Two Fatalities at 14th and Sedgwick in Riverside

Very early Monday morning a hit-and-run driver ran a red light in Riverside, striking a car and killing both of its occupants.  According to the Press Enterprise, the accident happened at about 12:30 a.m. when a truck heading west on 14th Street ran the stoplight at Sedgwick Avenue.  The truck crashed into a Saturn, killing the front seat passenger instantly.  The driver of the car was taken to Riverside Community Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.  The driver of the truck ran from the scene, and he is described as Hispanic, 5-foot-8 and about 200 pounds with a shaved head, mustache and tattoos up and down his arms and neck.  Anyone with information should contact the Riverside Police Department at (951) 826-5700.

What To Do If You're In a Hit-and-Run Accident

If you fall victim to a hit-and-run driver, the sooner you contact the police the better the chances they will be able to identify the driver.  While you may not be able to take accident scene photographs immediately following a collision, you should accomplish this as soon as you are able.  Sometimes pictures of debris left behind, and the actual debris itself, will go a long way to identifying the type and color of the vehicle involved.  That information can often be used to track down the accident vehicle and its driver.  It is rare the hit-and-run driver's vehicle will be abandoned at the scene, as it was in the case above.  Needless to say, it is likely a matter of time before the driver involved in the Riverside crash is found and arrested.

Wrongful Death Claims

The tragic accident above has left two people dead and their families heartbroken.  No amount of compensation can ever undo the harm, but civil justice is just one way we can bring closure for the survivors.  The right to compensation has been recognized in the law for quite some time.  One of its main purposes is to deter people from careless accidents that cause a death.  Prior to creation of the wrong death statute in California, the claim for the injury to the victim simply disappeared when the victim died.  Recognizing the unfairness of this scenario, the State legislature enacted the wrongful death law to make sure that careless people would be held accountable and surviving family members would be compensated.

If a family member has been killed in a hit-and-run accident, you should contact a wrongful death attorney to find out more about your rights.

SOURCE:    RIVERSIDE: Two killed in hit-and-run crash, Press Enterprise, April 29, 2013, by John Asbury

Overtime Pay and Rest/Meal Periods - Know Your Rights

In this economy, employers seem more prone than ever to take advantage of their workers, especially when it comes to compensation and work hours.  It is not uncommon for employers to require their employees to work their shifts without the legally required rest and meal periods.  Beyond this, some employers will go so far as to make their employees work more than 8 hours a day or more than 40 hours per week, and refuse to pay them overtime.  These practices are against the law, and violations entitle the employee to compensation.

California Law Requires Rest and Meal Periods

In general, an employer in California is required to provide a meal period of at least 30 minutes for their employees, when the employee works five or more hours for the day.  Additionally, for every four hours worked, the employer must provide a 10 minute rest period.  Any failure to provide for these rest and meal periods will entitle the worker to a one-hour payment for each day there is a violation.  Over the course of a long-term employment, these violations can add up to a substantial penalty for the employer and quite a bit of compensation for the employee.

  

Overtime Pay and Penalties

Under California law, if a nonexempt employee is required to work more than 8 hours per day or more than 40 hours in a week, the employer must pay their worker 1 1/2 times their usual rate of pay for every overtime hour.  If this is brought to the employer's attention, and they still refuse to pay what is owed, the employee may bring a civil action to recover the overtime pay, plus reasonable attorney's fees.  There are additional penalties that can also be recovered, including a doubling of the overtime pay owed.  Beyond this, if the mistreatment by the employer is because of the employee's race, religion, nationality, etc., then a discrimination suit may be pursued as well, under the rules of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

If your employer or former employer has denied you rest/meal periods or overtime pay, you may want to seek the advice of an Orange County attorney who can help you recover compensation.  

Driver Hits Bus and Restaurant in Orange County

A family of three was sent to the hospital after an SUV crashed into them while seated at an Orange County restaurant.  According to KTLA/Los Angeles Times, the accident happened yesterday afternoon at the Big K's Burgers on 1st Street in Santa Ana.  The three victims, a man, woman and their 5-year-old daughter, were taken to a local hospital where all were  listed in stable condition.  The driver of the vehicle, reportedly a 57-year-old man with a number of medical issues, is not expected to be charged with any crime.  The accident was captured on video.

The Cause of This Accident

In the surveillance video of the accident, the SUV can be seen clipping the rear of a school bus as it begins a turning maneuver in the middle of the lane.  The vehicle continues what appears to be a u-turn and then crashes into the front of the restaurant and up on top of a table.  While the precise cause of the drivers actions are unknown, if he was having some sort of medical issue at the time of the turn, a jury might not find him liable for the accident.  However, he would also have to prove that he could not have anticipated the medical issue happening while he was behind the wheel.

California Insurance Law

In the accident above, the injuries and damages sustained by the family should be compensated by the driver of the SUV's insurance carrier.  However, one way insurance companies attempt to avoid their responsibility is by claiming the driver caused the accident willfully, or on purpose.  In California, if someone willfully runs down a pedestrian there is no coverage, but if a driver runs a victim down negligently then insurance has to pay.  The "willful acts exclusion" is found in California Insurance Code Section 533.

Hiring a personal injury attorney after an Orange County accident is often the most important step toward obtaining compensation for your injuries and damages.

SOURCE:  SUV slams into Santa Ana restaurant, injuring family eating lunch, Los Angeles Times, LA Now, by Kate Mather

Lawmakers Criticize California Medical Board

Last week a letter from California lawmakers to the State's Medical Board implored the agency to do a better job of monitoring doctors and the quality of care they provide.  According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the Board was even threatened with dissolution unless "significant progress" was demonstrated in terms of protecting patients from dangerous doctors.  If the legislative committee charged with overseeing the Board does not "receive firm commitments from the board" showing significant progress in these and other areas, the agency may be dissolved as of January 1, 2014.

The Medical Board Standards

What this letter from State lawmakers says about the protection of patients in California is, to say the least, unsettling.  Doctors who pose a significant threat to the public are being allowed to continue practicing medicine, heightening the risk of injury and death to their patients.  The standards by which doctors are measured in a Medical Board action requires egregious misconduct before discipline can be imposed.  In spite of this, far too many physicians are actually breaching these standards and suffering no consequences.  More specifically, in a Medical Board action the physician must commit “gross negligence”, and there must be “clear and convincing evidence to a reasonable certainty”.  Under the law, "gross negligence" consists of a lack of even scant care or an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct.  What the legislative committee above has found is that even though these standards are being breached, doctors are not being disciplined.

Medical Negligence Cases in California

Absent the Medical Board ensuring a minimum level of competence in the profession, medical malpractice suits might seem like a way to maintain a certain quality of medical practice.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The reality is that physicians are put on a pedestal by jurors, and verdicts against doctors are an extreme rarity.  For example, in Orange County physicians who are sued by their patients prevail in more than 90% of the cases filed against them.  Even where the evidence is overwhelming, malpractice insurers refuse to settle claims, and juries almost never hold doctors accountable.  Undeniably deserving patients are sent away with nothing, and incompetent doctors continue practicing with impunity.  

If you or a family member have been harmed by medical neglect, you should do all you can to ensure the responsible physician is held accountable.  Bringing these tragic stories to the attention of key lawmakers (Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., and Assemblyman Rich Gordon) might just give victims in California a chance to be heard.

Contact an Orange County malpractice attorney to find out more about your rights.

SOURCE:  Legislators threaten to kill state medical board, Los Angeles Times, Local, April 11, 2013, by  Lisa Girion and Scott Glover

Head-On Collision On Laguna Canyon Proves Fatal

A head-on collision in Orange County resulted in the deaths of two people early Tuesday morning.  According to KTLA news, the accident happened in Laguna Beach on Laguna Canyon Road at about 6:40 a.m.  The driver of a Tesla, Dr. Robert M. Pettis, apparently veered into oncoming traffic and hit a Honda Accord head on.  Pettis suffered only minor injuries, but both occupants of the Honda were killed.  According to the news report, there was some sort of an incident between Pettis and the driver of a Mercedes Benz which may have led to Pettis crossing the roadway into opposing traffic.

Assessing Liability Will Likely Be Challenging

Whenever a "mystery" vehicle is alleged to have caused an accident, there will be skeptics.  In the case above, the police have asked the driver of the Mercedes to turn himself in so that he can explain his version of the incident.  Absent that driver identifying himself or being found in some other fashion (such as through the use of video taken in the area), there will have to be strong physical evidence to corroborate Pettis' story of how the accident happened.  For example, if it is the doctor's  claim that the Mercedes made contact with the Tesla, forcing the Tesla into oncoming traffic, then there should be physical evidence such as a paint transfer mark or other evidence of an impact that cannot be explained from the collision with the Honda.  From the news report, it appears this accident happened in or near a curve, and the last thing a driver would want to do in that area is cross into the opposing lane since oncoming traffic may not be easily seen.

Joint and Several Liability

Even assuming Pettis can establish there was indeed another vehicle involved, he may still face liability if the whole incident arose from some sort of mutual road rage/race incident.  If the negligence of two people combine (in a "concert of action") to cause an accident, and it is not clear which one is mostly at fault, both are equally responsible for the innocent victim's injuries and damages.  The concert of action theory of tort liability has been applied in the "drag race" and like cases, although it is generally referred to as the rule of theSummers vs. Tice decision by the California Supreme Court.  Subsequent cases have held that inciting and encouraging one another to drive at a fast and reckless rate of speed is sufficient to support joint and several liability of both drivers, including the defendant whose car did not strike the injured party.

If you or a family member has been injured or killed in a multi-vehicle accident like the one above, a personal injury attorney with more than two decades of experience may be able to help recover the deserved compensation.  Complex accidents with reconstruction and forensic issues are best left in the hands of auto accident lawyers who deal with such cases routinely.

SOURCE:  2 Killed in Head-On Crash in Laguna Beach, KTLA News, April 3, 2013, by Kellan Connor