California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

6 People Killed in California Apartment Balcony Collapse

June 16, 2015 | by Robert Walch

6 people died today and others suffered serious injuries when an apartment balcony they were on collapsed. The apartment balcony collapse accident happened in Berkeley, California, and the victims appear to be Irish citizens in California on short term work visas (J-1).

According to cnn.com, this tragic incident happened at the Library Gardens Apartment. In addition to the six people who were reportedly killed in this accident, at least another seven people have serious injuries for which they have been hospitalized.

It is not yet clear exactly what caused this balcony to collapse, but reports suggested the entire balcony tore away from the building, from the 4th floor. Berkeley police reported that the incident occurred between 12 and 1am this morning.

There are many legal ramifications for a tragic incident such as this one. First, the heirs of the wrongful death victims should file California wrongful death claims against the apartment complex. In addition, the severely injured guests or residents of the apartment may make personal injury claims against the apartment complex.

California’s “Pay to Play” Traffic Fines Ends! Now You Can Fight Your Traffic Ticket In Court Without Paying In Advance!

June 10, 2015 | by Robert Walch

The California Judicial Council ended on Monday, June 8, 2015, the long standing unfair practice of requiring drivers to pay their fines for traffic tickets in advance if they want to contest their tickets in court. The way it worked was if one received a ticket and wanted to challenge it in court, the driver was required to post bail in advance–that is to actually pay the amount of the ticket in advance, even before being found guilty.

The problem was that the fines, which initially may have run about $100 to $150 or so, then had fees or penalty assessments (PAs) added onto them and these PAs were several times the amount of the fine, so a fine of $100-150 with the PA became about $450 or more. One purpose of the PAs is to help pay for the cost of special programs. Such total fines now became totally disproportionate to the offense, not affordable for many and as a result many fines went unpaid, people did not appear in court and many driver’s licenses were suspended.

As a further result, the California legislature is reportedly preparing to vote on a proposal to cut the cost of delinquent fines, provide payment plans and reinstate licenses that may have been suspended for failure to pay and failure to appear in court.

The other issue to resolve is the harsh, oppressive and unconscionable PAs or additional fees that our legislature and courts have tacked onto such traffic tickets.

Meanwhile, according to the Los Angeles Times, the new rule about not having to pay in advance if one wants to fight his or her traffic ticket reportedly will apply only to those who have not yet missed their court date. If you have already missed your court date, the new rule is not supposed to help you. So, if you received a ticket but have not yet had your first appearance (i.e., court date), you may request a trial without paying the fine (technically posting bail) in advance.

Was the Appeals Court, May 26, 2015, Decision Upholding the Stay the Last Word on President Obama’s Executive Action?

June 2, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Well, simply put, the court’s decision is nowhere near the last word on the President’s Executive Action.

First, lets talk about how the legal battle against Immigration reform started.

It all started when 26 states, led by Texas, banned together to file a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s Executive Action. The Texas-led coalition of states include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The states filed suit in order to stop the immigration reform programs and filed a temporary injunction to put a hold or “stay” on the programs before their lawsuit moved through the courts.

Federal conservative Judge, Andrew S. Hannen, agreed with the 26 states and temporarily blocked the executive action by using a Preliminary Injunction. This means the court put a hold on the start of the program, so that it does not start until the suit has gone through the court system. The Department of Justice then appealed this hold to the 5^thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, while thousands of people in California continued to prepare for the Executive action programs known as DACA and DAPA.

On Tuesday May 26, 2015, The 5^thU.S. Circuit Court of appeals refused to lift the hold or “stay” on Obama’s immigration reform executive action. The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, that it would now prepare and focus on the actual appeal of the injunction to the Appeals Court. The appeal is expected to start in July. According to thehill.com, Justice Department spokesman Patrick Rodenbush stated the following regarding the injunction: “The best way to win the case is to focus on the ongoing appeal on the merits of the preliminary injunction itself. That appeal has been proceeding on an expedited basis, and the 5th Circuit is expected to hear argument the week of July 6.”

Over 2 million dollars in Personal Injury recoveries so far this year

May 8, 2015 | by Robert Walch

The Walch Law Corporation, a Los Angeles County, California based personal injury & wrongful death accident law firm, serving injured clients and the families of wrongful death victims, has recovered over $2,000,000.00 for its clients so far this year. These recoveries have come from all different types of personal injury cases, including car accident injuries, truck accident injuries, dog bites, slip and falls, trip and falls, etc.

Some notable recoveries so far this year include the following:

Personal injury attorney Robert Walch handled one case where he recovered over $1,000,000.00 for the sons of a woman who was killed by an intoxicated driver. This Santa Ana wrongful death pedestrian accident case was resolved for the insurance policy limits of the underlying insurance and supplemental umbrella coverage that was also located.
In another injury case that recently settled, our personal injury lawyers recovered $500,000.00 for a woman who suffered a leg injury when a vehicle she was in was struck by another vehicle on the Pomona Freeway in Los Angeles County, California.
Our attorneys also recovered the insurance policy limits of $50,000.00 for a war veteran who suffered an aggravation of prior injuries in an intersection car accident in Riverside, California. Because his medical bills from this car accident were so low, our client received a net recovery of over $30,000.00 (over 60% of the gross!) from this settlement.
Also, in an interesting Woodland Hills slip and fall case at a large store, our personal injury lawyers recovered $45,000.00 for the mother of a former member of our firm.

GARY K. WALCH, A LAW CORPORATION, ANNOUNCES MOVING ITS PERSONAL INJURY & WRONGFUL DEATH ACCIDENT CLAIMS LAW OFFICES IN MID MAY 2015, WITH TWO NEW AREAS OF PRACTICE TO ASSIST ITS CLIENTS

May 6, 2015 | by Robert Walch

The Law Offices of Gary K. Walch, A Law Corporation, which for almost forty years has concentrated its practice helping injured victims of accidents and their families secure medical care and compensation for their injuries and damages for car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Underinsured Motorist (UIM) claims, and other personal injury and wrongful death accident cases is excited to announce that in mid May 2015 it is moving its law offices to newer and larger offices just a few blocks away.

The newer offices shall be much easier for our clients and friends to access, especially those who may have difficulty walking such as those who are injured or elderly.

More information about our move shall be released soon but our phone numbers – 1.818.222.3400 and 1.866 INJURY 2 – and our emails – including info@WalchLaw.com – shall remain unchanged.

And for more information about our personal injury & wrongful death accident lawyers and law offices, please visit our website by clicking HERE.

In addition, we are also very excited to announce that in response to many requests we have associated attorneys who also will handle immigration and criminal law matters for which you or others you know may need assistance. Here is some more information about these two new areas of practice:

Immigration Matters

Our associate wants to help our clients who need assistance with immigration matters reach their ultimate American Dream.

There are many trials and tribulations faced while going through the Immigration process. Let us help you make this process as smooth as possible while providing you with the means to reach YOUR American Dream!

The following are the immigration practice areas we shall be able to assist you with:

Avid Motorcyclist Killed by Drunk Driver in Lancaster Motorcycle Accident

April 29, 2015 | by Robert Walch

A Lancaster motorcycle accident on Sunday, April 19, 2015, resulted in the death of Glenn Arnold Grimm. According to the Antelope Valley Times, Mr. Grimm, who was 69 years old, was struck by a drunk driver in a pick up truck. Mr. Grimm was stopped at the intersection of 90th Street East and Avenue K when he was rear ended by the truck.

Sadly, Mr. Grimm, who was involved in another motorcycle accident in 2005, where a vehicle ran a rad light and struck him, causing him to tear ligaments in his ankle, had spent much time searching for the yellow Harley Davidson that he was riding at the time of this accident. Mr. Grimm felt that the yellow color would help avoid a future motorcycle crash.

Mr. Grimm was a very experienced motorcyclist who often participated in motorcycle related charities for good causes. Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) will be honoring Mr. Grimm and accepting charitable donations for its cause.

The Los Angeles County District Attorneys’ Office said that the man who struck Mr. Grimm, Javier Guzman Pena, was found to be intoxicated at the time of the motorcycle accident. He apparently had a .08 blood alcohol content, has been charged with murder and is being held on one million dollars bail.

Agoura Car Accident Injures 4 people

April 27, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Four people suffered injuries on Friday in a three car accident in Agoura. The Agoura car accident happened on Kanan Road, near Castle View Drive. This is about a mile and a half from the 101 Freeway. The Malibu Patch reports that the accident occurred when a Toyota went into oncoming traffic and struck a Lexus. The Lexus was then rear ended by a Honda.

The most serious injuries from this Agoura accident were suffered by Elizabeth Bowlus, a 51 year old Malibu woman, who was the driver of the Lexus. Her injuries were described as “major” and she was taken to the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. One other person suffered serious injuries in this car accident on Kanan Road, while two other people suffered what were described as minor injuries.

The three vehicle crash was investigated by the California Highway Patrol. It appears that the driver of the Toyota caused the series of collisions and will most likely be found responsible by the accident investigators. However, the reason the car veered into oncoming traffic has not been released. Sometimes drivers will veer off the road or into opposing traffic if they are distracted while driving, including while texting or eating while driving. Other times a driver will swerve to avoid a hazard on the road and may end up causing more damage and more injuries than had he or she struck the original hazard.

Pedestrians Suffer Critical Injuries when hit by car in Winnetka

April 24, 2015 | by Robert Walch

A Winnetka pedestrian accident on Tuesday resulted in critical injuries to two pedestrians and car accident injuries to two other people. The accident occurred Tuesday afternoon in Winnetka, California. According to the Calabasas Patch, the accident happened in a multi vehicle collision on Winnetka Avenue near Roscoe Boulevard.

The pedestrians who suffered critical injuries when they were hit by a car were a 40 year old woman and a young girl only six years old. A man and woman also suffered injuries, apparently when at least two other cars collided. The man and woman were taken to a hospital and their condition was described as “fair.”

As of now, we do not have information as to who was at fault for this car crash and pedestrian accident in Winnetka. It is possible that a car may have struck the pedestrians and then the car was struck by another vehicle. It is also possible that one car stopped for the pedestrians and another car behind that car did not stop in time, rear ending the first car into the pedestrians. These are all types of accidents that we have seen and handled over the years in our personal injury law office.

One Person Killed in Hawthorne Car Accident

April 2, 2015 | by Robert Walch

According to laist.com, one person was killed in a Hawthorne car accident today when a minivan struck a light pole. The minivan struck the light pole so hard that pictures show the van wrapped around the pole. The car accident fatality happened at the intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and 135th Street, in Hawthorne, Los Angeles County, California.

It is not yet clear if any other cars were involved in this car accident in Hawthorne, or how many people were in the minivan at the time of the crash. The fire department reported that they found the deceased occupant of the minivan dead on arrival. The car may have also caught on fire after the accident, which may have contributed to the death.

From a personal injury legal standpoint, an accident like this can be evaluated in different ways. First, if this was a one vehicle accident and the driver of the vehicle caused the crash and he or she was the person who was deceased, with no other occupants, there probably would not be a personal injury wrongful death claim that could be made.

However, if another car negligently struck the minivan, causing the minivan to hit the pole, a Hawthorne wrongful death claim would be made against the driver of the vehicle that struck the minivan. If that vehicle fled the scene or does not have insurance, then an uninsured motorist wrongful death claim could be made, as long as there is uninsured motorist coverage for the minivan.

Alleged DUI Driver Causes Agoura Hills Car Accident

April 1, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Four people suffered injuries in an Agoura car accident on Sunday when a driver, who is suspected of being under the influence, collided with another vehicle. The DUI suspect and the three occupants of the other vehicle all suffered injuries in the car accident in Agoura Hills, California. All four were taken to hospitals. Fortunately, the injuries were described as minor.

According to the Agoura Hills Patch, the driver suspected of driving under the influence was Joshua Maquindang, who is from Canyon Country, California. The driver of the other vehicle was Johanna Krause, a resident of Malibu, California, who was driving with her two daughters in the car.

The Agoura accident happened on Kanan Road close to Camino Tranquil. According to the California Highway Patrol, Mr. Maquindang apparently swerved off the road then into oncoming traffic, where he struck the other vehicle, causing the car accident injuries. Mr. Maquindang was booked after receiving treatment for his injuries.

Hopefully Mr. Maquindang carries automobile liability insurance sufficient enough to cover the injuries and damages suffered by Johanna Krause and her children. They will have ambulance and hospital bills to pay, as well as bills for any subsequent medical care they receive. There could also be a claim for loss of earnings if any time is missed from work.