Stockton Injury Lawyer Blog

With summertime parties and carnival season in high gear, a recent article in USA Today raises an important question. How safe are carnival rides and backyard rental items such as inflatable bounce houses? The answer it turns out, depends on what state you live in. However, even in the states with the most oversight - such as California - accidents occur and injuries happen.

In these instances, it is critical to contact an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer to determine your next steps. As the article explains, when accidents occur, they may be a result of a variety of factors, such as a safety failure by the manufacturer, errors in installation and failure to properly supervise their use.

Reports indicate that at least 50 children have been injured so far this year in amusement park rides. Last year, 2 children died in carnival accidents. Demonstrating just how dangerous inflatable rides can be, this past June a video captured a strong wind up-ending three inflatable rides, sending them into a crowd and injuring 13 people.

Potential injuries from amusement park rides and backyard inflatables include head and neck injuries, traumatic brain injuries, back injuries, broken bones and cuts and bruises. In the worst cases, dangerous rides have even resulted in wrongful deaths.

Under California law, where an accident occurs on a person's home or property, or at a place of business such as an amusement park, the injured party may bring a premises liability lawsuit. A premises liability lawsuit occurs where an owner or operator of the premises fails to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition or fails to adequately warn of dangerous conditions which the owner or operator knows about, or should have known about. In some situations it may also be possible to bring a product liability lawsuit where an accident occurs as the result of a design defect or manufacturing defect. An experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer familar with premises liability lawsuits and product liability cases would be able to evaluate the circumstances and determine the type of claims available to you.

Continue reading "Carnival Ride Accidents - How Safe Are California Carnival Rides And Backyard Bounce Houses?" »

The California state Assembly has voted in favor of the nation's first rental car recall bill which requires rental car companies to remove recalled vehicles from the road.

The bill would close a loophole that allows rental car companies to continue using recalled vehicles, unlike auto dealers who are not allowed to sell or lease cars that have been recalled. Assemblyman Bill Morning, D-Monterey, stated "Consumers need to know that when they rent these cars, that these cars are safe."

If you have been injured in a car accident where a faulty car part may be to blame, it is essential to contact an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer at once to protect your rights and begin an investigation. In any car accident, several factors may contribute to the harm, leading to multiple claims. Not only is driver error an issue, but if a defective auto part is at fault, the manufacturer or distributor may be found liable in a product liability or negligence lawsuit.

The bill was written after the death of two California women who died when the steering failed on a Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise Rental Car in central California. The car caught fire after colliding with a truck. Although the rental car company had received notice of a PT Cruiser recall, it continued to lease the vehicles.

Continue reading "California Bill Requires Rental Car Companies To Remove Recalled Cars From Road" »

Both the federal government and the courts are increasingly enforcing that automakers improve car safety and be proactive.

This week, after reports concluded that accelerator pedals could become trapped in floor mats, Toyota has recalled more that 2 million cars. The Toyota recall is the result of an ongoing investigation into the Toyota accelerator defect car crashes, which have led to the recall of more than 14 million vehicles worldwide.

Further, the Supreme Court has just ruled that you can sue an automaker for failing to install safety equipment. In a California case seeking damages as the result of a wrongful death car accident, the Supreme Court has determined the family can sue Mazda for failing to install second row shoulder belts, even though it complied with federal safety requirements.

Continue reading "California Auto Accidents - Automakers May Be Liable For Defective Parts or Missing Safety Equipment " »

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that tuna and swordfish collected from California grocery stores and sushi restaurants contain mercury levels that are 3-times as high as authorized by federal regulators. Despite the safety risks, none of the restaurants and fewer than half the grocery stores posted warning signs about the dangers from consuming mercury.

If you have by harmed by consuming mercury or developed any other food borne illness or condition, an experienced California personal injury lawyer can advise you of your rights.

High levels of mercury have been shown to have devastating effects on fetal brain development as well as the potential for impaired vision, hearing and motor skill deficits in adults.

Continue reading "California Mercury Levels Too High In Many Stores And Restaurants" »

News reports indicate that the manufacturer of Skoal and Copenhagen chewing tobacco has agreed to pay $5 million to the family of a man who died of cancer from chewing tobacco. This is thought to be the first wrongful death settlement in a chewing tobacco case.

Wrongful death actions can occur out of any personal injury matter as the result of the careless, negligent or intentional acts of another person or corporation. When a "wrongful death" occurs, the family and children of the victim may be able to recover compensation for their loss, including medical costs and future earnings.

Here, the family filed suit under a product liability theory, claiming that the company manufactured and sold a dangerous and defective product knowing that it causes addiction, disease and death in consumers who use it as intended.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Settlement In Smokeless Tobacco Case" »

This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments concerning consumer lawsuits and vehicle safety. At issue - a 2000 ruling that shields automakers from liability if their vehicles meet minimum federal standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to Bloomberg News, several justices hinted that car accident victims should be allowed to sue, even if the minimum standards are met. As explained by Justice Sotomayor, "A minimum by definition gives manufacturers options."

The issue was raised as the result of state claims, including California, that manufacturers dragged their feet in installing airbags. Currently, NHTSA standards apply to numerous auto parts including windshield wipers, seat belts and trunk releases.

As a California personal injury attorney concerned about consumer safety, I am hopeful the Supreme Court will side with the victims of car accidents. Often through no fault of their own, individuals suffer serious and fatal accidents as the result of dangerous and defective parts. Shielding carmakers from improving those parts - just because a standard is in place - provides no incentive for manufacturers to do better. Ultimately, automakers must be held accountable when their products lead to serious injures, and even death.

Continue reading "Mazda Ruling May Lead To More Consumer Car Accident Lawsuits " »

According to the Los Angeles Times, new documents have been filed in the Toyota sudden acceleration investigation showing Toyota Motor Corp. knew of accelerator defects as early as 2003. In fact, in at least one instance a Toyota technician experienced the sudden acceleration first hand - as the rpms increased from 1,500 to 5,500 and the technician was unable to stop the car by applying the breaks.

The new documents allege that Toyota was aware of the defects that caused the sudden acceleration but failed to either acknowledge or correct the problem until last fall when Congress and regulators forced them to address the defects.

Although the exact details and circumstances surrounding the Toyota accelerator defect case have yet to emerge, many issues raised in this case are similar to those in other products liability/dangerous defect matters, i.e. are manufacturers balancing the cost of fixing a problem with the cost of potential lawsuits? Are profits being placed ahead of safety?

Products liability lawsuits can be brought in almost any situation where a defective product injures a consumer - not only car accidents, but also defective sports equipment, unsafe toys and unreasonably dangerous drugs.

The type of damages the injured can recover depends in part on the type of claim - whether a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a marketing defect/warning failure caused the injury impacts the type of damages allowed.

Damage calculations are also determined by the mindset of the manufacturer or distributor - where consumers are able to show a manufacturer was motivated by greed or knowingly allowed an unsafe product to stay on the market, punitive damages may be available.

Continue reading "Documents Show Toyota Motor Corp. Was Aware Of Accelerator Defects In 2003" »

Earlier this week, Toyota announced that it will recall 412,000 vehicles due to a steering problem that could lead to car accidents.

The recall affects Toyota Avalon sedans and Lexus LX 470 SUVs.

Toyota has been subject to many recalls this year, including the massive recall due to accelerator defects that lead to serious injuries and fatalities.

The current recall concerns the possibility of cracks developing in the steering lock bar. If this occurs, the lock bar could eventually break, causing the steering wheel the lock and increasing the risk of a crash.

Where defects produce accidents, many factors affect your right to recover compensation from the car manufacturer. These include whether the manufacturer knew or should have known of the defects, whether they provided adequate warnings of the potential for danger and whether the foreseeable risks of harm could have been reduced or eliminated by using a different design.

Continue reading "Toyota Recalls Thousands Of Vehicles Due To Defect That Could Lead To Car Accidents" »

Since the beginning of 2010, hundreds of thousands of cribs have been recalled due to the hazards of suffocation and strangulation created by drop-side cribs. According to KGO-TV San Francisco, the latest recall involves about 170,000 C&T International/Sorelle cribs sold in California and throughout the country since January 2000.

Earlier this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission(the "CPSC") recalled the Simplicity baby cribs due to a problem with its metal support frames bending or detaching and creating a space where an infant can become trapped or injured.

And these aren't the only crib recalls. In early January the CPSC recalled 635,000 after reports of 10 injuries and one death as the result of defective drop side hardware.

Hopefully, the rash of recalls will raise public awareness regarding dangerous and defective cribs. A product is considered defective and its manufacturer, designer or seller may be liable for injuries caused by its use if its design was defective, if it has a manufacturing defect, or if there was either a failure to warn or an inadequate warning of the dangers of improper use.

Although the type of defect affects recovery, the most important thing for California families is that companies to remove these dangerous and defective cribs from the marketplace and ensure any faulty parts are replaced before another infant is hurt.

Continue reading "Massive Crib Recall Could Affect Dozens Of Central Valley Infants " »