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Heading into Holidays—Stay Safe on Southern California Roads

The holiday season is just kicking off with Thanksgiving around the corner. With millions of people traveling to visit family, go shopping, and attend holiday events, the roads can be more dangerous than ever. It is important to make sure that as you are out and about, you do your best to stay safe and do your best to avoid a car accident, if you can. Nothing can spoil the holidays faster than suffering injuries in an accident caused by another person.

Southern California Holiday Season Car Accident Spikes

Two counties in Ohio just settled their claims relating to opioid addiction against four defendants, three of whom are distributors and the other a manufacturer of opioids, for $260 million.  The three distributors are AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.  The manufacturer is Teva, an Israeli based drug maker.  Reportedly, the three distributors are paying $215 million and Teva is paying $20 million plus it will contribute $25 million worth of the generic Suboxone, which is a drug used to treat addiction to opioids.

The two Ohio counties that settled just before opening statement to the jury in the trial set in Cleveland, Ohio are Summit County and Cuyahoga County.

For those readers who do fully understand what opioids are, opioids are a class of drugs naturally found in the opium poppy plant.  Opioids work in the brain to promote pain relief plus some other different effects.

Monsanto, a large American agricultural chemical and biotechnology company, has had several personal injury claims filed against it due to harm caused by its well known product called Roundup. Roundup is a weed killer that has been found to be a “substantial factor” in causing cancer, specifically Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, in those who use it.  If you used or were exposed to Roundup and have cancer, including Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, our Los Angeles Montsanto personal injury attorneys can help get you much needed compensation for any injuries Roundup has caused you.

In several of the California trials against Monsanto, juries have awarded the victims millions of dollars in damages for the harm the weed killer caused. According to the Los Angeles Times, Alva and Alberta Pilliod were both diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma within a span of four (4) years. They “had used Roundup for more than 30 years to kill weeds on three properties they owned.” In May 2019, a jury awarded the couple over $2 billion in damages (the jury verdict was made-up of $2 billion in punitive damages, plus $55 million in compensatory damages.) This amount was later reduced to $87 million total, still a huge amount, and although “the couple had anticipated the reduction…their lawyer said the overall ruling was ‘a major victory.’”

Other victims have also been awarded very substantial money damages for developing cancer after using Roundup. Dewayne Johnson, who was exposed to Roundup as a school groundskeeper, was ultimately awarded $78.4 million. In March 2019, Edwin Hardeman’s final award was $25.2 million. Many others have used this Monsanto product and have been greatly harmed—they too deserve compensation for their serious injuries.   One question is, how much is fair?  Another question is, how to fairly apportion the money; or, put another way, how to be sure the assets or money does not run out before all victims receive a fair proportionate share to compensate them for their injuries and damages?

Myth: A personal injury case needs to go to trial in order to obtain a fair result.

In fact, most personal injury cases, just like most legal cases, do not go to trial. However, some cases do go to trial and you should know the advantages and disadvantages of settling your case or going to trial.

The key thing when deciding if you should go to trial or not is understanding the costs and risks involved, and analyzing them for your case. You should discuss these things with your personal injury lawyer to determine the right course of action for you. No case is the same. No injury is the same. There is no right answer for everyone or every case.

Myth: Personal injury lawyers are not as qualified as other types of lawyers.

Unfortunately, personal injury lawyers do sometimes get a bad rap. Some people think that people become personal injury lawyers because they can’t cut it in another area of law, or because they went to a bad law school and cannot get a job at a big law firm, or because they are only in it for the money.

While there are certain “bad apples” that hurt the reputation of all personal injury lawyers and the industry, many of these claims are just false and need to be debunked.

This is the second installment of a multi part series about the myths that many people think about the field of personal injury, including personal injury lawyers, personal injury cases and personal injury clients.

Myth two: Personal injury clients fake their injuries so they can get money and this causes insurance rates to go up for everyone.

This is a big myth that unfortunately is believed by many people. This is a myth that has been perpetuated by big corporations and the insurance industry, and then spread by a media industry that sensationalizes stories for more viewers. Why do they perpetuate this myth? Because they don’t want to be held accountable for their negligence. Big corporations and insurance companies care about making money and increasing their stock price. They do not want to be sued when their negligence causes serious injuries or deaths to others.

Myth: All personal injury firms are mills.

All personal injury firms are definitely not mills. However, some certainly are. The key thing, if you are someone who is looking for the right law firm to help you, is to find out what type of firm you are talking to.

Do you want a boutique style firm, where you can speak to the attorney, call or text him or her when you have a question, discuss strategy on your case? Or would you prefer to always talk to the attorney’s support staff and always hear that the attorney is out of the office for one reason or another? Do you prefer an attorney who is good at marketing, or one who is good at speaking to a judge in a court room? Do you want an attorney who knows how to resolve cases and get top dollar for his/her clients, or do you prefer an attorney who wants to get your case settled as fast as possible so he/she can move on to the next case and get as many cases done as possible, regardless of result?

Light emissions/Neon Underglow Lighting

In California, neon underglow lights are quite slightly, becoming a rage and are legal to use, but , of course, there are some restrictions. Before installing and using such neon underglow lighting, be sure to check to confirm what is permitted.  The following will set forth some of the basic guidelines in California relating to neon car and vehicle lights.

California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) regulates neon underglow lighting.  The DMV permits LED lights which emit a diffused non-glaring light which is less than 0.05 candela per square inch (1 candela is essentially equal to the light emitted from one candle).   You are advised to check your neon lights’ luminosity when buying them to be certain they are within the standards set and required by the California DMV.

California Law Against Hanging Things from Rear View Mirror

Hanging an air freshener, fuzzy dice or other objects  from your rearview mirror could be a violation of the law in your state. Specifically, in California the law prohibits placing an object that “obstructs or reduces the driver’s clear view through the windshield or side windows.”  Therefore, be certain anything you hang from your car’s rearview mirror does NOT obstruct or reduce your clear view.

California Law on Engine Modifications

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