California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

LOS ANGELES CITY SETTLES BRAIN INJURY CASE BY BICYCLIST INJURED ON VICTORY BLOULEVARD IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY FOR $3 MILLION

September 29, 2016 | by Robert Walch

A bicyclist, who alleged permanent traumatic brain injury (often referred to as TBI) and memory loss will be paid three million ($3,000,000.00) dollars by the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday, September 29, 2016.

The bicycle versus car collision occurred on Victory Boulevard, just east of the San Diego (405) freeway, in the San Fernando Valley, when Shelaim Furst, a rabbi, allegedly was hit from behind while driving his bicycle in a posted bicycle lane by a car driven by Antoine Shehata, who was attempting to change lanes to enter the freeway.

As a result of the impact, Rabbi Furst struck the car’s front windshield and was thrown approximately 27 feet onto the street. Rabbi Furst reportedly suffered multiple injuries, including permanent brain injury and memory loss, from this collision.

A basis of his lawsuit was reported to be that L.A. City allowed Victory Blvd. to become “dilapidated” which created a false sense of security since the city posted bike route signs. For more information on bicycle injury accidents, please see our Bicycle Accident injury page.

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.

Walch Lawyers Obtain Over $200,000 for dog bite victim

August 19, 2016 | by Robert Walch

We are happy to report that we have obtained a settlement of over $200,000.00 for one of our clients who was the victim of a dog bite in Van Nuys, California. This particular client was walking her dogs when a neighbors dog came out of the house and attacked one of her dogs. Our client did what any responsible dog owner would do and attempted to help her dog.

Unfortunately, in the process, the neighbor’s dog bit our client’s finger and bit off a small piece of our client’s pinky finger. Our client attempted to resolve the matter on her own without hiring an attorney. The owners of the dog refused to even pay for our client’s medical bills and she hired our firm.

Fortunately, the other party had insurance. Their insurance adjuster first tried to argue that our client assumed the risk of injury by trying to help her dog. The adjuster also tried to argue that it was not a bad injury. We successfully argued and proved the severity of the injury, as well as the psychological effects of such an attack, and resolved the case for more than $200,000.00.

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:

PROFESSIONAL BILLIARDS PLAYER KILLED IN FIERY TRUCK CRASH ON 101 FREEWAY

July 28, 2016 | by Robert Walch

CBS reported that two men were killed in a truck accident on the 101 Freeway, also commonly called the Hollywood freeway. Apparently, Brendan Crockett, a professional billiards player, who won the U.S. Junior National Billiards Championship and was contending for a spot on the U.S. National Billiards Team, and his brother, Jeff Crockett, were killed when their BMW crashed into a big rig truck. Brendan was only 21 years old, and his brother Jeff was 24.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) stated that the two Crockett brothers were killed when their BMW, traveling southbound on the 101 Freeway crashed into a big rig truck just north of Lewis Road. Their BMW reportedly was found under the big rig’s trailer, on fire, while the truck driver did not report any injury.

The collision reportedly occurred at 12:16 am. The cause was not determined, but one wonders if the late hour and darkness contributed to this fatal crash?

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.

210 Freeway Truck Accident Causes One Death and 2 Injuries

July 15, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Earlier today a truck accident on the 210 Freeway in Pasadena caused one wrongful death and at least two other injuries. According to the Los Angeles Times, the fatal accident involved five vehicles and a truck that was significantly damaged.

The Pasadena truck accident occurred near Madre Street and caused a significant traffic blockage as vehicles were damaged throughout the freeway and California Highway Patrol investigates the scene to determine the cause of the accident.

This multi vehicle wrongful death truck accident will require much investigation on the part of the CHP, any other investigating agencies and eventually by lawyers hired by any of the injured parties or the family of the potential wrongful death victim. Sometimes more than one of the vehicles contributed to causing the injuries or death, in which case any responsible parties and/or their insurance companies will have to pay for the wrongful death damages.