Car and Auto Accidents

The Importance of Fact-Gathering in Injury Law

December 10, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

One of the key parts of our job as an injury law firm is gathering evidence to help reconstruct life-changing moments. In the majority of cases, no one expected these moments to occur and it is only afterwards that the importance of the minutes or even seconds of an incident is realized. Fact-gathering is an important part of our work as an Oakland injury law firm and being brought onto a case in a timely fashion ensures we can collect the evidence necessary to help our client recover needed compensation.

A Fact-Intensive Hearing in an Oakland Hit-and-Run

While focused on a pending criminal case (versus our work in civil court), a recent news report serves as a reminder that injury law is very fact-intensive. An Oakland Tribune report details some of the pieces of evidence that led a Santa Cruz County Superior Court to rule that there is enough evidence to have Oakland-resident Joanna Steele stand trial for the hit-and-run death of 70 year-old Adolfo “Adolf” Galvan. The incident occurred on August 24 on Pacific Avenue and Galvan spent 11 days in a coma before passing. Evidence presented at the preliminary hearing included: Testimony of a police officer who interviewed Steele after the incident and told the court she first denied and then later admitted to driving the vehicle believed to be involved in the crash; Records of a test that put Steele’s blood alcohol level at 0.15 three hours after the crash; Testimony of two brothers who together reported witnessing the moments before, during, and after a truck collided with a pedestrian sending him flying into the air; and Video recordings of the truck from a short period prior to the crash.

Safety on the Golden Gate Bridge

December 5, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Saint Louis has its Arch, Philadelphia has the Liberty Bell, New York has its famed skyline, and San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, symbols that people nationwide (or even worldwide) associate with their respective cities. Along with being an icon of the city, Golden Gate Bridge stands out since it is also a heavily trafficked transportation route. While less common that one may expect, accidents on the storied span are a reality. Bridge accidents are particularly frightening and, as a San Francisco auto accident law firm, we encourage the city to move forward with long-delayed plans that may further reduce the accident rate.

Drunk Driver Wedges Car Onto Golden Gate Pedestrian Path

Early Tuesday morning, a strange accident left a car wedged onto the Golden Gate Bridge’s pedestrian walkway. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Daniel Soto, age 22, was driving drunk when he turned into a parking lot near the span’s north end at 5:10 A.M. California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said that Soto then hit the gas, plowing through a security gate and onto the bridge’s west-side walkway. He drove about 400 yards before his Ford Mustang became stuck and his air bags deployed. Police did briefly take Soto to the hospital after arresting him for suspected DUI, taking him into custody after he was released from the hospital. Bridge officials shut down all traffic to bring in a forklift and flatbed truck to remove the vehicle.

Child Injury Lawyer Watching Federal Investigation Into Defective Child Safety Seats

December 3, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Earlier this year, our San Francisco child injury attorney highlighted a recall that at the time involved some 1.3 million car seats , a number that has since ballooned to include an unprecedented 6.1 million seats. This week, the story became even more disturbing as an investigation opened into allegations that the company knowingly delayed alerting authorities to the potentially defective child safety seats.

Federal Agency Looks At Whether Company Delayed Reporting Child Seat Defect

According to The New York Times, federal safety regulators opened an investigation this week into Graco Children’s Products focusing on whether the company delayed reporting a safety defect that became the subject of the nation’s largest child car seat recall. Earlier this year, Graco recalled approximately 6.1 million child safety seats because of concerns that the buckles may become difficult to unlatch and hinder the ability to remove a child during an emergency. Graco had resisted the recall, asserting that the seats were safe and claiming any problems were the result of food or liquids being spilled on the buckles rather than a safety defect. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) disagreed.

Child Onboard, Drunk Driver Behind the Wheel

December 2, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Imagine a DUI crash in which a child is one of the innocent victims injured or killed because of the driver’s intoxication. When asked to consider this tragic scenario, most people probably imagine a lone drunk driver plowing into a family vehicle. However, there’s another scenario that may be even more upsetting to consider — when the drunk driver and the child are in the same car. While California’s criminal laws rightly impose extra penalties in such cases, it is the civil law that can truly provide for the victim. As a child injury lawyer in Northern California, Attorney Brod understands the unique contours of these cases, knows the unique needs of child DUI victims, and considers it an honor to fight on their behalf.

A Look at the Statistics

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (“NHTSA”) Traffic Safety Facts: Alcohol-Impaired Driving (2012 Data Sheet), a total of 10,322 people died in the United States during 2012 in a vehicle accident involving an alcohol-impaired driver. This figure, which includes crashes in which at least one driver has a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, represents 31% of all traffic fatalities that year. There were 239 children aged 14 and under killed in alcohol-involved accidents in 2012, 20% of the total 1,168 young people killed in traffic crashes during 2012. More than half – 124 of the 239 – were occupants of the impaired driver’s vehicle. Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s Child Endangerment http://www.madd.org/laws/law-overview/DUI_Child_Endangerment_Overview.pdf position paper notes that a child riding with an impaired driver is at risk not only because of the hindered driver but also because the child is less likely to be properly restrained. In fatal crashes, 30.5% of sober drivers used child restraints compared to only 18% of alcohol-impaired drivers.

Blackout Wednesday and the Danger of Thanksgiving Weekend DUI Accidents

November 26, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

The grocery store lines are growing, the highway traffic is picking up, and the holiday sale advertisements are taking over the airways, all signs that the Thanksgiving holiday is fast approaching. Like many of you, we are looking forward to sharing food and building memories with friends and families. Our Oakland accident law firm wants to help everyone arrive safe and sound. With that goal in mind, we want to discuss the growing danger of holiday drunk driving accidents, specifically the time that has come to be called “Blackout Wednesday.”

Thanksgiving Weekend and “Blackout Wednesday”

While it may come as a surprise to many, the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the most dangerous periods on U.S. roadways. When the Wall Street Journal discussed the matter back in 2011, they cited some disturbing statistics. In four of the five years prior to the article, there were more drunk driving related fatalities during Thanksgiving weekend than the New Year’s Eve holiday. Likewise, the article cited a conversation with the coordinator of DUI-enforcement in Pennsylvania who said that from 2PM-7PM the roads are filled with travelers but the make-up of the traffic changes by 10PM or 11PM. He reported that his state saw 197 DUI arrests over Christmas weekend 2010, 267 arrests over New Year’s, and a whopping 412 DUI arrests during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Third-Party Observation Can Influence the Results of Neuropsychological Evaluations

November 20, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

If you or a loved one sustained a head injury as a result of a car accident, a neuropsychologist may be necessary to determine whether a traumatic brain injury occurred as a result of the incident. Traumatic brain injuries can impair concentration, thought, and perception, and may create emotional functioning issues such as personality changes and depression.

Diagnosing Brain Injury

A neuropsychological examination can establish whether an incident has affected an injured person’s attention span, ability to concentrate, memory, perceptual skills, speech, and mental flexibility. An attorney may request to attend an neuropsychological examination, or obtain an audio or video recording of the examination, in order to establish that the examiner was not biased. Several courts have permitted medical or psychological examinations to be recorded on that basis.

CA Vehicle Defect Attorney on Dealers Selling Used Cars Without Repair or Notice to Purchaser of Recall

November 19, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

It seems like almost every week we hear about a new auto recall, many involving defects that could cause serious injuries or even lead to fatalities if necessary repairs are not made. When a recall is announced, those who own the subject vehicles often receive a notice in the mail about the recall. In other cases, the owners simply hear about the recall through the media, their ears perking up when their make/model/year is involved. What if, however, you purchase a used vehicle that was involved in a recall but never repaired? It is unlikely you’d remember every recall, especially a recall on a vehicle you didn’t own yet at the time it was announced. Our Northern California vehicle defect lawyer hopes that the car dealer would warn the buyer of any outstanding recalls, but a recent report suggests this may not always be the case.

Used Cars, Auto Recalls, and California Law

ABC7 recently spoke with a Fresno man who purchased a Dodge Ram from a used car lot. After owning it for fewer than 125 days, he was driving on Highway 41 when the drive shaft separated from the vehicle’s rear axle. The incident could have killed the new owner and bystanders.

Drugged Driving: Advocating for the Victims, Working to Prevent Future Incidents

November 13, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

We have to imagine that people who drive impaired know the theoretical dangers, but have little or no experience with the reality of lives irrevocably changed by an impaired driver. We hold tight to this belief because we can’t imagine anyone would want to be responsible for the pain we see on the faces of accident victims. In drugged driving cases, our clients typically fall into three groups: The injured, many of whom will be dealing with that injury for a lifetime; Those who watched a loved one cope with injury, a truly painful experience in itself; and Those who are grieving for a close family member. We are proud to serve as a drugged driving law firm in Oakland, Santa Rosa, San Francisco and throughout Northern California and we are also proud to support efforts to prevent drugged driving and make the roads safe for us all.

Drugs Eyed in Bay Bridge Crash

It was just before 8:30 P.M. last Saturday night when the Bay Bridge saw a major crash that left three injured and traffic backed up for hours. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, 32 year-old Karrie Lyn Morgan of Vacaville was driving westbound in the bridge’s eastbound lanes when her car slammed head-on into one vehicle and sideswiped two others in the area just east of Treasure Island. The California Highway Patrol reported that Morgan was high on drugs at the time of the events that sent three, including Morgan, to San Francisco General Hospital. Authorities booked Morgan in County Jail on suspicion of driving without a license and causing injury while driving under the influence of drugs. The investigation is looking into how the vehicle was able to enter the bridge in the wrong direction.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Motor Vehicles: Details, Dangers, and Liability

October 14, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Even if the harm catches you off-guard, the basis of most threats can be seen – the car doing 60mph in a 25mph zone, the slip-potential of water pooling atop a flight of stairs, the driver focused on his phone instead of the road. Carbon monoxide, however, is neither seen nor smelled. It is a dangerous, even deadly, threat. In this entry, our San Francisco poisoning attorney focuses on automobiles and carbon monoxide, a dangerous mix.

Brief Refresher on CO Poisoning

The Centers for Disease Control explains that carbon monoxide (“CO”) is an odorless, colorless gas that forms in combustion fumes. People and animals are put at risk when CO builds up in an enclosed or semi-enclosed space. As the gas builds in the air, it also begins to replace oxygen in the blood and deprives bodily tissues of the same. Early symptoms of exposure include headache, nausea/vomiting, weakness, chest pain, and confusion. Since these symptoms are vague and mimic many other conditions, diagnosing CO poisoning is tough.

Furnishing Alcohol to Minors: California’s Limited Social Host Law Protects Victims of Underage DUIs

October 10, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

The problem of underage drinking is not new and, sadly, neither is the problem of underage drunk drivers causing serious accidents. However, it seems like only recently we have begun to ask the logical next question: How did they get the alcohol? As an Oakland DUI injury law firm, we believe this is a critical question. We also believe in holding adults accountable for accidents that occur because they were providing alcohol to minors.

Fremont Woman Arrested for Providing Alcohol to Teen Involved in Fatal DUI Crash

On Tuesday, as reported by ABC News, 42 year-old Tabassum Yousuf was arrested in Fremont on suspicion of felony involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges relate to a fatal car accident in Fremont that claimed the life of a 17 year-old boy last year.