows the Ill Effect of Tort Reform

Remember the McDonald’s coffee case? A woman orders a cup of hot coffee. She puts the cup in between her legs as she drives. Then, the coffee spills, and she gets third-degree burns on very private areas on her body. Cha-ching!

Though, that is not exactly the whole story. Susan Saladoff, director of the documentary film Hot Coffee, which premieres on HBO tonight at 6 p.m. PST, shows viewers what really happened in the infamous “McDonald’s hot coffee” lawsuit. The movie looks at what actually happened to Stella Liebeck, why the case got so much media attention, who funded the effort, and who really profited from spilling hot coffee.

Hot Coffee is a “call to action.” It asks the question, What happens when access to court is so lopsided that the average person cannot gain access? And who really pays the price, the negligent party or taxpayers?

In the four cases the film documents, Saladoff shows how Americans are surrendering their Constitutional rights in all sorts of ways without even knowing it and how they are being screwed by the system –not taking advantage of it.

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed because of a defective product or negligent person, you are entitled to damages. The California personal injury attorneys will protect your Constitutional rights and get the money you deserve.…