San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

Cigarette Fires & Civil Liability

November 18, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

For many years now, both scientists and lay people have known that smoking is not only dangerous, smoking kills. Smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), damages almost every organ in the body and holds the dubious distinction of being the top cause of preventable death in our country. Our Oakland fire injury lawyer notes that in addition to the health danger to smokers and bystanders, cigarettes and other lit products carry a fire risk that can cause additional injuries and fatalities. Cigarette fires are particularly tragic because they are wholly avoidable.

Hayward Home Fire Blamed on Cigarette

Instead of enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning, people on the 25600 block of Soto Road were jolted awake by fire alarms that sounded around 7:15 AM. As The Oakland Tribune reported, the fire began in one bedroom of the two-story home and spread to another bedroom, destroying both rooms. However, firefighters were able to limit the damage to the upstairs. While all three people living in the home were displaced, they did escape. Two cats perished in the fire and two others ran away.

California Product Liability Lawyer Concerned by Danger Detergent Pods Pose to Young Children

November 14, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

It is an unfortunate reality that there are some topics we expect to discuss repeatedly on this blog. While we wish drunk driving accidents, motorcycle crashes, and dog bites were one-time affairs, that a lesson was learned and a fact-pattern never reoccurred, but we know that isn’t the case. We will continue to write about these incidents in the hopes of preventing them, in order to educate those harmed about their legal rights, and to let the injured know we are here to help. There are also topics we sincerely believe won’t make headlines more than once. While the general topic of product-related injuries is one we know will recur, our San Francisco product liability law office never expected that more than two years later we’d be revisiting the risk of children ingesting detergent pods.

17,000+ Young Children Poisoned by Detergent Pods

Earlier this week, CNN reported on the continuing problem of children ingesting single-use detergent packets. Young children appear to mistake the colorful pods for candy. Researchers with the journal Pediatrics found that 17,230 children under age six were accidentally poisoned by the pods between March 2012 and April 2013. Those numbers that work out to almost one child poisoned per hour and 7.5% of the children suffered a “moderate or major medical outcome” with 4.4% requiring hospitalization. Ingesting the detergent pods can cause immediate respiratory distress and violent vomiting and exposure to the eye can cause severe irritation and a temporary vision loss.

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.

Tight Housing Market Empowers Landlords, San Francisco Tenants’ Attorney Protects Renters

November 11, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

At the Brod Law Firm, there is an underlying theme that ties the majority of our cases together – a desire to use the law to help the injured and the wronged. Often, the wrongdoer held a power advantage over our client from a driver who hit a pedestrian, cyclist, or a stopped vehicle that couldn’t avoid the impact to a lawyer who violates her professional duties to a tenant at the mercy of an economically powerful landlord. The final example is becoming increasingly common and the power imbalance is growing as the rental market throughout Northern California tightens. After looking at a story that highlights the San Francisco rental shortage adding to this imbalance, this post will review some of the tools our Northern California tenants’ law firm uses to protect tenants in San Francisco and throughout the region.

Developer Distributes 6,800 Applications and Would-Be Tenants Return 2,595 Applications For a Mere 18 Apartments

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, when it construction began on an apartment complex at 2175 Market Street, developer Forest City vowed to include 20% affordable units, more than the 12% required by the City. From The Chronicle building’s lobby, Forest City passed out more than 6,8000 applications and 2,595 were returned by people interested in what amounted to 18 apartments. A lottery narrowed the field to 400 and, before a crowd of more than 100, the developer drew names in a process one attendee, who had been through two prior housing lotteries, compared to “auctioning off hope.”

Caught on Tape – Using Video Evidence in Support of a California Personal Injury Claim

November 7, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

The heart of personal injury law lies at the intersection of the law and the facts. At the Brod Law Firm, we pride ourselves on knowing the law and on our ability to gather evidence to support our client’s claim for monetary compensation. Two important precepts that govern litigation are: 1) Evidence is not simply what happened, but what can be proven; and 2) If it isn’t in evidence (including testimonial evidence and all other forms) then, as far as the court is concerned, it didn’t happen. Surveillance video evidence is among the most powerful forms of evidence in the personal injury arena and a side effect of our digital world is that it isn’t unusual to have an injury-causing event captured on camera. When video evidence is available, our San Francisco personal injury lawyer works to obtain the video and to ensure the video fits together with all the evidence to tell our client’s story and, ultimately, help our client recover all the compensation the law allows.

Video May Hold Clues to Jogger’s Death

A surveillance video may prove critical to understanding what led to the death of a pedestrian in San Francisco on Thursday morning. As reported in The San Francisco Chronicle, 51 year-old Lori Helmer was jogging when she was struck by a Golden Gate Transit bus at 6:15 A.M. According to police, the bus was making a left turn to head northbound on Van Ness Avenue from eastbound Lombard Street. There is a traffic light at the intersection, but it is not yet clear what color light the bus had when it made the turn. Helmer was in or near the crosswalk at the time of impact.

Fires, Construction Sites, and Third-Party Injury Suits

November 6, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Construction work is a risky occupation. Certain dangers are particular to construction sites (i.e. falls from scaffolding); other times workers face an increased risk of a common danger. Construction site fires are an example of the latter type of threat. Although workers are usually required to turn to the workers compensation system for claims against their employers, third party liability can provide additional recourse. Our Oakland construction injury attorney stands ready to help injured workers obtain all the compensation provided under state and federal law.

Construction Site Fire Destroys Homes-in-Progress in Pleasanton Area

Firefighters were called to a construction site fire in Pleasanton around 2 A.M. on Tuesday November 4th. ABC7 spoke with Joe Tesla, Battalion Chief for the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, who said firefighters didn’t need to look for the address for the site — the blaze was so big that they could see where they were headed the moment they left the station. The fire engulfed and destroyed homes being built on Valley Avenue. Two homes will need to be demolished, two others were minimally damaged.

Staying Afloat — Santa Rosa Transportation Injury Lawyer Discusses the Danger of Capsizing After Weekend Boating Tragedy

November 4, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

As we hope is evident throughout this blog, our firm is committed to safe travels on Northern California’s roadways; a commitment that extends to all travelers, whether on four wheels, two wheels, or two feet. Our commitment also extends to those whose travels aren’t on roads at all. Boating safety is another element of transportation safety. Safe boating includes knowing how to prevent capsizing and what to do if their vessel does capsize. As on land, prevention is always preferable, but our Sonoma boating accident attorney is prepared to advocate for people injured on the water as a result of someone else’s negligence.

Tragedy on the Water in Bodega Bay Leaves Four Dead, One Injured

On Saturday, a boat capsized in Bodega Bay, off Sonoma County’s coast, leaving four dead and one injured. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, the 32-foot vessel, normally a salmon fishing boat, was part of celebrations for the opening day of crab season. According to the sole survivor’s statement to police, the group of recreational crabbers departed Bodega Harbor around 8:30 A.M. and had turned back when a “rogue wave” hit the vessel’s left side around 10 A.M. The boat flipped, tossing all five occupants into the 58-degree waters.

On Halloween, Trick-or-Treaters Must Beware of Dangers on the Road

October 31, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Our children are very precious to us, and we want them to enjoy their childhood, including such child-pleasing major events as Halloween. But while the kids love Halloween, the occasion can be fraught with danger, too, for trick-or-treaters out to have a good time on an evening that does not have the best record when it comes to traffic safety. As a parent, San Francisco pedestrian accident attorney Gregory J. Brod, has the same concerns that every parent has for their children to have a fun yet safe time on Halloween.

As it is, evening hours are already among the most deadly on the road, and if a driver impaired by alcohol or controlled substances is a factor, that can make a bad situation even worse. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the combination of drinking and increased pedestrian traffic on Halloween has been a particularly dangerous one. On Halloween of 2012 alone, 54 people died in crashes in the United States. Of those fatalities, 26, or nearly half, involved a collision with a drunken driver. By comparison, on an average day, one-third of all traffic fatalities involve a drunken driver. In addition, 28 percent of Halloween collision fatalities were pedestrians, whereas, on an average day, that figure stands at 14 percent. During the period from 2008 to 2012, 21 percent of pedestrian deaths on Halloween night involved a drunken driver.

And the perils that Halloween poses extends into the next day, as Daylight Savings Time ends, because of the earlier onset of evening hours. It cannot be underestimated how dangerous evening hours are for pedestrians relative to the remainder of a day: the majority of pedestrian fatalities occur when it is dark, including 24 percent from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and another 32 percent from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The NHTSA offers the following key tips for pedestrians, particularly young trick-or-treaters and their parents, to stay safe on Halloween:

All children out on Halloween night and under the age of 12 should have adult supervision.
Children should stick to familiar areas that are well lit and trick-or-treat in groups.
When possible, face paint is preferable to masks, because masks can obstruct a child’s vision.
Decorate costumes with reflective tape and equip children with glow sticks or flashlights.
Always cross the street at corners, use traffic signals and crosswalks, and make sure to look left, right and left again when crossing; continue looking as you cross.

Compensation & Change: Our Law Firm’s Goals Following a Pedestrian Death

October 31, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Sometimes it takes a tragedy that really hits home in order to lead to meaningful change. As advocates for safer roads who believe that commitment includes the full-range of travelers, the Brod Law Firm team is always saddened to hear about pedestrian deaths. We believe our work as a San Francisco pedestrian death law firm not only compensates victims but deters future tragedies. Our hearts go out to those impacted by the recent tragedy and we hope the death of a City Hall employee inspires meaningful changes that will make the streets safer for everyone.

Veteran City Employee Hit and Killed by Motorized Cable Car While Walking Near City Hall

As CBS San Francisco reports, officials continue to investigate the collision between a motorized cable car and a pedestrian on Thursday October 23. It was approximately 11:30 A.M. when the cable car struck 68 year-old Priscila “Precy” Moreto in a crosswalk near San Francisco’s City Hall, by the intersection of Polk and McAllister streets. Moreto, an accountant and longtime employee of the City Controller’s Office, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died as a result of her injuries.