Car Accidents

Recalled Jeep Grand Cherokee Rolls Into and Kills Star Trek Movie Actor Anton Yelchin

June 21, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Star Trek movie star Anton Yelchin, the son of famous Russian figure skaters, Viktor Yelchin and Irina Korina, was killed Sunday in a tragic Studio City car accident, when his recalled 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee allegedly rolled into him, pinning him against a brick pillar and security gate, fatally injuring him. Apparently, United State government regulators determined that the Jeep’s gear shifting possibly could confuse drivers and then possibly cause the Jeep Cherokees to roll away. This is what may have occurred here, leading to speculation that this defect caused or contributed to causing this fatal wrongful death accident.

Yelchin most recently played the Russian crewmember aboard the Star Ship Enterprise in the three most recent Star Trek films.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in April of 2016, Fiat Chrysler Automotive voluntarily recalled over one million cars and sport utility vehicles, like Yelchin’s 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) investigation determined that electronic shifts in these vehicles could spring-back to their previous position after being moved to a different gear. Apparently, some drivers might possibly mistakenly believe that their car or sports utility vehicle was in park then exit their vehicle, but if the parking brake was not properly applied while the vehicle was still running then the car or vehicle could roll away and possibly cause injury or damage, as may have occurred in this tragic incident.

The times reported that as of April 2015 there were at least 41 injuries believed to have been caused by this alleged defect.

The Fiat Chrysler recall includes 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees that were manufactured from July 2012 to December 2015. If you have such a vehicle you should immediately call your local dealership for instructions. The company was to have mailed notices to all owners of record of these cars and sport utility vehicles this past May 2016, warning them to always use the parking brake before exiting their vehicles. Further, Fiat Chrysler stated it hopes to have a remedy to fix this problem by the last quarter of 2016.

Walch Law Corporation Settles Million Dollar Auto Accident Case

June 3, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The personal injury attorneys at The Walch Law Corporation recently obtained a million dollar settlement for a Los Angeles car accident. This was a disputed liability auto accident case in which three cars were involved. We represented an elderly retired woman who was struck in an intersection.

We were successfully able to prove that our client entered the intersection legally and that the other vehicle that collided with her was making the unsafe left turn. The driver of the other vehicle was claiming that our client ran the red light. After the initial impact, our client’s vehicle struck another vehicle, causing injuries to the occupant of that vehicle.

The driver of the car that hit our client had a 1 million dollar insurance policy that had to be divided among all of the claimants. We successfully worked it out that only about $25,000 went to the other party for injuries and damages, while the remainder of the one million dollar policy limits was for our client. We were able to obtain this settlement without our client undergoing any surgeries.

LOS ANGELES CAR CRASH CLOSES NEW L.A. METRO EXPO LINE

May 24, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The new Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Expo Line was suddenly and unexpectedly closed yesterday morning, when a Toyota car crashed through a fence and over the Expo’s light rail tracks at Exposition Boulevard, thereby blocking the Expo train on its first work day.

Such car and truck collisions, crashes and accidents remind everyone of the reality of the L.A. Metro Line – its proximity to L.A. traffic. Unlike underground subways or raised trains, the surface metro trains prevalent in Los Angeles County unfortunately are subject to frequent L.A. traffic collisions and accidents. This traffic also obviously slows down the trains and adds to commuter times, but the construction cost savings (except when accidents result) are substantial.

6 People Injured in Van Nuys Car Accident

March 8, 2016 | by Robert Walch

A Van Nuys car accident this morning, at around 6:00 A.M., resulted in six people suffering serious enough injuries to need to be transported to the hospital for medical care. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Van Nuys accident happened when five cars collided with each other at Vanowen Street and Sepulveda Boulevard.

Authorities disclosed that the injuries to the six people ranged from moderate to severe, but fortunately nobody was killed in this accident. Earlier reports indicated that there was a car accident fatality in this incident.

The Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department were helping care for the victims at the scene of the car accident in Van Nuys. The LAPD will need to investigate the accident and prepare a Traffic Collision Report, wherein they indicate the statements of the parties and provide their recommendation as to fault, if possible, from the information they are able to obtain.

CarMax Salesman Killed During Test Drive in Ontario Wrongful Death Crash

February 25, 2016 | by Robert Walch

A salesman for CarMax, Warren Smale, was killed on Tuesday in an Ontario car accident. The car accident occurred when Smale was the passenger of a Chevrolet Corvette that was being driven by Alex Demetro. According to ABC11 News, Ontario Police are confirming that Mr. Demetro was driving at a high rate of speed when he crashed into a tree, tragically killing Mr. Smale.

Mr. Demetro was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time of the car accident in Ontario, California. He has been arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter, for the death of Warren Smale.

Carmax is the largest used car retailer in the United States, with approximately 150 locations throughout the country. The driver of the vehicle on the test drive, Alex Demetro, was also allegedly driving with a suspended license.

There are many civil and criminal legal ramifications for a tragic car accident wrongful death such as this one. Criminally, the driver will likely be charged and may face significant jail time for the death of Mr. Smale. Civilly, the heirs of Mr. Smale will likely make a claim for wrongful death damages. Assuming that Mr. Smale was an employee of CarMax, there may also be a worker’s compensation claim.

Driverless Cars and Car Accident Safety

January 8, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The idea and implementation of autonomous (driverless) cars is getting much publicity lately, especially in California where many large technology companies such as Google have been experimenting with the technology. Bloomberg Business recently reported that the Michigan Transportation Research Institute did a report that found that driverless cars are involved in twice as many car accidents as regular cars.

Fortunately for the driverless car industry, those accidents have been relatively minor and the cars driven by humans have been at fault. The cause of these car accidents apparently often comes down to humans not being able to properly anticipate the actions of the autonomous vehicle. Humans are accustomed to driving amongst other human drivers, knowing what to expect and what not to expect. For example, humans will expect other drivers to drive above the speed limit on the freeway when there is open traffic, however driverless cars are programmed not to exceed the speed limit. Driverless cars may also start and stop differently to how a human driven car would do those things.

RAIN CAUSES LOS ANGELES REAR END CAR ACCIDENT COLLISIONS

January 5, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The Los Angeles rain storm that started early this morning has caused many rear end car accidents. The rain water, mixed with oil and other greasy like substances that has been accumulating on our streets, has coated the streets in Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley, with a slick substance causing many rear end crashes, some causing serious injuries, including to head, neck, shoulders and back.

In such rainy weather conditions, it is important to do the following:

Drive slower
Keep extra space or distance between your car and the vehicle in front of you.
When approaching an intersection with a stop sign or red traffic signal, plan to stop at least one car length farther away from the intersection than you normally would, to allow sufficient time to stop and avoid any vehicle in front of you, any pedestrians and any bicycle riders.
Preventative maintenance: Be sure your tires are properly inflated, your windshield wipers are in good condition and your brakes are in good working order. Many tire stores and repair shops will fill tires and check wipers and brakes as a courtesy. If you need any referrals to do this, just give us a call.

Walch Law Recovers Over 3 million dollars for personal injury clients this year

September 8, 2015 | by Robert Walch

So far in 2015, The Walch Law Corporation has recovered over $3,000,000 for its wrongful death and personal injury clients. This notable figure does not include property damage recoveries, which include repairs for clients’ vehicles and pay offs when the vehicle is rendered a total loss in an accident.

Recently, our attorneys obtained a favorable judgment in a disputed liability intersection accident case that went to binding arbitration. The case involved a he said she said situation, in which both parties claimed the other party ran the red light. There were no independent witnesses to verify either party’s version of the events. Through detailed hard work and persuasive arguing, we were able to convince the arbitrator to award 100% liability against the other party. Once liability was determined, we were able to get our client fairly compensated for the total loss of his vehicle, his medical bills and his pain and suffering.

Robert Walch also recently got a very good settlement on a Los Angeles motorcycle accident case. The insurance company for the vehicle that hit our client would not make a fair offer, so we filed a lawsuit and eventually we were able to settle for a fair amount for our client.

Simi Valley Taxi Drivers Protest Lack of Uber Regulation

July 22, 2015 | by Robert Walch

According to the Simi Valley Acorn, local taxi drivers and taxi company owners were at the Simi Valley City Council meeting on Monday to protest against the rise of Uber, a popular ride sharing service, in the community. Their main problem with Uber is that while taxis must abide by many regulations, Uber is often not subject to the same regulations. Accordingly, if there is a Simi Valley Uber car accident, the customer may not have the same rights as if he or she was in a Simi Valley taxi accident.

The taxi representatives said that they must abide by requirements such as background checks, inspections of taxis, fees and commercial insurance for their vehicles. They feel that Uber, a service where users order a ride from an Uber driver via an application on the user’s phone, does not have to abide by the same rules and therefore is able to operate at less expensive prices. This has cost taxi owners and drivers much of their business.

Malibu to Implement Safety Improvements to Prevent Accidents

July 15, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Due to the high frequency of Malibu car accidents, the city has decided to implement new safety measures to try to decrease the amount of accidents. Many Malibu accidents happen on Pacific Coast Highway, which is a long stretch of road overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Due to the layout of the road, the minimum space between the ocean and the mountains, the speed that cars travel and the distraction of the beautiful views, there are many car accidents and pedestrian accidents on PCH.

According to the Los Angeles Times, from 2012 to 2014, there were 376 Malibu car accident injuries and nine people died in Malibu accidents. Of the nine, six were pedestrians who were killed when they were hit by a car on PCH in Malibu.

So far this year, 117 car accidents on PCH in Malibu have resulted in four fatalities. Included in those fatalities was the rapper, MC Supreme, who was killed when his car was struck while legally parked on the ocean side of PCH. Another tragic accident happened in February when Bruce Jenner, who is now knowns as Caitlyn Jenner, rear ended a car, pushing that car into oncoming traffic where it was struck by a Hummer, resulting in the wrongful death of the occupant of that vehicle.