California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

NEW CALIFORNIA TOBACCO LAW RAISES AGE LIMIT TO 21

May 5, 2016 | by Robert Walch

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.

New Device to Test for Drug Use By California Drivers

April 6, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Did you know that there is a new device able to test if a driver has used recreational drugs and is driving while high? As you may know, medical marijuana is used by many and there is a proposed ballot measure to legalize the use of recreational marijuana in California. As a result, on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, California legislators proposed a new law to use this new technology to stop motorists who are driving while under the influence of drugs.

The proposed legislation – referred to as SB 1462 – would give California police authority to use an oral swab test when there is probable cause to believe a driver is impaired and failed a field sobriety test. The swab is read by a hand held portable electronic device that is able to detect the presence of not only marijuana, but also cocaine, amphetamines and pain medications like opiates.

The proposed bill is authored and sponsored by Republican Senator Bob Huff of San Dimas, California. This bill also is backed by the California Police Chiefs Association and the California Narcotic Officers Association.

Backers of SB 1462 referred to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which found a 22% increase in driving arrests relating to the use of drugs while driving from 2007 to 2014.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana use was permitted in 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times, marijuana related traffic deaths went up by 32% in just one year!

If you have any thoughts about this new device and proposed legislation, you are encouraged to contact Senator Bob Huff of San Dimas or our personal injury & wrongful death accident lawyers.

$100,000 Settlement For Injured Driver in Indio Car Accident

March 10, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Our California personal injury lawyers recently settled an Indio car accident injury case for one hundred thousand dollars. In this claim, our client had very low medical bills and the insurance company attempted to claim that it was a minor rear end accident. The insurance company based its argument on the low property damage repair amount. We successfully argued that our client had a prior surgery and his condition was aggravated by this collision.

The party who hit our client only had $15,000 in insurance coverage, which is the minimum amount allowed by law in California. First, we did a policy limits demand and we were able to obtain the $15,000 policy limits from the other party. After that, we opened an underinsured motorist claim with our own client’s insurance company. We were then able to obtain the additional $85,000 maximum amount from our client’s coverage, as our client had $100,000 in uninsured motorist coverage and there is a write off for the $15,000 already obtained from the other party’s insurance.

MTA Gold Line Extended in San Gabriel Valley from Arcadia to Azusa

March 9, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The Metro’s new Gold Line opened Saturday, March 5, 2016, with thousands riding it the first day through the San Gabriel Valley from Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. The Gold Line extension is 11.5 miles long, it cost one billion dollars, funded by Measure R. Measure R, with its half-cent sales tax rate, was approved in 2008 for transportation projects. It was reported in the L.A. Times that a one-way ride from Azusa to Union Station will cost $1.75 and take approximately 49 minutes.

With its 11.5 mile extension, the Gold Line is now 31 miles long and Los Angele County’s longest rail line. It was reported that about 3500 people each hour rode the new Gold Line this past Saturday. The only complaint heard was it should have been built years sooner.

It is anticipated that this gold Line extension will save commuters much time, money in transportation expenses and help free up the crowded 210 Freeway.

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.

Woman Killed in Los Angeles Hit and Run Pedestrian Accident

March 4, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Early Thursday morning, a 64 year old Hispanic woman was killed when she was hit by a Ford Explorer in a tragic Los Angeles wrongful death hit and run accident. According to KTLA5 News, which has a picture of the Explorer on its website, the driver of the SUV first struck a school bus. After this crash, the driver tried to flee the scene by driving over the sidewalk, where the woman was hit by the SUV.

After striking and killing the woman, the driver of the Explorer then fled the scene and has not yet been located by authorities. The Los Angeles City Council is offering a $50,000 reward for information that brings the driver of the Explorer to justice. This offer is through the Hit and Run Reward Program Trust Fund.

New Measures Will Soon Be Implemented to Help Prevent Santa Monica Pedestrian Accidents

March 3, 2016 | by Robert Walch

According to LAist, the City of Santa Monica will be putting in eleven pedestrian scrambles to help make the streets safer and attempt to prevent Santa Monica pedestrian accidents. Because of the amount of foot traffic in downtown Santa Monica, we hope that these measures will help prevent accidents and help move traffic along at a more efficient pace.

The pedestrian scrambles function by stopping all cars in all directions at the designated intersections so that pedestrians can cross in all directions, including diagonally across an intersection. With cars stopped in all directions, this should lead to fewer people getting hit by a car in Santa Monica.

Also, because drivers will not have to wait for pedestrians to cross when making turns, this should help cause less traffic congestion on the streets of downtown Santa Monica. The counter argument would be that since there must be a significant time after each traffic cycle where all vehicles are stopped, this could cause certain traffic backlogs.

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.