San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

What Every San Francisco Tenant Needs to Know About Toxic Mold

August 31, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

Everyone likes to believe that his or her home is the safest place, but many people unknowingly live in mold-infested environments that are far from safe. While not all mold poses a threat to your health, toxic mold can result in neurological damage, and at worst, death. If you have been harmed by living in an apartment in San Francisco that is infested with toxic mold, you have the right to sue your landlord for compensation. Contact an experienced toxic mold lawyer today to learn more about your rights and your options for recourse.

What is Toxic Mold?

Toxic mold refers to a specific type of mold that releases mycotoxins, such as Stachybotrys, that can pose serious health risk to humans and animals. It is also known as “black mold” or Stachybotrys, after the scientific term for a specific type of toxin released in toxic mold.

Most Common Types of Financial Elder Abuse in California

August 24, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

When most people think of elder abuse, they think of physical abuse. While physical abuse of elders is common, financial elder abuse is actually the most common and is steadily on the rise. In California, there are laws against all types of elder abuse, including financial elder abuse. If you suspect a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse, contact the attorneys at Brod Law Firm today to help your loved ones seek justice and obtain the compensation they deserve.

What is Financial Elder Abuse?

Financial elder abuse, also known as senior fraud, is when an elderly individual’s money, assets or property are mismanaged, stolen, or obtained by coercive and fraudulent means. A person who is found to have committed elder abuse can be charged with a felony, which can result in two to four years of state prison time, or a misdemeanor, which can result in up to one year in county jail and thousands of dollars in fines, depending on the person’s background and history.

When Your Landlord can and can Not Evict You in Oakland

August 17, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

Oakland Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance

Oakland is a “Just Cause for Eviction” city, which means a landlord cannot evict a tenant unless he or she can prove “just cause” in at least one of 11 ways. The Oakland Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance lays out the specific conditions under which landlords are permitted to evict their tenants in Oakland. This ordinance, along with the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program (RAP), is one of the most important housing protections for residents of Oakland as it prevents tenants from losing their homes due to a change in property ownership, inability to raise rent, or other reason unrelated to the tenant’s behavior.

To Whom the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance Applies

Lead Poisoning in Your Daily Life

August 10, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

Lead poisoning is the most common environmental illness in children in California today and can lead to lifelong injuries, including learning disabilities, speech impairment, and other developmental issues. There is no known level of lead that can exist in the body safely, so any amount of lead that seeps into your body can be considered lead poisoning. Luckily, lead poisoning is preventable in most instances, so educating yourself on what lead poisoning is and where lead particles can be found in your daily life can help prevent injury to yourself or your child. However, there are times when you may encounter lead in your home as a result of your landlord’s failure to notify you of the existence of lead in your building or another violation of California lead regulations. Call the attorneys at Brod Law Firm if you suspect there may be lead in your building or have suffered from lead poisoning.

Lead Poisoning in Your Daily Life

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Five Things to do After Being Involved in a Car Accident in California

August 3, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

After being involved in a car accident, you may feel frazzled and disoriented. However, it is important to remain calm, assess the situation, and make sure you take the appropriate steps to ensure that you are safe and have the proper documentation in place to obtain any recovery for your injuries that you deserve. Make sure you take these five steps after being involved in a car accident, and call an experienced car accident attorney immediately so he or she can help you start seeking compensation for your injuries.

Examine yourself and your passengers for injuries.

The first thing you should do is examine yourself and others in your vehicle for any injuries. If there are any injuries whatsoever, make sure to call an ambulance immediately. Allow the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to examine you for injuries you may not be able to see, and if they advise you to go to the hospital, follow their recommendation even if you do not feel pain at the time. Oftentimes the impact from a car accident can cause underlying health issues to arise, and a doctor will be able to detect those underlying issues and provide a medical report with your diagnosis. By refusing to go to the hospital, you are showing a future court that you were not in fact injured by the car accident and thus are not entitled to recovery for your injuries.

Identifying Subtle Signs of Elder Abuse

July 27, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

Physical abuse of elders in nursing homes that results in bruises, scratches, burns, or other visible injuries is easy to spot, but there are a number of other injuries that the elderly can suffer in nursing homes that can easily go unnoticed. In California, elder abuse is illegal and can result in both civil and criminal charges. Below is a list of more subtle signs of elder abuse and how you can spot them in your loved ones. If you believe your loved one has been a victim of elder abuse, call the personal injury attorneys at The Brod Law Firm today to find out how we can help.

Elder Neglect

Elder neglect constitutes nearly half of reported elder abuse cases. Whether intentional or unintentional, elder neglect occurs when nursing home staff fails to care for residents as the law mandates. This can include failure to regularly change the resident’s bed sheets, failure to assist the resident in maintaining their personal hygiene, failure to fix maintenance problems in the residents’ rooms, failure to provide meals to the residents, or a variety of other failures to comply with their duties of care as nursing home staff.

Protecting Yourself Against Landlord Harassment

July 20, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

California law prohibits any harassment by landlords in order to push their tenants out of their homes. Even though the landlord owns the building, the tenant lives there and has the right to live peacefully in his or her home. If your landlord is harassing you in any way, call the experienced landlord tenant attorneys at Brod Law Firm to provide a fast and aggressive defense of your rights.

What is Landlord Harassment?

Landlord harassment is when a landlord purposely creates undesirable living conditions that are designed to push the tenant out of the home. Examples of landlord harassment may include the following:

Three Things You Should Know About California’s Strict Warning Defect Laws

July 13, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

If you have ever purchased a product from the store that ended up not working or, even worse, injured you because it was not working properly, then you have experience with a product liability case. There are several different types of product liability, and the one least talked about is failure to warn. In California, if a consumer purchases a product with a warning defect and is injured by the product as a result, the consumer may have recourse against the manufacturer, distributor, or seller for both compensatory and punitive damages. If you have been injured by a product as a result of a warning defect, call Brod Law Firm at (800) 427-7020 to speak with an experienced product liability attorney today.

Three Things You Should Know About California’s Strict Warning Defect Laws

There are seven elements that need to be met in a warning defect claim.

Stay Safe on E-Scooters With These Four Tips

July 6, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

The newest wave of ride sharing comes not in the form of cars or bicycles but rather in electric scooters. Dockless e-scooter companies like Bird, LimeBike, Jump, and others have found their homes in California and are expanding all across the country. With the advent of this entertaining and convenient form of transportation, however, comes a new wave of potentially dangerous activity and injury. Learn how to stay safe while riding these e-scooters by recognizing common causes of e-scooter injuries and by following the tips listed below.

Read the Instruction Manual

If you purchase an e-scooter for personal use, make sure you read the instruction manual before attempting to operate the scooter. Many e-scooter injuries occur because users do not know how to use the scooter properly.

Serious Injuries Result From a Hit and Run Pedal Cab Accident

June 29, 2018 | Gregory J. Brod

On Wednesday, June 27, two people were seriously hurt when a car crashed into a pedal cab at Embarcadero and Sansome Street in San Francisco and fled the scene. A second pedal cab then crashed into the first pedal cab. The pedal cabs were carrying a family of four. Police are still investigating the case and searching for the car, which has been described as a light colored sedan.

If you were injured in a hit and run accident, do not wait to ask for legal help. The personal injury lawyers at Brod Law Firm have years of experience handling hit and run claims. By calling us, you will have an experienced attorney fighting for your rights. Contact Brod Law Firm online or call us at (800) 427-7020.

California Hit and Run Laws