catastrophic injuries

One woman sustained injuries in an Orange car accident after her vehicle was involved in a crash with another vehicle at an intersection. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the driver of a Ford Taurus had to be extricated from her car after it was T-boned by a Nissan Altima at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Glassell Street the morning of May 13, 2010. The driver of the Nissan was uninjured. The driver of the Ford Taurus was transported to a local hospital with unknown injuries. Read the rest »

Former supermodel Beverly Peele suffered serious injuries in a Los Angeles car accident the night of May 10, 2010, according to a TMZ news report. Peele has appeared on numerous magazine covers and music videos in the 80s. She is apparently in very serious condition at UCLA Medical Center. So far, there have been no details released about how the accident occurred. TMZ also reports that Peele's daughter was also involved in the crash. Both were taken to the hospital with multiple fractures and injuries. Read the rest »

Two women sustained serious injuries in a Los Angeles car accident after they were struck by a minivan while walking in a marked crosswalk. According to a KPCC-Radio news report, the injury collision occurred at the intersection of West Third and Boylston streets the morning of May 9, 2010. California Highway Patrol officials said that the women were leaving the Tattoo Club and were crossing the street in a crosswalk when they were run down by a vehicle. The driver of the minivan fled the scene. Officials say they are looking for the driver and the red minivan, which was last seen heading toward Vermont Avenue. The driver if apprehended is expected to face felony hit-and-run charges. Read the rest »

We have heard a lot about the Transocean oil platform rig blast off the coast of Louisiana, which has left 17 workers injured, at least seven critically. According to recent news reports, 11 workers are still missing after the April 20, 2010 explosion and are being searched by the U.S. Coast Guard. This oil platform explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform is a sad reminder to all of us about the great hazards and risks offshore oil rig and oil platform workers face on the job. Oil industry workers labor under extremely dangerous conditions and this incident is yet another example of that reality. Read the rest »

Cathryn Downing, 61, was critically injured in an Oregon car accident on April 7, 2010, after her Honda Civic was hit by a pickup truck driven by an elderly driver. According to a KTVZ news report, Downing was in the northbound lane of Highway 97, near Madras. She had apparently stopped, waiting to make a left turn on to Cherry Lane, when a Dodge 3500 truck driven by 81-year-old Katherine White rear-ended her. The impact from the collision pushed Downing's Honda into the opposing lanes of traffic where it collided head-on with a big-rig driven by 34-year-old Gurwinder Gill. Downing was transported to an area hospital where she remains in critical condition. Gill and White were uninjured. An investigation is ongoing. Read the rest »

Two people sustained injuries in a San Bernardino car accident after the driver of one of the cars fell asleep and triggered a head-on collision. The Press-Enterprise reports that this accident occurred on the Highway 395 near Bear Valley Road, in Victorville, the morning of April 5, 2010. California Highway Patrol officials say that a 21-year-old man driving a Toyota Corolla was southbound on the highway, when he crossed over the center divider and crashed head-on into a PT Cruiser. The Toyota's driver suffered head and leg injuries while the driver of the PT Cruiser, a 24-year-old Redondo Beach man, suffered a broken leg and possible shoulder injuries. Read the rest »

Three people, including an Orange County resident, were injured in a rollover accident the morning on March 26, 2010, after the SUV they were traveling in went out of control and crashed in Santa Barbara. The Daily Sound reports that the 2004 Chevy Trailblazer was traveling at 75 mph in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 near Gaviota Beach Road. California Highway Patrol officials said that the driver, for unknown reasons, lost control of the Chevy Trailblazer and the vehicle rolled over before coming to rest on its roof. Read the rest »

One man was critically injured and two children are lucky to be alive after a San Diego car accident caused by an elderly driver the afternoon of March 20, 2010. According to a news report in The San Diego Union-Tribune, an 86-year-old driver was pulling his Cadillac Coupe de Ville out of a parking spot outside a Costco store, on Morena Boulevard. He hit the accelerator instead of the brake causing the Cadillac to hit a car behind him and an SUV. Read the rest »

Max Martinez, a 26-year-old PG&E worker, sustained fatal job injuries after he was electrocuted while working in an underground vault in Benicia, California. According to a KGO-TV news report, the accident occurred the morning of March 17, 2010, when Martinez, a lineman, was installing a new transformer in the 12,000-volt vault. Three other workers were in the vault, but no one else was injured. California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA) officials are investigating this incident.

My prayers and condolences go out to the family and friends of Max Martinez. Apparently he worked for PG&E for the last five years. Please keep this deceased worker's family in your thoughts and prayers. Read the rest »

A construction worker in Los Angeles suffered fatal injuries on the job after he fell off a wooden plank, into a hole and was buried under dirt from a collapsed trench. According to a news report in The Daily Breeze, the fatal construction accident occurred the morning of March 10, 2010. The worker was standing on top of a plank and attempting to work with a tool similar to a jackhammer when the vibration caused him to lose his balance and fall head first into the excavated trench. Read the rest »