San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

Bringing Attention to the Elder Abuse Problem at Both the National and State Levels

February 25, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Our San Francisco and Oakland elder abuse law firm has been working for years to raise public awareness of the problem of elder abuse. We are proud of this work and believe it is essential to preventing and addressing the mistreatment of our seniors, but we know our voice is not enough on its own. Often, campaigns for socio-political change need to have a big name celebrity who helps draw the fame-crazed public’s attention to a serious and important matter. In March 2011, Mickey Rooney took on this role, talking about his first-hand experience as a victim of elder abuse. This bravery helped move the fight against the abuse of seniors ahead, but there is still much that needs to be done.

Actor Mickey Rooney Tells His Story in 2011 U.S. Senate Hearing

CNN covered Rooney’s testimony, given at age 90 before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. According to the actor, a member of his family took control of his life. Rooney said the abuse left him “scared, disappointed, yes, and angry,” noting that no one ever expects to become a victim of elder abuse. He spoke of suffering the abuse in silent, fearing the problems it might create in the family. In addition to the initial difficulty in mustering the courage to speak up, he said he was told to be quiet when he did voice his concerns. Eventually, however, Rooney did get help and he filed a restraining order against two step-children, claiming financial and emotional abuse.

Vacaville Collision of a Motorcycle and Truck

February 22, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Drivers often avoid driving alongside big rig trucks on freeways. Big rigs are also known as “18-wheelers”, semi-trailers, and tractor trailers. They are essentially large trucks usually used to deliver large loads of products throughout the United States. These big trucks obstruct the view of drivers directly behind them, make wide turns, tend to drive at a slower speed than the rest of traffic, and have huge blind spots. These blind spots, additionally widened because of the seating location of the drivers, can often lead to collisions with other drivers, both in cars and motorcycles, especially when truck drivers are changing lanes. This propensity of collisions of automobiles on freeways is not unheard of and unfortunately, there are many such accidents, but a collision between a big rig truck and any other vehicle can be especially dangerous.

Collision of Motorcyclist and Big Rig Leads to His Death

Last week, a motorcyclist collided with a big-rig in Vacaville. Frank Gonsalves, 36, the motorcycle driver, was taken immediately to a Sacramento hospital on that Thursday afternoon and suffered major head trauma and was deemed in critical condition. The accident occurred when the driver of the north-bound semi truck, Rickie Williams, and Gonsalves, going south on Nut Tree Road, collided with Williams who was attempting to make a left turn into the driveway of a Raley’s supermarket. City spokesman, Mark Mazzaferro, states that Gonsalves couldn’t stop in time from hitting the truck. Though Mr. Gonsalves tried to brake to avoid the collision, he was unable to do so, resulting in a collision with the front fender of the truck.

Fatal Accident Serves as Reminder of the Danger of Distracted Driving

February 22, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

In recent years, the term “distracted driving” has worked its way into our conversations about driving safety. We believe this is a good thing. In the minds of the team at our Sacramento injury law firm, the more attention paid to safety, the better. We are glad people are talking about distracted driving and hope this awareness leads to accident prevention. However, too often these conversations focus solely on the danger of using mobile communications devices behind the wheel. While this is absolutely an important topic, we hope people remember that the danger of distracted driving is much broader issue and encompasses any number of threats that take the driver’s focus away from the road.

Truck Tumbles Down Canyon, CHP Blames Distracted Driving

As reported in the Sacramento Bee, distracted driving led to a fatal accident in the Concow area of Butte County on Wednesday afternoon. Nineteen year old Charles Taylor of Chico was driving a pickup truck along a narrow dirt section of Concow Road, an area bordered by a deep canyon. He told California Highway Patrol (“CHP”) officers that he became distracted by a conversation with his three passengers and took his eyes off the road for a brief moment. When he looked back, the left front tire of the pickup truck had drifted off the left side of the road. The truck proceeded to roll down the canyon, coming to a stop some 800 to 1000 feet below the road surface. All four occupants, none of whom were wearing a seatbelt, were ejected from the truck. The two survivors, Taylor and Samuel Montgomery (age 19, of Chico), had to climb up to the road in order to summon help. Two other passengers, a 39 year old woman from Oroville and a 24 year old man from Modesto, died at the scene. CHP attributed the accident to distracted driving. Alcohol was found in the truck but officers do not believe it was a factor in the accident.

Legal and Safety Considerations: Lane-Splitting by Motorcycle Riders

February 20, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Despite the signs imploring people to “Share the Road” on streets and highways nationwide, cars and motorcycles often have a rather discourteous relationship. Riders will tell you that drivers don’t pay enough attention to their surroundings and only truly notice other drivers piloting cars, SUVs, and trucks. On the other side, drivers will report that cyclists ignore speed limits and the suspicion that some riders lack a valid license, an important issue since unlicensed cyclists are more likely to cause an accident. As a San Francisco accident law firm, we see the victims of the tense relationship between cycles and cars. Recently, the California Highway Patrol (CHP”) added a new policy to address a significant issue of debate between drivers and rider, the practice of lane-splitting.

Opinions as CHP Unveils New Rules on Lane-Spitting by Motorcycles

According to the San Francisco Chronicle‘s recent report, California is the only state in the U.S. where the practice of lane-splitting is legal. For those not familiar with the term, this is when a motorcycle pilots between cars on a crowded street, allowing the cyclist to travel faster than the automobile traffic. While it may annoy some drivers, lane-splitting has always been legal in the state. However, until now, state authorities never provided guidelines on how motorcycle riders can safely engage in the practice. Sgt. Mark Pope, the California Highway Patrol’s (“CHP”) statewide motorcycle safety coordinator, referred to this as “limited anarchy” and said it was time authorities considered the issue.

Bedsores: A Serious Medical Ailment and a Possible Warning Sign of Elder Abuse

February 18, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Bedsores are one of the most common signs that an individual with limited mobility is suffering from neglect. While patients may develop bedsores despite a high level of care, they can also be a warning sign that something is amiss. Such warning signs are especially important when the patient is unable to communicate effectively. In an effort to help people identify mistreatment, our San Francisco nursing home neglect law firm is using today’s blog post to talk about bedsores and how they can indicate abuse.

What are Bedsores?

The Mayo Clinic explains that bedsores, also known as pressure sores or pressure ulcers, are injuries to the skin and tissues resulting from prolonged pressure. They most often arise on skin that covers bony areas including the hips, buttocks, heels, ankles, and under or around the head in bedridden individuals. Bedsores are categorized by four stages of severity. In Stage One, the skin is intact but may be discolored (may not occur with darker skin) and the area can become painful or feel either warmer or cooler than surrounding skin. Stage Two is characterized by an open wound and damage to or loss of the outer and underlying layers of skin. Stage Three is marked by a deep wound that has a crater-like appearance, exposing some fat, and may involve damage beyond the primary wound. Stage Four is the most serious and involves a large-scale loss of tissue that may expose muscle, bone, or tendon. These stages are illustrated on the bedsore page of Apparelyzed, a spinal cord support forum.

Drowsy Driving Claims Four Young Lives

February 15, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Sometimes the statistics aren’t enough. Sometimes it takes a story, one with very real tears, to make people pay attention to a serious safety threat. While we still believe in sharing statistics, the team at our Oakland accident law firm hopes that sharing the story of four lives cut short helps prevent future tragedies tied to drowsy driving.

Remembering the Victims of a Drowsy Driving Crash

According to The Oakland Tribune, it was the first year that George Moa’s parents allowed him to drive to Las Vegas with his cousins to watch a major rugby tournament. Along with David Moa (19), Malia Moa (17), Rachel Fisi’iahi (19), and Hunter Halatoa (17), George enjoyed a weekend of sports, concerts, and food, before climbing into a rented SUV for the trip home to Oakland on Monday. Rachel started off in the driver’s seat, but she handed the wheel to George because she felt too tired. About 50 miles southwest of Bakersfield, George fell asleep at the wheel. Police report the SUV was travelling at nearly 90mph when it drifted into the roadway’s center divider and flipped over. George, David, Malia, and Rachel all died nearly instantaneously. The only survivor, Hunter, incurred non-life-threatening injuries when he was ejected from the SUV. A family friend reported that several of the travelers were not wearing seatbelts. Police are performing tests to determine if drugs or alcohol played a factor in the accident.

Lessons from the Storm: Nursing Homes and Disaster Planning

February 13, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

At The Brod Firm, we are committed to advocating for the health and safety of Northern California nursing home residents. Our San Francisco nursing home lawyer believes that a vital component of nursing home safety is having care plans in place for all residents and being prepared to respond to the unexpected. This includes having plans in place in case of an area-wide emergency, an issue highlighted in a recent report on the failure of many care facilities to prepare for severe weather and related natural disasters.

A Case Study: Nursing Homes Struggle Following East Coast Storm

According to an Associated Press article carried by ABC news, Superstorm Sandy called attention to the failure of nursing homes nationwide to properly prepare for natural disasters. Despite efforts undertaken in the wake of Katrina and the general readiness atmosphere in place since 9/11, nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Sandy’s path struggled to evacuate some 6,300 residents when the storm caused flooding and widespread power outages. Problems included confusion about where to send residents and trouble keeping families informed about where patients have been sent. Some facilities became overwhelmed with more evacuees than they could care for, leading to some patients being moved multiple times. Medical records did not always move along with the patients.

Cable Car Accident and the Importance of Hiring an Experienced San Francisco Muni Lawyer

February 11, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

When people think of San Francisco, one of the first images that comes to mind is of our iconic cable cars. They are at once a tourist attraction and an important part of the local mass transportation system. Our San Francisco accident lawyer is committed to the victims in our region and this means understanding the unique issues in our town. This work is especially important when a cable car accident catches the attention of our nation. After all, we want the country to know that someone is looking out for their safety when they visit the Bay Area and will work hard to represent them if the unexpected occurs.

Seven Injured in Cable Car Accident

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle tells the story of a recent cable car accident in the Nob Hill neighborhood. On Wednesday, a cable car with about 40 passengers on board, came to a sudden stop causing seven people to suffer injuries. One elderly man fell and hit his head, incurring potentially life-threatening injuries. An ambulance also transported four passengers, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, for hospital treatment. The injured also included the conductor, who required surgery for injuries to his face and tongue, and the car’s gripman who suffered internal injuries and cracked ribs.

Update On “Force-Placed” Insurance In California

February 9, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

In a previous post, this blog explained what “force-placed” insurance is and how insurance companies and banks use it to charge consumers high rates, usually for a car or a home. These imposed insurance policies are intended to protect the money-lender but often come with exorbitant rates much higher than standard insurance rates for the same car or property. California insurance officials are, according to a recent story, continuing to pursue reform of the force-placed system and trying to obtain more reasonable rates for customers assigned this insurance.

Officials managed to pressure QBE Insurance into cutting force-placed insurance rates by 35 percent. And Great American Assurance Company reduced force-placed rates by 28 percent as part of its mortgage protection program. California Insurance Commissioner, Dave Jones, noted that the former will save $19.4 million annually for policyholders and the latter will save $1.26 million annually. The average consumer savings under QBE’s reduction will be $626 and $505 annually for Great American Assurance customers. This is after the October success of convincing Assurant to drop rates by 30.5 percent. Some analysts, such as John Nadel at Stern Agee and Leach in New York, think that California may now push Assurant to lower their rates even further after the recent news about other insurance companies.

About the most recent rate reductions, Commissioner Jones said, “This is another victory and significant rate reduction for many California homeowners who have been subjected to these types of policies.” The new QBE rates will go into effect on March 15 and currently affect 30,940 properties in the state of California. The Great American Assurance Company rates start on March 1 and affect 2,512 California policies.

Chronicle Highlights Dangerous Roadway in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill Neighborhood

February 8, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

We’ve all known them — The hard-to-navigate curves, the messy merges, the intersections that confuse even the locals. We almost come to expect to see the aftermath of an accident on these dangerous roads. Our San Francisco car accident lawyer often hears about these hazardous thoroughfares from accident victims who are angry that poor design and other road-related factors contributed to their injuries. We work with these victims to consider all potential civil claims and we also hope our efforts encourage localities to change dangerous conditions and prevent future tragedies.

Residents Report Concerns Regarding Hazardous I-280 Off-Ramp

Chronicle Watch is a weekly feature in The San Francisco Chronicle that allows readers to raise problems they would like the reporters to investigate and often focuses on safety concerns. One concern investigated in this week’s Chronicle Watch is the tricky Interstate 280 South off-ramp at Mariposa Street. Residents in Potreto Hill report that dozens of accidents have occurred on the ramp and on Pennsylvania Avenue and 18th Street, the roads at the ramp’s base. According to one local resident, drivers often overestimate the time they have to stop given the short off-ramp. When drivers reach the bottom of the ramp, they can either go straight in order to turn either way on 18th Street or make a full 180-degree turn to reach Pennsylvania Avenue. Either choice presents possible hazards with drivers losing control if they take the turn onto Pennsylvania too fast or if they drive through the 18th Street stop sign, hit a barrier, and potentially drop from the overpass onto the highway. Lighting in the area is reportedly poor, posing an even greater risk to drivers unfamiliar with the roadway who are travelling at night.