San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

Wet Weather and Driving Safety

March 31, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Quickly changing weather and heavy rainfalls both catch the attention of our San Francisco inclement weather collision law firm. After all, an inattentive driver is dangerous at any time, but the likelihood of that driver causing injury or death rises dramatically during bad weather. This leads to an increased risk of inclement weather crashes.

Rainy Weather Strikes Bay Area

A Saturday night headline on the San Francisco Chronicle website reported that major downpours hit parts of our region on Saturday, with up to two inches of rain falling in some North Bay locations. Although Sunday was predicted to be dry, forecasters expected wet weather to resume and continue through midweek with gusty winds and even thunderstorms (a rare sight in the Bay Area) adding to the mix.

San Francisco/San Jose Motorcycle Lawyer on Overcoming Bias

March 28, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Our court system relies on judges and juries, trusting them to reach a fair decision based on the facts before them, putting aside any personal biases. Still, in our work as a San Francisco motorcycle accident law firm, we have learned that we need to fight a commonly-held bias against motorcycle riders. Many people assume riders are risk-takers who think nothing of darting in and out of traffic at high speeds. This bias is both unfair and often grossly inaccurate. We have worked with many motorcycle riders who prioritized safety but suffered injury due to an inattentive automobile driver. When we represent these riders and their families, we make sure the judges and juries see the truth — most riders care about safety, but they face constant threats from drivers who negligently fail to watch for motorcycles and refuse to share the road.

Marine Returns from Afghanistan to be Killed by Drunk Driver vs. Motorcycle Collison

A United States Marine survived his tour in Afghanistan only to be killed by a suspected drunk driver on Tuesday, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. At about 1 A.M., 23 year old Alexander Yohn of Emeryville reportedly used the drive-through at the Taco Bell at Fremont Boulevard and Bonde Way. An employee called police, saying that Yohn was belligerent and appeared intoxicated. Yohn sped off on Fremont, refusing to yield when a different officer tried to stop him. Near Decoto Road, Yohn hit motorcyclist Andrew Silva, killing the 23 year-old lance corporal who had just returned home to Union City last month. Yohn’s Mini Cooper caught fire after crashing into a utility pole and police caught him as he tried to flee on foot. He was booked into Santa Rita Jail and charged with hit-and-run and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

A Difficult Calculation: California Wrongful Death Lawyer on Damages Following the Death of a Child

March 26, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

As a San Jose wrongful death law firm, we see people as they are struggling through some of the hardest days of their lives. Perhaps the hardest of all losses is when a parent is left to grieve the unexpected loss of a child. No amount of money can truly compensate people facing this tragic situation, a truth that makes the calculation of wrongful death damages following the death of a child one of a civil court’s most difficult tasks.

Settlement Reached in Death of 14 Year-Old Girl Hit on the Way to School

As reported by The San Jose Mercury News, the family of a 14 year old girl who lost her life in a traffic accident in 2012 has settled a wrongful death claim arising from the tragedy. On November 26, 2012 at around 8:30 A.M., Leyla Beban was headed to Woodside High School where she was in her freshman year. She made a right turn from Jefferson Avenue onto Alameda de las Pulgas and was hit by a pickup truck that was also turning right. Responders took Leyla, who was wearing a helmet, to Stanford Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The truck driver stayed at the scene of the collision and cooperated with authorities.

California Law on Accidents and Injuries Caused by Animals

March 24, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

As we prepared today’s blog post, one that starts with a news story that we don’t see every day, we had two primary thoughts: 1) Some things happen more often than you’d think and 2) Even less-than-common legal matters rely on common legal concepts. We’ve written about dog bites previously, but there are a range of other injuries caused by animals. Our San Francisco injury lawyer is prepared to hold animal owners responsible for these incidents using the same legal concepts we use to help many of our deserving clients.

A Look at Circus Animals and Injuries After Elephants Escape Circus Handlers in Missouri

Over the weekend, The San Francisco Chronicle’s website carried a story from the St. Louis, Missouri that could have taken a much more tragic turn. According to local news authorities, three elephants escaped from the St. Charles Family Arena which was hosting the Moolah Shrine Circus. The three female elephants, which were part of a children’s ride at the event, caused damage to several cars and a loading door when they got away from their handlers. Thankfully, the handlers were able to distract and recapture the elephants before they caused injury to themselves or the gathered crowd.

Santa Rosa Injury Lawyer on Dangerous Risk-Taking by Twenty-Something Drivers

March 20, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

In this blog, we have examined the relationship between age and accident rates, with a focus on teens and seniors. Our Santa Rosa car accident law firm has noticed another trend involving age: a disproportionate number of crashes caused by twenty-something drivers. While this group has had time to master driving basics, they remain prone to risk-taking which can cause accidents, injuries, and even deaths.

Santa Rosa 27 Year-Old Charged in Early Morning Crash

Police recently arrested a 27 year-old Santa Rosa man on felony DUI charges following an accident discussed in The Press Democrat. Officer Steven Fricke reported that Isaac Rush was driving a 2012 Mazda 6 north on Highway 101 near Todd Road at about 3:15 A.M. He was speeding and swerved into the middle lane, hitting a Volvo SUV and forcing it into the center divider. The SUV spun out before coming to a stop in the fast lane. Rush was unhurt, though his vehicle landed in a ditch. The Volvo’s driver was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with pain and possible minor injuries. Officer Fricke said alcohol is believed to have been a factor, adding that the Volvo driver’s alleged injuries elevated the charges to felony-level.

California Lawyer on the Dangers of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

March 19, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

It’s a frightening opponent, a colorless and odorless gas that can kill people in their sleep – carbon monoxide. Our San Francisco carbon monoxide poisoning lawyer knows that exposure to this potent gas can be the result of shoddy construction or repair work, a faulty appliance, or other forms of negligence. When careless corner-cutting causes illness or death, including when improperly performed work leads to carbon monoxide poisoning, we believe in holding people accountable and in obtaining monetary damages for the victims.

Involuntary Manslaughter Claims Filed in Connection with Deadly Carbon Monoxide Exposure

Prosecutors in Nevada County, California are pursuing charges against a contractor whose negligence is believed to have led to the deaths of two men, a development detailed in an article in The San Francisco Chronicle. Last fall, Albert Senzatimore, age 69 of San Jose, and Gary Trovinger, age 57 of Los Gatos, both died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The two men were exposed to the gas in a home in the Tahoe Donner ski community.

California Tenants’ Rights Lawyer on Security Deposits

March 17, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

We’ve always had a fondness for the underdog. Perhaps this is part of the reason we are so committed to helping Northern California tenants, people who often feel like they are at the mercy of landlord. Often, relocating as a renter is a challenge because landlords, understandably, require a security deposit. Tenants who take care of their unit should be able to get this money back, money many rely on when planning their relocation. When this does not occur, our Santa Rosa security deposit lawyer can help.

Giants’ Pitcher Awarded $100,000 in Dispute with Former Landlord

A report in The Press Democrat serves as a reminder that even celebrity tenants can have landlord problems. For those unfamiliar with him, Tim Lincecum is a pitcher with the San Francisco Giants who has earned two Cy Young awards, been part of two World Series wins, and was once ranked among the world’s greatest pitchers. In addition to the battles on the baseball diamond, Lincecum has been embroiled in a dispute with his former San Francisco landlord since 2010. The dispute ended last month with a settlement awarding Lincecum $100,000.

In New York City Blast, Echoes of 2010 San Bruno Explosion Are Palpable

March 14, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

As firefighters and other emergency personnel continue to search for survivors in the wreckage of two brownstones in New York City that were brought down by a powerful explosion on Wednesday, they will also be searching for clues as to what caused the disaster. And with preliminary findings pointing toward a gas leak of some kind as the culprit, San Francisco personal injury attorney Gregory J. Brod finds some unsettling similarities with another explosion that rocked a community in the Bay Area in 2010.

According to The New York Times, the Wednesday morning blast that destroyed two adjacent mixed residential and commercial buildings on Park Avenue near 116th Street in East Harlem resulted, as of Thursday’s count, in eight deaths. That figure matches the number of fatalities from the Sept. 9, 2010, explosion in San Bruno, which also seriously injured dozens more. Unfortunately, emergency responders have continued to find bodies at the East Harlem explosion site.

Whereas in the San Bruno blast, which was also linked to a gas line explosion, 38 homes were completely destroyed and almost another 70 were badly damaged, the New York explosion claimed just the two adjacent brownstones, which had businesses on the ground floor and apartments in the upper floors. However, in both cases many residents were displaced from their homes by the respective explosions. When the two buildings at Park Avenue and 116th Street collapsed, scores of people from neighboring buildings were evacuated – as of Thursday, 70 people from seven neighboring buildings have not been allowed to return home due to the fact that their power remains shut off.

While it is still too early to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the explosion in New York, city officials, investigators and community advocates have focused on the city’s aging infrastructure as a possible factor. At the site of the blast, a majority of the underground pipes were laid down more than a century ago. It will be interesting to see if there was a rupture in the Consolidated Edison gas main, what caused it and if it could have been prevented. Residents of the area have stated that Con Ed workers, firefighters and police were in the neighborhood to investigate possible gas leaks one week before the blast happened. Residents also reported smelling gas the night before the explosion – residents close to the San Bruno blast also reported smelling gas days prior to the explosion there.

In the San Bruno explosion, a government probe found that a break in a Pacific Gas and Electric gas line caused the conflagration. Federal investigators also found numerous defective welds in the PG&E pipeline.

As in the San Bruno explosion, several people suffered serious burn injuries and will be scarred for some time. Of the dozens of survivors who were injured, a few remain in critical condition. And the families of those whose fate remains undetermined have agonized over the status their loved ones, with many congregating at relief centers such as the Red Cross shelter or undergoing the painful experience of visiting the medical examiner’s office to obtain information that might help with identification.
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Examining the Details of Distracted Driving Law

March 14, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

While driving safety is without question a multi-faceted affair, there is often one “trendy” topic capturing headlines. The importance of seatbelts and the danger of drinking and driving are two topics that led safety discussions for a period before becoming a given, accepted, almost assumed part of safe driving. Currently, the dangers of distracted driving, especially the danger of using mobile devices while driving, is the topic dominating headlines. While the danger of distracted driving is generally recognized, a lot of the details involving new technology are still being worked out. Our San Jose distracted driving injury lawyer is concerned about a recent decision in this arena and vows to hold distracted drivers accountable, regardless of whether the specific distraction is a violation of criminal law.

Court: Law Does Not Forbid Looking at a Map on a Smart Phone

In late February, a state appeals court in Fresno handed down an important ruling interpreting the state’s law on using mobile devices while behind the wheel. The case, discussed in the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle, began when Steven Spriggs of Fresno was pulled over for using his iPhone during a traffic jam. Spriggs was looking at a map on his phone to try to find an alternative route around roadwork when the California Highway Patrol officer ticketed him, using a 2006 section of the vehicle code that bars drivers from using cellphones that are not hands-free to support the $165 fine.

Malaysian Aircraft Leaves Barely a Trace and Plenty of Unanswered Questions

March 13, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

Whenever airline accidents occur, there are usually a cargo load of questions to be answered regarding likely causes, avoidable circumstances and other issues. But few ill-fated flights have generated as many questions left outstanding and mystery as Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which vanished during the early morning hours of last Saturday. And San Francisco airplane accident attorney Gregory J. Brod would remind us that while airline and government officials may take weeks, months or even years before answering some of the key questions at stake here, the families of the 239 people who were on board have every right to ask why they had to lose their loved ones.

Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 departed Kuala Lumpur and was bound for Beijing when, at approximately 1:30 a.m. local time, the top-of-the-line Boeing 777-200 jet stopped communicating with air traffic controllers while traveling at 35,000 feet. The jet’s course was set for a northeasterly path over the Gulf of Thailand on the way to the Chinese capital. However, military radar detected blips from what may have been the Malaysian aircraft some 200 miles northwest of Penang, Malaysia, putting the plane well off course to the west of the Malay Peninsula and over the Andaman Sea. The last signal recorded by military sources registered at 2:15 a.m., Saturday, at 29,500 feet.

According to CNN, new information suggests that Flight 370 may have flown for several hours beyond the last transponder reading. Indeed, Malaysian authorities say that they have several “pings” from the plane’s service data system that were transmitted to satellites four to five hours after the last transponder reading. If that is so, at least one U.S. official believes that it would mean the jet flew as far as the Indian Ocean, a staggering off-course path.

“There is a probably a significant likelihood” that the aircraft is now on the bottom of the Indian Ocean,” said the U.S. official, who cited information the Malaysian government shared with Washington.

While early reports of the pings west of the Malay Peninsula sent to a satellite well after Flight 370’s last transponder signal were disputed by Kuala Lumpur, analysts from U.S. intelligence, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have all agreed that they were likely emanating from the missing aircraft.
But the mystery surrounding Flight 370 – as of the writing of this blog, no tangible evidence has been found regarding its fate – has become even more bizarre. It seems that an emergency beacon designed to transmit data if the plane were about to crash into the ocean failed to go off. The beacon’s distress signal would have been triggered by an interaction with water while the aircraft was on the surface of the sea.

The fact that the beacon failed to activate suggests that the airplane may not have crashed, that the transmitter malfunctioned, or that it’s underwater.

An even more strange twist concerning Flight 370 came to light Thursday evening, when two U.S. officials told ABC News that two communications systems on the aircraft were shut down. Reportedly, the plane’s data reporting system was shut down at 1:07 a.m. Saturday and its transponder that transmitted location and altitude was shut down 14 minutes later. Both circumstances beg the question of why the systems were shut down and whether it was a deliberate act.
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