California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

PEDESTRIAN KILLED, OTHERS INJURED BY SHERIFF’S PATROL CAR IN WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES

October 19, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs responding to a domestic violence call, reportedly with lights and siren on, clipped another vehicle, bounced onto the sidewalk and hit two (2) male pedestrians walking on the sidewalk on the 8800 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. The momentum of the police vehicle was so powerful that the sheriff’s vehicle continued moving until it struck a light pole and a tree.

The Sheriff’s Department reported that the two (2) involved pedestrians were taken to the hospital where tragically one died. The second involved pedestrian reportedly suffered very serious, but not life threatening, injuries.

There were two (2) deputies in the sheriff’s vehicle who, according to the Los Angeles Times, also were seriously injured, one of whom actually had to be extricated from his damaged vehicle by firefighters. The identities of the two (2) sheriff deputies were not immediately released.

To try to avoid an obvious conflict of interest, this pedestrian accident is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). As a result of this accident and the following investigation by the CHP, Santa Monica Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard and Hancock Avenue was closed to allow investigators to gather evidence.

The family of the deceased man should contact a California wrongful death lawyer right away for a free consultation.

Assistant Los Angeles Sheriff Michael Rothans Retires in Midst of Car Scandal

October 15, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Assistant Los Angeles Sheriff Michael Rothans has announced his retirement from the Sheriff’s Department for “health reasons” while he is being investigated for purchasing an impounded Audi, believed to be year 2010, with 24,000 miles on it, for just $3,000 from Lisa Vernola, who happens to own Vernola Towing in Norwalk, California. Vernola Towing has a contract with the Sheriff’s Department and such purchases by Sheriff officials are strictly prohibited. Purportedly the Kelley Blue book lists a similar car – if in good condition – for $17,000.00. But Rothans was able to buy it for only $3,000.

In fact, the subject Audi was not a 2010 model but is a 2012 model that reportedly was stolen while new from a car dealership in Mission Viejo.

Assistant Sheriff Rothans told the Los Angeles Times newspaper that he had no idea it was stolen and when he bought it it had 24,000 miles on it and needed a radio and had rear end damage. Rothans allegedly could not provide any receipts for such alleged repairs.

VW ONWERS SEEK BUYBACK

October 14, 2015 | by Robert Walch

As you may have heard, Volkswagen (VW) is embroiled in a major fraud, where they are accused of falsifying records of emissions from its diesel engine cars covering the years 2009 to 2015. As a result, owners of VW diesel engine vehicles in California have filed suit against VW to compel it to buyback its cars that do not meet emission results as previously represented by VW.

Reportedly, VW sold 482,000 diesel vehicles in the United States and VW has estimated that it could take at least one year for it to fix most of these vehicles that had “secret” software designed to trick pollution tests. Many believe it would take much longer than one year to fix all of its diesel engine vehicles to comply with emission standards in California and the U.S.

Apparently the “secret” software detects when the VW diesel vehicles are undergoing laboratory emission tests and alters how the diesel vehicles operate to trick the laboratory to conclude requirements are met when, in fact, the diesel engine under normal use does not comply with required emission standards.

Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are demanding that VW fix its diesel engine vehicles to comply with mandated emission standards.

According to the Kelley Blue Book, approximately 67,000 of these VW diesel engine vehicles are in California, manufactured from 2009 to 2015.

CARB has given VW until November 20, 2015, to submit remedies to bring its California VW fleet of diesel engine vehicles into compliance with California emission regulations. It is doubtful whether VW can timely comply with this demand.

Walch Law Recovers Over 3 million dollars for personal injury clients this year

September 8, 2015 | by Robert Walch

So far in 2015, The Walch Law Corporation has recovered over $3,000,000 for its wrongful death and personal injury clients. This notable figure does not include property damage recoveries, which include repairs for clients’ vehicles and pay offs when the vehicle is rendered a total loss in an accident.

Recently, our attorneys obtained a favorable judgment in a disputed liability intersection accident case that went to binding arbitration. The case involved a he said she said situation, in which both parties claimed the other party ran the red light. There were no independent witnesses to verify either party’s version of the events. Through detailed hard work and persuasive arguing, we were able to convince the arbitrator to award 100% liability against the other party. Once liability was determined, we were able to get our client fairly compensated for the total loss of his vehicle, his medical bills and his pain and suffering.

Robert Walch also recently got a very good settlement on a Los Angeles motorcycle accident case. The insurance company for the vehicle that hit our client would not make a fair offer, so we filed a lawsuit and eventually we were able to settle for a fair amount for our client.

Thousand Oaks Pedestrian Accident Kills Local Man

September 2, 2015 | by Robert Walch

A possible wrongful death accident in Thousand Oaks claimed the life of a man by the name of Marc Piaskowsky, a resident of Thousand Oaks, California. Mr. Piaskowsky was killed on Monday when he was hit by a car while crossing the street. The Thousand Oaks pedestrian accident occurred when Mr. Piaskowsky was crossing from La Paloma Circle to Avenida de los Arboles.

According to The Thousand Oaks Acorn, Mr. Piaskowsky was not crossing the street in a crosswalk, however there was a tunnel and a crosswalk nearby. It is not yet known why Mr. Piaskowsky was not using either the tunnel or crosswalk, if that information proves to be correct.

Investigators from the Thousand Oaks Police Department are investigating what factors contributed to this man getting hit by the car. If it is shown that the driver of the Lexus was operating her mobile phone, speeding, intoxicated or otherwise negligent, the family of the deceased may bring a Thousand Oaks wrongful death claim against the driver. The claim would be made with the driver’s liability insurance coverage.

San Clemente Man Killed in Agoura Hills Accident

August 4, 2015 | by Robert Walch

An Agoura Hills accident on Friday has resulted in the death of Eric Stein, a thirty-six year old man from San Clemente, California. According to the Agoura Hills Patch, Stein was driving on Mulholland Highway, near Kana Dume Road, in Agoura, California, when his vehicle was struck by a Los Angeles County Fire Department vehicle that was in route to a brush fire.

Apparently, Mr. Stein was slowing down to make a left turn when the Fire Department truck, which was carrying female inmates, tried to cross over the center line to pass Mr. Stein, thereby striking the driver’s side of Stein’s Ford Fusion, as it was in the process of making a left turn.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the Fire Department vehicle was driving with its lights and sirens activated. If correct, it is not currently known why Mr. Stein apparently did not hear or see the vehicle approaching and pull over to the right side of the road. However, it must be noted that we have seen emergency personnel claim that they had their lights and sirens activated prior to an accident, when in fact witnesses have said that the emergency vehicle did not in fact have lights and sirens activated.

Simi Valley Taxi Drivers Protest Lack of Uber Regulation

July 22, 2015 | by Robert Walch

According to the Simi Valley Acorn, local taxi drivers and taxi company owners were at the Simi Valley City Council meeting on Monday to protest against the rise of Uber, a popular ride sharing service, in the community. Their main problem with Uber is that while taxis must abide by many regulations, Uber is often not subject to the same regulations. Accordingly, if there is a Simi Valley Uber car accident, the customer may not have the same rights as if he or she was in a Simi Valley taxi accident.

The taxi representatives said that they must abide by requirements such as background checks, inspections of taxis, fees and commercial insurance for their vehicles. They feel that Uber, a service where users order a ride from an Uber driver via an application on the user’s phone, does not have to abide by the same rules and therefore is able to operate at less expensive prices. This has cost taxi owners and drivers much of their business.

Malibu to Implement Safety Improvements to Prevent Accidents

July 15, 2015 | by Robert Walch

Due to the high frequency of Malibu car accidents, the city has decided to implement new safety measures to try to decrease the amount of accidents. Many Malibu accidents happen on Pacific Coast Highway, which is a long stretch of road overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Due to the layout of the road, the minimum space between the ocean and the mountains, the speed that cars travel and the distraction of the beautiful views, there are many car accidents and pedestrian accidents on PCH.

According to the Los Angeles Times, from 2012 to 2014, there were 376 Malibu car accident injuries and nine people died in Malibu accidents. Of the nine, six were pedestrians who were killed when they were hit by a car on PCH in Malibu.

So far this year, 117 car accidents on PCH in Malibu have resulted in four fatalities. Included in those fatalities was the rapper, MC Supreme, who was killed when his car was struck while legally parked on the ocean side of PCH. Another tragic accident happened in February when Bruce Jenner, who is now knowns as Caitlyn Jenner, rear ended a car, pushing that car into oncoming traffic where it was struck by a Hummer, resulting in the wrongful death of the occupant of that vehicle.

6 People Killed in California Apartment Balcony Collapse

June 16, 2015 | by Robert Walch

6 people died today and others suffered serious injuries when an apartment balcony they were on collapsed. The apartment balcony collapse accident happened in Berkeley, California, and the victims appear to be Irish citizens in California on short term work visas (J-1).

According to cnn.com, this tragic incident happened at the Library Gardens Apartment. In addition to the six people who were reportedly killed in this accident, at least another seven people have serious injuries for which they have been hospitalized.

It is not yet clear exactly what caused this balcony to collapse, but reports suggested the entire balcony tore away from the building, from the 4th floor. Berkeley police reported that the incident occurred between 12 and 1am this morning.

There are many legal ramifications for a tragic incident such as this one. First, the heirs of the wrongful death victims should file California wrongful death claims against the apartment complex. In addition, the severely injured guests or residents of the apartment may make personal injury claims against the apartment complex.

California’s “Pay to Play” Traffic Fines Ends! Now You Can Fight Your Traffic Ticket In Court Without Paying In Advance!

June 10, 2015 | by Robert Walch

The California Judicial Council ended on Monday, June 8, 2015, the long standing unfair practice of requiring drivers to pay their fines for traffic tickets in advance if they want to contest their tickets in court. The way it worked was if one received a ticket and wanted to challenge it in court, the driver was required to post bail in advance–that is to actually pay the amount of the ticket in advance, even before being found guilty.

The problem was that the fines, which initially may have run about $100 to $150 or so, then had fees or penalty assessments (PAs) added onto them and these PAs were several times the amount of the fine, so a fine of $100-150 with the PA became about $450 or more. One purpose of the PAs is to help pay for the cost of special programs. Such total fines now became totally disproportionate to the offense, not affordable for many and as a result many fines went unpaid, people did not appear in court and many driver’s licenses were suspended.

As a further result, the California legislature is reportedly preparing to vote on a proposal to cut the cost of delinquent fines, provide payment plans and reinstate licenses that may have been suspended for failure to pay and failure to appear in court.

The other issue to resolve is the harsh, oppressive and unconscionable PAs or additional fees that our legislature and courts have tacked onto such traffic tickets.

Meanwhile, according to the Los Angeles Times, the new rule about not having to pay in advance if one wants to fight his or her traffic ticket reportedly will apply only to those who have not yet missed their court date. If you have already missed your court date, the new rule is not supposed to help you. So, if you received a ticket but have not yet had your first appearance (i.e., court date), you may request a trial without paying the fine (technically posting bail) in advance.