Wrongful Death

Fatal Car Accident Kills NCIS Security Guard

February 12, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A tragic wrongful death accident occurred on the set of the popular CBS television show, “NCIS,” when a security guard was killed when he was hit by a van. The van belonged to a production company whose driver allegedly blacked out when it hit a tent on the set. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the fatal accident occurred on Anza Drive in Santa Clarita, California.

The Los Angeles pedestrian accident allegedly happened when the van sped through the lot and collided with the man, who apparently could not see it coming because of the tent. The accident victim was 52 years old.

In situations like this, the family of the victim, who died at a hospital, may be able to pursue a California workers’ compensation claim against the employer as well as a personal injury claim against the responsible party. The responsible party will likely include the driver and owner of the van that collided with the victim.

Since the van appears to have belonged to a production company, it will likely be covered by a commercial insurance policy, which usually provides higher coverage amounts than normal private party insurance policies. Because of the tragic nature of the incident, a large insurance policy will be needed to cover the extensive wrongful death damages.

Another potential legal issue here is why the driver blacked out and lost control of the vehicle. The driver may claim it was an “act of God,” in which case there is some case law that says he may not be legally responsible. Therefore, it will be necessary to investigate the cause of the blackout and find out if there was a health condition, of which the driver had knowledge, which caused the blackout.

Los Angeles Apartment Fire Kills 1 and Injures Another

February 7, 2011 | by Robert Walch

An apartment fire in the Lynwood area of Los Angeles, California, has killed 1 person and injured another. The injured man, who is in his twenties, suffered burn injuries in the Los Angeles fire.

According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the apartment fire occurred at 3:30 a.m. on Long Beach Boulevard. The fire was apparently extinguished by around 4:00 a.m.

Sometimes residents of an apartment suffer injuries or death due to a fire caused by another resident or by a problem with the building itself, such as an electric fire or gas explosion. In these situations, the injured victims will usually have a personal injury claim against the owner and operator of the apartment building.

Hit and Run Driver Kills Pedestrian in Pasadena Accident

February 4, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A 52 year old woman was killed last week, while on her motorized wheelchair, when she was hit by a car in Pasadena, California. The wrongful death pedestrian accident allegedly occurred when DeShaun Chapman, a 28 year old man, was driving at a high speed at about 6:30 p.m. when he swerved to avoid a car pulling out from a driveway. Chapman went into oncoming traffic, overcorrected and lost control of his vehicle, hitting the woman and a wall, resulting in the woman being pinned underneath.

Chapman, who fled the scene after the Pasadena pedestrian accident, later returned to the scene and was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter.

The driver of the sedan, who also fled the scene, has not been found. If found, the driver of this car may also face similar criminal charges.

The family of the victim will likely make a Pasadena wrongful death claim against Chapman, and may also be able to pursue an uninsured motorist claim, where the uninsured motorist coverage, if any, would take the place of the driver who fled the scene and was not located.

Pedestrian Killed in Los Angeles Hit and Run Accident

January 30, 2011 | by Robert Walch

According to the Los Angeles Times, an 18 year old pedestrian has been killed in Los Angeles when she was struck by a pickup truck. The driver of the pickup truck, who apparently slowed down after hitting the woman, but did not stop, has been identified as a Latino man who had a large beard.

The hit and run auto v. pedestrian accident in Los Angeles occurred in the Vermont Vista neighborhood, in South Los Angeles. The woman was crossing Figueroa Street where it meets 66th street, at about 10:30pm, when she was hit by the car.

The woman was taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where she died of her injuries from this collision.

If the driver of the vehicle who hit the woman is not found, the family of the victim may still have a Los Angeles wrongful death claim, but it will need to be filed with uninsured motorist coverage (if any). If the victim, or, in some cases, a family member who she resides with, has uninsured motorist coverage, the uninsured motorist coverage may step in to take the place of the responsible driver. This only occurs if the driver is not found, if the driver is found but does not have insurance, or if he is found but does not have enough insurance and the value of the uninsured motorist coverage exceeds the liability coverage on the responsible party’s insurance.

Man Killed in San Bernardino Motorcycle Accident

January 27, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A high speed chase, involving a stolen pickup truck, has resulted in a motorcyclist getting killed in San Bernardino, California. The incident began when a man called police as he was following his car, which had been stolen.

Police followed the 2001 Ford F-150 pick up truck until it entered the wrong way onto the exit ramp of Interstate 215. Police chose to no longer follow the pickup truck due to the risks involved. However, the truck continued and hit a motorcycle, driven by a 57 year old man from Riverside, California, who was killed in this San Bernardino motorcycle accident.

The assailant, described as a 5’6″ Hispanic male, approximately 25 years old, with average build and a shaved head, fled the scene on foot, and was not caught by police.

It will have to be determined if there was more that police could have done to prevent this tragic San Bernardino wrongful death accident. In the past, we have discussed how high speed chases, of non-violent offenders, have resulted in very serious and catastrophic injuries to innocent bystanders. If at all possible, when police see a car acting erratically to evade them, a helicopter should be called in to watch overhead until the suspect stops, rather than exposing the public to this risk of harm.

Walch Selected Personal Injury Attorney of the Year 2010

January 24, 2011 | by Robert Walch

We are extremely proud to announce that a member of our firm, Gary Walch, was selected Personal Injury Attorney of the Year for 2010 by the Editorial Staff of the Consumer Business Review.

Gary has been an attorney since 1975, graduating from UCLA summa cum laude (with highest honors) and then the UCLA School of Law.

During his legal career of successfully handling thousands of serious injury claims in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Bernardino counties he has resolved claims for many millions of dollars for his clients.

1 Killed, 2 in Serious Condition After Los Angeles Work Accident

January 22, 2011 | by Robert Walch

A Los Angeles work accident at a pharmaceutical company in Atwater Village, has resulted in the death of an employee and serious injuries to two other workers.

Apparently, on Friday morning, a worker saw two of his colleagues unconscious from inhaling very strong ethanol fumes that they were using to clean blood plasma from a container. The worker called 911 for emergency assistance and then went to help his co-workers. Unfortunately, he was also overcome by the fumes and died from this Los Angeles work injury. Paramedics and firefighters arrived at the scene close to 4:00 a.m., where they found two unconscious workers in the container and the third worker, who was also unconscious, outside the container.

Due to the extreme threat from the fumes, the rescue workers had to put on protective suits with breathing equipment so they could enter the area to try to rescue the workers. Jaime Moore, Los Angeles Fire Chief, said that if it had not been for the actions taken by the rescue workers, all three workers would have been killed in this work related accident.

Wrong Way Driver Kills 2 In Anaheim Car Accident

January 21, 2011 | by Robert Walch

According to the Los Angeles Times, early Wednesday morning, on the 91 Freeway, in Anaheim, California, a man, traveling westbound on the eastbound lanes, crashed into another vehicle. The Anaheim car accident killed both the driver and passenger of the other vehicle.

The man who allegedly caused this collision by traveling on the wrong side of the freeway, was a 21 year old man from South Gate, California. He was in a Mercedes-Benz when he collided with the Toyota Scion. The occupants of the Scion were a 26 year old man from Diamond Bar, California and a 24 year old woman from Long Beach, California. The man was ejected from the vehicle but the passenger was not ejected.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver of the Mercedez was in grave condition and was taken to the University of California at Irvine Medical Center where he was placed under arrest.

It is not presently known why the man was traveling the wrong way on the freeway, causing this Anaheim wrongful death accident. Possible explanations could include confusion, intoxication, a suicide attempt or an attempt to wreak havoc and cause harm to others.

Metrolink Train Kills 1 in Sylmar

January 19, 2011 | by Robert Walch

On Tuesday, January 18, 2011, at around 8:00 p.m., a man was killed after being struck by a Metrolink train in Sylmar, California. It is unknown why the man, who was 19 years old, was hit by the train. The Los Angeles train accident happened near where Pierce Street intersects with San Fernando Road, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

According to the Los Angeles Times, who analyzed data from 1993 to September of 2008, three Metrolink accidents, apparently none involving injures or deaths, occurred at that intersection. Interestingly, one block north of where this train v. pedestrian accident happened, where the trains cross Van Nuys Boulevard, there have been eight accidents which have resulted in five deaths and one injury, during the same time period.

Unless the cause of the train accident in Los Angeles was a suicide attempt by the pedestrian killed in the accident, the family of the victim should hire a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer to investigate the cause of the accident and whether there was any fault attributable to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Newport Beach Crash Kills 3 – New Details

January 18, 2011 | by Robert Walch

Some new information has come in as to potential causes for the Newport Beach car accident that killed 3 people, and injured many more, this past weekend. It has emerged that the driver of the vehicle that allegedly caused the collision, Julie Allen, a 27 year old former high school track star, had possibly taken medication in the past for a possible mental health problem. Much detail is not currently available, but there are reports of a “serious episode” when Allen was in high school.

Friends and family have described Allen as a very cautious, religious person, who would not speed. At the time of the , since her car was allegedly traveling at such high speeds that it was airborne, possibly for more than 50 feet, before it crashed into other cars and a motorcycle.

The driver of the motorcycle was reportedly critically injured in the car accident. Two other motorists, Linda Burnett, who was from Santa Ana, California, and Christopher De La Cruz, from Laguna Niguel, California, were killed in the accident and their families will likely make Newport Beach wrongful death claims.

It has also emerged that another possible cause for the Newport Beach multi-vehicle collision could be a stuck accelerator, after investigators saw a web posting from Allen’s mom, regarding a prior incident in which her daughter’s vehicle had a stuck accelerator and could not control the speed. That incident ended safely and it is unclear if the web post was referring to Julie Allen or another sibling.