Auto, Motorcycle and Truck Accidents
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Toyota Recalls Lexus GS, IS, and LS Models | San Diego Injury Attorney
Jul 08, 2010
Following a great deal of publicity regarding defective Toyota and Lexus vehicles, including complaints of sudden and uncontrollable acceleration, Toyota announced today that it is recalling over 138,000 Lexus models including the GS, IS, and LS vehicle models. The recall was started because of engine difficulties. The models being recalled include the 2007-08 Lexus GS 350 and 450H, 2008 Lexus GS 460, 2006-2008 Lexus IS 350, 2007-08 Lexus LS 460 and 460L, and 2008 Lexus LS 600 HL vehicle models.
According to Toyota, these models share a problem due to foreign materials that may end up contaminating the valve spring in the engine, causing the engine to breakdown and possilby fail completely. If the engine fails when the vehicle is in operation and moving, the failure would increase the risk of a traffic accident.
Toyota will be sending out notices to the owners of all affected vehicles. However, in the meantime, if you are concerned that your vehicle will be subject to the recall, contact Lexus at 1-800-255-3987. Your Lexus will be repaired free of charge.
Can Texting While Driving Be Treated Medically? | San Diego Lawyer Att
Jun 15, 2010
A recent essay in The New England School of Medicine suggests that doctors should begin asking their patients whether they drive while texting or talking on a mobile phone. The doctor, Dr. Amy Ship, reports that family physicians routinely ask patients whether they engage in dangerous or risky behavior such as smoking, watching their diet, or remembering to fasten their seat belt. Dr. Ship believes that asking about distracted driving should be incorporated into these risk questions.
Distracted driving--whether by talking on a cellphone or texting while driving--is certainly a problem, particularly amongst teenagers and inexperienced drivers. That is why our San Diego personal injury law firm helps sponsor the Teens Against Distracted Driving program where teenagers and their parents can take a pledge not to text and drive.
But can asking regarding dangerous behavior be effective to making patients safer? Is it the place of medical doctors to take on the issue of texting while driving as a preventative medicine issue? Is it too much of an intrusion into individual behavior to have primary car physicians ask about their patients' personal behavior which is not medically related?
Dr. Ship takes the position that any efforts to keep patients safer and alive is fair game for medical doctors. She herself initiates the conversation by letting her patients know that texting and talking on the cellphone causes more auto accidents. She then tells them that multitasking when talking on the cellphone is obviously dangerous, otherwise patients would not mind if their surgeon spoke on the phone while operating on them.
Anything to increase awareness of the problem of distracted driving helps.
Motorcycle Accident Deaths Plunge | San Diego CA Injury Lawyer Attorne
Apr 24, 2010
A report issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association found that the total number of fatal motorcycle crashes declined by 16% in the first nine months of 2009, compared to the same time in 2008. Motorcycle accidents have been rising steadily for nearly a dozen years before setting a record in 2008.
There is no clear explanation for the drop in fatal motorcycle accidents in 2009, only a year after the record of 5,290 motorcycle fatalities was recorded in 2008. Some have speculated that the economy was keeping motorcyclists off the road and pointed to a 42% decrease in new motorcycle sales. The theory is that there were fewer novice riders on the road and that publicity about motorcycle deaths had increased awareness both amongst motorcyclists and motorists about motorcycle safety.
California experienced 133 fewer motorcycle fatalities during the early months of 2009. Overall, the report projects that the annual fatality decline amongst motorcycle riders will be 10% for all of 2009.
Federal statistics show the number of motorcycle fatalities had steadily increased for over 10 years ending in 2007. However, the data released Thursday demonstrates that several efforts to reduce the number of deadly motorcycle crashes have perhaps worked. For instance, the study authors believe that the recommendation for mandatory helmet use amongst motorcyclists placing the second part in reducing the toll number of deaths from motorcycle wrecks. In addition, the authors believe that decreasing the number of people who ride after drinking alcohol, reducing the instances of speeding, and providing additional training for motorcyclists will further reduce the number of deadly accidents. Riding at excess speeds or under the influence of alcohol were determined to be factors in a significant number of motorcycle crashes. In addition, approximately half of all motorcyclists and their passengers who died in wrecks were not wearing helmets.
This decrease in California motorycyle accidents is good news to our office. There is not a week that goes by where we hear stories of someone who has seriously injured themselves in a motorcycle accident and will now face months, if not years, of rehabilitation to get better. If there is anything that motorcyclists can do, within reason, to remain safe, they should do so. Riding a motorcycle is a lot of fun, but is also extremely dangerous.
Progressive Insurance--"We'll Pay Your Client's Medical Bills but That is All..."
Dec 27, 2009
Insurance companies and tort reform advocates often argue that plaintiff injury accident lawyers and their injured clients are running up the cost of car insurance and generally making it more expensive for all Americans to live. Not true. This is a story of a recent interaction we had with Progressive Insurance which demonstrates that insurance companies and their unreasonable positions are largely to blame for the increasing cost of auto insurance.
We recently submitted a demand package on behalf of a client who was injured after being rear-ended at a stop sign. Simple case with no liability dispute and limited and reasonable medical treatment for a few weeks to care for our client's sore back and neck.
Our client's medical treatment totalled approximately $6,000. Progressive Insurance's offer was $6,500 on a take it or leave it basis. They would offer no more money.
Fine. Although Progressive and other insurance companies think they are the final decision makers as to the value of personal injury cases in California, they are not. Juries here in San Diego and elsewhere throughout the State are the ones who ultimately must decide what a case is worth and how much compensation the injured victim will receive. In these cases, we immediately file a lawsuit and serve the defendant with a copy of the complaint, summons, and a letter which nicely explains that we are sorry to involve them, but their insurance company refused to deal with our office fairly. Now the defendant will spend time at deposition and ultimately at trial while Progressive Insurance will spend more defending the lawsuit than it would take to settle the claim--and then they will still have to pay the jury's verdict.
And somehow plaintiff's lawyers and their clients are blamed for increasing auto insurance rates. Go figure.
