San Luis Obispo Personal Injury Lawyer - All Topics - Most Commented

Another Fatal ATV Accident at Oceano Dunes

Nigel Whitehead — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:51:20 GMT

On Sunday a 26-year old Santa Maria man was killed in a single ATV accident. Details of the crash are not yet known. The alarming number of fatalities and serious injuries at the Oceano Dunes no doubt arms the anti off-road riding crowd with additional ammunition to close the beach to vehicular traffic. I'm not sure closing the beach will solve the problem. Those who love to ride will simply ride elsewhere if the beach is closed.

This message will not go into the environmental arguments over the off-road riding issues. But, from a safety standpoint, something must be done. Whether it be additional required training, safety equipment or limiting access to some of the more dangerous areas, such as "Competition Hill" where this accident happened, something must be done. Too many children and young adults are being hurt or killed. It is estimated that there are up to 300 serious accident per year at the 1500 acre off road area.

It is too easy to glibly enter this debate from afar. When your family has been personally affected by such an accident the debate takes on a completely different tone. I would love to hear suggestions from those who ride more than I do.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

Serious Motorcycle Accident in Nipomo

Nigel Whitehead — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:09:55 GMT

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported a serious Ford Explorer v. motorcycle accident on April 26, 2008 on Highway 1 near Nipomo. The driver of the Ford Explorer turned left in front of the motorcycle rider causing the collision. Even though the rider was wearing a helmet he suffered significant injuries. Hopefully the helmet saved this man's life.

This area of Highway 1 is between Willow Road and the new Woodlands development on the Nipomo Mesa. This development is already bringing thousands of residents and visitors to the area. The major access road to the Woodlands is Highway 101. To date, no stop signs or traffic signals have been installed, despite the significant increase in traffic. What was once a little traveled section of road is becoming increasingly busy while the infrastructure remains the same. Hopefully, as the project continues officials will reassess the need for modifications to the road.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

ATV Safety

Nigel Whitehead — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:26:04 GMT

As lawyers on the Central Coast of California we practice law only minutes from the Oceano Dunes -the only place on the West Coast where off-road enthusiasts can still ride their vehicles on the beach. Every year as summer approaches the number of significant injuries -often involving children - greatly increases. The National Safety Council has a few suggestions to keep your rider safe.

If your ATV is over 90 cc's it should only be operated by someone over age 16.

Always check your ATV's cables and controls before riding.

Check the chain - is it properly lubricated?

Check the wheels and tires.

ALWAYS -wear the right safety gear.

Perhaps the best safety tip is one that we can't just read and communicate to our kids. We have to show them how to exercise good judgment. When you are 15 you are convinced that you are invincible. Show them its OK to slow down. I've been on the dunes too many times seeing a kid flying off a sand dune "hoping" another riding isn't coming up the other side. I've also been in the emergency room when a child is brought in by ambulance in critical condition. Never once have I seen a mom comforted by that fact that her son rode the fastest or jumped off the highest dune.

Be safe!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

Mysterious P.E. Class Pool Drowning Claims Life of Atascadero High School Student

Ray Mattison — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:43:50 GMT

During a game of "bucketball", 17 year old Junior, John Erlanson, was discovered unconscious in the shallow end of the school pool. As an attorney who has handled many cases involving the wrongful death of children, I have yet to meet a parent in this situation who has not said: "I would gladly trade my life for his if it would bring him back."

According to his sister, Casey, John was the youngest of four and the only male. He grew up in Atascadero and loved the Central Coast. He planned to go to Cuesta College and transfer to Cal Poly, the State University in San Luis Obispo County.

How John drowned in a pool with 30 other students present during a supervised class is a mystery, a story well covered by the local paper, the Tribune.

The Center for Disease Control says an average of 6 people drown each day. Drowning is the 4th leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. Out of the 4000 annual casualties, one third are children under the age of 14.

Many of these tragic events are preventable and cause pool operators to change their practices. Often actionable negligence is involved and litigation ensues.

5,000 children under 14 are hospitalized for near drownings each year. Of those 15% die in the hospital and about 20% suffer permanent neurological disability.

The Foundation for Aquatic Injury Prevention and other organizations have great and proven techniques which would at least reduce the number of these tragedies (for every fatal drowning four are hospitalized).

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ray Mattison

New California Laws for Drivers - No Smoking

Nigel Whitehead — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:49:35 GMT

Every year there are new state laws passed. A few new laws this year affect drivers. I have previously blogged about the new "hands-free" law for use of a cellular phone while driving. But, did you know that it is also now illegal to smoke in your car if you have a minor passenger? As of January 2008 Health & Safety Code Article 2.5 was added to Part 15 of Division 104 of the code making it a citable offense to smoke in your car while you have a passenger under the age of 18. This infraction carries a $100 fine and applies to cigars, cigarettes and pipes.

It appears from the legislative history of the bill that this law was motivated not by driving safety concerns but by second-hand smoke dangers to children. California is the most aggressive state in the county in passing laws restricting smoking.

I was pleased when smoking in most public building was prohibited. I was pleased to see airlines adopt a no smoking policy. I think it a bad idea to smoke at all, and especially around kids. But I must confess I get a little uneasy when the government starts restricting the use of a legal product in a private place. Why not ban smoking around children anywhere? Why not ban smoking all together? As a person with a family recently diagnosed with lung cancer I'm all for it. But as a lawyer I think the government may have stepped a little too far into some people's personal liberties.

Your thoughts?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

Another Fatal Motorcycle Accident in Santa Barbara

Nigel Whitehead — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:38:41 GMT

According to KSBY, a 42 year old Ventura man was killed Monday morning when his motorcycle hit a car that had suddenly stopped in front of him.

It was reported that the collision occurred when the driver of the car in front of the rider slammed on her brakes to avoid slowing traffic ahead of her. It is critical in these cases to understand the sequence of events. The car ahead of the motorcyclist will in all likelihood have civil responsibility for the accident since, by at least initial reports, she made an unsafe stop. But, it is also possible that one or more cars ahead of that driver may be liable. It will be important to identify and interview witnesses who can explain why traffic was slowing. If traffic slowed because of a negligent driver ahead of the car that the motorcycle hit that driver may also be liable for any damages to Mr. Valdovinos' family in a civil wrongful death lawsuit.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

Man Sentenced for Molesting 15 year-old Girl

Nigel Whitehead — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:41:14 GMT

A San Luis Obispo man was sentenced to 7 years in prison for molesting a 15 year-old girl.

Perhaps it is just because I have represented several victims of abuse in civil suits against their attackers, but it certainly seems that there has been an increase in the reports of this type of perverted behavior. It also seems as if the perpetrator never receives enough jail time. I am involved in one civil case where the defendant was sentenced to less than a year in county jail for a three year molestation of his niece.

We have taken on several of these cases by bringing a civil case against the perpetrator. Finding liability is the easy part. Finding a way to get our clients compensated is the hard part. We have been able to plead some of our cases to trigger insurance coverage. We also seek punitive damages to be sure that the civil judgment cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Many times, we end up with a large judgment, only a portion of which will ever be collected. My experience is, however, that holding these perverts responsible has as much value to these girls as collecting a judgment will ever have.

These cases are sad, emotional, difficult, and tremendously rewarding.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead

Another Injury Caused by the Combination of Medical Oxygen and Smoking: Time for the Smokeless Cigarette?

Ray Mattison — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:20:53 GMT

An excellent article by Tribune Reporter Leslie Parrilla highlights the safety risks of using medical oxygen in the home. The victim, a 55 year old resident of San Luis Obsipo County, was badly burned when she was changing an oxygen tank used to treat her asthma while smoking.

According to County/Cal Fire Investigator Andy Andersen. “This is actually common,” Andersen said about people smoking while handling personal oxygen supplies. “This is what can happen.

Just yesterday a 63 year old Tennessee woman was burned to death by a fire caused by the combination of an ignition source and medical oxygen.

According to the FDA "Smoking anywhere near oxygen, even in the same room, can be extremely dangerous," says Duane Sylvia, a consumer safety officer in CDER (The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research). This has caused the FDA to question the recreational use of oxygen, particular in oxygen bars: "It doesn't matter what they label it," says Melvin Szymanski, a consumer safety officer in the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). "At the other end of the hose is oxygen, and the individual that provides you with the nasal cannula and turns on the canister for your 20-minute supply is actually dispensing the prescription drug oxygen to you.

The risk of the industrial use of oxygen is well known - the Apollo 13 crew barely escaped after their craft was damaged by a faulty oxygen tank. However, the risk at home is obviously not conveyed nor appreciated given the number of accidents of this type.

The only practical answer, given the addictive nature of tobacco and the difficulties in quitting, is the use of the smokeless cigarette - a product which is feasible now but not cost effective.

Tobacco control advocates have been promoting this solution for some time - maybe that time has come.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ray Mattison

Governor Schwarznegger joins opponents of Blue Cross Blue Shield rescission practices.

Ray Mattison — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:00:00 GMT

Blue Cross of California, BC Life, HealthNet, and other large California health care coverage providers have been accused of improperly dropping (rescinding) thousands of health insurance customers using an illegal practice called "post claims underwriting". They do little or no investigation when they issue the policy, but if you run up big bills they scour your medical records to find reasons to rescind your coverage based on alleged "misrepresentations" in a confusing and complicated application. The charge is that they loan you an umbrella and want it back as soon as it starts raining!

Now California's Governor has joined proponents of regulatory action and class action lawsuits in condemning this practice. According to the Sacramento Bee, Schwartznegger said it is "outrageous that innocent patients have to live in fear of losing their health care coverage. I look forward to working with my partners in the Legislature to ensure this egregious practice is stopped."

Earlier this week the California Court of Appeals rejected an effort by Blue Cross and BC Life, a Blue Cross subsidiary, to force a class action lawsuit complaining about the rescissions to private arbitration, rather than having the case tried by a jury. The class action attorney involved in that case, Robert Gianelli of the Los Angeles firm of Gianelli and Morris, maintains that binding arbitration has proven to be an unfavorable forum for to consumers in most cases, and that it is private, expensive, and creates no legal precedent. In that case, Blue Cross dropped Gianelli's clients, Raudel and Maria Rodriguez, after they incurred over $100,000 in medical bills.

A State investigation found that Blue Cross did little investigation of applicants for coverage but, they had a dedicated and computerized unit of the company devoted to finding reasons to rescind their coverage based on their medical history.

Our firm has brought a similar class action against BC Life, one of the Bue Cross companies, on behalf of a San Luis Obispo woman who was left with medical bills when her health coverage was dropped.

Yahoo news has an excellent menu of articles on this controversy.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ray Mattison

Blue Cross Sued by Los Angeles City Attorney

Nigel Whitehead — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:09:30 GMT

According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgado has filed a lawsuit against Anthem Blue Cross with sweeping allegations of fraud concerning the company's wrongful rescission of health insurance policies. According to the lawsuit, Blue Cross systematically rescinded insurance policies of members who because seriously ill, including cancer and heart failure. Delgado has also established a web site, www.protectingtheinsured.org to encourage patients and physicians to share their complaints about the practices of health insurance companies.

According to Delgado, "Countless Californians who believe they have health insurance actually have policies that aren't worth the paper they're written on." Cindy Ehnes, the director of the California Department of Managed Health Care, will today announce the reinstatement of several patient's policies that were rescinded by health plans.

When you or a family member becomes seriously ill you need to be able to take at least a small measure of comfort in the fact that you have health insurance. In addition to the lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles City Attorney, private law firms have filed similar lawsuits against various health insurance companies, including Blue Shield, for bad-faith tactics. It is critical that you immediately seek legal counsel to determine if you have a claim if your health insurance policy has been rescinded after you or your family member became seriously ill. The law imposes strict time deadlines for making such claims. If you do not timely file your claim you may be barred from recovery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nigel Whitehead