California Personal Injury Blog

Two Women File Class Action Lawsuit Over Cancer Link to Breast Implants

Two women have filed a class action lawsuit against breast implant manufacturer Allergan over its recalled Biocell breast implants, which have been linked to a rare form of cancer. According to a news report, the women said in the lawsuit that it cost them tens of thousands of dollars to get the implants in the first place and then get them removed out of fear of developing BIA-ALCL, a rare cancer linked to these specific types of textured implants. …Read the rest »

Lyft Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Driver Employment Status

Lyft is facing a class action lawsuit that targets the alleged widespread and deliberate misclassification of its drivers as independent contractors. According to Jalopnik.com, the lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California by representatives of Lyft driver Donald J. Brunner Jr. of Burbank who has driven full-time for Lyft since March 2016. The lawsuit states Brunner has worked 42 to 70 hours per week on the platform since logging 500 to 1,100 miles per week. The suit alleges he and other drivers were deprived of reimbursed expenses, overtime and minimum wage among other rights employees have under the law. …Read the rest »

Here Are a Few Common Products Linked to Most Traumatic Brain Injuries in Kids

Traumatic brain injuries among children and teens in the United States are most often linked to everyday consumer products and activities such as home furnishings and fixtures or sports, according to a new study published in the journal Brain Injury. The study says about 72 percent of traumatic brain injury-related emergency department visits among children are attributable to consumer products. The study found that the top 10 leading products contributing to non-fatal traumatic brain injuries in children younger than a year to 19 years old are floors, beds, football, stairs, bicycles, basketballs, ceilings and walls, chairs, soccer and tables. …Read the rest »

San Diego is Cracking Down on Segways Due to Personal Injury Payouts

The city of San Diego is cracking down on Segway companies after a $1.7 million payout last year to a rider injured in La Jolla and a separate wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a crash in Old Town. According to a news report, the city plans to require local Segway tour companies to follow new safety procedures, obtain comprehensive liability insurance and indemnify the city against any potential lawsuits. …Read the rest »

Center for Auto Safety Calls on Rideshare Companies to Stop Using Recalled Vehicles

The Center for Auto Safety announced this week that it sent a letter to CEOs of rideshare companies including Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via, demanding that they remove recalled vehicles from their platforms. The center is a non-profit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. Uber and Lyft have the ability to remove recalled vehicles from their platforms at the push of a button, said Jason Levine, the center’s executive director. He said these corporations that claim to be “technology companies” refuse to use that technology to take this obvious step to decrease the danger to drivers and passengers from vehicles that haven’t been repaired for safety defects. …Read the rest »

Trump Administration Moves to Relax Truck Driver Hours of Service Rules

The Trump administration is now a step closer to relaxing federal hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers, which govern the amount of time truckers can spend behind the wheel, Detroit News reports. While this is a move that has been long sought by the trucking industry, it has been vociferously opposed by safety advocates who warn it could lead to more devastating big rig accidents. …Read the rest »

Ford Cars Recalled for Seatbelts That Could Fail

More than100, 000 Ford cars are being recalled because of seatbelts that could fail to work properly during a crash. According to a news report, Ford issued a safety recall for select 2015 Ford Fusion and 2015 Lincoln MKZ vehicles for an issue involving seatbelt anchor pretensioners. In the vehicles that are affected, increased temperatures generated during deployment of the driver of front-passenger seatbelt pretensioner could degrade the tensile strength of the cable below the level that is required to restrain an occupant. …Read the rest »

Awning Covers Distributed by Costco and SunSetter Recalled After Death and Injuries

Motorized awning covers distributed by SunSetter and Costco Wholesale are being recalled after a 73-year-old man died when one operated unexpectedly, knocking him off a ladder. According to a news report, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall for Vinyl SunSetter Motorized Awnings after getting 14 reports of incidents including one report of a death and six reports of injuries. …Read the rest »

Technology to Prevent Child Hot Car Deaths Should Be Available in All Vehicles

Technology that could easily prevent tragic child hot car deaths is already available, but it just hasn’t been installed in all vehicles, according to an NBC news report. Earlier this month, Hyundai Motor Group, which has optional ultrasonic rear-seat sensors in two of its most popular family cars, announced it would expand the number of SUVs in which it offers the option. This feature, which essentially sounds a loud alarm, when a child is left in the rear seat of the vehicle, provides an extra layer of protection against what many parents believe could happen to them. …Read the rest »

Lawsuit Says Middle School Student Suffered Brain Damage After Bullying Incident

A California woman is suing a Los Angeles school district claiming that her son was left with permanent brain and spinal injuries after another student choked him during a bullying incident last year, which was caught on video. According to an NBC news report, the mother said her son, 12 years old at the time, was a sixth-grader at Animo Westside Charter Middle School. The lawsuit states the boy was “brutally assaulted and strangled” in January 2018 by a 14-year-old who allegedly had been violent toward other students, according to a lawsuit filed Monday, Aug. 12, in Los Angeles Superior Court. …Read the rest »