California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

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.

LOS ANGELES CAR CRASH CLOSES NEW L.A. METRO EXPO LINE

May 24, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The new Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Expo Line was suddenly and unexpectedly closed yesterday morning, when a Toyota car crashed through a fence and over the Expo’s light rail tracks at Exposition Boulevard, thereby blocking the Expo train on its first work day.

Such car and truck collisions, crashes and accidents remind everyone of the reality of the L.A. Metro Line – its proximity to L.A. traffic. Unlike underground subways or raised trains, the surface metro trains prevalent in Los Angeles County unfortunately are subject to frequent L.A. traffic collisions and accidents. This traffic also obviously slows down the trains and adds to commuter times, but the construction cost savings (except when accidents result) are substantial.

UCLA MEDICAL CENTER & CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER PATIENTS’ FOUND IN “IMMEDIATE JEOPARDY” AFTER MEDICAL SCOPE SUPERBUG OUTBREAK

May 20, 2016 | by Robert Walch

California State Health Inspectors from the Department of Public Health in 2015 found two leading California hospitals in violation of numerous safety requirements that appeared to put their patients in “immediate jeopardy”. The violations were found at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on March 4, 2015 and also at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center just 21 days later. The state of California launched these investigations right after the notorious “superbug” outbreak reported last year that centered around hard to clean medical scopes that reportedly resulted in serious illnesses and some incidences of wrongful death in California.

At the UCLA Medical Center the state of California reportedly declared “Immediate Jeopardy” which meant that lives were at imminent risk after finding contaminated water and a tinted liquid cleaner dispenser that was used to prepare colonoscopes and other medical devices for patients.

At the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center the state of California again issued its very rare “Immediate Jeopardy” ruling when it reportedly found “a widespread pattern of potential ineffective sterilization and storage of surgical instruments” as well as disinfection of medical scopes.

NEW CALIFORNIA TOBACCO LAW RAISES AGE LIMIT TO 21

May 5, 2016 | by Robert Walch

On Wednesday, May 4, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed various new bills which became law, including one that will raise the smoking age in California from 18 to 21 years of age, another that will restrict the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and another that will expand the no-smoking areas in public schools.

At the same time, Governor Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed individual counties to seek its voters’ approval of new local tobacco taxes to pay for health care expenses associated with tobacco related illnesses. Brown’s explanation was there are too many taxes already being proposed on the 2016 ballot so he did not want any more taxes.

The bill limiting smoking to those 21 years of age and older is being referred to as “Tobacco 21”. It, with the other new tobacco related bills, is being called the “most expansive” effort to control tobacco use in California in more than ten (10) years. These bills were not surprisingly supported by a coalition of health related groups, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the California Medical Association.

New Device to Test for Drug Use By California Drivers

April 6, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Did you know that there is a new device able to test if a driver has used recreational drugs and is driving while high? As you may know, medical marijuana is used by many and there is a proposed ballot measure to legalize the use of recreational marijuana in California. As a result, on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, California legislators proposed a new law to use this new technology to stop motorists who are driving while under the influence of drugs.

The proposed legislation – referred to as SB 1462 – would give California police authority to use an oral swab test when there is probable cause to believe a driver is impaired and failed a field sobriety test. The swab is read by a hand held portable electronic device that is able to detect the presence of not only marijuana, but also cocaine, amphetamines and pain medications like opiates.

The proposed bill is authored and sponsored by Republican Senator Bob Huff of San Dimas, California. This bill also is backed by the California Police Chiefs Association and the California Narcotic Officers Association.

Backers of SB 1462 referred to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which found a 22% increase in driving arrests relating to the use of drugs while driving from 2007 to 2014.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana use was permitted in 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times, marijuana related traffic deaths went up by 32% in just one year!

If you have any thoughts about this new device and proposed legislation, you are encouraged to contact Senator Bob Huff of San Dimas or our personal injury & wrongful death accident lawyers.

$100,000 Settlement For Injured Driver in Indio Car Accident

March 10, 2016 | by Robert Walch

Our California personal injury lawyers recently settled an Indio car accident injury case for one hundred thousand dollars. In this claim, our client had very low medical bills and the insurance company attempted to claim that it was a minor rear end accident. The insurance company based its argument on the low property damage repair amount. We successfully argued that our client had a prior surgery and his condition was aggravated by this collision.

The party who hit our client only had $15,000 in insurance coverage, which is the minimum amount allowed by law in California. First, we did a policy limits demand and we were able to obtain the $15,000 policy limits from the other party. After that, we opened an underinsured motorist claim with our own client’s insurance company. We were then able to obtain the additional $85,000 maximum amount from our client’s coverage, as our client had $100,000 in uninsured motorist coverage and there is a write off for the $15,000 already obtained from the other party’s insurance.

MTA Gold Line Extended in San Gabriel Valley from Arcadia to Azusa

March 9, 2016 | by Robert Walch

The Metro’s new Gold Line opened Saturday, March 5, 2016, with thousands riding it the first day through the San Gabriel Valley from Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. The Gold Line extension is 11.5 miles long, it cost one billion dollars, funded by Measure R. Measure R, with its half-cent sales tax rate, was approved in 2008 for transportation projects. It was reported in the L.A. Times that a one-way ride from Azusa to Union Station will cost $1.75 and take approximately 49 minutes.

With its 11.5 mile extension, the Gold Line is now 31 miles long and Los Angele County’s longest rail line. It was reported that about 3500 people each hour rode the new Gold Line this past Saturday. The only complaint heard was it should have been built years sooner.

It is anticipated that this gold Line extension will save commuters much time, money in transportation expenses and help free up the crowded 210 Freeway.

6 People Injured in Van Nuys Car Accident

March 8, 2016 | by Robert Walch

A Van Nuys car accident this morning, at around 6:00 A.M., resulted in six people suffering serious enough injuries to need to be transported to the hospital for medical care. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Van Nuys accident happened when five cars collided with each other at Vanowen Street and Sepulveda Boulevard.

Authorities disclosed that the injuries to the six people ranged from moderate to severe, but fortunately nobody was killed in this accident. Earlier reports indicated that there was a car accident fatality in this incident.

The Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department were helping care for the victims at the scene of the car accident in Van Nuys. The LAPD will need to investigate the accident and prepare a Traffic Collision Report, wherein they indicate the statements of the parties and provide their recommendation as to fault, if possible, from the information they are able to obtain.