Miscellaneous Personal Injury

Family of Three Injured at Riverside Amusement Park

August 4, 2019 | by Robert Walch

A family of three recently suffered personal injuries while on a ride at a Southern California amusement park. The family was on the log ride, a ride involving water, at Castle Park in Riverside when the accident occurred. According to USA Today, the ride malfunctioned and the family—mother, father, and child—were ejected from the ride.

The initial investigation shows that a pump that controls the water level on the ride was not functioning at the time the family was riding. On the final descent of the ride, the log-shaped car they were riding in failed to slow down because there was not enough water at the bottom. As a result the car “hit the bottom of a water slide, flipped over and ejected the three from the vessel.”

The mother was critically injured, and her husband and child suffered minor injuries in the accident. The family was taken to a local hospital to be treated for their injuries. Castle Park said the log ride will remain closed while the park and state officials conducted an investigation into what caused the malfunction.

Worker Suffers Amputation Injury in City of Industry Forklift Accident

July 31, 2019 | by Robert Walch

Working with heavy machinery can certainly be dangerous job. This is especially true when dealing with forklifts. Recently, an accident involving a forklift at a loading dock in the City of Industry resulted in the serious injury of a worker.

According to The Patch, a dock worker was driving a forklift, when it fell off the loading dock. The worker, and 29-year-old male, was trapped with his arm pinned under the heavy forklift and the Technical Rescue team of the Los Angeles Fire Department was called for the rescue. Firefighters were “able to free the victim by using another forklift, [but] the victim suffered a partial arm amputation during the incident.”

The worker was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby trauma center. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was alerted to investigate the situation, which is typical in this type of workplace accident.

Dockless Electric Scooters or E-Scooters and Glendale Accidents

May 30, 2019 | by Robert Walch

What is the effect of dockless eletctic scooters, also called e-scooters, in the City of Glendale?

Are these e-scooters contributing to causing more accidents in Glendale, Los Angeles and elsewhere?

What should cities like Glendale do in regulating the use of dockless or e-scooters?

Small Plane Crashes into Yorba Linda Home, Killing 5

February 25, 2019 | by Robert Walch

On the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday, a small plane crashed into a Yorba Linda home sending debris throughout the neighborhood. The pilot was killed in the crash, as well as four people in the Yorba Linda home. The victims—Roy Anderson, 85, and his wife, Dahlia Leber Anderson, 68, as well as their two visiting relatives, Stacie Leber, 48, of Corona and Donald Elliott, 58, of Norco—were killed when the plane crashed into the home, immediately setting the home on fire.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Cessna plane flown by 75-year-old Antonio Pastini of Nevada took off from Fullerton airport around 1:35 p.m. It had only flown about 10 miles and gained about 7,800 feet of elevation when witnesses saw the plane falling out of the sky. The plane broke apart as it fell, losing its tail, wings, and engine. Debris from the plane hit approximately 16 homes. According to the report, “a piece of the plane’s engine knocked down a pillar on the front porch and torpedoed through a first-floor window, flying through two rooms before landing in a bathroom. Fragments of exhaust pipe crashed through a second-floor window and melted into the carpet. A propeller thumped onto the driveway.”

Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board started investigating the crash the next day. Because the plane broke apart midair, they do not suspect it was intentional. However, they will be trying to determine what caused this tragic accident.

Tesla Drivers Filmed Sleeping While Car Continues Driving on Autopilot

February 14, 2019 | by Robert Walch

In the last month, several videos have surfaced on the internet showing Telsa drivers sleeping while their car continues driving in its semi-autonomous Autopilot mode. According to a Fox News report, just this week a video was posted showing a driver near Las Vegas with his head rested back and eyes closed—his Tesla speeds up and slows down apparently on its own.

A video from a few days earlier shows a driver on a Southern California highway, also with his eyes closed. The person who filmed this Tesla and driver said he “observed the car riding along by itself for miles.” Although no one was harmed in these incidents, misuse of Autopilot systems continues to be a safety concern.

After an incident in December, Telsa actually responded—a driver was cited for drunk driving when police officers spotted his car driving while he was passed out in the driver’s seat. The officers followed his car, pulled in front of it, and slowed down to trigger the Autopilot to slow down and stop to avoid a collision. Although this worked, police officers wondered why the Autopilot did not deactivate on its own when sensors in the steering wheel detected the driver removed his hands from the wheel. Typically, the system is supposed to flash and sound a warning when a driver removes their hands. Tesla responded to the situation and said they were going to be “looking into what happened.”

Electric Scooters—Easy Transportation with the Potential for Serious Personal Injuries

February 1, 2019 | by Robert Walch

Recently, Electric Scooters have popped up all over Southern California cities as an easy means of transportation and a way to avoid getting stuck in heavy traffic. Many cities, including Los Angeles, have been engaged in “scooter wars” with the largest scooter companies over the idea of having thousands of scooters dropped along on city streets and sidewalks. Many cities have limited the number of scooters, but only a few have ban them entirely.

Last year, The Washington Post reported, that as scooter use increased in major cities across the United States, so did trips to the emergency room for scooter-related injuries, many of these injuries being very serious. Injuries from scooter accidents can include “broken noses, wrists and shoulders, facial lacerations and fractures, as well as the kind of blunt head trauma that can leave brains permanently damaged.” In addition to injury risks, if a scooter rider is hit by a car, death can be a risk.

Recently, a man riding an electric scooter was killed after he was hit by a car in Chula Vista. According to KRON 4 News, the driver of the car stayed at the scene to cooperate with police and investigators have not yet determined who was at fault in the accident. If it is determined that the driver was at fault in hitting the scooter rider, family members of the scooter driver can bring a wrongful death claim on behalf of the victim against the driver.

5 Tips for Staying Safe in the New Year

January 7, 2019 | by Robert Walch

It’s now 2019! The holiday season is winding down, and day-to-day routines are back in action. The New Year brings new hopes, and certainly the hope of avoiding injury is at the top of the list.

In 2018, accidental injury became the number 3 cause of death of the first time in United States history. The National Safety Council reported that “an American is accidentally injured every second and killed every three minutes by a preventable event.” These preventable events include accidents from vehicle crashes to falls. Luckily, these injuries are preventable and by taking certain precautions you can put you and your family on a path toward a safer year.

Below are five ways to avoid some of the most common injuries and stay safe in 2019:

Amusement Park Holiday Season Begins—What to do if You Get Hurt

September 22, 2018 | by Robert Walch

Although it’s only September, amusement parks in Southern California have already started celebrating the holiday season. Parks like Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Knott’s Berry Farm are currently decked out in Halloween décor and urging guests to come experience the spooky charm. Halloween festivities will be followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations at the park.

With the added attraction of seeing the park decorated and experiencing the holiday charm, more and more people are visiting the parks. While amusement parks can be a lot of fun, is also true that amusement parks can be locations that result in personal injuries or wrongful deaths. Continue Reading

First Death Caused by Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak Reported in California

May 5, 2018 | by Robert Walch

Last month, an E. Coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce occurred across the nation. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 120 people have gotten sick in 25 different states. NBC News reported that “at least 52 people have been hospitalized, including 14 with kidney failure, which is an unusually high number of hospitalizations.” Sadly, the first death caused by the E. coli contaminated lettuce was also reported last week in California.

The contaminated lettuce has been traced back to lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona. Yuma, Arizona reportedly provides most of the romaine lettuce for the United States during the winter months. While their growing season ended at the beginning of April, and likely no one is eating the contaminated lettuce now, the number of cases could still rise as people recognize and report their illnesses as E. coli poisoning. Continue Reading

Five People Hospitalized after Los Angeles Apartment Balcony Collapses

March 30, 2018 | by Robert Walch

Four adults and a child were injured when a second-floor balcony collapsed in South Los Angeles accident. The balcony collapse occurred around 5:20 pm at a fourplex near the 4600 block of South Wall Street.

According to NBC4 News, 10 people were evaluated for injuries after the collapse. Ultimately, three women, one man, and a young girl were taken to the hospital for treatment. Their injuries were reported to be moderate and, luckily, were not considered life threatening. Continue Reading