San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

Aggressive Driving: Santa Rosa Injury Lawyer Examines a Danger to Drivers Everywhere

July 26, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

When you first get your license, driving can feel like freedom. Over time, sitting in the driver’s seat can become more about frustration. We all experience frustrating and even enraging moments behind the wheel and how we respond can make a real difference. Serving as a car accident lawyer in Santa Rosa and throughout Northern California, Attorney Greg Brod knows that the problems of aggressive driving are not always confined to San Francisco or other supersized cities. Aggressive driving is a danger on EVERY roadway.

Report Looks at the Prevalence and Risks of Aggressive Driving

This month, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Study released a report titled Prevalence of Self-Reported Aggressive Driving Behavior: United States, 2014. The report details the results of a survey of 2,705 drivers nationwide conducted in 2014. In the survey, the researchers asked drivers to review a list of eight driving behaviors and identify whether, over the past year, they engaged in the behavior regularly, fairly often, rarely, just once, or never. More than three-quarters of those surveyed admitted to engaging in at least one of the listed aggressive driving behaviors in the past year including:

A Matter of Trust: Medical Malpractice Law in California and Other Claims Against Medical Providers

July 22, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Trust is a fundamental part of almost all human relationships. We trust that our spouse will be loyal, that our mechanic will be capable, and that other drivers will follow the rules of the road. Perhaps there is no relationship in which trust is so important as that between a patient and a doctor. We put our health and our lives in their hands, as well as the well-being of our children, because we believe they have adequate training and will remain true to their oath to do no harm. Sadly, as our San Francisco wrongful death lawyer knows all too well, sometimes things go horribly awry. While not every negative outcome is cause for a lawsuit, when medical providers fail to adhere to a proper standard of care and the result is harm to the patient, a medical malpractice lawsuit, wrongful death, or another civil claim may be appropriate.

Tragic Death of a Young Girl Following Dental Procedure in San Ramon

While it is far too early to know what went wrong and if someone is legally at fault, a tragedy occurred at a Northern California dental office last weekend. According to SFGate.com, a three-year-old girl died last Saturday following a dental procedure at a medical office in San Ramon. Emergency responders were called to the office around 10 AM on Saturday when someone reported that the child had stopped breathing following treatment. The girl was taken to San Ramon Regional Medical Center where doctors pronounced her dead. It is not known whether the child was under anesthesia nor do officials know the nature of the dental procedure performed that morning. Medical and fire personnel declined to release details or comment on the case citing patient privacy laws.

Bay Area Toxic Torts Attorney Seeking Justice for People Sickened by Toxic Refinery Emissions and Working to Prevent Future Harm

July 20, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Clean air is essential to life. Reliable energy may not be the same type of basic building block, but it is nonetheless essential to our modern way of living in 2016. At the Brod Law Firm, we believe that we should be able to have both clean air and reliable energy. As an Oakland industrial pollution law firm, we advocate for Bay Area residents sickened by toxic pollution from oil refineries and other industrial sources.

Tesoro to Spend Millions to Improve Refinery Emissions as Part of Settlement Agreement

This week, KRON4 reported that the Tesoro refinery in Martinez is one of six company locations covered by a recently announced federal court settlement. Tesoro has agreed to pay $425 million in order to settle a Department of Justice (“DOJ”) lawsuit charging the company with violating the Clean Air Act and other regulations. The Texas-based company will pay $403 million to improve equipment used to control dangerous air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic companies. Additionally, Tesoro agreed to pay $10.45 million in civil penalties and spend $12.2 million on projects designed to mitigate the impact of air pollution at the community level. The latter payment includes $1 million aimed at enabling the Mount Diablo Unified School District to purchase at least four new school buses so it can retire older buses that use polluting diesel fuel and replace them with buses that burn cleaner compressed natural gas.

Ensuring Safety for All: Keeping Northern California Roads Safe for Individuals with Disabilities

July 19, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

At the Brod Law Firm, we believe that Bay Area roads should be safe for every traveler. As a recent news report reminds us, this includes people living with disabilities. Whether a person is in a wheelchair or on foot, whether a person is blind or sighted, everyone should be able to navigate our streets safely. Our Santa Rosa pedestrian accident law firm is committed to protecting all of our residents and remembering that pedestrian safety includes wheelchair safety and other forms of access for people with physical challenges.

Advocates Work for Access and Safety in Santa Rosa

Sunday’s Press Democrat included an important reminder that pedestrian safety includes access for people with a range of physical abilities. Reporters spoke to a man who is working with Santa Rosa officials to ensure the streets are safe for people with mobility, vision, and/or hearing impairments. He pointed out that electric cars pose a special problem for people with visual challenges since they are often nearly silent so an individual who cannot see may not know a car is approaching. Other challenges include overly steep ramps and intersections with no ramps at all that impede access for people in wheelchairs. A lip at the base of a ramp can also trip up someone using a cane. Even overgrown weeds can be a real challenge.

Northern California Dangerous Roads Lawyer Examines Continued Concerns About Defective Guardrails

July 15, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

In previous posts, we have discussed significant problems with certain guardrails used on U.S. highways. Now, a government reporting agency is adding its voice to the outcry about dangerous guardrails. As a San Francisco defective roads law firm, we are concerned about this continued problem and a “safety device” that appears to be anything but safe.

GAO Report Criticizes Government Response to Concern Over Guardrails

This week, ABC7 reported that, three years after the news channel first discussed problems with certain guardrails, the General Accounting Office (“GAO”) has come out with a report criticizing regulators for failing to protect Americans from a guardrail system that has been tied to numerous injuries and even death. The GAO is an independent government agency that performs audits and investigations for the U.S. Congress. Its report suggests that the Federal Highway Safety Administration has failed to sufficiently address the problem of defective guardrails and urges the Department of Transportation to improve its oversight of guardrails. The report also criticizes states for being slow to install improved device. Further, the GAO’s brief questions the crash-testing process used in the development of some guardrails and calls for improved testing using third-party verification.

San Francisco Tenant’s Lawyer on the Eviction Problem in Our Region

July 13, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

We all know that the cost of housing in San Francisco has skyrocketed in recent years resulting in a shortage of affordable rental housing. What you may not know is that these market forces have also resulted in a startling increase in the number of tenants facing eviction. In far too many cases, landlords are using wrongful evictions to chase out existing tenants, particularly lower-income renters, and profit from rising prices. Our San Francisco wrongful eviction lawyer helps tenants who have been illegally pushed out of their housing or otherwise harassed by a landlord in violation of city and/or state laws.

Article Examines the Rising Number of Eviction Notices in San Francisco

This week, the Peninsula Press, an award-winning project of the Stanford Journalism Program, published a fascinating (and upsetting) look at eviction notices in San Francisco. According to their data, eviction notices have increased 60% since 2011, a major concern in a city where two-thirds of the population lives in rental housing. In 2011, nearly six tenants a day received eviction notices for a total of 2,080 notices served last year. Notably, the Mission, Sunset, South of Market, and Tenderloin neighborhoods accounted for over a quarter of the eviction notices served in the past six years. These numbers only count notices, not actual evictions, but it is also important to remember that one eviction may leave a whole family homeless.

Toxic Tort Law: A Remedy for the Victims of Toxic Smoke and Other Dangerous Chemicals

July 12, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Breathing is one of the most fundamental life-sustaining activities and one we typically do with very little forethought. A fresh breath of air can not only nourish our bodies, but also center our minds. Yet, far too often, our air is contaminated by a range of different toxins. Hazardous airborne chemicals, including dangerous substances in the toxic gas released by burning plastics, can be harmful and even deadly. As an Oakland toxic exposure law firm, the Brod Law firm works to get compensation for people made ill by air that was made toxic by human negligence or even intentional acts.

Safety Concerns Following Fire at Plastics Plant in Newark

There were many people expressing concerns about toxic air following a fire in Newark this past Friday. SFGate reports that it took fire crews two-and-a-half hours to contain a two-alarm fire at a plastics recycling plant on the 6500 block of Smith Avenue. According to the report, the plant used to house the Western Pacific Pulp and Paper Company which now subleases the building to AHG Recycling, a company that deals with plastics products.

San Francisco Sports Injury Lawyer on Potentially Defective High School Athletic Fields

July 9, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

All parents worry that their children will be seriously injured while playing high school sports. But rough play on the field is not the only potential source of a sports injury that a student-athlete needs to worry about. In many cases, defective equipment—and even the playing field itself—may pose a significant risk to your child’s safety.

High School Sues After Paying $592,000 for Defective Field

In recent years many schools have replaced their natural grass athletic fields with synthetic turf. Artificial turf is considered easier to maintain and allows schools to use their fields for more events. Some artificial turf proponents also claim it reduces the risk of player injury.

Is Your Skin Cream Actually a Dangerous Drug?

July 8, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Skin care is a major international business. A 2014 report in the New York Times detailed how South Korea has emerged as a major rival to the traditional European firms who dominated the “beauty market.” In particular, a wave of South Korean skin care products “intended to protect and heal patients’ skin after treatment”have hit U.S. markets.

Steroids in South Korean Cosmetics Leads to California Class Action

But consumers should always be cautious when assessing health claims made by skin care products. According to a recent alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, many skin care products should be treated as drugs, especially if they make “anti-aging” or similar claims.

San Francisco Medical Malpractice Lawyer on Patients Dying While Waiting for Medical Care

July 6, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Every year thousands of Californians suffer serious complications—including death—due to medical negligence. According to a 2015 report in the Los Angeles Daily News, ten of California’s largest hospitals “were penalized a total of $700,000” for “serious deficiencies in care.” For example, one San Francisco hospital was fined $100,000—its ninth penalty from state officials—when a patient was blinded after a patient received an injection against doctors’ orders.

Health Plan Not Liable for Its Own Hospital’s Malpractice

Unfortunately, California law can limit the liability of large health care companies whose policies often facilitate medical errors. Here is a recent example from Los Angeles County. A 67-year-old woman was taken to a local emergency room. She presented with symptoms of headache, nausea, and vomiting. An emergency room physician ordered a series of tests, including a CT scan to check for any possible brain damage.