We have the legal experience and the expertise in motor vehicle accidents to identify the negligent parties.
There are many ways that a driver can become distracted while driving. Driving involves the coordination of your vision and reflexes and anything that distracts your eyes or mind from the road or takes your hands off of the wheel of your car can be considered a driving distraction. Some of the most common distractions include:
Driving While Using Cell Phones
While distractions for drivers have increased, so has the attention that the problem has attracted. The issue of talking on or using cell phones while driving has become the topic of much discussion and legislation in recent years.
While most think of cellular phones as modern conveniences that make our lives much easier, distraction from driving while using cell phones (hand held or hands free) can delay a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
The recent increase in popularity of “smart phones” has added to the problem, with many individuals not only holding conversations while driving, but now also reading and answering texts and emails while operating motor vehicles, leading to often deadly cellphone texting car accidents.
Driving While Texting – Distracted Teen Driving
Teen drivers are some of the most at-risk individuals on our highways. The NHTSA estimates that the leading cause of death for 15-20-year old’s are vehicle crashes, accounting for one third of all deaths for that age group. Even more disturbing more crashes occur when passengers, usually other teens, are in the vehicle with a teen driver.
It is estimated that two out of three teens die as passengers in a vehicle driven by another teen. Since teens are inexperienced, immature, and very often, overconfident, they are at special risk for being involved in a distracted driving accident, especially an accident involving texting while driving.
Part of the issue revolves around the recent explosion in online communication and the popularity of texting to stay connected among teenagers. Daily text messaging among American teens has shot up in the past 18 months, from 38% of teens texting friends daily in February of 2008 to 54% of teens texting daily in September 2009.
Drunk Driving Accident Attorney
The total DUI related fatalities in California has been increasing. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, there was a 4.3% increase in deaths, going from 876 fatalities in 2014 to 914 fatalities in 2015. This trend is a cause for concern.
Fortunately, the Public awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence (DUI) has been increasing as well. Accidents stemming from DUIs do remain unfortunately high.
The impaired thinking and reduced reaction times that alcohol and drugs cause increase the risks the rest of us face on the roads. The motor vehicle accidents they cause are often more tragic, especially as they could have been avoided.
First, make sure that you are okay. If you’re able, try to document everything that you can. Take pictures of any signs and gather witness statements if there were any.
Filing a police report is crucial, so your first step should be calling the police. If you or any witnesses were able to obtain the license plate number or even just the make and model of the vehicle, that can go a long way in terms of catching a hit and run driver.
Documenting the scene is always crucial, but it becomes even more so if there is an argument over who was at fault. Noting any stop or yield signs, crosswalks, traffic signals, or the driver’s speed can all help in case the driver tries to pin the blame on you the pedestrian.
Sometimes an injury may not make itself apparent until hours or even days later, so even if you don’t believe you are injured, seek immediate medical attention. If you end up seeking a settlement, waiting to receive medical treatment can affect your compensation, as insurance will say that your injury must not have been that serious if you waited to get treatment.
Cranes are one of the most recognizable – and most dangerous – landmarks at a construction site. With recent high-profile crane accidents peppering the front pages of magazines and newspapers, more attention than ever is being paid to these devastating accidents and the injury and financial insecurity they bring to their victims. With hundreds of thousands of cranes and crane operators working in the United States at any time, it’s high time this issue raised the attention it deserves.
What causes a crane accident? Improper or insufficient training, user error, and inadequate supervision or inspection can contribute, but often mechanical failures, rigging problems, collapses, and buckling can occur. In fact, some studies suggest that up to eleven percent of all crane accidents occur due to mechanical failure.
Unfortunately, innovations in crane design and manufacture often outpace the knowledge and experience of professionals who work on construction sites and in maritime settings. Tragically, the vast majority of crane accidents could have been prevented if the workplace had been safe.
Due to the sheer size of a crane, these accidents can be devastating. Paralysis, disfigurement, broken limbs, even lifetime disability or death can occur. Other problems like electrocution accidents or head injuries due to falling tools are also associated with cranes.
Though the industry is regulated, some work sites do not aggressively practice all recommended safety strategies, leading to fatal mistakes and tragic outcomes. The victims of crane accidents aren’t just on the hook for medical treatment for their injuries. All too often, they face lifelong disability, an inability to earn a wage, and the need for psychiatric treatment.
Given the huge amount of construction in this country, the dangers of construction site accidents are becoming known. Electrocution accidents are a danger at many sites where exposed wires, work with power sources, and complicated equipment are the norm. Here’s what you need to know about electrocution accidents and your rights:
Statistics show that around an average of around 400 people die of electrocution accidents each year. However, these statistics do not take into account the thousands of workers whose health and lives are impacted by non-fatal electrocution injuries while on the job. Depending on the frequency and length of the shock, a victim can experience damage to the heart and lungs, neuropathy (a condition in which nerve function is impaired), chronic pain, disfigurement and burns, and even psychological effects.
Though the construction industry is highly regulated, unscrupulous employers often neglect their duty to protect all employees on the job and allow them to work in unsafe environments or perform job duties without appropriate safety equipment or training.
Ultimately, this neglect can lead to injury and even death – and electrocution accidents in California that can be linked to a negligent party can be prosecuted in civil court, with the victim suing for damages related to medical treatment, inability to work, psychiatric treatment, pain and suffering, and vocational rehabilitation. Negligent employers deserve to pay for their neglect – both for the sake of the injured worker and for the safety of current and future employees.
Going up against an insurance company for an e-scooter accident claim in LA can be difficult as an injured individual. You may be too busy tending to injuries and missed work to focus on legal matters.
You may also have trouble establishing the liable party or proving fault for the incident. A lawyer can handle complex legal processes on your behalf, and make sure you do not miss any deadlines.
A lawyer can also help prevent an insurance company from taking advantage of you during settlement negotiations.
Gas explosions are preventable accidents that cause far too many catastrophic injuries and fatalities within residential communities, public businesses, workplaces, and construction sites.
Some workplace explosion accidents occur when flammable or pressurized materials (i.e. pipelines, tanks) are not properly monitored, contained or handled. Gas explosions have also resulted from employees or employers failing to mark the location of a gas line, resulting in workers and other individuals not being aware of the exact location of the gas line.
If any type of hazard or oversight is determined to be the cause of a gas explosion, injury victims and family members of wrongful death victims may be able to hold negligent parties responsible.
The consequences of these injuries can devastate a victim and his family. Medical bills pile up, physical and vocational rehabilitation, ongoing surgeries or medication, and long-term care are often necessary. Who can help the victims of heavy machinery accidents? 800-Accident
Serious accidents that can cause paralysis include:
These losses aren’t just physical — they’re severe emotional losses as well. They can also cost a lot of money to treat and accommodate. If you or someone you care about was paralyzed in an accident caused by someone else’s carelessness, you have the right to sue that person.
What are the Different Types of Swimming Pool Accidents?
There are several types of scenarios that might cause an LA swimming pool accident. Some of the most common include:
Incidents Involving Inadequate Fencing
Anyone who owns a pool, whether private or public, must follow local LA laws regarding fencing. Often, pool owners must have a privacy fence that is a certain height with a locking gate. For example, according to the — Department of Building and Safety, private pools are required to be self-closing and no less than 60 inches from the ground. This gate must remain closed for the safety of the public.
The law refers to pools as “an attractive nuisance,” suggesting that children are intrinsically attracted to swimming pools. Young children don’t think of the danger associated with swimming unsupervised; they only see it as a way to have fun. Failing to lock a gate or install adequate fencing could be grounds for a premise’s liability claim under California law. Slip and fall accidents are common on the pool deck, which is usually wet from splashing in the pool.
Chemical Burns
In another scenario, children or adults may sustain serious injuries from chemical burns. To keep them sanitary, pool owners and operators must use the right combination of chemicals while maintaining a safe pH for patrons. These chemicals must be stored safely between uses.
Carelessness in a pool’s operation can lead to chemical burns. Liability in these incidents may lie with the owners of the property, a maintenance company, or even the government (if the injury occurs in a public pool).
Negligent Supervision
Public, and some private swimming pools, must have a lifeguard on duty. These individuals are there to enforce a pool’s rules. If they fail to notice a hazard or a patron in distress, this could lead to a claim on the grounds of negligent supervision.
Possible Damages in Swimming Pool Accidents
Toxic Torts – Chemical Exposure Injuries
Thanks to increased awareness of climate change, America is taking pollution more seriously than ever before. Unfortunately, this comes too late for many victims of environmental poisoning, chemical spills or other exposure to unsafe chemicals. Industrial waste and other pollution do not degrade quickly; some toxins linger in the environment for decades, poisoning the soil, water, air and everything that lives nearby. The results can be devastating:
When pollution and contamination cause death, cancer, brain damage or other extremely serious injuries, victims may file a lawsuit — called a toxic tort — to hold polluters responsible for their actions. Because pollution usually affects entire communities or groups, toxic torts are frequently class actions.