Articles Posted in Miscellaneous Personal Injury

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

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

Henry Romero, a die-hard Los Angeles Rams fan, never expected that watching the Rams playoff game would involve him getting hurt. ABC 7 News reported that the trouble began after the game when Romero took his daughter down to see the players and take pictures. They were asked to leave because, apparently, they were in the Rams family section. When an unknown lady sitting in the section yelled at them, “words were exchanged,” and then suddenly, Romero was attacked right in front of his daughter. Romero recounted, “I felt three big men hitting me. Hit me in the head, back of the neck, and in my face.” Romero’s young daughter was also hit in the process.

Ultimately, Romero suffered a fractured eye socket and stitches in his forehead. The Los Angeles Rams did comment stating, “We are aware of an incident following our game and we are working with authorities to determine exactly what happened.” Continue Reading

There were more than fireworks falling from the sky in one South Los Angeles neighborhood on New Year’s Eve. ABC 7 News reported that amid the celebrations that night, a gunman fired a shot into the air, and the falling bullet struck nine-year-old Christopher Montoya. While Montoya is expected to make a full recovery, the individual who shot the gun is liable for causing his injuries, even if that person was not aiming at Montoya, or never even intended to hit him, or anyone else. Although this may seem like a “freak accident,” the individual shooter can still be liable for the injuries and damages he caused under the legal doctrine of negligence. Montoya can file a personal injury suit against the shooter, based on the shooter’s negligence.

Negligence:

Simply put, the doctrine of negligence means that we as humans, have a duty not to take actions that could hurt other humans. If we do take actions that cause harm, we are liable for that harm we caused, even if it was unintentional.

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On December 14, 2017, a teenage girl, who was molested by her Los Altos High School teacher over three years ago, finally got some closure. U.S. News reported that a California jury awarded her “nearly $3 million in damages” in her personal injury lawsuit. The teen filed a personal injury suit because, as a result of the molestation, she now suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress. U.S. News stated that the suit named as defendants both her teacher, David Park, who had served time in prison for the criminal charges, as well as the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District, located just east of Los Angeles. The school district commented that “the verdict mostly blames Park but serves as a reminder that it must be vigilant in protecting students.” While certainly nothing can take away what this young girl experienced, she now can move forward with both closure and some form of compensation.

In this case, the young girl brought this personal injury claim not only against her abuser, Mr. Park, but also the school district. Legally, both can be held liable for the harm that befell the young girl. While Mr. Park’s fault is obvious, the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District can also be named as a defendant in the case because they not only have responsibility over the teacher who is an employee of the district, but the District also has a responsibility to protect their students from harm. There is also an economic benefit for naming the school district—they have more money to provide compensation for the student’s injuries.

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On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed various new bills which became law, including one that will raise the smoking age in California from 18 to 21 years of age, another that will restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and another that will expand the no-smoking areas in public schools.

At the same time, Governor Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed individual counties to seek its voters’ approval of new local tobacco taxes to pay for health care expenses associated with tobacco related illnesses.  Brown’s explanation was there are too many taxes already being proposed on the 2016 ballot so he did not want any more taxes.

The bill limiting smoking to those 21 years of age and older is being referred to as “Tobacco 21”.  It, with the other new tobacco related bills, is being called the “most expansive” effort to control tobacco use in California in more than ten (10) years.  These bills were not surprisingly supported by a coalition of health related groups, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the California Medical Association.

Health officials are investigating at least 22 E. coli illnesses allegedly caused by health or food problems at Chipotle Grill in Washington and Oregon.  As a result, Chipotle Grill has reportedly closed 43 restaurants in the affected areas pending this investigation.

It was further reported that about one-third of the E. coli victims were hospitalized, and fortunately no deaths have been reported.  Symptoms may include feeling very ill with vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacteria, is the most common in food-borne outbreaks, and it is believed that many people affected with Shiga toxin E. coli may not seek health care.   As a result the number of people made ill by this E. coli outbreak is likely more than already identified,   Health Department officials have requested that any persons who have eaten at a Chipotle between October 14, 2015 and October 23, 2015, who became ill, including with vomiting and bloody diarrhea, should immediately see their health-care provider and inform their health care provider about this outbreak.

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A high school accident in Anaheim has resulted in injuries to 25 students. The students were injured at Servite High School, during a performance. According to the Los Angeles Times, the injuries occurred when part of the stage the students were performing on gave way and collapsed.

It appears that the students who were injured were students of Rosary High School, a Catholic school in Fullerton, California. They were doing a performance at Servite High School, in Anaheim, California, when they were injured.

Fortunately, none of the injuries are life threatening, but some of the students did suffer serious injuries, including broken bones and other fall injuries. These injuries are often very painful and often require surgery and may require many months or years of physical therapy, chiropractic or other forms of medical treatment.

There are many different legal issues involved with accidents in a school. First, it must be determined if there is any government entity involved. If so, a government claim is required, which involves different time limits from a normal California personal injury case. Second, there are different rules for cases involving minors. Some of these students may have been under 18 and others could already be 18. Next, liability, meaning fault for the accident, must be established.

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