Car Accidents

San Bernardino Wrongful Death Victim Identified

February 12, 2017 | by Robert Walch

On Saturday, February 11, 2017, Cesar Manuel Floriano Ortiz of Highland was killed in a single car crash that allegedly occurred at about 12:45 am, when he was riding as a passenger in the vehicle. Apparently, Brien Jesus Reyna of San Bernardino was driving the car when the driver lost control and struck a light pole on H Street in San Bernardino, California.

Cesar Manuel Floriano Ortiz of Highland was only 22 years of age.

Brien Jesus Reyna of San Bernardino was only 18 years of age.

Reportedly both the driver and passenger were killed in this tragic San Bernardino car accident.

Allegedly the men were driving eastbound on West Ninth Street at about 12:45 am early on Saturday morning on the 215 Freeway overpass when the driver lost control and struck the light pole located on H Street in San Bernardino.

Man Killed in Culver City Crash

September 10, 2016 | by Robert Walch

A tragic Culver City car accident occurred earlier today when a woman who was fleeing police collided with another vehicle and killed the driver of that vehicle. The man who was killed also had his young son in the car who also suffered injuries.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the car accident in Culver City occurred when Culver City Police were in pursuit of a woman who was driving an allegedly stolen car. The woman then ran a red light and collided with the BMW in the intersection of Washington Boulevard and La Cienega.

The crash and wrongful death of the driver of the BMW are being investigated by the California Highway Patrol, most likely because it would not be appropriate for Culver City Police to investigate the accident involving its officers.

Kris Jenner Involved in Calabasas Car Accident

August 8, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The Calabasas Patch is reporting that last Wednesday Kris Jenner, of the well known Kardashian family, was involved in a car accident in Calabasas. The Calabasas car accident occurred in the early afternoon right near Calabasas Road and the Parkway Calabasas freeway off-ramp. The Calabasas accident actually happened very close to our personal injury law office, which is also located on Calabasas Road.

Fortunately, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which handles car accidents in Calabasas, neither the other person involved in the car accident or Kris Jenner had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. Other details of their injuries from the accident were not presently available.

We all remember when Kaitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, was in a serious car accident on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, which caused the tragic wrongful death of a woman from Calabasas.

Hollywood (101) Freeway Worst Commute In USA

July 29, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The 101 Freeway, also known as the Hollywood Freeway, has the worst freeway commute time not just in Los Angeles or all of California, but in the entire United States. The Los Angeles Daily News, which should know as it covers the area in which the 101 Freeway runs, reported on July 27, 2016, that the stretch of the 101 Freeway from Woodland Hills to Downtown Los Angeles is the most packed highway in the USA. That means it is the highway with the worst commute time.

It will not get any argument from our law offices as this just happens to be the same route the lawyers in our law offices have used for many years when driving to the main Los Angeles courthouse (central district) located in downtown Los Angeles and also to many depositions and mediations often held in downtown Los Angeles where many attorneys working for large insurance companies have their offices.

The Auto Insurance Center compiled data from the United States Census and came up with the following:

Australians design a human body meant to survive car accident deaths

July 27, 2016 | by Robert Walch

A team of Australians, including an artist, a trauma surgeon and a crash investigator have designed a hypothetical human body that shows us what our bodies would have to evolve into in order to survive what would be fatal car accident injuries.

As explained by IFLScience.com, the evolved body would not have a neck, so that a broken neck could not result from a high impact collision. Further, the head would have a reinforced skull, to prevent the blunt force trauma injuries and brain injuries that result from crashes at high speeds. The body would also be designed with air pockets between the ribs, which would serve as a type of airbag to prevent fatal injuries to the internal organs. The knees would also be designed to bend in all directions, to prevent them from breaking in a car accident.

Pokemon Go Player Crashes into Police Car

July 23, 2016 | by Robert Walch

According to CNN, a driver who was playing the very popular Pokemon Go game on his cell phone, crashed into a parked police car. Fortunately, the police car was unoccupied at the time of the crash and nobody sustained any serious car accident injuries.

Police bodycam video of the car accident shows the SUV colliding with the parked police car. The driver is seen exiting the SUV and admitting that he was playing the game while he was driving. T.J. Smith, a Baltimore police spokesman, pointed out that a pedestrian could have been injured or killed had he or she been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This car accident brings up the risk factors involved with playing a cell phone game while driving, which can be similar to texting while driving. Both are unsafe and cause drivers to take their eyes off the road and focus on the phone. This can result in tragic outcomes.

2 People Injured in North Hills Car Accident

July 22, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Early Thursday morning, two people suffered injuries in a North Hills car accident. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the car accident occurred when one vehicle collided with three or more parked cars on the side of the roadway.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the car accident scene and two people were transported to the hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, their injuries are not considered to be life threatening.

The scene of the car accident in North Hills looks from the pictures to be a pretty bad accident and at least two of the cars may be totaled.

Tesla Autopilot Crash Kills Driver

July 2, 2016 | by Robert Walch

According to Tesla Motors, a man was killed while driving his Tesla in Autopilot mode when his vehicle collided with the trailer portion of a tractor trailer. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is investigating the involvement of the Tesla Autopilot feature in the fatal truck accident.

Tesla points out that Autopilot is disabled on its cars when they are purchased and it is an optional feature that needs to be activated by the driver. This particular driver was an avid fan of the Autopilot feature and even posted videos online of how the feature worked.

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.