California Personal Injury Law Firm

Santa Rosa Injury Lawyers | Electric Motorcycle Designer Killed in Crash

August 31st, 2010
electric motorcycle
An electric motorcycle designed by Matt Dieckmann. (Photo courtesy ClutchandChrome.com)

A 29-year-old Santa Rosa entrepreneur whose passion was developing electric motorcycles was killed while riding one of his prototypes in his hometown on Monday.

The fatal motorcycle accident occurred at 10:40 a.m., according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, when Matthew Deickmann collided with a Toyota Prius driven by 71-year-old Gilbert Dorame, also of Santa Rosa, at a major intersection near the Coddington Mall.

Authorites have not yet determined who was at fault in the deadly crash, according to Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Doug Schlief.

Dieckmann was riding one of his Electric Racing Bikes east on West Steele Lane as he approached Range Avenue; Dorame was heading west on the same street. Witnesses said the light was green for both drivers as they approached the intersection from opposite directions, according to the Press Democrat report.

At that point, what happened is not known for sure. The Clutch and Chrome motorcycle enthusiast website points out that there have been conflicting media reports. Some reports, such as the Press Democrat, state that Dorame had already started to make a left turn onto Range Avenue and was in the intersection when Dieckmann crashed into the passenger side of the Prius. Other reports, such as ABC Channel 7 News, state that Dorame turned left into the path of the motorcycle.

Dieckmann died at the scene. Dorame was not injured.

Police closed the intersection for about five hours and are continuing to investigate the accident. Schlief said neither alcohol nor speeding was a factor.

The spot where Dieckmann was killed is about a mile from the street where his mother was killed in 2007 in a bicycle accident. A recycling truck driver turned into her path and struck her, police said. She was 47.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in car accident fatality, fatal crash, motorcycle accident fatality, motorcycle accidents | Comments Off

Los Angeles Injury Lawyers | Gary Busey Plays Good Samaritan at Car Accident

August 30th, 2010
(Photo: Wikipedia | Creative Commons)
(Photo: Wikipedia | Creative Commons)

“Lethal Weapon” star Gary Busey — who suffered a skull fracture and traumatic brain injury in a 1988 motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet — dropped his wild-man image last week and came to the rescue at a car accident in Malibu, California.

Malibu police said Busey witnessed two cars colliding on Pacific Coast Highway and rushed to help, according to TMZ and many other sources. The Oscar-nominated actor (”The Buddy Holly Story,” 1978) immediately jumped into the role of Good Samaritan, aiding an injured man and getting an onlooker to call 911 (listen to the call below).

Then Busey helped to slow traffic to keep the people involved in the accident out of harm’s way from oncoming vehicles. He stayed with the injured victim until paramedics arrived to treat him. 

Listen to the 911 call, courtesy of TMZ:

What to do if you witness a car accident:

  • Immediately call 911. Do not try to do anything else until you make this call.
  • Pull over to the right when it is safe and stop your vehicle.
  • Stay out of harm’s way. Do not get out of your car unless you are sure it is safe to do so.
  • If someone appears to be injured and it is safe to get out of your car and to approach the victims, let them know help is on the way.
  • Do not move the victims. Moving an injured person can turn a minor injury into a serious one.
  • When authorities arrive, give them your name and contact information.
  • Make notes about what you personally saw in case you are called upon later to provide information.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving traumatic brain injury.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in auto accident | Comments Off

Riverside Motorcycle Accident Lawyers | Carpool Lane Cutoff Causes Fatal Crash

August 30th, 2010

MotorcycleCrashA 59-year-old motorcyclist was killed Saturday after a car cut him off to try to get into the carpool lane in Moreno Valley, California.

The fatal motorcycle accident occurred at around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday on on westbound Highway 60, also known as the Moreno Valley Freeway. Albert Jackson Welch of Moreno Valley was riding a 1990 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic in the carpool lane when a 1999 Daewoo Leganza traveling about 50 mph crossed over the double yellow lines into the carpool lane directly in front of the motorcyclist, according to a Southwest Riverside News Network report.

CHP spokeswoman Sylvia Vargas said Welch applied the brakes, but the front tire of his motorcycle struck the left rear portion of car’s bumper. He was thrown off of his motorcycle and onto the highway. Paramedics rushed him to Riverside County Regional Medical Center, but his injuries proved to be fatal. Hospital officials pronounced the motorcyclist dead at 1:41 p.m. 

According to the CHP, the Daewoo that cut off the motorcyclist to get into the carpool lane was driven by 38-year-old Stephanie A. Clation, also a Moreno Valley resident. She may be charged with misdemeanor manslaughter, according to a report in the Desert Sun.

Around half of all fatal motorcycle crashes involve a collision with another vehicle, according to the latest National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. In those crashes, 78 percent of motorcycles involved were struck from the front.

The greatest number of motorcycle fatalities occur in Florida (530 deaths per year), California (495 deaths per year) and Texas (375 deaths per year).

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in aggressive driving, fatal crash, fatal injuries, motorcycle accidents | Comments Off

Salinas Truck Accident Lawyers | Unsafe Lane Change Causes Fatal Big Rig Crash

August 30th, 2010

truckA San Leandro man carrying a load of broccoli from Salinas to Oakland was killed Friday when his big rig overturned on Highway 1 near Gilroy.

The truck accident occurred just after midnight on Highway 101 at the Sargent Road overcrossing, according to reports in the Monterey County Herald and Hollister Freelance.

The 65-year-old driver, Manuel Palma, was heading northbound in a 2005 International tractor-trailer when he made an unsafe lane change. He apparently lost control of his truck, which crashed into the metal guard rail on the east side of the highway and continued to move along the guardrail.

California Highway Patrol officer Jaime Rios told the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian the driver may have over-corrected after the big rig went off the right shoulder. That caused the truck to slide across the roadway, where the cab separated from the trailer. The truck overturned and came to rest on the highway.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The wreck blocked the northbound lanes of the highway between Betabel Road and Highway 25 for more than nine hours.

“We had to take a lot of time on this because of the weight of the load,” Rios said. “All of the broccoli had to be off-loaded.”

The truck and broccoli combined weighed 80,000 pounds. It took three heavy-duty tow rigs working together to move the overturned trailer back into an upright position. Caltrans crews also had to repair the damaged guardrail before the road could again be opened.

CHP officials have not yet determined whether drugs and alcohol were involved in the fatal crash, which is still under investigation.

“For the sake of the family we want to take every measure to conduct a full investigation as to what happened,” Rios said. Anyone with information about the accident is urged to call the CHP Hollister/Gilroy office at 408-848-2324.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving motor vehicle accident injuries and fatalities.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in fatal crash, fatal injuries, truk accident | Comments Off

California Accident Lawyers | CDC Says Car Wrecks Cost $99 Billion a Year

August 29th, 2010

crashcostsMotor vehicle accidents cost at least $99 billion a year in medical care and productivity losses, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s at least $500 for every licensed driver in the United States.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the price tag is actually more than double that — $230.6 billion — if you consider higher insurance premiums, taxes and travel delays caused by crashes, according to the Oakland Tribune.

The CDC study, published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention, breaks down the costs for accidents in 2005, which is the latest data available, according to the CDC.

The breakdown shows costs of $70 billion a year for car crashes, $12 billion for motorcycle accidents, $10 billion for pedestrian injuries and fatalities, and $5 billion for bicycle accidents.

Dr. Grant Baldwin, director of CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, says the costs are “staggering.”

“Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, and nearly 40,000 people die from these injuries each year,” Baldwin said in a statement. “This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of crash-related injuries from a cost perspective, and the numbers are staggering.”

The cost in human lives is, of course, incalculable, but in terms of dollars, fatalities cost $58 billion, hospitalizations cost $28 billion and trips to the emergency room cost $14 billion nationwide every year.

The CDC says these costs could be significantly lowered if more states cracked down with tough laws on seatbelt usage, using cell phones while driving, and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

California’s “click it or ticket” seatbelt campaign is one example of a safety program having a major impact on injury prevention, according to the Tribune. Nearly 96 percent of California drivers and their passengers now use seatbelts; average seat belt use nationwide is 83 percent. The state Office of Traffic Safety estimates that 1,300 lives a year have been saved by seatbelt usage in California since 2005.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving motor vehicle accident injuries and fatalities.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in auto accident, bicycle accident lawyers, car accident fatality, distracted driving, drinking and driving, driving safety, driving under the influence, fatal injuries, pedestrian accident | Comments Off

Fresno Accident Lawyers | CHP Finds Flask in SUV That Caused Fatal Bus Crash

August 29th, 2010

busUPDATE: California Highway Patrol investigators found an alcohol flask in the wreckage of an SUV that caused a fatal Greyhound bus crash on July 22 in Fresno. Now they want to find out who provided the booze for the minor driver in that drunk driving accident.

[See previous post: Fresno Accident Lawyers | Greyhound Bus Crash Kills 6, Injures 34]

According to an Associated Press report, the CHP found the crushed metal flask that smelled of alcohol in the wrecked Chevy Trailblazer that made an abrupt left turn across the northbound lanes of Highway 99, hit the center divider, and rolled over.

A Greyhound bus was not able to avoid crashing into the SUV. The bus driver, 57-year-old James Jewett of Sacramento, was killed, along with two other passengers. The SUV driver, 18-year-old Sylvia Garay, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the SUV and died at the scene, according to the AP report. Her two passengers, 20-year-old Stephanie Cordoba and 19-year-old Vanessa Gonzalez also were killed.

Garay’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. Cordoba also had alcohol in her system.

CHP investigators sought a search warrant to confiscate the flask and Garay’s cell phone in order to find out who provided the alcohol to the minors. All three of them had gone to Starline, a nightclub where customers ages 18 to 21 could enter but not drink alcohol, according to the Fresno Bee. Friends and family members say Garay had started drinking earlier in the evening, at a friend’s birthday party. Cordoba’s mother told the Bee that several of her daughter’s girlfriends said people at that party who were over 21 bought the alcohol.

“Sylvia Garay’s cellular telephone will contain evidence leading to the subject(s) who provided the alcoholic beverages to the underage individuals, thus contributing to the deaths of the three individuals,” search warrant documents said.

No one knows why Gonzales, a strict Mormon who had not been drinking, didn’t drive the SUV that night.

The CHP investigation is still pending.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving drunk driving fatalities.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in bus accident, drinking and driving, fatal crash, teen drivers | Comments Off

San Francisco Accident Lawyers | Unlicensed SUV Driver Injures 5 at Bus Stop

August 25th, 2010

sf-muniFive people suffered major injuries Tuesday when an unlicensed driver lost control of an SUV and crashed into a group of people waiting for a bus in San Francisco.

The pedestrian accident occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m in the city’s hilly Visitacion Valley district, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The driver — 24-year-old Erika Acosta-Delgadillo – was in a Ford Explorer, heading south down a hill on San Bruno Avenue when she lost control of the vehicle. She later told police she applied the brakes but they did not work. Police said she also was unable to steer the vehicle.

The Explorer careened down the hill, crossed over into the northbound lanes, jumped the sidewalk and crashed into five people who were waiting in a shaded area in front of an apartment building near a Muni bus shelter, police said. (Temperatures had reached a record high of almost 100 degrees that day.)

A resident of the apartment building, 19-year-old Ralph Espinoza, said the Explorer pinned a woman against his minivan, which was parked in a car port. The woman was critically injured. The other four victims — three women and a man — were rushed to San Francisco General Hospital. One of them also was listed as critical, while the other three were in serious condition, according to hospital officials.

All of the victims remained in the hospital Wednesday, but some of them were improving, officials said. Only one patient remains in critical condition; three others are in serious condition, and one is in fair condition.

Police impounded the vehicle so it could be inspected for malfunctions by an outside expert.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving pedestrian injuries and fatalities.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , ,
Posted in auto accident, major injuries, pedestrian accident | Comments Off

Santa Barbara Truck Accident Lawyers | Big Rig Crushes House, Kills 3

August 24th, 2010

A runaway big rig flew off California State Highway 154 in Santa Barbara on Tuesday and landed on a house, completely crushing it and killing three people inside.

The deadly truck accident occurred shortly before 7 a.m., when the brakes failed on a double tractor-trailer loaded with 26 tons of gravel. The big rig crashed into four other vehicles on southbound 154 near the Highway 101 junction and then careened off of the freeway and crashed into a house at at 4111 State Street, according to the Santa Maria Times.

Authorities told the Associated Press that after the truck flew off Highway 154, it ran through an intersection and then hit two parked cars before it plunged down the driveway and onto the house.  The house was completely flattened, Santa Barbara County fire Capt. David Sadecki said.

Fire officials initially believed there were four people in the house, but rescue workers recovered only three dead bodies from the wreckage — 23-year-old Leo Leon, his 27-year-old wife Lorena Leon, and their 7-year-old son. Fire crews used dogs to search for other victims in the rubble, but none were found. Sadeki said it was later learned that the fourth person had left the house before the accident.

The truck driver, Joaquin Garcia Morales, suffered only a minor cut on his face.

Sadecki said Morales may have turned toward the houses to try to avoid hitting a nearby hotel. He may not have seen the house, which was below an embankment. It was one of two homes surrounded by storage units; neither were visible from the roadway.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving truck accidents.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in fatal crash, truck accident | Comments Off

Long Beach Injury Lawyers | Three Killed in Illegal Street Race With Stolen Car

August 23rd, 2010
(Photo: Courtesy Long Beach Fire Department)
(Photo: Courtesy Long Beach Fire Department)

Three people were killed early Sunday morning in what police believe was an illegal street race involving a stolen vehicle in Long Beach, California.

The accident occurred just after midnight, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. A black 2003 Ford Mustang driven by 18-year-old Jesus Heredia Calixto and a stolen green 1997 Ford Taurus driven by a 17-year-old boy were speeding — apparently racing — eastbound on Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Massacani said.

The two cars collided near 55th Place, causing the Mustang to spin out of control and crash into a huge stone sign marking the entrance to Long Beach Peninsula. The force of impact threw all three passengers out of the Mustang.

Calixto died at the scene, along with two of his passengers — 32-year-old Candice Ann Bustamante and another woman whose name was not released pending notification of her family. The third passenger, a 19-year-old boy, suffered life-threatening injuries and was still in critical condition on Monday.

The driver of the stolen Taurus and his 17-year-old passenger allegedly fled the scene on foot but were caught by police and immediately arrested. Authorities did not release their names because they are minors.

Local residents who witnessed the aftermath of the accident said the two boys ran away from the scene; one of them sat on the front porch of a nearby apartment complex and was heard saying over and over: “It’s bad. It’s bad. It’s bad.”

Police said one of the boys was found at a nearby 7-Eleven, where he was calling his parents.

People who live near the scene of the grisly crash were horrified, but not surprised. They say illegal street racing is common there. One of them, Lisa Christiansen, has lived there for 22 years and said she often hears cars racing on her street.

“Something like this was inevitable,” she said.

According to the Press-Telegram, residents want the city to install speed bumps to deter racing on their street.

Meanwhile, the accident remains under investigation and the Long Beach Police Department urges anyone with information about it to call Accident Investigations Detail Detective Dave Lauro at 562-570-7355.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving wrongful death.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in auto accident, car accident fatality, fatal crash, illegal street racing, speeding, teen drivers | Comments Off

Anaheim Injury Lawyers | State Won’t Probe Disney ‘Tower of Terror’ Fall

August 19th, 2010

towerofterrorA park visitor was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries after he slipped and fell 25 feet while in line for Disney’s California Adventure “Tower of Terror” attraction Wednesday night, but the state says it won’t investigate because the accident didn’t occur on the ride itself.

Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the 20-year-old man who fell was standing in line with friends on a second-floor staircase platform at about 10:30 p.m. when he “climbed over a barrier to the area below and lost his balance,” according to the Orange County Register.

Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez said the man just put his leg over the rail and joked with his friends that it would be funny if someone fell. Then he lost his footing and became that someone.

Earlier reports had indicated that the man was drunk and fell off the ride, but Martinez said alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Officers took a report but said a police investigation was not required.

The state is required to investigate any time someone is hurt on a ride and requires any medical treatment beyond first aid. But Nancy Medeiros, senior engineer for amusement rides at the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), says the agency doesn’t look into accidents that occur while park guests are waiting in line to get on rides. That means Disney is not required to complete a report, either.

“This type of accident is not required to be reported, because it happened in the queue line and has nothing to do directly with the ride,” Medeiros said in an email to the Register. “It is reportable if something falls off of the ride and hits someone in the queue line, but the accident has to be something to do with the operation of the ride.

The state does complete annual inspections of guardrails and areas where people stand in line, Madeiros said.

The state has received two reports of injuries on the “Tower of Terror” in the last year and a half, according to the Register report, but nvestigators did not find any safety hazards in either case.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving slip and fall injuries.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Bookmark and Share

Tags:
Posted in slip and fall | Comments Off

« Older Entries
Verdicts & Settlements

$6,479,000 Settlement
For a 60-year-old man with spine injury caused by an elevator accident.

$3,100,000 Settlement
Spinal cord injury caused by driver who had only a $30,000 policy.

$2,500,000 Settlement
Spinal cord injury caused by speeding driver with only a $50,000 policy.

See More Results