San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer - wrongful death - Most Commented

Family Files Lawsuit Against Toyota

Chrissie Cole — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:54:00 GMT

A California Highway Patrol officer and three family members were killed last August when their Lexus accelerated out of control and crashed off a highway in Sand Diego County. Now, relatives are suing Toyota for product liability and negligence.

The suit, filed in Tuesday, in San Diego Superior Court names Toyota Motor Corp., along with several of its U.S. Entities. It seeks unspecified damages but demands a jury trial.

The Lexus reaches speeds of more than 120 mph, struck an SVU and launched off an embanked, rolling several times before bursting into flames. Investigators discovered that a wrong-sized floor mat, trapped under the accelerator, was the cause of the crash.

InjuryBoard has been covering Toyota News extensively from lawsuits, to who you should listen to and what you can do.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Scaffolding Company To Blame For Deadly Collapse

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:39:00 GMT

Paramount Scaffold Inc. is to blame for the fatal collapse of a temporary walkway cover in downtown San Diego that killed one man and injured at least 14 others in August 2008.

The cover collapsed under the weight of overloaded scaffolding materials, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The company has been fined $10,120 for two state safety regulation violations.

The walkway cover, made mostly of wood, was intended to shield pedestrians from any falling debris as they walked by the construction site located at Imperial Avenue at 15 Street.

Among the dozen pedestrians and transients trapped below the collapsed cover was Tyrone Allen, 49. He was made a quadriplegic and died earlier this month from injuries he suffered in the collapse.

Allen's widow and three adult children previously filed a negligence lawsuit against the property owner, the general contractor on the project and Paramount Scaffold. The family plans to amend the lawsuit in the near future to claim wrongful death, according to the Union-Tribune.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Wrongful Death: Rash of Motorcycle Crashes Continues

Randy Walton — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:52:55 GMT

It is simply remarkable how many motorcycle accidents there have been in San Diego County in the last month or so. I have counted at least ten. Sadly, the most recent involved a fatality.

The San Diego Union has reported that 22-year-old Michael Duffy Jr. was killed in the Midway area. Apparently the Pacific Beach resident was riding along Sports Arena Boulevard when a sport utility vehicle pulled out in front of him. Duffy reportedly died at the scene.

Hopefully the Duffy family will get the answers they deserve following the tragic accident.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Taser Manufacturers Face Wrongful Death Lawsuits

Randy Walton — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:23:29 GMT

The now infamous video of a University of Florida student being tased during a speech by Senator John Kerry has shined the media spotlight on the use of tasers, and the safety of these self defense devices. As the use of tasers spreads among law enforcement and civilians alike, a question is being asked: how safe are they?

For the uninitiated, a taser is a hand-held devise that shoots to barbed darts into the victim, which delivers a series of 50,000-volt electrical pulses over 5 seconds, causing severe pain and intense muscle contractions. The pain and muscle contractions have led to many injuries and more than 50 wrongful death lawsuits against one manufacturer alone.

People who are tased when upright tend to fall over. Any resulting injuries are usually minor but at least one person has died from a head injury. The barbed tips of the Taser darts, which are around 1 centimeter long, can cause serious injuries if they strike sensitive areas such as the eye, though there have been few reports of such injuries.
The intense muscle contractions can also be damaging. Last week, William Bozeman of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, published a case of spinal fracture in a volunteer as a result of these contractions.
Critics remain particularly concerned over whether the electric shocks delivered by a Taser can disrupt the nerve signals controlling breathing or the heart.

Tasers are still considered extremely safe when correctly used, and serious injuries are uncommon. But with the growing use of tasers, particularly by the untrained general public, we will no doubt be hearing more and more about injuries and deaths related to the use of these devices.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Widow Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Buffer Manufacturer

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:38:27 GMT

A Texas widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit for her husband's death, against OPC/Floor Blazer and American Honda Motor Company, the manufacturers of a floor buffer that she believes was defective and dangerous and to blame for his death.

In January, while he was working as a floor technician, he was sent to clean floors at an office building in Longview. He used a propane powered floor buffer, which included a Honda GXV LPG engine.

The suit claims after beginning his work, "he became overwhelmed by carbon monoxide gas and was rendered unconscious." The suit further claims "the LPG engine on the floor buffer continued to run for hours and emit deadly carbon monoxide gas which ultimately led to his tragic death."

The Honda propane engine owner's manual states that the "engine exhaust contains poisonous carbon monoxide. Do not run the engine without adequate ventilation, and never run the engine indoors." Further, the manual states under operating precautions, "carbon monoxide gas is toxic. Breathing it can cause unconsciousness and even kill you. Avoid any areas or actions that expose you to carbon monoxide."

The lawsuit alleges the floor buffer engine was not equipped with proper safety equipment, which caused his untimely and tragic death.

Causes of action include: breach of warranty, negligence, strict product liability and violations under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Filing under the Texas Wrongful Death statute, plaintiffs are seeking damages for pecuniary losses, loss of companionship and society, mental anguish, loss of inheritance, funeral and burial expenses and attorney's fees. Survival damages sought include mental anguish, physical pain, funeral, and burial expenses.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Wrongful Death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole