personal injury law firm in San Francisco

Incidence of Dog Bite Injuries May Increase During Holidays

November 28, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

The holidays are supposed to be a happy time for families and friends. The enjoyment can quickly turn to tragedy if a dog bites someone. Dog bites happen quite often and can cause serious injuries. Dog bites may happen more frequently around the holidays because of the increased number of visitors to one’s home during this time period. Dog owners must be vigilant in making sure that their dogs are kept from harming anyone.

Owners Must Control Their Dogs

Dog owners must keep their dogs under control at all times. Dog bite injuries most often occur when an animal is off-leash or is not being properly supervised. Dogs need to be on leash at all times when they are in public areas. The only exception to this rule may be when dogs and owners visit specified dog parks. These parks allow dogs to run off leash in a controlled environment. Owners are subject to the rules of the specific dog park.

New Law Aims to Protect Rideshare Passengers

October 14, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Passengers using rideshare services like Uber and Lyft know (or at least should know, as these terms and conditions are posted on each ridesharing company’s website) that the ridesharing companies consider their drivers to be independent contractors. When a passenger is involved in a crash while riding in an Uber or Lyft vehicle, the process of obtaining compensation can be complicated enough. However, passengers who are deliberately injured by an act of violence committed by their Uber or Lyft driver are left in a vulnerable legal position. Neither Uber nor Lyft allow themselves to be sued for such acts, meaning that the passengers will likely have difficulty holding the responsible party accountable for his or her actions.

While a new law signed by Governor Jerry Brown does not solve this dilemma completely, it does aim to make passengers who use rideshare platforms a little bit safer.

Criminal Background Checks Now Required

The Great Divide: Understanding Criminal and Civil Law in California Drunk Driving Cases

January 5, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

We want 2016 to be a healthy and safe year for all of our readers and all of our neighbors here in Northern California. We also want to remind people that our personal injury law firm in San Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Rosa is here to help if you or a loved one is injured in 2016 due to someone else’s negligence, carelessness, or wrongful acts. In this spirit, this blog post looks at a recent drunk driving accident and reviews the difference between criminal and civil drunk driving cases in California.

Charges Filed Against Suspected Drunk Driver Following Hit-and-Run Crashes

According to CBS SF, police have arrested a 22-year-old man and charged him with suspected felony drunk duikeys driving and hit-and-run causing injury after a series of crashes in Petaluma. The series of incidents started around 12:30 AM Saturday when a pickup truck hit a parked vehicle on Mary Street near Petaluma Boulevard North. A woman who had been placing items in the parked vehicle’s rear seat was knocked over by the impact and suffered minor injuries. Reportedly, the driver fled the scene and then stopped at a nearby parking lot to examine his own vehicle. As he attempted to leave again, he backed into the store building damaging the establishment’s door and window before hitting a crosswalk sign on his way out of the lot. Officers later caught up with the man they believe was the driver and a test allegedly put his BAC at 0.13.