California Personal Injury Attorneys

Nine passengers on an Orange Line bus were injured in a Los Angeles car accident after the eastbound commuter bus hit another vehicle. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Daily News, the accident occurred the afternoon of October 30, 2009 when the bus was going east on Chandler Boulevard near Valley Glen when it crashed into a vehicle at an intersection in the 5400 block of Coldwater Canyon Avenue. Los Angeles fire officials said none of the injuries seemed to be major.
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The California car accident lawyers at BISNAR | CHASE have represented numerous victims who have been seriously injured by drunk drivers. It's especially frightening when the drunk driver happens to be a school bus driver. This actually happened in Ojai, California where Kim Fullenwider, 53, a school bus driver, was arrested the morning of September 30, 2009 after she hit a pickup truck while taking 31 students to school in the Ojai Unified School District. Fullenwider was driving west on Baldwin Avenue when she made a U-turn in front of an eastbound pickup truck driven by 60-year-old Dimitros Poulos. No one was seriously injured in the resulting crash.
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Bisnar | Chase recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of Julie Farris, a 21-year-old graphic designer, who suffered severe brain injuries after she was hit by a trolley car on Foothill Boulevard on February 19, 2008, while riding her bicycle to Azusa Pacific University. This personal injury accident may not have occurred if an area of Foothill Boulevard near Azusa Pacific University's campus were better constructed. Farris underwent two brain surgeries, a seven-month hospital stay and a two-month coma. She also suffered damage to her nervous system and what most certainly is permanent brain damage. Our lawsuit names both the city of Azusa and the university in the lawsuit. We believe that both these parties are liable for Farris' trolley-bicycle accident and resulting personal injuries.

But Azusa city officials blame our client for the bicycle accident. They told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that they believe the conditions on the street were safe and adequate. They call the accident "tragic and unfortunate," but state that it happened because Farris was "operating her bicycle unsafely." Farris was riding on the opposite side of the street toward oncoming traffic. But as our Senior Partner Brian Chase points out, Farris was forced to do that because of overcrowded pedestrian traffic and lack of sidewalk. By poorly designing that roadway, the city created a dangerous condition there.

Farris was caught between the cars and an Azusa Pacific University trolley and suffered massive personal injuries. We also believe that the university trolley driver was inattentive and Azusa Pacific owed a special duty to its students to provide them with a reasonably safe method to travel between the east and west campuses. In just a year and three months, our client is looking at more than $1 million in medical bills. We are also seeking future potential wages and compensation for emotional damage on Farris' behalf.

California’s Government Code section 835 provides that a public entity or governmental agency is liable for damages to an injured person because of a condition of public property when the injured person proves that:

The city and the university should have had better safety measures in place for pedestrians and bicyclists in that area. The street and campus design lacks crosswalks, bike paths, traffic signals and parking, causing a dangerous roadway condition. This was an unfortunate bicycle accident waiting to happen. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the issue of this dangerous roadway has come before the city and university officials in earlier incidents.

At least five people died and dozens were injured in an Orange County based bus accident on Highway 101 in Soledad, California, carrying French tourists who crashed and rolled over on a freeway overpass, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Several passengers were thrown from the bus and onto the overpass as well as the freeway below. The death toll is expected to increase as many of the injured are believed to be in critical condition. Traffic investigators are looking into what caused this fatal bus accident.

The injured victims and families of the deceased will be able to file personal injury claims and wrongful death claims against the negligent parties even if they are French and not U.S. citizens or residents. The injured victims and their families should retain the services of expert California bus accident attorneys who will explain the legal process, their rights and how to get help with medical and other expenses. Victims and their families should not to give any statements to anyone, talk to investigators or adjusters or sign any documents or releases until they are represented by skilled California personal injury attorneys who would will provide a free, comprehensive consultation to any one of the passengers or their family.