San Diego Injury Lawyer Blog

Two light rail passengers were injured in a San Diego trolley accident as their trolley slammed into a postal vehicle at Park Boulevard and G Street in East Village in San Diego. This auto vs. train accident took place around 11:30 a.m. on February 3, 2010.

Though no one lost their life, two passengers, a 40-year old man who uses wheelchairs and a woman in her 40s, were taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital and Kaiser Hospital, respectively. The man was treated for major trauma and the woman sustained minor injuries. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.

Trolley accidents in Downtown San Diego are not unknown. Light rail drivers are known to enter intersections on the tail end of the yellow light, thereby causing traffic snarls and blocking intersections.

Ross Jurewitz is a San Diego personal injury lawyer and the managing attorney of the Jurewitz Law Group, a San Diego, CA law firm dedicated to representing people seriously injured and the families of people killed by the negligence of others. If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed in a San Diego trolley accident, please call Mr. Jurewitz at 888-233-5020 for a free consultation.

In addition, if you would like more information to help you or your family following an injury accident, please order your free copy of Mr. Jurewitz's book, The Ten Biggest Mistakes that can Destroy Your California Accident Case. It is free to all California residents.

Public transportation rail systems and trains are potentially very hazardous—not only to pedestrians and patrons but to maintenance workers working on the system. Unfortunately, this proved true yesterday when two veteran employees of Washington, DC’s Metro system--Jeff Garrard, 49, and Sung Duk Oh, 68--lost their lives as they were crushed beneath a maintenance truck.

This tragic workplace accident happened around 1:45 a.m. on January 26, 2010, near Rockville, Maryland while the workers were installing new train control equipment on the track bed. They usually ended their shift at 11:30 p.m. but were working overtime at the time. The maintenance truck that hit the victims had four employees inside it. Jim Graham, chairman of the Metro Board of Directors said that “the tragedy was a direct result of human error.”

The victims were known to have impeccable track records and had not laxed in their services to Metro. With over 10,000 hours of experience between them, Garrard and Oh were fastidious and always careful. Yet, they lost their lives due to someone else’s carelessness and negligence. Both Garrard and Oh lived in Montgomery County, Maryland. Garrard is survived by a wife and teenage daughter (pictured above, photo courtesy of this Washington Post story). It is always very difficult losing a loved one. In normal circumstances it becomes hard to adjust to someone’s passing away. But if a cherished person loses his life to such carelessness, the wounds never seem to heal. Our prayers go out to Garrard’s and Oh’s family.

In addition, this is not an accident unique to Washington DC’s public transportation system. It could have just as easily happened in San Diego or anywhere in California’s many public transportation services. One has to wonder whether the late hours and long hours that the crews were working also played a factor in this industrial accident. Many times accidents like these occur when workers are fatigued.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a San Diego workplace accident, please contact San Diego industrial accident lawyer Ross Jurewitz and the San Diego personal injury attorneys at the Jurewitz Law Group. You may also contact these San Diego truck accident lawyers online or at 888-233-5020 for a free consultation and helpful information.

If you would like more information about what to do if you find yourself the victim of someone else’s negligence, please order your free copy of Mr. Jurewitz's book, The Ten Biggest Mistakes that can Destroy Your California Accident Case. It is free to all California residents.

Earlier this week, we posted a story about this fatal San Diego trolley accident in Chula Vista where 4 year-old Veronica Ramirez was killed. She had been riding on a bicycle with her father when they approached the trolley crossing at L Street. According to witnesses, the guard arms were down and the warning lights were flashing when Veronica's father decided to ride around the guard arms in front of the oncoming trolley.

It wasn't a contest.

Veronica was airlifted to Rady's Children's Hospital in Kearny Mesa to treat her ultimately fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) and head injury. Her father was taken via ambulance to treat a fractured pelvis.

Continue reading "Father of Chula Vista Girl May Face Charges in San Diego Trolley Accident" »

A 4 year-old girl, identified as Veronica Ramirez, was killed and her 34 year-old father injured when the bicycle they were riding was struck by a San Diego trolley in Chula Vista on July 26, 2009.

The Chula Vista bicycle accident occurred on westbound L Street near Industrial Boulevard. According to witnesses, the trolley signals were already activated and the barriers were lowered when the young man attempted to cross the tracks as the trolley approached. The trolley struck the bicyclists, sending them flying about 40 feet.

The young girl was taken to Rady Children's Hospital but died a short time later from her head injury. Her father was taken to UCSD Medical Center with a broken hip and internal injuries.

Continue reading "4 Year Old Killed, Father Injured, After Bicycle Hit by Trolley" »

A San Diego Metropolitan Transit System security officer was reported to be in stable condition in the hospital following a shooting attack on his life when he was shot twice while at the Grossmont Trolley Station in La Mesa late July 18, 2009.

The shooting happened at 10:15 p.m. when an unidentified man shot the worker with a semiautomatic pistol, and then took the gun and two spare magazines from the officer's belt. The attacker was not found even though a search was conducted with both police dogs and a helicopter. Trolley services at the station were suspended until 3:40 a.m. the following day for police investigation. Riders were instead transported by bus. MTS officials report that security has been enhanced as a direct result of the incident.

Continue reading "San Diego MTS Worker Shot on the Job" »

An eastbound San Diego trolley in Downtown San Diego struck and killed a pedestrian over the weekend on the afternoon of July 12, 2009, authorities say.

The fatal trolley accident occurred on the trolley line on C Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, shortly after 3 p.m., Sgt. Ramona Hastings of the San Diego Police Department said. A dispatcher of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said that the victim died at the scene and that streets in the immediate surroundings were closed for investigations, which had not been concluded as of Tuesday morning. The victim's name had not been released. You can read more about this San Diego trolley accident in this SanDiegoNewsNetwork.com story.

Continue reading "Downtown San Diego Trolley Accident Kills Pedestrian" »