California Personal Injury Attorneys

A 14-year-old girl was injured in a San Diego car accident after a vehicle struck her on a San Marcos street. According to a 10news report, the girl was walking with her dog on Amberhill Terrace near Dove Tail Drive the morning of October 19, 2009 when they were struck. The teen was airlifted to a San Diego hospital while the dog died at the scene. The driver who hit the pedestrian remained at the crash site, police said.
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Debra Louise Allen, 42, was killed in a California motorcycle accident after the motorcycle she was riding on was struck by a bus. Allen was on the back of a 2003 Harley-Davidson motorcycle the morning of October 10, 2009 on Highway 94 near the Tecate border crossing. The motorcycle was passing a bus on a winding hill and struck it while moving back into the lane.
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As California personal injury lawyersand consumer attorneys, BISNAR | CHASE has been a staunch supporter of consumer rights and organizations such as Public Citizen that have championed the cause of auto safety and consumer rights. They have fought against corporate greed and inadequate government safety regulation. Robert Weissman was recently named president of Public Citizen. Weissman succeeds Joan Claybrook, who, for the last 27 years, had served at the helm of the organization.
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Howard Mark Carter, 62, was killed in a California car accident the night of August 10, 2009 on the 91 Freeway after his BMW went through a guardrail and was struck by a freight train. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Carter was driving his 2007 BMW west on the freeway near Corona, California, when his car swerved from the left lanes to the right shoulder and struck about 50 feet of guardrail. California Highway Patrol officials said Carter's car then rolled down a dirt embankment and stopped on the railroad tracks below. An oncoming train then struck the BMW on the passenger side, which caused the car to overturn on its roof. Carter was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
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Jaime Jimenez, 36, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident the night of July 31, 2009 after he lost control of his car and crashed into a palm tree in Whittier, California. According to a news report in the Whittier Daily News, Jimenez was pronounced dead at the scene of the car crash, which occurred near the intersection of Telegraph Road and Pioneer Boulevard. Jimenez was heading north on Pioneer Boulevard when he lost control of his car, struck the center median, then hit a light pole and finally crashed into a palm tree. The car rolled over several times after it collided with the tree, Whittier police said. No one else was injured in the crash.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jaime Jimenez for their tragic and sudden loss. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved Jimenez. Please keep them in your prayers.

Los Angeles Car Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were nine fatalities and 411 injuries involving car accidents in Whittier. In Los Angeles County, 712 fatalities and 56,475 injuries were reported as a result of car accidents in 2007.

Based on this newspaper report, it is not clear why Jimenez lost control of his car and crashed. There are several unanswered questions here. What kind of car was he driving? Was there a vehicle defect or a mechanical malfunction? Was there a dangerous condition on the roadway that may have caused or contributed to this fatal car accident? Was he under the influence? Did he suffer a medical condition? Was there another vehicle involved in this accident?

Liability in Car Accidents

The answers to these questions will help determine who or what may have caused this fatal car crash. In such cases, it would be in the best interest of family members to seek the counsel of an experienced Los Angeles car accident lawyer who will be able to determine whether there were any negligent parties here. In cases where there was negligence or wrongdoing involved, families of deceased car accident victims may be able to file wrongful death claims to recover compensation for funeral expenses, loss of earnings and other related damages. If a dangerous condition on the roadway caused the crash, the family could have a claim against the city or the governmental agency responsible for maintaining that roadway. Any such claim against a governmental entity must be filed within 180 days of the accident or injury.

Dana Inman, 59, was killed in a California car accident on July 26, 2009 after he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed in San Bernardino County. According to a report by the San Bernardino County Medical Examiner's Office, Inman was driving a 2004 white Ford F-150 pickup truck north on State Route 247 near Eureka Road in Landers at an unknown rate of speed. He apparently veered to the right on a long sweeping curve and went off the roadway. Then, as he attempted to correct the steering, the truck rolled over. Inman was ejected during the rollover crash and landed on the asphalt. He was pronounced dead at the scene, California Highway Patrol officials said. Read the rest of this entry »

The problem with old and aging defective tires is that they can look just as good as new. You would never know the difference until rubber meets the road. Older tires are prone to tire tread separation and tire failure and even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has declared "tire aging" a serious issue. About 85 percent of tire-related car accidents involve tires that were at least six years old, according to the federal agency.

Now AB 496 by Assemblyman Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) is requiring tire dealers to disclose the age of the tire before selling it. We have expiry dates on almost every food product we consume -- from milk and beer to baby food. Why shouldn't tires be included? The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) is lobbying to get this bill passed and I'm 100 percent behind them. There is no question that letting consumers know how old a tire is and creating awareness about the danger of old and defective tires, will save numerous lives. Read the rest of this entry »

Valeria Atondo, a 17-year-old girl, was killed in a San Diego car accident the afternoon of May 7, 2009, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The incident began on the northbound 5 Freeway when the driver of a Toyota Corolla lost control for unknown reasons and hit the median wall, California Highway Patrol officials said. The Toyota apparently bounced off the median wall and struck a Ford Mustang, which sent the Toyota spinning, causing it to hit a Ford Ranger. Atondo, who was a passenger in the Ranger's front seat, was ejected. She died shortly after the San Diego car accident at the UCSD Medical Center. Another passenger in the Ranger suffered an injured wrist. No one else was personally injured in this three-car accident.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of young Valeria Atondo for their tragic and untimely loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were 84 deaths and 6,516 injuries involving car accidents in the city of San Diego. In San Diego County as a whole, there were 268 fatalities and 14,641 injuries as a result of car accidents in 2007.

This newspaper report does not say that Valeria was not wearing her seat belt at the time of the car crash. Her family would be well advised to consult with experienced California car product defect attorneys who will be able to look into whether seat belt defects caused Valeria Atondo to get ejected from the Ranger and suffer the fatal personal injuries.

Seatbelt defects are unfortunately all too common. Seat restraint systems could fail in many ways. A number of side release belts are prone to false latching and many end-release belts are prone to unlatching during car collisions. At Bisnar | Chase, we have seen numerous cases of seat belt failure involving seat belt mounts, buckles, webbing and grabbers.

Traffic investigators, in several car accident cases where the victim is ejected, tend to assume that the driver or vehicle occupant was not wearing their seat belt. But an expert looking for signs of seat belt use will be able to correct or confirm such assumptions. Skilled California seat belt defect attorneys will also have the body of the ejected person carefully examined for evidence of seat belt bruising or marking. Product defect law firms that have access to leading experts will also have the webbing microscopically examined for marks, blood stains or other indicators that would prove that the seat belt was in use at the time of the car crash.

Car defect attorneys have noted a Jaguar recall. Jaguar will recall about 15,000 of its 2004 XJ models because of concerns about a possible condition that could lead to a defective braking system and result in a car accident. According to a report in Consumeraffairs.com, company officials said that a noise reduction pad fitted to the under tray could contribute to a build-up of water and dirt, which could cause corrosion of the brake pipes. That could in turn, lead to the braking circuits failing, possibly causing a complete loss of braking.

When the car recall begins later this month, dealers will remove the pad and inspect the brake pipes for any rust and/or corrosion, free of charge. If you own one of these recalled vehicles and have questions, please call Jaguar at 1-800-452-4827. You may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 1-888-327-4236 for more information about this product recall.

I'm glad that Jaguar decided to recall these defective cars to rectify the potential dangerous issue with the brakes. Brake defects are extremely serious because we depend on our car's brakes to be able to stop. If the brakes fail or do not functions as they are supposed to, then the chances for a car accident increase exponentially. The sudden lack of braking function could lead to a catastrophic crash. Hundreds are killed in California each year because of defective brakes with problems that include premature lock-up, ABS failures, brake-line defects or brake fluid leaks. Corrosion of the brake pipes, as in the case of these defective Jaguars, can also lead to brake failure.

Many people in the United States are also seriously injured because of defective parking brakes. In fact, Bisnar | Chase is spearheading a $350-million car product defect class action lawsuit against General Motors on behalf of a Texas law firm. The lawsuit alleges that GM installed defective emergency brakes in several models of GM trucks and sport utility vehicles. For more information, about this class action lawsuit, please read this defective emergency brake lawsuit post.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed as a result of a defectively manufactured or defectively designed car product, please contact a reputed California car product defect law firm with the resources to have the crashed cars analyzed by experts for evidence of product defects or mechanical malfunctions. It is the responsibility of car manufacturers to design and make a safe product for consumers. When they don't fulfill that responsibility, it is the consumer who suffers the tragic consequences.

Team-Tex America is recalling certain Babyride Infant child restraint systems (Model 374199) because the belt routing label with the "horizontal reference line" is incorrectly placed on the child restraint system. According to a report in the Auto Channel, these improperly routed belts could result in personal injury to the child during a crash. These defective child car seats were manufactured on December 18, 2008. Team-Tex has said that it will notify owners and mail labels along with instructions for proper placement of the label. This safety recall is expected to begin later this month. Anyone in need of more information is asked to contact Team-Tex at 1-877-912-1313.

Hundreds of children die each year in the United States because the child car seats are not properly placed in the vehicle. When that happens, children are not protected in the event of a car crash. But that said, any child car seat is still better than no car seat at all. Car seats save young lives just as seatbelts save thousands of lives each day in the United States. However, when these child car seats have defective parts, misleading information or mislabeling, then it becomes tough for parents to protect their children in the event of an car accident.

Defective baby seats have led to numerous personal injuries and deaths during traffic collisions and the manufacturers who produce such defective products must be held liable. Some of the product defects that may occur in baby seats include loose shoulder straps, flimsy parts, lack of proper pelvic protection, which allows the child to slide down in the seat during a car accident.
If your child has been injured or killed as a result of a defective child car seat, you should consult aggressive California product defect lawyers, who will protect your legal rights and recover the maximum monetary compensation for your losses. At Bisnar | Chase, our goal is not just recovering money, but also to right a wrong and help facilitate a process where manufacturers are forced to improve the quality of the products they design and make. We want to remind them that safety is not an option. It should be their top priority.