San Diego Injury Lawyer Blog

Children all around San Diego County enjoy playing hide-and-seek in the evening with their neighborhood friends. Many children play all along their street and neighborhood paying little attention when crossing. Last week in North Encanto, an 11-year-old boy was playing a hide-and-seek game when he ran in front of a tow truck and was hit. The truck accident happened on the 6800 block of Madera Street.

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San Diego authorities have stated that the tow truck driver did everything he could to avoid hitting the child but was not able to do so.. The driver does not appear to be at fault. You can read more about this San Diego pedestrian accident in this CBS8.com story.

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Hullabaloo surrounded the 2005 addition of bicycle lanes along Via de la Valle in Solana Beach in North San Diego County, yet today the bike lanes are almost non-existent because of the lack of follow-up care by the City of San Diego.

"Share the Road" signs do not mean much when about half of the 4-foot wide westbound bicycle lanes along Via de la Valle are encroached upon by growing bushes.

Both San Diego bicyclists and car drivers know that this growing vegetation of weeds poses a danger since it obviously makes it more difficult for fast moving cars to share the road with bicyclists.

Continue reading "Overgrown Brush Along Solana Beach Road Poses Danger to San Diego Bicycle Riders" »

Sgt. Jack Reynolds of the Encinitas Sheriff's Station reported that a 14-year-old child was flown to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego as a precaution after crashing his bicycle into a car in Del Mar. The accident happened this last Saturday morning when the bicyclist T-boned his head and hit his head on the ground. He was not wearing a helmet and as a consequence suffered a laceration to the back of the head. You can read more about this Del Mar bicycle accident in this North County Times story.

The bicyclist was unconscious after the crash but was speaking and moving his hands and feet as he was being prepared for the flight to hospital by paramedics. No information was reported from the hospital but according to the Encinitas Sheriff's station the incident was listed as a minor injury accident. The driver of the car was not found to be at fault.

Continue reading "Teen Suffers Head Injury After Del Mar Bicycle Crash" »

Highland resident Benjamin Lobato Huante, 49, who was an entomologist working in San Diego County in Fallbrook on Wednesday, was killed after his car tumbled off of a cliff more than 100 feet, and died.

Huante had been setting traps for insects around the avocado trees in the area for study had been in an all-terrain vehicle that crashed when he overcompensated and fell down a cliff around 11 a.m. San Diego County sheriff's and coroner's officials reported that Huarte died at the scene, as noted on the county coroner's Web site.

The victim of the San Diego County auto accident worked for Integrated Growers Service of Escondido, as Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Occupational Safety and Health said. You can read more about this San Diego auto accident in this MercuryNews.com story.

Continue reading "Highland Entomologist Killed in San Diego County ATV Accident" »

Many an accident on the road that cause injuries or even fatalities are not due to unsafe exterior conditions or even the irresponsibility of other drivers nearby. A lot of times, the fault lies in the interior conditions of our vehicles and, more often than not, fatigue.

Prompted by the charter bus accident in Utah in January 2008 that resulted in 51 of the riders to be ejected from the vehicle into the wintry night, nine of whom died and forty-three others who were injured, the National Transportation and Safety Board recently attributed the accident as relating to the fatigue of the 71 year-old bus driver who had underestimated his speed and had a slowed reaction time.

Continue reading "Fatigue Significant Factor in San Diego Car, Bus, Motorcycle Accidents" »

A friend of the Jurewitz Law Group and San Diego resident was riding his newly tuned-up bicycle around the uptown area of San Diego this last Saturday morning.

The University Heights resident was heading back home after running some errands during this busy day and, as he was riding out of the parking lot of the Ralph's in Hillcrest, he stopped behind a grey Ford F-150. This Ford pick-up truck was waiting to go into the underground parking lot blocking off the path.

Our friend stopped behind the truck waiting for him to move when suddenly the truck driver decided to go in reverse instead of forward. Not looking into his mirrors, the driver did not see our employee and hit him with his truck. Our employee fell off of his bike with his groceries spilling all over the floor.

Continue reading "Friend of San Diego Injury Law Firm Struck by Truck" »

The morning commute is a busy time for San Diego roads and many San Diegans are usually in a rush to make it to work on time. San Diego students are usually on their way to school at around the same time. Many of them ride the bus, a rather safe means of transportation. That expected safety that comes from being a passenger in a huge yellow vehicle with lights was compromised twice last Friday morning. Two San Diego Unified School District buses were struck by cars in unrelated auto accidents.

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A California Highway Patrol dispatch reported the first accident at 6:59 a.m. In this first accident, a van backed into a parked school bus on 54th and Pirotte Drive in the Chollas Creek neighborhood of San Diego. The bus had 23 passengers on it.

The California Highway Patrol reported the second accident just three minutes later in the neighboring San Diego neighborhood of Emerald Hills. At Bayview Heights Drive and Federal Boulevard. A truck struck a school bus at a stop sign carrying 15 passengers.

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Continue reading "Two San Diego Unified School District Buses Involved in Accidents" »

Mario De La Rosa, 21, of the San Diego neighborhood of Serra Mesa had been driving his Toyota Camry significantly above the speed limit in the early hours just after midnight on Saturday, April 4th with his brother and passenger, Paul Albert Alferos Jr., 19, of San Diego, when he crashed into a telephone pole.

San Diego Police Department Sgt Alan Hayward reported that the fatal San Diego auto accident occurred on the 2900 block of Clairemont Drive. Alcohol had not been ruled out as a cause of the accident, but it remains unknown what caused De La Rosa to lose control of the vehicle and swerve off the road. Alteros had been unrestrained in the backseat and authorities declared him dead on the scene. Paramedics took De La Rosa to the hospital, where he later died. You can read more about this San Diego car crash in this NBCSanDiego.com story or this SanDiego6.com story.

The identification of the men in this early April car wreck were not originally released pending notification of their families. A memorial was then set up for them, including make-shift cross and memorial marker for the site of the fatal San Diego car accident.

Continue reading "Memorial Set for Men Killed in San Diego Car Accident" »

Yesterday evening, a Jurewitz Law Group employee took his bicycle to a San Diego bike shop on Adams Avenue to get it tuned up and ready for the upcoming summer.

Here is the story he told us this morning:

One of the bike shop employees at the store was wearing a black, leather, motorcycle jacket. He came up to us, greeted us, and proceeded to help me with my bike. I noticed that he was not moving his right arm very much as my friend was looking at bicycle helmets. A yellow bicycle helmet caught her attention and she decided to try it on. Once she was content with the color scheme and shape of the helmet, she asked the employee if this particular helmet was good for recreational bicycle riding. He took the helmet from her with his left arm, examined it, and agreed it would be a great recreational bicycle helmet.

The employee continued on to say that it would work great if she were to ever get into a crash, but that it would only work for one crash and that's it. She would have to replace if she ever did crash. The employee said that comment as if he expected her to crash, which caught us a bit off guard. He continued on to the story about his arm and said that a helmet had just saved his life the previous week.

Continue reading "San Diego Bike Shop Employee Seriously Injured in Julian Motorcycle Accident" »

California judges recently received better guidance for how and when to apply a controversial exception to the collateral source rule, a rule that permits California injury victims to recover the full amount of medical bills incurred following an accident even if paid by a source other than the person who caused the accident (a "collateral source").

The clarification recently came through the editing of citations in the California Judicial Council Judges Benchbook, a reference source for judges hearing California personal injury cases. The edit makes it clear that defendants are not entitled to a post-trial reduction hearing. Rather defendants must meet a specific exception to the collateral source rule for the trial court to consider holding a post-trial reduction hearing.

You can read more about this development, as well as the insurance companies' efforts to misapply California case law, in this post at our San Diego personal injury attorneys website.

A 90-year-old Chula Vista pedestrian was hit by a car nearby Broadway and Park Way in on April 1st at approximately 8 p.m. According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office, the man was taken off life-support on Saturday afternoon because of the deterioration of his medical status. The Chula Vista pedestrian suffered a head injury with internal bleeding. You can read more in this SignOnSanDiego.com story.

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The victim's identity was not made public so that San Diego County officials could notify the family about the death.

Continue reading "Chula Vista Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Car" »

Well, it looks like the Nevada Medical Malpractice Reform Law may not see its' fifth birthday--or at least its' damage cap provision may not. Nevada legislators are considering overturning or raising the $350,000 cap for "pain and suffering" damages arising from medical malpractice.

The reason? Recent scandalous, unethical, and dangerous behavior by doctors in the state have led legislators to realize that damage caps hurt consumers while protecting negligent doctors.

We've taken a look at these developments and what it might mean for California's MICRA damage cap of $250,000. You can read more about this California medical malpractice development at our San Diego personal injury lawyer website here.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office reported last week that a 9-year-old boy was struck by a car near Riverview Elementary School in Lakeside. The boy was walking along Winter Gardens Boulevard south of Knoll Crest Place around 4 p.m. on April 6, 2009, when the fatal Lakeside pedestrian accident happened. The boy was taken to Rady Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. His name has not been released. You can read more about this Lakeside car accident in this 10news.com story.

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Continue reading "Lakeside Child Pedestrian Hit by Car, Dies" »

A pilot of a small Piper Comanche crashed into a hillside at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station yesterday as it was heading to Brown Municipal field. The California airplane accident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 11. According to the FAA, the pilot made no distress call and simply fell off of radar and radio communication. You car read more about this San Diego aircraft crash in this SignOnSanDiego.com story.

The plane and its' pilot were found and the pilot has been declared dead on scene. FAA officials investigating the crash found that the plane was registered to a Burbank man, but it is not known whether he was the pilot. No other passengers were on board.

The airplane had left from Whiteman Airport in the Los Angeles suburb of Pacoima with its' planned destination as Brown Field in the San Diego suburb of Otay Mesa. FAA officials are still investigating the airplane crash.

Continue reading "Pilot Dies in Fiery San Diego Plane Crash" »

Baseball fans the world over are mourning the loss of Nick Adenhart, who was killed in a hit-and-run auto accident early Thursday morning in Fullerton. Adenhart, 22, was a starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and just struck out five batters over six innings in the Wednesday game against the Oakland A's. You can read more about this Orange County car accident in this Yahoo! Sports story.

Adenhart had been riding in a silver Mitsubishi when a mini-van ran a red light and struck the vehicle, causing it to crash into a light pole. The driver of the minivan fled the scene but police later arrested Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, presumed to be charged with a felony of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter. Two others riding in the car with Adenhart died on the scene, while Adenhart was rushed to the hospital at the UC Irvine Medical center, and died during surgery.

Continue reading "Angels Pitcher Killed in Fullerton Drunk Driving Car Accident" »

San Diego's Old Town neighborhood is known for its historic buildings and authentic mid 1800's Western atmosphere, but it is not immune to the dangers of the 21st century, with cars replacing the horse and buggy as transportation passing through the narrowly constructed streets.

This was the scene of a bike accident on Tuesday, April 7th when a car struck and seriously injured a 13-year-old bike rider who had just road out of Congress Street around 4:30 p.m. While the car driver remained uninjured, medics on the scene had to rush the teen boy to the hospital to treat a broken leg. It is unknown whether the boy was wearing a helmet or not. You can read more about this San Diego bicycle accident in this SanDiego6.com story.

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Continue reading "San Diego Teen Injured in Old Town Bicycle Accident" »

Last Friday evening San Diego police warned University City residents of a dangerous pit bull on the loose. The pit bull attacked another dog at the University Gardens neighborhood park on Governor Dr. at around 5:30 p.m. You can read more about this dangerous dog in this CBS8.com story.

A San Diego police officer that responded to the dog attack was also attacked by the pit bull. The San Diego officer shot the pit bull, but it then fled into the canyon nearby. A San Diego police helicopter helped officers search for the pit bull and warned University City residents of the dangerous dog on the loose. San Diego police did not find the dog that evening and Animal Control continued the search on Saturday.

Continue reading "Dangerous Pit Bull Dog on the Loose in University City Neighborhood of San Diego" »

The San Diego City Attorney's Office is considering pressing charges against the San Diego Chargers lineman, Jamal Williams, for driving his car under the influence of alcohol.

Jamal Williams was arrested on February 1, 2009, on State Route 94 on the suspicion of drunk driving after he was pulled over for speeding in his Bentley. However, when Williams took the blood test his BAC was just under the illegal limit at .07%. The California Highway Patrol administered the test well after the arrest. That means that he could have been intoxicated while driving. You can read more in this 10news.com story.

Continue reading "San Diego Charger Defensive Lineman Jamal Williams May Face DUI Charges" »

Sorry, for borrowing the line from Mike Myers' Linda Richman character from Saturday Night Live, but it fit.

The New York Times recently released an investigative report about the use of so-called independent medical examinations performed on behalf of insurance companies in workers' compensation cases. These examinations are very similar to those performed in California personal injury cases. What the New York Times found was that these examinations were being performed for the sole purpose of protecting the insurance companies' interests, rather than seeking the truth about the victim's injuries.

You can read more about the New York Times' report about independent medical examinations and their application in California personal injury cases here at our San Diego personal injury lawyer website.

A fixed gear bicycle rider was injured when he crashed into the back of a truck on Adams Avenue in the North Park area of San Diego. The bicyclist was riding along Adams Avenue when he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror that was attached to a truck. The truck was delivering the large mirror to a house in Kensington from North Park Glass and Mirror and was stopped at a red light. The rider of the "fixie" bicycle was wearing a vintage, Italian racing cap and when he saw himself in the mirror he could not help but admire the view.

This moment of vanity caused the bicyclist to stop paying attention to the road and crash into the stationary truck. He hit the truck at nearly 30 mph, partly because fixed gear bicycles have no brakes. When the bicycle rider crashed into the truck, he shattered the mirror and seriously injured himself. The cyclist was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital where he is expected to fully recover. You can read more about this San Diego bicycle accident in this San Diego City Beat story.

Continue reading "San Diego Bicycle Accident Caused by Rider's Inattention, Vanity" »

Earlier this week, we posted this article on our San Diego Car Accident Lawyer Blog about a car driver under the influence of drugs who struck a bicycle rider.

When that article was written, it was brought to light that many San Diegans do not know the difference between driving under the influence of drugs and driving under the influence of alcohol. Essentially there is no difference. However, there is one slight difference in the consequences and a difference in the way that the offense is proven.

When a suspect is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, a measurement of a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08% that can be used to determine whether the suspect has had too much to drink or not. If the suspect has a BAC of .08% or higher then there is a "per se" offense--that is, a strict breaking of the law--and the driver can be charged. When the suspect is driving under the influence of drugs, there is no BAC and therefore no "per se" offense. The DMV is therefore not able to administratively suspend the license of a suspect driving under the influence of drugs. However, the driver's license may be suspended as a criminal conviction.

Chemical testing is the second way in which the two offenses differ. As stated above, the standard way for San Diego police officer to test for alcohol in a car driver's system is to use a breathalyzer. However, a breath test cannot register the presence of drugs in the suspects system. If a San Diego police officer suspects that the driver is under the influence of drugs then a blood test may be taken, and sometimes a urine test.

When prosecuted, the suspect may have the arresting officer's comments used against him as evidence. The San Diego police officer may comment on the suspect's physical appearance, performance with field sobriety tests, erratic driving, incriminating statements, and his or her conduct.

Continue reading "Driving Under The Influence Of Drugs In San Diego" »