San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

San Francisco Train Accident Sends Several to Hospital

October 19, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

railroad%20crossing.jpg Most people know that they are more likely be injured in a car accident than virtually any other type of accident. Despite that knowledge, many people are much more afraid of other types of mishaps. Plane crashes, for example, are a common phobia. Besides car and plan accidents, rarely do most community members give much thought to other types of transportation injuries. However, the truth is that accidents can strike whenever one is moving about. For example, while not an everyday occurrence, train crashes can have damaging consequences for passengers and bystanders. Luckily, in a recent San Francisco train accident, the results were alarming but not deadly.

As the Mercury News reported, at least seventeen individuals were injured last Wednesday night when two Amtrak trains collided. The trains involved were the Amtrak Coast Starlight train, which runs from Los Angeles to Seattle, and the southbound San Joaquin train, which runs from Bakersfield to Oakland. The two trains had a combined total of about 150 passengers. It appears that the accident occurred when the San Joaquin train went through a red light and hit the stopped Coast Starlight train. It was traveling about 20 miles per hour when the crash happened. Most of the injuries appear to by minor, though several passengers were sent to the hospital. At least 45 Oakland firefighters responded, as well as numerous police officers and other emergency personnel. Amtrak and Federal Railroad Administration officials are investigating the cause of the accident.

Whenever a local community member is injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another, it is often worthwhile to seek out the aid of a San Francisco injury lawyer. The attorney can explain how the law of negligence might apply in their particular case. For example, in a train injury like this one, the negligence principle of res ipsa loquitur might apply. Translated from the Latin, the phrase means “the thing speaks for itself.” In other words, the principle means that the accident itself is proof of negligence.

In a negligence case, the plaintiff must show that the defendant had a duty of care and breached that duty of care. In some circumstances, however, the plaintiff may not know the details of what happened, making it hard to prove that there was a breach of duty. Res ipsa loquitur allows the plaintiff to show that no matter the details, the accident would have never occurred had it not been for the defendant’s negligence. One famous example involves an accident outside a warehouse, where a barrel fell from a second story window, injuring a pedestrian. Barrels typically do not fall out of windows without assistance, so the plaintiff was able to prove that the barrel owners had breached their duty of care because they had allowed a barrel to fall out of the warehouse. Similarly, the victims of the recent San Francisco train accident may be able to show that trains typically do not crash into each other; the accident is proof enough of negligence.
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Reality TV Star Recovering from Falling In San Francisco Apartment Accident

October 18, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

Home should be a place where people can be safe, enjoy time with their family, and relax. For too many individuals, however, home is a place filled with potential hazards. This can be especially true for apartment dwellers. Our San Francisco injury attorney has seen many accidents arising from defects in apartment buildings. In San Francisco’s urban environment, many residents encounter problems with dangerous items that are not promptly fixed by building owners. Many of these potentially dangerous items, from water heaters to windows, are beyond the control of the tenant. Despite the fact that renters often inform their landlords of problems that need to be fixed, these requests often go ignored. Common areas, such as entryways, are another source of trouble. apartment%20balcony.jpg

One recent even highlights the dangers often faced by those in their own living space. One of our area’s reality television stars was recently injured in a San Francisco apartment building accident. As MSNBC reported, “The Biggest Loser” contestant Sam Poueu was seriously hurt when he fell off the roof of a four story building at the beginning of September. According to family members, he was attempting to climb down the fire escape after he was locked on the roof of a friend’s apartment. He suffered injuries including damage to his pelvic region, a punctured lung, torn ligaments and a broken leg.

The landlord in this case may not have known that the door to the roof had a problem. Without notice that a tenant or guest could be trapped on the roof, the building owner may not have legal responsibility for an injury caused when a visitor trapped on the roof tried to climb down. In another situation, however, where the landlord was aware that tenants had been locked on the roof before, the landlord might be liable.

Under the traditional rules of landlord-tenant law, landlords have a duty to ensure that common areas are well-maintained. In a lobby, this means the area must be well lit and doors should be secured with working locks. In a building where tenants can use the roof, users should be able to easily enter and exit the roof and safety devices should be in place to keep individuals from accidentally falling off. In the instance where a problem develops, such as a broken light fixture, the landlord has a reasonable amount of time to remedy the problem. If the problem is not corrected within a reasonable period, the landlord can be liable for any subsequent injuries that are caused by the defect.
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Boy Injured in Street in San Francisco Pedestrian Accident

October 13, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

Our San Francisco car accident attorney knows that motor vehicle accidents come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps the most typical accident involves two cars that collide into each other. But crashes involving just one car occur on a regular basis as well. Depending on what the car hits, the results can be extremely serious. When a car hits a pedestrian, especially a young child, the potential for heartbreak is even greater.

Fortunately, it appears that the child victim of a recent San Francisco pedestrian accident will recover. As was recently reported in the Mercury News, an eight year old boy was hospitalized after he was struck by a car in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. The accident took place at around 3:45 pm last Friday afternoon at the intersection of Laguna and Turk streets. The youngster was crossing the street when he was struck by a car. The driver stop to assist and the boy was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. His injuries are not considered life-threatening. Police are investigating the accident.

In incidents like this, depending on the results of the investigation, a lawsuit may not be warranted. But in the event that the analysis of the accident shows that the driver failed to take proper precautions, the victim and his family may decide to file a negligence suit. A negligence suit is a classic example of a civil suit. In a civil suit, the case is initiated by a private party. This is in contrast to a criminal suit, which is always initiated by the government.

In addition to having different initiators, civil and criminal suits have different punishments. A defendant in a criminal case can end up in jail but a defendant in a civil case is only required to pay monetary damages. But civil and criminal suits have many similarities. The violation of a law can be critical in both. For example, if a pedestrian is hit because a driver was speeding, the driver can be found criminally liable for breaking the law. Evidence of speeding can also be used in a civil case. Speeding can be per se evidence of negligence. In layperson’s terms, the fact that someone broke the law can be automatic evidence that they violated the duty of care, an essential element of all negligence suits.
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Rear-End Collision in USF Area Ends in Death for One Driver

October 12, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

car%20accident.jpg For most Americans, getting in a car is an everyday activity. Most individuals drive to work in the morning, home in the evening and use their car to run errands. Since driving is such a common place activity for most people, we often forgot how dangerous it traveling on our roadways can actually be. Consequently, many drivers are not as cautious as they should be. But as our San Francisco car accident attorney knows, deadly car accidents are a much too frequent occurrence, especially here in a dense urban area.

Brandon Solem, a 33 year old man and San Francisco resident, recently died after his car rear-ended another vehicle in the area around the University of San Francisco. As The Examiner reported, the accident occurred last Thursday, just past midnight at the intersection of Fulton and Stanyan streets. Mr. Solem was driving west on Fulton street when he hit another car that was stopped at a red light. The impact was enough to cause the other car to turn over. Both drivers were taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Mr. Solem’s injuries were severe, and he died several hours later. The other driver, a 27 year old woman, is expected to survive. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident and additional details are not yet available.

At first glance the situation seems clear enough; a car did not stop for a red light, causing an accident. But an investigation will explain the “how” and “why” of the accident, not just the “what.” Understanding all the circumstances surrounding this crash and other San Francisco car accidents is critical.. Details can often mean the difference between a successful lawsuit and an unsuccessful one. For example, if one party was driving drunk the legal repercussion are very different from a case where the party was unable to stop because of defective breaks. Knowing if any laws were broken is also significant.

Generally, in order to hold the opposing side liable for the consequences of the accident, legal negligence rules require that the plaintiff show the defendant had a duty and breached that duty. In some instances, however, a violation of a law, such as the failure to stop at a red light, can be prima facie evidence of negligence. In other words, evidence that a law was broken means that the plaintiff can satisfy the first hurdle in a lawsuit without going through each individual step. Rather than requiring the plaintiff to show all the elements of his or her case, a prima facie case allows the plaintiff to move forward automatically and puts the burden on the defendant to rebut the charges.
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Sacramento Boy Hit By FedEx Truck Near His School

October 11, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

Our Sacramento car accident attorney knows that collisions involving children are some of the most heart-stopping incidents that strike on our area roadways. The potential for serious injury is highest when it involves a child who is hit while walking and not in another car. For example, late last week a young ten year old boy was hit by a FedEx truck while in the road near his school. KCRA News reported on the Sacramento pedestrian accident which occurred around 1:30 p.m. just outside the Beitzel Elementary School. According to the report the FedEx truck was heading north on Caymus Drive and was preparing to make a left turn on Chantel Way when his delivery truck struck the ten year old child.

Authorities are still investigating the situation to understand exactly what happened. The driver of the truck claims that he did not see the child enter the road. Apparently the child was struck by the side of the truck and thrown to the ground. The driver then proceeded forwarded being unaware of the child’s position, the rear wheels of the truck eventually ran over the boy on the ground. The child’s condition is still unclear, but it suspected that his pelvis was broken. The driver stopped at the scene and was questioned by authorities, though no citations have yet to be issued.

Our Sacramento pedestrian accident attorney has worked with many local residents who have been hurt in similar events. All cities have their fair share of these collisions, and unfortunately many of them could have been prevented if those behind the wheel had been acting in a reasonable manner. It is too early to determine any specific legal liability in this case, but it will be important for all those involved to ensure that the specific events which led up to the accidents are brought to light. Not every pedestrian accident is the fault of the driver, and it is imperative that all those walkers who are on or near the roadway conduct themselves in a reasonable manner as well.

Outer Mission Pedestrian Accident Takes Life of San Francisco Man

October 6, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

All big cities are filled with a hustle and bustle throughout the day as cars, bikes, trolleys, buses, and pedestrians move about the streets as residents go about their business. The energy created by so much activity is exactly what draws many people to these urban areas. However, our San Francisco pedestrian accident lawyer knows that it the commotion on our streets can also be dangerous for those caught up in traveling accidents. For too often local drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians suffer serious injuries or even death after crashes on and near our local roadways.

That appears to be what happened earlier this week to Sulpicio Jimenez, a 57-year old resident of San Francisco’s Outer Mission neighborhood. According to reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, the man was on foot crossing Mission Street near Excelsior Avenue shortly before seven in the evening when he was struck by a car. Local emergency crews rushed to the scene and the man was taken to a local hospital. However, there was little that could be done, and the man ultimately passed away from his injuries. Authorities are still investing this San Francisco car accident, and no arrests or other citations have been issued yet.

There are still too many unknowns about this latest tragedy to understand what legal issues might be involved. However, far too often drivers fail to recognize that they owe a duty of care to those pedestrians who are traveling nearby. Tens of thousands of pedestrians are injured or killed near roadways every year. More than other traveling incidents, San Francisco pedestrian accidents often involve particularly serious harm to those involved because walkers have no protection. A car does not have to be traveling very fast for it to cause immense damage to a pedestrian in its crosshairs.

Dixon Wrongful Death Caused By Medication Error

October 5, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

The San Francisco wrongful death lawyers at our firm understand that no accidents are tougher on area families than those that take the life of a loved one. All losses are difficult, but there is something especially tragic about those deaths that are caused by the negligence of another. Far too frequently that misconduct involves improper driving on our area roadways. Deaths in traffic accidents remain one of the most common forms of fatal accidents. “Accidental” is a bit of misnomer, as most of these crashes can be traced back to unsafe and sometimes reckless conduct on the part of someone involved in the crash.

For example, CBS San Francisco reported last week on a tragic San Francisco bicycle accident that took the life of a local man. Fifty-seven year old Robert Eugene White of Ryde was killed on state Highway 113 when his bike was hit from behind on Sunday afternoon. Officials are still conducting investigations to figure out exactly what happened. However, as it now stands, investigators believe that the man was riding his bicycle northbound on the highway around two in the afternoon in an unincorporated part of Solano County. While peddling on the edge of the road a car driven by a twenty-one year old young man came up behind him. Authorities believe that the driver began to pass the bicyclist, but for reasons still undetermined, he swerved and actually hit Mr. White. As most would expect, Mr. White was thrown from his bike by the impact. He ultimately landed on the windshield of the car that hit him before ending up on the shoulder of the road. Unfortunately, as often happens when a bicyclist is hit by a speeding car, the man’s injuries were quite severe and he did not survive the collision.

It is tragic to hear about these preventable accidents. Sadly, events just like this occur all the time on roadways inside and outside the city. Many car and truck drivers fail to understand that they must share the road with cyclists. As a result, many bike riders fall victim just like the man in this latest accident. When this occurs, it is almost always a clear case of negligence. No driver who abides by reasonable standards of care when behind the wheel would hit a bicyclist while trying to pass him. The civil law is clear when it comes to sorting out liability in many of these accidents. Those who are harmed are able to hold the wrongdoer liable any time that wrongdoer owed a duty, breached that duty, and caused injury. All drivers owe a duty to fellow travelers, and that duty is breached causing injury when their vehicle strikes another.
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Sacramento Nursing Home Neglect Hidden By Falsified Records

October 4, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

Our Sacramento nursing home abuse attorneys understand that local elder abuse and neglect occurs far more often than many area community members suspect. Not only that, but many long-term care facilities go to extreme lengths to cover up the poor care that they often provide to vulnerable seniors. For example, the Sacramento Bee recently published a series of stories explaining the widespread falsification of medical records undertaken by nursing home employees in an attempt to hide evidence of Sacramento elder neglect. State investigators continue to uncover stories of facilities throughout the area where patient information has been changed to make it appear that they received a satisfactory level of care, even though they did not. Fortunately, more and more family members of these victims are stepping up and demanding accountability.

While not always easy to catch, deceptive (and illegal) practices by these negligent facilities have been proven on a number of occasions. One supervisor at an area nursing home admitted that she was ordered to change a patient’s medical record to hide the fact that the man had died from severe bedsores caused by neglect. In another case, a deceased patient’s medical chart claimed that the resident received physical therapy sessions five times a week. However, nearly thirty of those documented sessions were supposedly led by nursing assistants who were not even at work at the time of the reported therapy. In yet another case a patient who died of neglect had a medical chart hurriedly produced with fake entries claiming check-ups from a nurse who did not even exist. The list of examples of these egregious attempts to hide Sacramento nursing home abuse goes on and on.

In many cases this information is modified after a resident has died from poor care in an attempt to evade legal liability for the inadequate treatment. However, in other cases, the false records are entered while patients are still alive-ultimately leading to deadly complications for the involved seniors. For example, sometimes patients are listed as showing no medical issues after a routine check-up that was never performed, causing residents who actually do have medical needs to fail to receive the emergency care they need. At other times a medication or treatment is charted before it is actually given. Cases have also been found of nursing home staff members who falsify consent forms so that residents can be illegally sedated or forge documents so that disagreements have to be settled through arbitration.

There is simply no excuse for any facility to tolerate sloppy record-keeping at these facilities. Of course all instances of intentional altering of records to avoid liability must be punished to the full extent possible-it is a crime to do so under California law. However, even record-keeping mistakes made out of sheer laziness can have life and death consequences. One 77-year old woman at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville died after suffering fecal impaction. Her rectum was dilated a shocking 10 centimeters at the time of her death, but her medical chart claimed that she had several bowel movements in the previous days. Medical experts who examined the victim afterwards admitted that there was likely no way that the charts could have been accurate given her condition. Had the records been kept accurately and evaluated in a timely manner it is likely that the victim could have receive the care she needed before the medical problems killed her.
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Bedbugs–and the Chemicals Used to Kill Them–Can Hurt You

September 26, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

Social status, gender, relegious creed, and race matter not to bedbugs. Did you know there are exterminator units out there dedicated to the eradication of bedbugs? Often they are called to five star hotels, hostels, shelters, low income hotels, and camps. It can cost between $500 to $750 to exterminate a single room, and up to $5,000 to exterminate an entire house. If untreated, they can create colonies of thousands in just a few weeks. The bedbug resurgence has caused people to seek counsel among each other as they face the stigma associated with the situation. As result edbuggers.com was created as a means of support and a coping mechanism for victims who have been traumatized by bedbugs. Back in 2007, California was forced to issue state bedbug guidelines. Laura Krueger, a public health and writer of the new bedbug guidelines for California Department of Health Services, states that California does not use as harsh chemicals as we used to and do not spray mattresses with insecticide before selling them anymore and that bedbugs are becoming increasingly resistant to the few chemicals left. Unfortunately, some of the chemicals used to get rid of them can make people sick.

Last week, the CDC cautioned in their Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report of the dangers associated with using pesticides to treat bed bugs, as there has been acute illness associated with insecticide used to control bedbugs in seven states. The main contributing factor of those who became ill has to do with misuse and overuse of pesticides and insecticide products. There was one death reported due to misuse which is an example of the extreme desperation victims of bedbugs. An already ill woman, both physically and psychologically, used 9 cans of fogger in one day, on two separate days, as well as applied insecticide to her hair and body. Other people spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars trying to get rid of them, and the toll extermination takes on a person’s financial and psychological well-being can be costly. Some people report nausea, vomiting, headaches, and tremors from exposure to the chemicals used.

Sadly, even after a thorough extermination, some bed bugs may remain, and efforts such as quarantining a room are pointless, as bed bugs can live for an entire year without a blood feeding. However, because the pest control industry is so tightly regulated in most states, it may be possible to determine whether a property owner /manager acted negligently by looking to the state’s standards and regulations for pest control professionals. Pest control professionals must act in accordance with state regulations or face potential liability in many forms, as they can and have been sued for failing to get rid of an infestation as promise to the plaintiff, not living up to their warranty of service, and in a few sensational cases property damage caused by negligent discharge of flammable chemicals. When someone is the victim of a bed bug infestation it is sometimes difficult to assign liability for the infestation. Common targets of homeowner’s lawsuits include hotels, landlords and pest control companies.

Since bed bugs are often difficult to recognize by the untrained eye, it take time for victims to recognize that any health side effects they may experience were caused by bedbugs. Unfortunately, these lapses make it difficult to determine the source of the infestation. Often bed bus will attach to luggage or clothes and hitch a ride from a hotel, hospital, or friends house and follow a person to their bed where they are fruitful and multiply until your client has a genuine infestation. The good news is that legal entomology experts have developed methodologies to determine the origin of an infestation based on the species of insect. Victims of bedbugs infestations can seek to recover financial and physical personal injuries, emotional distress, as well as negligence, misrepresentation, violations of code and contract breach. Here in San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors hearings are held regarding on-going inspections procedures, reporting, and referral procedures, enforcement of, prevention and control of bed bugs by the Department of Public Health, and landlords in San Francisco can be sued for threatening public safety if the department finds an infestation of bedbugs in any building.
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The Return of the Bedbug and Need for Bedbug Lawsuits

September 22, 2011 | Gregory J. Brod

According to ABC World News, at least five states are seeking assistance from the Department of Defense for help with the growing presence of bedbugs in this country, and Ohio just asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for special permission to use a banned pesticide to eradicate the growing problem of bedbugs in this country. Half a century ago the United States had nearly eradicated the insects; however, the ban of the use of powerful pesticides like DDT, as well as reduced use of narrow spectrum products targeting specific pests, have enabled the insects to survive, thrive, and build pesticide resistance. The growing problem with bed bug infestations has been linked to increased travel. The US Centers for Disease and Prevention are reporting that the US is experiencing what is being described as an alarming return of the tiny bloodsucking parasites. This is happening just as the EPA issued a warning against using outdoor chemicals indoors, because some chemicals adversely affect the central nervous system and can lead to skin and eye irritation and cancer. As a result of the new invasion of bedbugs, people who are experiencing infestations in their apartments are filing lawsuits.

According to WebMD, bedbugs are known to Biologists as true bugs. For the layman, this means they are wingless insects that are considered a parasite, meaning they feed on blood and nothing else. Bedbugs are flat and oval, about ¼ inch in diameter. They look like a small lentil. The vermin are brownish in color, but take on a rusty mahogany color after a blood meal. Close up they are covered with microscopic hairs that give it a banded appearance when it’s engorged with blood. Newly hatched bedbugs are light tan, translucent and hard to see. Bedbugs don’t actually bite but suck. They are equipped with a long, sharp, thin, hallow spike-shaped beak used to pierce the skin. Once they pierce the skin, saliva containing an anticoagulant that keeps the blood from clotting is injected so that they can feed. It may also contain a mild anesthetic. Most people don’t feel the bug feeding. You know you’ve been a pierced by when an itchy red dot with a lighter red ring around it appears on your skin. There will often appear one or more straight lines of these bites on your body, which means more than one bug has pierced your skin. Scratching bed bugs can lead to secondary infection. The good news is bedbugs are not known to transmit infectious diseases.

A common misconception people have is that bed bugs are invisible. They reason they seem invisible is because they only come out night. During the day they hide in bedding, creases of a mattress, bed frame, or in tears in the wallpaper. They also hide behind pictures and baseboards. They can end up travelling quiet far and manage to get into books telephones, radios e and attach themselves to clothing. They don’t fly, but they can move quickly over floors, walls, and ceilings, and they can infest other rooms if you don’t catch them early enough. Female bedbugs may lay hundreds of eggs, each of which is about the size of a speck of dust, over a lifetime. The earliest sign of bedbugs, other than physical symptoms, is blood on the sheets, as wounds from bedbug bites bleed a little. And bedbug excrement is a liquid that appears as darker spots on the sheets. If you’ve got lots of bedbugs, your bed will have the distinctive sickly-sweet smell that bugs give off. Be aware that their breeding patters are pretty rapid, a single female bedbug lays 10 to 50 eggs every three to 15 days. The sticky eggs are laid near where they hide. If they feed regularly, bedbug nymphs become adults in two to six weeks.
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