California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

California’s Basic Speed Law

October 14, 2017 | by Robert Walch

In early October, a teenage girl was hit in an intersection in Imperial Beach, California, while riding her bike. A white car entered the intersection of Elm Avenue and 9th Street striking the girl on her bike, causing this California bike accident. This intersection in Imperial Beach is a rather busy intersection, and residents believe that something more needs to be done to prevent future incidents like this from happening in the future.

Thankfully, the teen was taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay. The problem is that residents of the community say that this is going to continue until the city steps up to do something to protect people at this intersection.

Teen Driver Involved in Long Beach Fatal Crash

October 5, 2017 | by Robert Walch

On Wednesday, September 20, 2017, a man was involved in a fatal crash after a teen lost control of his car. The teen had allegedly been driving at high speeds and weaving in and out of traffic before the Long Beach wrongful death occurred along Pacific Coast Highway.

According to the OC Register, the 17-year-old had been driving a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse by the intersection of PCH and Studebaker Road in the afternoon, and swerved to get around a turning vehicle rather than stopping. This caused his car to go into the eastbound lane hitting the 58-year-old driver’s 2016 Toyota Corolla that was going to turn right on PCH.

Hit-and-Run: Victim’s Rights After the Accident

September 23, 2017 | by Robert Walch

Recently, a vehicle struck two pedestrians on Foothill Boulevard in Rialto and kept going. One woman passed away from her injuries at the hospital, while the other is currently in critical condition. Police found what they believe is the subject vehicle at an apartment complex located on Beachwood Street. The car they found had damage to the front of the car. Police are still processing this case, and looking for the suspect that was driving the car at the time of the accident. We hope that the drive of the vehicle is located, so that he or she can be charged criminally for the hit and run, but also held responsible for the wrongful death and other personal injuries that were caused.

Penalties of Hit-and-Run Accidents

A hit-and-run accident can turn an everyday accident into a criminal investigation. Whenever you are involved in a car crash, you have a legal responsibility to stop at the scene.

Night Driving: How to Keep Yourself Safe

September 14, 2017 | by Robert Walch

One of the most dangerous times to be on the California roadways is nighttime. There’s a number of reasons behind why the darkness makes it inherently more dangerous. Did you know that when it comes to fatal wrongful death accidents, almost half of them happen at night, even though there are fewer people on the roadways at this time? It’s unfortunately true.

With that in mind, here are some tips to help you to be more aware of potential problems, and make you feel more confident about night driving.

Seatbelt: Too many people still ignore the need for their seatbelt. Your seatbelt is one of the first lines of defense against injuries and fatalities that can happen from a car accident. No matter the time of day or night, taking the step to buckle up your seatbelt can save your life.

Riverside Grandmother Critically Injured By Alleged Street Racers in Crash

September 7, 2017 | by Robert Walch

A car coming off of the 215 freeway in San Bernardino was hit by two cars that witnesses described as racing each other. A 62 year-old grandmother was in the backseat of the car when it was struck. Her injuries from this San Bernardino car accident are very serious and it is unknown if she will ever walk or talk again due to the injuries she sustained. She is currently being treated for a broken neck, severe internal injuries and traumatic brain injury.

According to CBS Los Angeles, the accident took place as the first car clipped the back end of the car that the grandmother was riding in. This caused the car to spin before it was struck by the second car allegedly involved in the illegal street racing. This second hit caused the car to roll. The first car fled the scene while the second car remained with those inside being injured themselves in the crash. The driver and passenger both were treated and released from the hospital, but no further information has been available about whether or not they’ll be facing charges.

California Laws and Street Racing

Knott’s Berry Farm Injury Lawsuit One of Several

August 31, 2017 | by Robert Walch

A California personal injury lawsuit was recently filed against Knott’s Berry Farm for several individuals that have been injured while riding the log ride at the theme park. The suit claims that improper maintenance of the ride was the cause of the injuries. One of the individuals involved in this lawsuit is a six-year-old child that had fractured his eye socket on the ride when it came to an abrupt halt after the final drop. The lawsuit notes that this injury is not an isolated occurrence, but that this ride has caused similar injuries in at least 10 other theme park guests.

The Los Angeles Times reports that California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health investigated this particular log ride for nine injuries reported on the ride between 2010 and 2012. These reports include injuries to the passengers including cuts around the eye and teeth that have been chipped from the force. As a result of these reports, an investigation was performed in 2015 by the California Department of Industrial Relations that found that there was a device in the ride that was not working correctly. Typically this device would monitor the level of water in the ride. Due to this maintenance problem, the park had to make the necessary repairs and had to pay inspection fees.

Dog Attack: How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

August 15, 2017 | by Robert Walch

Dogs are one of the most popular pets in the United States. People love their dogs, but not all dogs love people. Any dog can bite and our dog bite lawyers have seen bad dog bite injuries caused by all sizes of dogs. Knowing what to do and not to do in the face of an unknown dog can make a difference in the outcome for you and your family. Of course every situation is different and you should rely on what you think is the best thing to do if you are being attacked or see someone being attacked. Below is some general advice:

What You Should Never Do: Dog experts tend to agree that you typically should not try to run away from the dog you are confronted by, even if it seems to be the most prudent thing to do to get out of the situation. Dogs are instinctively hunters, and running away can trigger their instinct to chase down their prey. Running away may make the dog want to chase you, and this is not something you want once they catch you. In addition, you should avoid hitting a dog if it attacks you. Fighting back against the dog can make the dog feel even more defensive which can make them try to attack you even harder. This defensive drive is what often makes a dog want to kill their prey and bring it home.
What You Should Do: Knowing that you usually should not run or try to attack a dog is good, but you should also know what the right steps to take are. The first is that you want to try to relax and be still. Your body being more relaxed means that the dog won’t feel apprehension from you, and it may help the dog relax their defensive posture. You don’t want to make eye contact with the dog. You don’t want to put yourself in a submissive position by laying down or lowering yourself. Stay in an upright position.

Do You Need a Bicycle Helmet? Yes! You do!

July 30, 2017 | by Robert Walch

Our California personal injury lawyers have seen many serious bicycle accident injuries over the years. In fact, we recently recovered over one million dollars for a client who was injured while riding his bicycle. Many people opt to not wear a bicycle helmet, and that can turn into a deadly decision. In fact, 800 people were killed while riding a bicycle with 515,000 people being injured in bicycle accidents that required a trip to the emergency room or doctor’s office back in 2010. One of the most common injuries that occur in bicycle accidents are head injuries. Neglecting to wear a bicycle helmet can increase your chances of death after a bicycle accident. There are a few other reasons that wearing a bicycle helmet is a must.

Visibility: Bicycle helmets are often brightly colored or have reflective features on them that make them more noticeable to drivers. Often, accidents happen when drivers are unable to see bicyclists that are traveling close to them. If your helmet doesn’t have reflective stripes, and you bike at night, you’ll want to consider adding some reflective tape to it.
Protection From the Weather: A bicycle helmet also protects your head from the weather. In addition, if you’re riding your bike and a storm happens, you’ll have protection from the rain and even hail. If you like to bike when it’s chilly outside, there are some helmets meant to help keep your head warmer.

VETPAW – A Great Cause to Donate Money

July 6, 2017 | by Robert Walch

If you love animals like we do, we highly support contributing money to VETPAW – Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife. This organization not only helps protect African wildlife like elephants and rhinos from hunters and poachers, but it also employs United States military veterans. Essentially, it is contributing to two great causes – protecting animals and employing veterans.

To learn more about the amazing job that VETPAW is doing with our veterans, to help protect animals, please visit their website at www.vetpaw.org. Also, to donate money to their cause, visit the following page: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/vetpaw2015.

Our California personal injury attorneys at the Walch Law Corporation are animal lovers and support and donate money to many different animal welfare causes, including again today to VETPAW. Attorney Robert Walch is a member of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and, in addition to donating money to the cause, attended their last symposium in May in downtown Los Angeles, to learn about more ways to help animals.

Los Angeles Motorcycle Risks

June 30, 2017 | by Robert Walch

Riding a motorcycle on the freeways of Los Angeles is a very exhilarating experience, yet many of the reasons it feels so freeing are the same reasons why it can be quite dangerous. Risks inherent in driving—such as potholes, construction hazards, water or ice, and uneven pavement—can cause far more damage to a motorcyclist than a person driving an automobile. Since motorcycles lack many of the safety features of cars, we have seen how motorcyclists can experience severe injuries, even from more minor accidents.

It is important to remember that due to certain prejudices against motorcyclists, many times the police or witnesses will erroneously blame the motorcyclist in a collision with another vehicle. Do not be too alarmed if this happens to you. We offer a free consultation and many times we are able to still obtain a financial recovery for a motorcyclist when they were originally blamed for the accident.

Our California motorcycle accident lawyers have handled motorcycle accident injury and wrongful death cases for many decades. Accordingly, we have seen all sorts of motorcycle accidents, we advise you to drive carefully and below are some of the risks specific to motorcycles, that all motorcyclists should be aware of: