Famous Screenwriter Sentenced after Admitting Guilt in Fatal DUI Accident

Sep 30

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury Pulp Fiction, Ventura County 2 Comments

People who drive carelessly on the roads will be held liable if their actions caused injury or death in the occurrence of an accident. The law does not choose who will be punished by it. It will not ignore your negligence even if you are rich or famous.

In fact, an Oscar-winning screenwriter has been sentenced to spend one year in prison for a road accident in Ventura County that resulted in the death of his companion.

Roger Avery, more popularly known as the screenwriter of “Pulp Fiction,” was also given five years probation after he pleaded guilty in August to drunk driving and gross vehicular manslaughter.

He admitted he was responsible for the 2008 accident that ended a life of passenger in the screenwriter’s Mercedes. According to authorities, the vehicle’s speed was more than 100 mph when it smashed into a telephone pole.

His wife was thrown off from the vehicle and sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Accidents like this one will also serve as a reminder to people about the ill-effects of negligent driving and drunk driving. Unfortunately, many drivers only realize these effects if they are the ones who are actually involved in it.

Although the law may punish the person at fault, the victim’s loved ones will never forget the pain the incident caused them.

Unemployment Benefits Extended by Congress

Sep 28

Los Angeles LawyerEmployment Law Benefits, Congress, Unemployment 3 Comments

There is great news for many Californians who can’t help but feel the grinding jaws of recession and who find it hard to find a new job—a bill extending unemployment benefits for 13 weeks has been approved by the Congress. So now, it’ll just need the approval of the Senate and the President before it becomes a law.

According to the Employment Development Department (EDD), around 170,000 Californians whose benefits will run out by the end of the year can jobless benefits paying $65 to $475 a week.

EDD officials estimate that 66,000 unemployed residents have already been cut off of California’s unemployment.

The extension is extremely beneficial for the many Californians who find it hard to get a new job in the market and with the unemployment rate still on the rise when it hit 12.2% in August.

The worldwide recession has hit a lot of Californians hard and many have lost their jobs when the employers began to cut the workforce to save on wages. While there are some who have found their feet back after taking a plunge in the tumultuous job market, more have yet to find new jobs and it is not because of a lack of effort.

Some people find it hard to find a new job because their skills and qualifications are not suited to the open positions and sometimes, there are just too many workers with too little available jobs.

Unemployment benefits give employees who are down on their luck, a little breathing room and relief for their family while they try to find gainful employment.

People shouldn’t be deprived of their basic necessities for their daily living just because they lost their job due to the bad economy. The passage of law extending unemployment benefits would give unemployed Californians and their family the chance to live their lives.

After all, if they don’t have money for food, gas, or other necessities, how can they find a job and work in the first place?

The Water Highway

Sep 23

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury boating accidents No Comments

Unlike cars, boats are considered as recreational vehicles and it’s sometimes difficult to imagine that anything can go wrong in a fun cruise or in a leisurely outing. But boating accidents can happen just as easily (although not quite as often) as car accidents.

A young man was seriously injured when his father’s powerboat crashed against the boat he was driving on Mission Bay. According to officials, the pair were racing when the father lost control of his 25-foot power boat and crashed into his son’s 18-foot boat and trapped him.

The son’s boat went out of control and crashed onto Ski Beach. Rescuers pulled the son from the wreckage who was alone in the boat, he was bleeding and unconscious.

The San Diego police harbor unit is investigating the crash as the basic speed law on Mission Bay requires boaters to slow down within 100 feet of another vessel.

Being out in the open water may seem like the perfect place to speed and pull off cool moves and races but in reality, it is not safe.

In 2008 alone, the United States Coast Guard counted 4,789 accidents that involved 709 deaths, 3,331 injuries and approximately $54 million dollars of damage to property.

While alcohol is the leading contributing factor to boating accidents, the careless/reckless operation of a boat and excessive speeding are also a leading cause for boat crashes.

Yes, the settings may be different but the circumstances for the occurrence of an accident on the road and on water can be very similar. Boats should be operated just as responsibly and safely as driving a car on a highway.

In fact, just as car drivers are required to observe California’s Basic Speed Law, there are posted signs on all of California’s waters that provide the area’s speed limits.

In all cases however, the speed limit is 5 mph anytime the vessel is within 100 ft of a bather or within 200 feet of a bathing beach, swimming float, diving platform or life line, passenger landing being used, or landing where boats are tied up.

It’s too easy to justify speeding and racing while on water, after all, there are no pedestrians, no cars, and no motorcycles. But boating can still be dangerous especially if the driver is behaving in a reckless and careless manner, if not for the hapless swimmers, but for the boaters themselves. The open sea or bay may not be a regular street but it is a highway for other water vessels and people.

Beyonce “Sasha Fierce” Sued Over “Fierce” Trademark Violation

Sep 17

Los Angeles LawyerSocial Security trademark violation No Comments

Mega-pop icon Beyonce Knowles has been sued for trademark violation by the popular clothing retailer, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. over her plan to use the name Sasha Fierce for a fragrance she will be launching.

Abercrombie has an existing men’s fragrance called Fierce which has been used in their outlets since 2002. It has held a trademark for the word “fierce” since 2003.

Sasha Fierce happens to be the name of the singer’s much-publicized alter ego and the title of her third solo album, “I am…Sasha Fierce”. Beyonce has previously applied in September 2008 to trademark “Sasha Fierce” for a fragrance and other items which was opposed by Abercrombie as using the name for the fragrance would create confusion.

According to the retailer’s lawsuit, using Sasha Fierce as the name for her fragrance which will be launched next year will unfairly benefit from the reputation Abercrombie has built for the scent and could confuse or deceive customers into thinking Abercrombie is associated with her fragrance.

Abercrombie & Fitch fragrance sales reached $190 million and it projects sales up to $64 million this 2009.

Coty Inc., who will be marketing Beyonce’s new fragrance released a statement saying that neither the terms Fierce or Sasha Fierce will be used in Knowles’ fragrance.

A trademark is basically a brand’s name. It includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others.

Sasha Fierce is undoubtedly, a name identified with Beyonce. But given that a trademark has been claimed first by Abercrombie, they have the ultimate right to use the word “fierce”.

On the strength of their trademark, Abercrombie can bar any person or company from making use of the word fierce and prevent them from competing against their brand.

Child Safety Passenger Week from September

Sep 14

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury car accident 4 Comments

September 12-18, 2009 marks the observance of Child Passenger Safety Week

According to United States Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a new research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that despite the high child safety seat use – majority of these children are still not properly secured.

A staggering figure from the study shows that while 99 percent of children ages 0-12 months old were secured in child safety seats as were 92 percent of children ages 1-3 years old and 89 percent of 4-7 years-old, three out of every four seats are used incorrectly.

Hence, regardless of the use of restraints, these children will still not be properly restrained and protected and would likely get seriously injured in case of a car accident.

In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 72% of nearly 3,500 observed car and booster seats were misused in a way that could be expected to increase a child’s risk of injury during a crash.

According to the NHTSA, the errors in the use of child restraints included the wrong way of securing the child in the child seat as well as the errors in attaching the child seat to the car. Examples would include using the wrong child restraint based on age and weight and the incorrect installation of restraint to the vehicle seat.

The CDC pegs that in every day, children aged 14 years old and younger had an average of 4 deaths and 504 injuries in 2005. 1,335 children died and approximately 184,000 were injured.

While parents may be compliant with the use of child safety seats, they must also be correct in the use of it. Following the law would be futile, if they were negligent in securing the safety and protection of their children.

During the Child Passenger Safety Week, there will be thousands of free safety seat inspection stations set up across the country to provide assistance to the majority of parents in the proper installation of child safety seats.

When Duty Calls and Tragedy Answers

Sep 13

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury vehicle crashes No Comments

A 50-year old San Diego woman seriously injured a Caltrans employee and a county probation worker when she got distracted while driving her car on the shoulder of northbound Interstate 15 north of state Route 94.

The female driver, who also suffered minor injuries due to the crash, told authorities she was looking for some change when the accident occurred.

The Caltrans spokesman, Edward Cartagena said that probation worker who was hit was one of three probationers picking up trash on the shoulder and that they were being supervised by two Caltrans employees.

The Caltran employee who got hurt was a female and there was another employee who was following slowly behind them in a 2002 GMC Savana van to create a barrier from traffic. The victims were immediately taken to the Scripps-Mercy Hospital.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the female driver, who was driving a white 1992 Infiniti J30, clipped the rear of the Caltrans van, careened to the left, overcorrected to the right, and veered back on the shoulder where she struck the male probationer and female Caltrans employee.

The CHP are still investigating the accident as to whether or not the female driver shall be charged.
Driving is a skill that requires focus and concentration from the driver and it is the driver’s responsibility that she drives safely and responsibly.

According to a study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), 80% of vehicle crashes and 65% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles said that there are three types of distractions: visual (eyes off the road), cognitive (driving under the influence), and manual (texting while driving).

The female driver told CHP investigators that she had merely averted her eyes from the road but that fraction of a second where she took her eyes off the road proved to be a fatal mistake.

Should the CHP find that there is no cause to file criminal charges against the woman, the Caltrans employee and the probationer may still file a civil case against her for damages.

The woman’s act of looking for some change may seem harmless and innocent enough but the consequences arising from it are potentially dangerous and in the end, worth a lot more money than some loose change.

Dressed To Kill

Sep 09

Los Angeles LawyerPersonal Injury, Product Liability defective product No Comments

In Fresno, California, a 3-year-old boy was strangled to death by the drawstring on his Hill Sportswear hooded sweatshirt when it got stuck on a playground set back on November 2008.

Since then, The Consumer Product Safety Commission renewed its call since May 2006 to different clothing companies that children’s sweatshirts or jackets with drawstrings at the hood or neck would be regarded as defective and presenting a substantial risk of injury to young children.

It has recently fined four companies for selling hooded sweatshirts or jackets that have drawstrings at the neck. The said errant companies are:

•    Kohl’s Department Stores Inc. (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) – It will be paying a civil penalty of $425,000. It has previously paid a civil penalty in 2008 of $35,000 for failing to report drawstrings in children’s sweatshirts

•    Maran Inc. of North Bergen, N.J. and K.S. Trading Corp. (Moonachie, N.J.) – A total of $85,000 in civil penalties shall be paid by the company.

•    Hill Sportswear Inc. (Paramount, CA) – Hill will be paying a civil penalty of $100,000.

By agreeing to pay the fines (settlements), these clothing companies deny CPSC’s allegations that they knowingly violated the law. Guidelines have been issued as far back as 1996 to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled in the neck or waist drawstrings in jackets and sweatshirts.

Although the clothing industry adopted a voluntary standard for drawstrings in 1997 that incorporated the CPSC guidelines, sweatshirts or jackets with drawstrings at the hood or neck still pose a threat to young children.

Federal law also requires manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to report to the agency within 24 hours if a defective product causes a safety hazard or doesn’t comply with consumer product safety rules.

But Hill Sportswear sweatshirts with drawstring were continually sold at various small retailers in California and Texas from 2003 through December 2008. The CPSC has advised parents to immediately remove the drawstrings from the sweatshirts or return the garments for a full refund.

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