Personal Injury

California-based Bolthouse Farms has issued a recall for 5,600 cases of 16-ounce Carrot Chips due to food poisoning concerns. According to a news report in Examiner.com, salmonella was detected in the products during routine testing by a health official.

So far, Bolthouse Farms, whose headquarters is based in Santa Monica, has not received any reports of illnesses or hospitalizations as a result of these potentially contaminated products.

The carrot chips were shipped to retailers in United States and Canada. Consumers who purchased the Bolthouse Farms Carrot Chips are urged not to eat them and return the product to the store where they purchased it for a full refund. For more information, please contact Bolthouse Farms at 1-866-535-3774.

Statistics and Symptoms Relating to Salmonella Poisoning

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there are about 1.4 million cases of salmonella food poisoning nationwide each year. However, only 40,000 of those cases are annually reported. CDC reports also show that of all the types of food poisoning, salmonella poisoning leads to the highest rate of hospitalizations. Read the rest »

David Cortez, 58, was killed in a Corona collision after a vehicle hit him as he crossed the road, the evening of October 28, 2012. According to a CBS news report, the pedestrian accident occurred near the intersection of Sixth and Merrill streets.

Police say Cortez was walking southbound across Sixth Street when a vehicle driven by Israel Andrade, 23, struck him. Officials suspect Cortez was not in a designated crosswalk when the incident occurred. Cortez died at the scene. Andrade was not arrested or cited. The investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family members and friends of David Cortez for their terrible loss. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

One fatality and 28 injuries were reported as a result of pedestrian accidents in Corona, according to California Highway Patrol’s 2010 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). During that same year, 190 people died and 7,632 were injured due to pedestrian accidents countywide. Read the rest »

Sean “Diddy” Combs was injured in a Los Angeles car accident after the vehicle in which he was a passenger T-boned a sedan in Beverly Hills on October 24, 2012. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, Combs was in a black Escalade SUV that struck a Lexus sedan, which made a left turn in front of the SUV. The accident occurred on Sunset Boulevard in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Photos taken after the accident showed Combs shaken up and lying on the ground, the Times report said. Everyone involved in the accident complained of pain, but no one was transported to the hospital. Combs reportedly said that he would get his own medical attention. His representative later told the Associated Press that Combs had hurt his neck, ribs and collarbone.

Read the rest »

Lawyers and Settlements reports that numerous transvaginal mesh lawsuits are being filed, with many resulting in awards for the victims and their partners who suffer with them. According to the news article, another couple recently filed a product liability lawsuit. In that case, the woman and her husband allege that they have not been able to have sex since she was implanted with the Bard Avaulta transvaginal mesh because it is “too painful for her” and her husband could “feel the mesh.”

Bard, the maker of Avaulta transvaginal mesh implants, lost its first personal injury lawsuit when a California jury awarded $5 million to Christine Scott. She had suffered major complications due to Bard’s Avaulta Plus device including incontinence, severe pain, and inability to be intimate. Scott later required eight surgeries to remove the mesh. Her husband was awarded $500,000 for loss of consortium in that case. Read the rest »

Alfonso Cerda Sr., 45, was killed in an Inglewood car accident after a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s squad car hit and killed him as he rode his bike. According to an ABC news article, the fatal accident occurred on October 8, 2012 in the 3500 block of West 107th Street. Officials say Cerda was on his bike during the early morning hours when two deputies in a patrol car tried to contact him believing that he was carrying a gun. A short pursuit ended with the squad car and the bicyclist slamming into an iron fence. Cerda’s injuries proved fatal.

Cerda’s family is questioning the details of this bicycle accident. The sheriff’s department issued a statement that Cerda brandished a gun at the deputies. But the family says he did not even own a weapon, but carried a flashlight when he rode his bike. His son, Alfonso Cerda Jr. tells ABC News that his family is trying to make sense out of this tragedy. “How do you hit someone with a 5,000-pound vehicle? How does that happen?” he asks. They also say it was common for Cerda to be out at night picking up clothes and other items from trash cans, which he would later sell. The investigation is ongoing. Read the rest »

A pedestrian who attempted to help motorists involved in a multi-car collision on state Route 78 was struck and seriously injured by a driver, who fled the scene. According to a U-T San Diego news article, the major injury crash occurred the night of October 15, 2012. California Highway Patrol officials say the 20-year-old female pedestrian may have entered the freeway from a street that runs parallel to Route 78. She had just checked on a woman whose Nissan Altima had crashed while trying to avoid a mattress on the freeway.

A Toyota pickup driven by a 30-year-old Encinitas man then hit the mattress and struck the Nissan. In addition, three other vehicles collided as they attempted to avoid the initial accident. The driver of the Nissan suffered moderate injuries and one other person suffered minor injuries. The car that struck the good Samaritan did not stop. Anyone with information about the hit-and-run driver or vehicle is asked to call CHP officials at 858-637-3800. Read the rest »