California Personal Injury Attorneys

Robert Valle, 22, sustained major injuries in a San Bernardino car accident after the vehicle in which he was a passenger was struck by a suspected drunk driver, the Victorville Daily Press reports. The injury collision occurred early morning on August 16, 2010 at the intersection of Sheep Creek and Nielson roads in Wrightwood. A Pontiac Grand Am, driven by 23-year-old Kala White made a left turn in front of a Chevy Tahoe that was traveling north on Sheep Creek. The driver of the Tahoe, 46-year-old Carmen Melendrez, another adult passenger and two children also sustained minor injuries. White fled the scene of the crash. She was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and felony hit-and-run. Read the rest of this entry »

Linda Saunders, 55, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after she was struck by a vehicle on the 210 Freeway in La Canada. According to a news report in the La Canada Valley Sun, the fatal accident occurred the morning of July 27, 2010 near Ocean View Boulevard, when Saunders stepped out of her stopped car on to the freeway. Read the rest of this entry »

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.