California Personal Injury Blog - Automobile Accidents - Most Popular

Woman hit, killed in crosswalk on Geary Boulevard

Claude Wyle — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:11:35 GMT

A 70-year-old woman walking across Geary Boulevard at Ninth Avenue was killed Thursday morning when the driver of a white van hit and killed her while making a left turn.

This was the 23rd pedestrian traffic fatality in San Francisco this year. The crash happened about 8:15 a.m. when the van, heading south on Ninth Avenue, turned onto eastbound Geary Boulevard and hit the woman, police spokesman Officer Samson Chan said.

The victim was identified as Jon Kong, a resident of the Richmond district. Kong was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries after she was hit by a car and was pronounced dead shortly afterward, Chan said. No one else was hurt.

Transportation for America’s nationwide survey found the San Francisco region, which includes Oakland and Fremont, is second only to New York for the highest percentage of traffic deaths among major cities in the country. As bike accident attorneys, we think this is unacceptable, but what can be done? Here are some suggestions from sf.streetsblog.org:

Use police reports analyze a large sample of recent fatal pedestrian accidents with the Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT). PBCAT is a software application designed to assist state and local pedestrian and bicycle coordinators, planners, and engineers in addressing pedestrian and bicyclist crash problems.
Compile the actual investigative follow-up from the crashes -- were charges filed, were other countermeasures recommended or implemented?
Condense the results into a report that breaks out the most common factors, outcomes and recommended countermeasures.
Convene a pedestrian safety summit with NJ DOT, Traffic Safety, law enforcement, elected officials, pedestrian safety experts and transportation planners all at the table.
The summit would then generate a list of recommendations and goals for the state and local governments to implement.
Follow up with an evaluation of the process. Did the recommendations actually contribute to reducing pedestrian deaths?

These are all excellent suggestions; please join us in an effort to convince city officials to take some of these steps and save lives.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Claude Wyle

The Most Deadly Vehicle - The 15-Passenger Van

IB Contributor — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 12:56:29 GMT

Why haven't they been recalled?

There is no doubt, the evidence is clear, the fifteen-passenger van is the most dangerous vehicle on our roads. It is the vehicle most likely to be involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident. Rollover accidents are the most deadly type of traffic accident on our highways today.

The fifteen-passenger van is the extra-long van that is commonly used by airport shuttles. It is the type of van that is used extensively by colleges and church groups. Its sale to primary schools and high schools is outlawed. This type van is rented daily by unsuspecting consumers from rental car agencies without adequate warnings regarding their accident propensity.

Why are rental car agencies allowed to rent 15-passenger vans, especially without adequate warnings?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an updated safety advisory on these vehicles. In fact, the latest advisory marks the 4th time in just 5 years that NHTSA has issued a safety warning regarding these vehicles. On its website, NHTSA says the good news is, "The percent of 15-passenger van occupant fatalities that occur as a result of rollover crashes is down from a high of 81% in 2000 to 52% in 2003."

The good news should be that NHTSA orders them recalled and dumped in the ocean to make reefs off our coasts. At least NHTSA should forbid the rental of these vans to anyone without a commercial drivers license. What could possibly be the reason that NHTSA does not more highly regulate their use or ban them from our highways completely? Political influence?

We successfully sued an auto rental company twice for renting these vans to unsuspecting groups. The first was a group of friends that rented a Dodge B3500, 15-passenger van, intending to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to celebrate a birthday. The other was a church group that rented a Ford E350, 15-passenger van, to travel from the Los Angeles area to the San Francisco Bay area to perform volunteer work. The result was the same. The vans rolled due to their unstable nature, resulting in multiple deaths and serious injuries. We held Ford and Daimler-Chrysler accountable as well.

On its website, NHTSA says:

Still, more needs to be done to alert operators of these vehicles' high center of gravity -- particularly when fully loaded - and their increased chance of rollover. NHTSA is continuing to work to get the word out about this increased rollover risk, as well as what can be done to mitigate it.

Take the damned things off the road. Forbid them to be rented to non-professional drivers. Require warning labels to be plastered all over the interior of the vans advising of the inherent dangers of these 15-passenger vans.

Please do not ride in these death traps. The rollover risk rises dramatically with the number of occupants. With ten or more passengers, these vans are three times more likely to rollover in single vehicle accidents than when lightly loaded. The auto dealers and rental car agencies never tell you that.

If it sounds like I have an attitude about these vans, you are right. I do. I have represented the injured and the families of the deceased. It make me angry that the governmental agency responsible for vehicle safety and standards, chooses to cater to the auto makers and rental agencies at the cost of lives. NHTSA's solution to this problem, non-required, "hangtags" in these 15-passenger death traps that warn of their dangers. At least they could require the information permanently displayed in a prominent place in the interior of the vans.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Drunk Drivers Exposed to Punitive Damages

Larry Knapp — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:28:15 GMT

When a drunk driver causes an injury in the state of California like Herondina Pinherosias is accused of doing to Clement Cope yesterday afternoon in the Sonora area on Highway 120, the Civil Justice System enables a jury to punish the drunk driver by

including money in their verdict for punitive damages. The purpose of these damages is to send a message to the driver that their conduct is so extreme and reckless that public policy will exact exemplary damages for the broken lives of those effected.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Larry Knapp

Ford Explorer, SUV victims fight back, see results

Brian Foley — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:30:47 GMT

Today, November 19, 2007, an expected class action settlement concerning Ford Motor Co. may impact 1 million Ford Explorer owners nationwide. SUVs, passenger vans and trucks kill 10,000 people and injure another 27,000 every year. Among them, the Ford Explorer in particular is a disaster waiting to happen for millions of Americans who drive them.

Between their flawed design that makes them susceptible to rolling over , their substandard roofs that can crush the carÂ¹s occupants and their history of relying on tires that are ticking time bombs http://www.injuryboard.com/topic/firestone-tires-overview.aspx, it is no wonder that profit-hungry executives at Ford have been on the receiving end of a torrent of litigation for years.

Meanwhile, deadly accidents continue to happen. On Saturday night, 7 people were killed in a Ford Explorer in Central California.

On July 5, 2006 in Menlo Park, Ca, the issue of its lethal design hit new proportions when a 1998 Ford Explorer rolled over and killed its three passengers after it was cut off by a speedy teenager driving a Mustang on U.S. Highway 101. Among the victims were two members of the Tongan Royal Family: Prince TuÂ¹ipelehake, 54 and Princess Kaimana, 45. The news sent shockwaves throughout the Tongan world and it is a tragedy that is still felt today.

The tragic accident has highlighted an ongoing issue that rests on the hands of Ford executives who continue to attempt to skirt responsibility for designing a metal box on wheels that has killed scores of Americans. Ford can no longer pass off the Explorer and other SUVs as a reliable and safe mode of transportation and Explorer owners deserve to know how dangerous this vehicle really is.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brian Foley

Toyota Floor Mat And Gas Pedal Defects--Do They Cause Wrongful Deaths?

Claude Wyle — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:11:47 GMT

Federal highway safety inspectors have released new details of a fatal car crash that triggered Toyota Motor Corp.'s largest recall, including a finding that the Lexus ES 350 sedan involved had a gas pedal design that could increase the risk of its being obstructed by a floor mat.

Although Toyota has previously said that the floor mat was improperly installed and may have trapped the accelerator pedal, the latest report by the National Highway Traffic discloses new details, including the fact that the brakes were heavily damaged, possibly due to a design defect in which the Lexus ES braking system loses power-assist when the throttle is fully opened. As consumer lawyers, we investigate whether these defects may have caused other collisions.

Further information indicates that the car was on loan from a Lexus dealership and that the driver may not have been aware how to turn the car off or whether there were other measures he could have taken after the pedal got stuck.

As personal injury attorneys (change to dangerous products attorneys) , we often see the tragic results of poorly designed cars and trucks. The car dealer owed a duty to provide a safe car, however this story shows that we cannot always rely on those whom we believe we can trust. Before driving an unfamiliar vehicle, you might want to inspect the vehicle to determine whether the floor mats are installed properly and whether there is any condition that might interfere with the accelerator or brake pedals.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that last month, Toyota announced the largest recall in its history, asking drivers of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to remove their floor mats until a permanent remedy is devised. The recall affects the following Toyota models:

2007 – 2010 Camry
2005 – 2010 Avalon
2004 – 2009 Prius
2005 – 2010 Tacoma
2007 – 2010 Tundra
2007 – 2010 ES350
2006 – 2010 IS250 and IS350

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Claude Wyle

Distracted Driving - Pets, Phones and Pretzels

Nigel Whitehead — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:49:43 GMT

Driving while "distracted" is a major source of automobile accidents. The National Highway Traffic Administration has released several articles dealing with the effect of driving while distracted. After all the statistics are analyzed, the bottom line is clear - driving while talking on the phone, eating, or petting your pet, is dangerous. One would hope that it wouldn't be necessary to point out that driving with your cat sitting in your lap is dangerous, but, once again, an accident was reportedly caused when a woman drove into a pole after the cat sitting in her lap scratched her while driving. This raises a related question on the wisdom of having a cat at all, but that's another topic! Why you would own a cat in the first place is bewildering. But why you would drive with a cat sitting in your lap is beyond comprehension.

(Skip Morrow, The Art of Humor. The I hate Cats Collection)

In fact, in California, a new law will go into effect as of July 1, 2008 mandating that if you use a phone while driving you must use a hands-free device. Whenever we litigate an automobile accident case we always examine whether or not the other driver was using his or her cell phone at the time of the accident. Simply put, when you are holding a phone to your ear you are driving with one hand. When your attention is even partly devoted to your conversation, you are not paying full attention to the road. We all shake our heads in disbelief when we see a teenager on the phone, or a driver with fluffy the pooch in their lap, but its no laughing matter. People are being seriously hurt, or even killed by inattentive drivers.

Please, don't drive while holding a phone, or even eating. And PLEASE, don't drive with your pet riding in your lap. It's dangerous and it makes you look like one of those too rich to care pretend celebrities who takes their mini-dogs everywhere. And who wants that?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

Santa Rosa Car Accident Kills One

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:23:32 GMT

A car accident in Santa Rosa on Saturday night killed one man and injured three other people. The car accident happened on Occidental Road. The driver of a Toyota Tercel sideswiped one car and then hit another. He was driving under the influence of alcohol. He was injured in the crash. His passenger was killed.

The police said the victim

was wearing only the shoulder strap and not his lap belt and suffered blunt force trauma to his chest when his body went into the dashboard.

The driver of the sideswiped car was not injured. The driver and passenger in the third car were both injured. All of injured were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The driver responsible for the crash was charged with a DUI and arrested.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Teen Ejected in Car Accident Involving Drunk Driver

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:57:13 GMT

The driver of a speeding car suspected of driving while under the influence, veered off the road and struck a sign, causing his 17-year-old passenger, not wearing a seatbelt, to be ejected from the backseat , authorities said.

The passenger sustained serious injury in the car accident, according to California Highway patrol.

The accident occurred on Friday, at 2:45 a.m. when the 23-year-old driver of a 1988 Oldsmobile failed to manipulate a curve in the road. The driver lost control of the vehicle and spun onto the shoulder, hitting a curb and striking a sign.

The driver, who was wearing his seatbelt, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence. He suffered injuries in the crash but to what extent is unknown.

Please visit our section on Car and Motorcyle Accidents for more information.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Two Sentenced in Auto Fatality Crash That Killed Berkeley Students

Claude Wyle — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:48:24 GMT

More than four years after three UC Berkeley graduate students were killed in a high-speed crash, the two Oakland men responsible were sentenced last Friday.

Eric Barnes, 28, and Stanley Jacks Jr., 25, were convicted last month of three counts of vehicular manslaughter. The July 16, 2005, crash killed Giulia Adesso, 26, Benjamin Boussert, 27, and Jason Choy, 29, all graduate students in the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. Barnes and Jacks were sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison, the maximum sentence.

There was a delay in sentencing because the California Highway Patrol was had been unsure of how the accident happened. Researchers at UC Berkeley's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center ultimately used sensors embedded in Interstate 80, where the auto fatality occurred, to establish that Jacks and Barnes were racing and that both cars were traveling at more than 100 miles per hour.

Barnes's and Jacks's reckless driving caused a nearby big rig to lose control, collide into the center divider and then catch on fire, Morgan said. From there, the truck traveled into the opposite lanes of traffic and collided with the car carrying the trio of students.

I have mixed feelings about this sentencing. While harsh in some senses, I, like the sentencing judge, am moved by the severity of the accident and the horrible way in which these young people died. I also hope that this sentence makes other young “racers” stop and think, if not about ruining the lives of others, about ruining their own lives with such reckless conduct.

My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Once again, I hope that the families got good legal advice. Even though families find comfort when offending criminals have been sentenced, nothing will bring their loved ones back. The only thing that will help the families in any tangible sense is a civil lawsuit. Even if the responsible parties have little or no insurance, as is often the case, there could be other insurance, including your own uninsured motorists’ coverage, which may help offset some of the financial consequences. If you are in an accident with an underinsured or uninsured driver, please see a wrongful death attorney.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Claude Wyle

The Danger of Speeding—Tragic California Accident Kills Child

Jessica Smagacz — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:04:59 GMT

Tommy Watkins, 50 year old from Bakersfield, was driving home after camping at Lopez Lake with his family. According to investigators, Watkins attempted to pass another car but got stuck and his white Chevy Sedan hit a burgundy Suburban head-on.

According to KSBY 6 Action News, emergency crews went out on this call around 12:30 p.m. this past Monday. The car accident occurred about two miles east of Suey Creek Road on the Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo county line.

A 12 year-old boy tragically died at the scene of this accident. He was the grandson of Watkins.

There were six people in the suburban that Watkins hit and all of them were taken to the hospital. Sgt. Ben Ruth from the California Highway Patrol said, “It started to pass, there were broken lines that gave it permission to do so, but as you can see where the skid marks are, that passing lane ended way back.”

Chris Martinez is a witness to this accident. He saw Watkins’s Chevy pass traffic and had no idea it would turn into a tragic car crash. He said, “First thing that crossed through my mind: there’s no need to rush it to where you’re going. There’s always time. Apparently, sometimes you rush it and things like this happen.”

The six people in the Sedan suffered injuries along with the grandfather.

Our thoughts are with the child’s family and with those who were injured in this tragic car crash.

Remember to use caution at all times while driving. When you are in a rush, remember what can happen if you speed; instead, think about the fact that there is still time and driving safely outweighs the risks of a tragic accident such as this one.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jessica Smagacz