Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer - motor vehicle accidents

Four Dead After Planes Collide in Southern California

Jenny Albano — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:00:22 GMT

Four people have been confirmed dead after two planes collided over Southern California on Sunday, January 20.

The two planes collided into each other at around 3:35 PM a mile from the Corona Municipal Airport and north of the Riverside Freeway.

Debris rained down on car dealerships below in Riverside County about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles, and television pictures showed that the wrecked fuselage of one of the planes landed atop a parked car.

It was not immediately known whether the four deceased were from the planes that collided or from people on the ground.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Mass Transit Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Pileup in Fresno Kills 2 and Injures Many

Jenny Albano — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:36:52 GMT

On Saturday, November 3, there was a huge pileup of over 100 vehicles near Fresno, California that ended up killing two people and injuring many more. A dense fog was blamed for the pileup.

A 6-year-old and a 28-year-old who were traveling in separate cars were killed in chain-reaction collisions around 7:45 a.m. Several people trapped in vehicles had to be extracted and more than three dozen people had to be airlifted to local hospitals. At least nine big rigs were involved in the pileup on northbound, but no hazardous materials were spilled.

Highway 99 was completely shut down after the accident but the southbound lane was eventually re-opened. The northbound lane remains closed so investigators can find the cause of the accidents.

According to Mike Bowman, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, "There was probably two-foot visibility in the fog when I got here. It was really bad. It looked like chaos. Cars were backed up on top of each other."

Thick seasonal fog known as "Tule fog" typically occurs in Central California in the late fall and winter. A stretch of the highway several miles south was the scene of an autumn 74-car pileup nearly a decade ago that left two people dead.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Consumers Evaluate Auto Insurers for Fairness

Ed Smith — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:44:28 GMT

In the past, consumers primarily purchased auto insurance by price, looking for the low cost insurer for the amount of auto coverage they desired. Over the past decade, however, car owners have increasingly come to the conclusion, often after bring involved in an accident, that the lowest cost insurer is often not the best one.

Ottimes insurers blantantly ignore the interest of their policyholders who have been involved in an accident

Consumers who have had difficulty are no longer without a voice and several internet sites have recently sprung up where they air their grievances.

Allstate Insurance has a site where many have aired their complaints.

Similarly, Farmers Insurance has its own group of "fans".
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Lawyers representing the injured have known for years of how many insurers make it very difficult for all parties involved in accident to achieve a fair recovery.

Now consumers have the same opportunity to see the inside story of insurer claims BEFORE they purchase insurance.

A google search of the name of the insurance you are thinking of buying along with the terms "complaints",
"ripoff" or "bad faith" should yield lots of reading material relevant to an informed decision.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Medpay and Health Insurance Coverage in accidents

Ed Smith — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:50:09 GMT

Many people in accidents have 2 types of insurance, the Medpay insurance on their auto policy as well as their health insurance at work. My fellow Injuryboard Attorney John Cooper recently wrote a great article on Medpay coverage
that explains that concept well and encourages clients to obtain high medpay limits.

Medpay insurance is very cheap and I always encouarge my clients to elect minimally $10,000 in Medpay coverage.

Occasionally, clients who are in accidents have both Medpay coverage and health insurance coverage thru work. They wonder which coverage they should have the hospital or medical provider bill. This is a really good question but
most times the attorney handling the case can answer it only after reviewing both insurance policies.

Some of the issues a lawyer will review are:

1. What are the Medpay limits and Exclusions?
2. What are the health insurance limits and exclusions?
3. Does the Medpay or Health insurance need to be paid back out of the recovery against the at-Fault Driver?
4. What is the liklihood under California Law that the repayment ammount can be reduced or eliminated.

If you are in an accident and have both Medpay and health insurance coverage, it is important to consult your attorney as to which coverage should be billed very early in your case.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Citrus Heights Crash Injures 3 Pedestrians

Ed Smith — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:30:31 GMT

An accident involving 2 vehciles on July 17th near the intersection of Greenback Lane and Auburn Boulevard in Citrus Heights sent three nearbye pedestrians to the hospital in serious condition. The victims were taken to nearby Mercy San Juan Hospital.

Pedestrian-Car collisions are often avoidable with simple safety precautions.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Driver Distractions

Ed Smith — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:02:08 GMT

State Senator Carole Migden rear-ended vehicle while possibly talking on cell phone causing a three car accident.

Driver distraction as a cause of motor vehicle crashes is an important issue. We find that drivers can be distracted by discussions with other passengers, eating or drinking, picking up things off the floor and changing radio stations. Another source that has become an increasing concern is the use of cell phones.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that driver distraction is a contributing cause of 20 to 30% of all motor vehicle collisions.

California is one of the Jurisdictions that collects data regarding cell phone involvement in motor vehicle crashes.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Smith

Red Bluff man in critcal condition from Boating Accident

Staff Writer — Thu, 10 May 2007 05:37:26 GMT

A Red Bluff man was critically injured on the Sacramento River when his personal watercraft collided with another watercraft on Monday evening. Thomas Moulton and his passenger, Kaylee Eiler were both injured when struck by a watercraft operated my a minor.

The Coast Guard has promulgated rules for operating personal watercraft and careful adherence to such rules may prevent many accidents.

If you or a family member are injured in a boating accident, please call an experienced boating lawyer to help.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

California Fire Chief Killed in Car Accident

Christina Cole — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:59:50 GMT

In a single car accident in Lassen County, a high-level state fire official, 44, lost his life.

He was the north region staff chief of operations for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

On Thursday, his car went off State Route 44, according to police. The accident is being investigated by California Highway Patrol, along with the department's internal investigation team.

From a family of fire fighters he began his career with the Butte Unit of the state fire department in 1981.

While off duty, he rescued a child from a burning building in 1998 and was awarded the Medal of Valor.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Knee Injuries in Accident Victims

Laura Mackie — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 12:49:53 GMT

Dealing effectively with lawsuits where your client has suffered an injury to their knee requires a litigator to be familiar with the common medical problems specific to that area of the body. One such common diagnosis is chondromalacia patella, which means that there was a breakdown or softening of the cartilage in the knee. Instead of gliding smoothly across the bone, the kneecap rubs against it, therefore roughening the cartilage under the kneecap.

Trauma may also result from an acute injury, such as a contusion, fracture, dislocation, or tendon rupture. This kind of acute injury is often caused by a direct blow to the knee. But trauma can also occur from overuse, leading to tendinitis and bursitis, depending on the part of the knee involved.

Posttraumatic chondromalacia patellae is one of the late effects of trauma. It can develop if there is a blow to the kneecap that tears off a piece of cartilage or bone.

The normal patella should track in the groove of the femur in a relatively straight manner. However, the patella can sometimes track more to one side or the other and has even been known to partially come out of the groove. When this occurs, the condition is known as subluxation. Maltracking of the patella can be precipitated by a blow to the knee or impact of the knees with a vehicle dashboard during an auto accident. This condition can also be caused by a genetic, developmental, or familiar abnormality or overuse from repetitive knee flexion, uphill running, hiking, kneeling, squatting, or prolonged sitting with knees flexed.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Laura Mackie

Buckle Up for Safety

Laura Mackie — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:24:11 GMT

According to an article published in a recent issue of the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics, there are a total of nearly 1,500 spinal cord injuries sustained by children (ages 18 and younger) every year. Of those 1,500 injuries, approximately 70% are a result of a motor vehicle accident. Among those children in that 70%, 68% of the time the victims were NOT wearing a seatbelt.

Additional statistics cited by the authors of the article included: Boys are more than twice (2.79) more likely to experience Spinal Cord Injuries than girls; African-Americans are at greater risk than whites (1.53); Hispanics and especially Asians are at lower risk than whites (0.87 and 0.36, respectively).

Other common causes of pediatric Spinal Cord Injuries include: accidental fall (14 percent), firearm injury (9 percent) sports injury (7 percent). And not so surprisingly, alcohol and drugs were involved in 30 percent of all cases.

The article was based on a study of high risk populations by the chief of Pediatric Spine Service at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, Dr. Michael G. Vitale. The study aimed to improve the prevention and treatment of spinal cord injuries. Considering the statistics gathered during the study, one could assuredly say that the best prevention would be to ALWAYS "Buckle up".

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Laura Mackie