Category: Personal Injury

New research shows that instead of being a safe alternative to smoking, vaping or e-cigarette use may actually be an enticing gateway to cigarettes for some teens. According to a HealthDay news report, researchers found that among teens who said they had no intention to ever smoke, those who vaped were more than four times more likely to eventually try cigarettes. That, experts said, suggests that e-cigarettes can predispose kids to tobacco use, possibly by fueling a craving for nicotine. …Read the rest »

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed over the drowning of “Glee” actress Naya Rivera, who died this summer while boating with her 4-year-old son on a lake in Ventura County. According to an Associated Press news report, the lawsuit, filed on behalf of Rivera’s son and his father (Rivera’s ex-husband), blames Ventura County and managers of Lake Piru for Rivera’s death on July 8. …Read the rest »

A Norwalk Superior Court judge has approved a $28 million settlement that the city of Whittier has agreed to pay 19 family members of 61-year-old Margarita Mojarro who was killed by a falling 80-foot tree during her daughter’s 2016 wedding party in Penn Park. According to Whittier Daily News, there was no opposition to the settlement from Stephanie Oviatt, the photographer’s assistant who has filed her own lawsuit against the city, or from West Coast Arborists who were on contract with the city to inspect and trim trees at Penn Park. The arborist is also being sued by the city and 19 family members. …Read the rest »

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has demonstrated how a specific assessment of the eye could potentially help properly diagnose and monitor concussions. According to a report, the findings were published this month in JAMA Ophthalmology. In what was the first study of its kind, the research term showed that quantitative pupillary light reflex metrics, which determines how the pupil responds to light and are obtained by using a hand-held device, could be used to differentiate adolescent athletes who suffered from a concussion from healthy adolescents. …Read the rest »

A new study from Henry Ford Health System’s Sports Medicine Research found that high school athletes in several sports are more at risk for concussions than previously recognized. According to a news report, the study also found that teens involved in sports need more time to recover from concussions than previously thought. The study’s results were published in Orthopedics, which is a nationally recognized, peer-reviewed journal for orthopedic surgeons. …Read the rest »

The widow of Los Angeles Lakers superstar, Kobe Bryant, has sued a second helicopter company stemming from the crash in Calabasas in January that killed her husband, daughter Gianna, and seven others. According to a report in The Orange County Register, the lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant alleges that the Santa Ana firm’s owner suggested the route for the ill-fated flight and should have aborted it given the foggy conditions that day. The helicopter, a 1991 Sikorsky S76B piloted by Zobayan, crashed amid heavy fog on Jan. 26 on a Calabasas hillside, killing Zobayan and his eight passengers, including the 41-year-old Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. …Read the rest »

Injuries and deaths associated with what are known as “micromobility products” such as e-scooters, hoverboards and e-bikes are on the rise, according to a new report released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The report says there were about 133,000 emergency room visits associated with all micromobility products from 2017 through 2019. …Read the rest »

Kelly Kaneko, a former volunteer at Los Angeles Animal Services, has filed a lawsuit against the agency after a dog attack that left her injured. According to a news report, the incident occurred in the city’s North Central Shelter on Oct. 31, 2019, when a German Shepherd named Jax attacked her. This is also the same shelter where animal care technician Priscilla Romero was mauled by a pit bull back in January 2017. …Read the rest »

An Uber driver suspected of holding a woman against her will and then sexually assaulting her in Santa Ana was arrested and held in custody. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Jason Humberto Rodas, 30, of Garden Grove, was assigned to pick up a 51-year-old woman and drive her to her workplace early morning on Sept. 9. Santa Ana police said Rodas told the victim midway through the trip that he would not charge her for the ride, and then began to ask her questions about her sex life. …Read the rest »

After Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shared graphic photos from the helicopter crash that killed Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others in Calabasas, the California Senate has approved a bill that would make it a crime for first responders to take pictures of dead people for reasons other than official investigations. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the bill, which had previously been approved by the Assembly, must next be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. …Read the rest »