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https://www.californiainjurylawyerblog.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/240/2023/02/blue_line.0-300x225.jpgTwo people were killed and another four were injured on Monday in downtown LA, following two separate accidents involving Metro Blue Line trains. In the first accident, a pedestrian was hit by a train in Central City. The victim was transported to the hospital in unknown condition and the train was evacuated.

Later that day, two people were killed and three injured after another Metro Blue Line train hit a Honda Civic at 1629 E. 24th St., several blocks south of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.  All the people in the Honda were employees from a nearby soap manufacturing company who were returning home after their shift. 

The train was carrying 125 passengers at the time, but only one was reported injured. 

bobby-car-g91acf5609_1280-300x200Police in Long Beach are investigating a hit-and-run that left one bicyclist dead. Two weeks ago, a motorcyclist was killed in a collision with an SUV. A 90-year-old driver died after speeding through a parking lot, injuring several people before the car came to a stop. These are just a few of the most recent headlines concerning accidents in the Long Beach area. One may think it’s just a coincidence that so many fatal crashes happened within the past two weeks. It’s not. According to the latest statistics, in 2022, California had the most fatal crashes in the country, 3,558, resulting in 3,847 deaths. More than 10 people die every day in some type of traffic accident and tens of thousands are injured. This means tens of thousands of families are devastated, grieving their loved ones or struggling with mounting hospital bills. There is no remedy for loss and grief, except maybe time, but victims and their families can at least get compensation for the financial losses they suffered. Many families in this situation wonder how much their claim may be worth. This is something only seasoned Long Beach accident lawyers can tell you. The value of a claim depends on the severity of the injury and the extent to which it impacts a family. 

Do you need a lawyer for any type of crash? Not really. You can deal with a minor crash by talking to the insurance company directly. For more serious accidents, you will however have to contact skilled lawyers to help you determine who is liable for your damages and how to proceed with your case. Many claims can be settled outside of court, but for a catastrophic accident, you may want to sue the at-fault driver.

Here are some of the most dangerous types of car accidents in California, accidents for which it is best to seek legal advice as soon as possible:

candles-g9a894582d_640-300x200Three people were killed and another injured in a high-speed crash in Lynwood following a police pursuit that began in South Gate early on Sunday. A married couple, Flavio Balderas, 60, and his wife Micaela were killed after their car was hit by a Tesla that was being chased by the police. The driver of the Tesla, 20-year-old James Griffin, died on the spot while another passenger in the car was critically injured.

It all started when a police officer saw two people tampering with a parked vehicle in South Gate, believed to be a catalytic converter theft in progress. When they noticed the officer, the two people got into a Tesla and drove away. The police said the officers had called off the pursuit when it reached dangerous speeds, but shortly after that, the Tesla hit the Balderas’ car. 

Can you hold the police accountable for a crash following a high-speed chase?

motorcycle-gb47cb739e_1280-300x200A 57-year-old motorcyclist lost his life after crashing into a GMC SUV on Ellis Street in Long Beach. According to the police, John Blackwell Jr. was riding a 2014 Kawasaki at high speed when his motorcycle collided with an SUV that was making a turn into a parking lot. Blackwell suffered serious injury to the lower body and was pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV driver remained at the scene and there are no indications he was either distracted or intoxicated. 

Speeding is, unfortunately, the leading cause of fatalities in motorcycle crashes. In 2020, 5,268 motorcycle riders were killed in crashes nationwide. About 34% of those fatal crashes involved speeding, By comparison, alcohol was a factor in only 27% of all fatal motorcycle accidents.

How fast can you ride a motorcycle in California?

6089-300x300The family of a woman injured in an accident on a Disneyland attraction has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company, claiming that complications from the injury led to her untimely death.

According to the Orange County Register, 66-year-old Joanne Aguilar was injured on the park’s Jungle Cruise attraction. In April 2021, the woman, who was wheelchair-bound, visited Disneyland with her two adult daughters. She wanted to go on the Jungle Cruise, but was told a wheelchair-accessible boat was not available at that time. Ms.Aguilar managed to get on a standard boat but had difficulties trying to get out. She lost her balance and fell backward, breaking a leg. After undergoing surgery, she spent five months in a rehab facility. While there she got an infection, went into septic shock, and died in January of last year. 

The lawsuit alleges that the septic shock was a result of the surgery, which was due to the attraction injury, therefore Disneyland should be liable for their damages. The family is seeking compensation for “all past economic damages,” including medical costs, burial and funeral expenses, attorney fees, and any other incidental damages.

abstract-g4821d46cd_640-300x200Every single hour, 52 California residents are injured in a hit-and-run accident. According to statistics, each year over 19,000 people are injured and 150 are killed in such accidents. Here is one recent example – a mother and her three children were seriously injured in a crash in a South Los Angeles neighborhood. The victims were traveling in an SUV that was hit by a silver Mercedes, which, according to witnesses, ran a red light in the intersection. Firefighters had to extricate the victims from the wreckage. Paramedics performed CPR on two of the children, including an 18-month-old, who went into cardiac arrest following the high-speed crash. 

As for the driver of the Mercedes, he did not waste more than a few seconds to see what happened to the people in the other car, before he fled on foot. Local police were keeping an eye on the hospitals in the area as they believed the man might have been injured. 

What to do if you were involved in a hit-and-run?

California – January 23, 2023

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) one person dies every 45 minutes in drunk driving crashes.  A Long Beach California dui accident lawyer will use evidence gathered by scene reconstruction professionals, police reports, medical reports and property valuations to build a case for damage awards, especially when criminal charges support fault identifying a reckless act by a driver and their responsibility toward the accident victims.

Accident liability.

California – January 18, 2023

Catastrophic damage may involve invisible injury.

Accident victims should seek medical counsel after an accident regardless of obvious personal injury.  In many cases, a person who does not believe they were injured and has no injury noted by the naked eye, may have sustained considerable damage, including brain injury, spinal injury, or other internal damage especially when involved in a truck accident as the size discrepancy may cause catastrophic damage.  Medical personnel must run diagnostic testing to determine if the accident victim has been cleared of these possible injuries.  Traumatic brain injury, concussions, or other brain conditions should be ruled out after a car accident to prevent further harmful losses  to the victim.

shutterstock_1753657874-300x204Accidents involving box trucks and other large trucks can have particularly devastating consequences. Due to the immense size and weight of a box truck, a collision can result in significant harm to a victim’s person or property. Many factors can lead to box truck accidents, whether they result from the truck driver’s actions, a defective tire or other truck part, or even inclement weather conditions. Given these different scenarios, a plaintiff injured in a box truck accident must pay close attention to the role of fault when bringing claims against various defendants.

Recently, a chain reaction accident involving a large box truck left three people injured. The crash occurred in rainy conditions on the interchange between the 14 and 5 freeways in Santa Clarita. An earlier accident underneath a guardrail left a semi-truck flipped over and an SUV pinned against a wall. After this first accident, a box truck then veered over the guardrail above and landed upside-down on top of the semi-truck and SUV, further damaging the vehicles. Two people were transported to the hospital after the box truck crash, and one person was hospitalized after the first crash.

How Can You Demonstrate Fault in California Box Truck Accidents?

Determining fault in a box truck accident is not always straightforward and will depend on which parties a plaintiff names in a lawsuit. If suing the truck driver, one factor that can help a plaintiff demonstrate fault is the truck driver’s conduct while driving. For example, truck drivers may be operating their vehicle under the influence or engaging in distracted driving. A plaintiff would then need to prove that the driver’s carelessness caused the plaintiff’s injuries. In some situations, the plaintiff can also sue the truck driver’s company if the driver was operating the truck in the course of their employment with the company. Before recovering against the truck driver’s employer, the plaintiff must first prove the driver was negligent. This situation may be more complex if truck drivers exercise care while driving but lose control of their vehicle due to a faulty part. Under these circumstances, plaintiffs may also choose to sue the truck’s manufacturer or the company that made a specific defective part.

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221015-pomona-food-stand-crash-scene-0943-8e61a8-300x169When a person is injured on someone else’s property, California law may impose a duty of care on the owner to maintain the safety of their property. This is especially true when a property owner stands to benefit from other people’s use of their property. The classic example is a business that owns a parking lot so that customers can easily drive to and patronize their store. When an accident happens in a commercial parking lot, questions of liability for a victim’s injuries may be complex.

As a recent news article reported, one person died and several others suffered injuries after a car ran into a taco stand in Pomona, California. The taco stand was situated in a grocery store parking lot. As a driver entered the parking lot, she ran through the taco stand, scattering glass and taco supplies along the parking lot and flipping tables on the sidewalk. The crash injured twelve people and left at least one person dead. The driver fled the scene before later turning herself into authorities.

Can a Person Sue a Parking Lot Owner in California?

In California, a person can sue a parking lot owner for injuries suffered in a parking lot on certain conditions. To pursue a negligence claim against a parking lot owner, the owner must have a duty of care to the injured person. Typically, parking lot owners have a duty of care to maintain safe conditions in the parking lot for pedestrians and vehicles who patronize the parking lot. California also imposes a duty of care on property owners to warn guests of any potentially dangerous conditions that are not open and obvious. On the other hand, a parking lot owner can escape liability if the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries was so open and obvious that a reasonable person would have easily avoided it. The rationale behind this bar to recovery is that certain hazards should serve as warnings in and of themselves.

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