California Car Accident Reports

Three people sustained injuries in a Los Angeles car accident that involved two drunk drivers the morning of January 23, 2010. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, a car traveling east on Sherman Way was making a U-turn in the 13800 block, when it was hit by an eastbound pickup truck. The car then went on to a curb while the truck collided with a parked SUV. Read the rest of this entry »

Two people have died in an Oregon car accident caused as a result of a head-on collision December 6, 2009, on the Oregon 223 in Polk County. Read the rest of this entry »

It is likely that an issue that is very important to personal injury victims is headed to the California Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal in San Diego recently decided a case, Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, which made a decision that affects the cases of most accident victims. It will turn the tide of past court decisions which have been used by insurance companies to unfairly reduce the compensation paid to accident victims. This is basically a battle over whether accident victims will get the benefit of having the foresight of securing their own health insurance or if defendants and their insurers will get that benefit.
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Nursing home abuse and negligence as well as other elder abuse complaints are severely underreported in California. According to a news report in The Orange County Register and also, based on recent findings from the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, serious deficiencies exist in California's approach to detecting and responding to elder abuse and neglect.
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The JBS Swift Beef Company of Colorado has expanded its beef recall to include 380,000 pounds of assorted beef products for E. coli contamination, according to an article on Consumer Reports' Web site. This expanded recall comes apparently as a result of an ongoing investigation into 24 food poisoning cases in multiple states including California. Eighteen of these incidents appear to be meat-related, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The recalled beef products were produced on April 21 and April 22. They were distributed to retail establishments in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. The names of retailers where this meat was sold has not yet been released. Read the rest of this entry »

Two men -- Shawn Michael Wilson, 35 and Caleb Steele, 30 -- were killed in a fatal Orange County boating accident in Huntington Harbour the morning of June 27, 2009, The Orange County Register reports. Another man, 37-year-old James Geekie sustained head injuries, but survived. Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators have found that alcohol played a part in this boat crash. Both Wilson and Steele died when they hit a bridge during high tide. The men needed to duck to avoid striking the bridge, but they failed to do so. Wilson was the driver and registered owner of the 12-foot inflatable Zodiac boat.

Investigators said they found empty beer cans in the boat and also learned later that the men had been drinking at local bars before they took the early morning ride. Eyewitnesses also called officials prior to the boat crash to report "reckless boat riding." Read the rest of this entry »

Recent pedestrian accident reports have be circulating about Nestor Barrientos-Macias, a 14-year-old boy. Nestor died as a result of severe brain injuries suffered in a skateboard accident on June 13, 2009, may have actually been a victim of a Lake Forest hit-and-run car accident, The Orange County Register reports. Orange County Sheriff's officials say that they have received new information, which has them looking into a possible traffic accident case rather than an accident fall off a skateboard. Investigators believe that someone in the community saw what happened to Nestor and are asking them to come forward.

Nestor was pronounced brain-dead about two days after the accident, but remained on a respirator. Nestor was riding a skateboard at La Tierra Elementary School. Paramedics were called when someone contacted 911 and reported the unconscious boy in the school's parking lot. Anyone with more information about what may have happened is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department's Major Accident Reconstruction Team at 949-425-1860.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Nestor Barrientos-Macias, who was killed in this apparent Orange County hit-and-run accident. They must be devastated by this sudden and tragic loss. I offer my deepest sympathies to Nestor's parents. Please keep them in your prayers. Read the rest of this entry »

A man was struck and killed in a San Diego hit-and-run pedestrian accident the morning of June 14, 2009, 10news reports. The fatally injured pedestrian, who has not yet been identified, was walking north across the 3200 block of Meade Avenue when he was struck by a car that was heading east, San Diego police officials said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene from the massive head injuries he sustained. The driver who hit him sped away from the accident scene. Eyewitnesses describe the hit-and-run car as a newer white hatchback.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of this hit-and-run accident victim for their sudden, tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your prayers. I also hope and pray that the hit-and-run driver is apprehended quickly and brought to justice.

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were 25 fatalities and 575 injuries involving pedestrian accidents in San Diego. In San Diego County as a whole, 51 fatalities and 1,068 injuries were reported as a result of pedestrian accidents in 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Shaun Egbert, an employee for the Scotts Valley Unified School District in Scotts Valley, California, was awarded more than $2 million from a statewide insurance fund the district pays into, for personal injuries she sustained in a California car accident while on a school field trip in May 2007. According to a news article in the Press-Banner, Egbert, a behavior specialist, suffered a shattered wrist, severed tendons in her ankle, a broken upper leg and a frozen shoulder. She was a passenger in a car on Highway 1 during a field trip to Wilder Ranch State Park.

The car accident occurred when a car crossed the center divide on Highway 1 and crashed head-on with the car in which Egbert was riding with a young autistic girl with Down Syndrome. The driver of the other car, apparently, did not carry sufficient insurance to pay for Egbert's medical bills, loss of wages and suffering. The money finally came from the Northern California Regional Liability Excess Fund. The Scotts Valley School District, along with 380 other districts, pays regularly into the fund that helps cover insurance claims that other forms of insurance do not cover.