- $500,787 Verdict in Sacramento Rear Ender
Automobile collisions can and do cause serious injuries. Insurance companies judge the value of a case by the extent of damage to the vehicles involved. Minor damage, they say, equates with minor injury.
To the insurer, anyone claiming serious injury from a collision that does not appear dramatic to one reviewing photographs, means that the party claiming injury is a liar. Insurance companies categorize these cases as 'fraudulent' and they are dealt with in their 'fraud' department. The carriers instruct their attorneys to hire expensive expert witnesses, including biomechanics witnesses, physicians and other experts to defend the cases at trial. They know that they can outspend most Plaintiff's attorneys and drum up evidence sufficient for their attorneys to argue that the injured person is a malingerer or simply out for secondary gain. This means that they argue the injuries are made up and not real.
I tried a case in October 2007 where the insurer pulled out all of these stops--and more. Still the jury saw through the tactics and fairly compensated this middle aged woman who suffered disc injury in the rear end collision. In the blogs to come, I will take you through the anatomy of this case through to verdict.
- Oil Spill Outrage
The recent crash into the Bay Bridge by the Cosco Busan container ship is an atrocity.They will unravel the facts of this crash for years to come but the birds, fish, marine life, oyster farmers, surfers and all of us have to deal with the fallout now. And it is an outrage. Every day there is another new fact elicited about what happened that morning. Today the Chronicle reports that the ship captain was unfamiliar with the electronic guidance system on the ship while operating it in the fog. Nice.
Everyone knows that there is no excuse for this to have happened. Senator Feinstein suggested someone should question why this was a single hulled ship. If the Chronicle reports are accurate, someone needs to question how a huge cargo ship like this one, was being captained by someone who could not operate the directional electronics. There was a complete breakdown in management of this vessel. Is it not foreseeable that someplace, somewhere there might be fog necessitating the use of the electronic directional system. Certainly no one might assume that there might be fog in the San Francisco Bay while this massive ship is attempting to dock or leave port. Bottom line is that Cosco (China Ocean Shipping) or whoever owns this ship, is not going to take the time to check out its ship captains. San Francisco and the entire Bay Area suffers the consequences.
The other day, Senator Feinstein indicated that from what she heard, this accident should never have happened. Ah, the insights of our elected officials.
But that apparently was only the half of it. Based upon reports in the media, it appears that the crash occurred at 8:30 am, but it was not until eight (8) hours later that the Coast Guard realized 58,000 gallons had poisoned the Bay. During the previous 8 hours, reports say that the Coast Guard thought only 140 gallons had been unleashed. What is that about?? The reports I am seeing indicate that all 58,000 gallons were in the Bay by 9:00 am. Why did the Coast Guard fail to learn about the size of the spill immediately?
The point is that these people have a lot of responsibility to do their jobs properly and the health and wellbeing of an ecosystem that is far reaching is in the balance. Lives and livelihoods are dramatically affected.
Now it is about the blame game and the focus will of course turn to the law suits. I suppose that is what we do as lawyers. Regrettably, I wonder if all that is left now is the finger pointing and a few good people trying to help clean it all up.
I hope that there is an investigation that results in a framework or forum for ideas that leads to more rigid limitations for ships navigating the San Francisco Bay.
- California Cracks Down On Uninsured Motorists
As you can tell from my comments in prior blogs, the uninsured motorist situation in this State has gone from bad to worse. Just when I thought that I may never see another auto accident case where all of the drivers were adequately insured, the cavalry arrived. California has decided to flex its muscle and at least attempt to make sure all drivers have some coverage. Unfortunately, the only teeth in these enforcement plans is vehicle seizure. Since the targets here are uninsured motorists, civil penalties and fines against these people who presumably cannot afford insurance to begin with probably serve only to make matters worse. Again, the only thing you can do is obtain adequate uninsured motorist coverage for yourself and your family.
An article entitled, "California Going After Uninsured Motorists" discusses the State's effort to regulate uninsured drivers. The Legislature authorized the DMV to begin a systematic review of 22.4 million private vehicles registered in the state. The DMV reviews its data of registered car owners and compares their list to a list of insured vehicles (supplied by insurance companies). With this method, the DMV will be able to account for the car owners who are driving without insurance.
The State has already sent out suspension warnings to vehicle owners that do not have insurance. The vehicle owners are given 30 days to purchase insurance or show proof of insurance. If they do not respond to the suspension notice, the vehicle owner may be subjected to fines exceeding $1,000 and or seizure of the vehicle if the driver obtains a citation for driving with the registration suspended.
The article highlights the fact that, " Uninsured drivers who get in accidents can lose their licenses for one year and be subjected to civil damages to compensate injured parties or to repair property." The article also states that 14.3 percent of California drivers are uninsured and 15 percent of accidents involve uninsured motorists.
That means that if you are in an accident at present, you have a nearly 2 in 10 chance that the person involved has no insurance. Rather dramatic information, wouldn't you agree?
- Insult to Injury: Coping With Holiday Blues and Personal Injuries
It is no secret that the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year's can be a stressful time for some people because of financial strains, family problems, unmet goals, recall of holiday seasons past and a host of other emotional issues. People are often not as focused as they may be during other seasons-- they may be partying or concentrating on partying or not concentrating at all. They may be in an altered state due to alcohol, drugs or otherwise.
It is not just that the Holiday Season seems to proliferate more accidents and mishaps, but that the fallout during the Holiday Season can add insult to injury. We all are anxious to have fun during this time and being injured, hurt and impaired due to an injury not of our own making is very frustrating and upsetting.
As "Coping With the Holiday Blues" on EverydayHealth.com explains, people struggling with the holiday blues may experience feelings of sadness, tension, and stress; changes in sleep patterns; a lack of energy; diminished interest in favorite activities; or excessive drinking or eating. These emotional issues impair our ability to function, both on the job and in other aspects of our lives.
Injury from a car accident, or losing a loved one in an accident can potentiate these emotional problems and make things even more difficult to cope with. On top of holiday blues, suffering from personal injuries will add tremendous pressure during the holidays. People injured in car accidents often miss work due to their injuries necessitating sick leave, disability, or valuable personal time off. At times, some people are forced to take reduced pay or no pay at all. Depending upon one's job, missing work may really not be an option and a host of dominoes can begin to fall. Injury leads to the added stress of attending medical appointments, the side effects of medications, and worrying about paying medical bills. It is so frustrating not to be able to complete normal household chores or accomplish the activities of daily living due to injuries.
- San Francisco: Fatal Hit and Run Car Accident
Cbs5.com reported on a fatal hit and run that occurred early Thursday morning. A vehicle headed northbound on Laguna Street in San Francisco ran a red light whil
