Every day, almost 12 people are killed in pedestrian and motor vehicle collisions according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Traffic Safety Facts. California is one of the top four states, including New York, Florida and Texas, in pedestrian fatalities.

In San Diego, a pedestrian suffered serious head injuries after he was struck by a Jaguar while crossing Federal Boulevard near Euclid Avenue in Webster.

According to the police, the accident happened shortly after 9:30 in the evening when the man suddenly stepped out from between two parked cars and walked right into oncoming traffic.

The Jaguar, which was driven by a man in his 30’s failed to stop his car in time from hitting the pedestrian. Police say that the pedestrian was drunk.

While drivers have the duty to exercise due diligence in operating their vehicles and to yield to drivers, pedestrians and bicycles who have the right of way – similarly, pedestrians have the same duty to exercise care and diligence on the road.

In a 2002 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study, pedestrians were judged to be more at fault in most pedestrian and car collisions than drivers. Most were always judged culpable in midblock and intersection dash crashes – the collision wherein a pedestrian appears suddenly in the path of a vehicle.

Also, aside from walking right into traffic or vehicles and failure to follow traffic signals, intoxicated pedestrians are also a traffic safety problem.

Based on IIHS statistics, alcohol is also a major factor in pedestrian accidents – with drunk pedestrians more to blame than drunk drivers. As much as 54 percent of pedestrians aged 16 and above who were fatally injured in nighttime crashes (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) had high BACs.

Drunk, distracted, and impaired drivers are usually held liable for pedestrian deaths and injuries. But in situations where the roles are reversed, when the pedestrian himself is careless, distracted or drunk, there can be no valid personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Accidents can be costly, especially if you alone will bear the price for your negligence or folly.

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Beef lovers beware!

According to the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, 864,000 pounds or 390 tons of ground-beef have been found to be tainted with E. coli and is now being recalled.

A batch of contaminated beef was found shipped by the plant from January 5 to January 15 and sold to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels in California.

Huntington Meat Packing Inc of Montebello, California produced the tainted beef. Fortunately for the company, there have been no reported illnesses or fatalities from the consumption of the product.

In 2008, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were as many as 18,499 laboratory-confirmed cases of food-borne illnesses from ten states, including California.

E.coli bacteria – in particular – are the very common causes of food-borne illnesses which can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia, and kidney failure among others.

Very young children and older people are very vulnerable to it and can become seriously ill or develop severe illness and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) by ingesting food or water which has been contaminated with microscopic amounts of cow feces.

Victims of food poisoning, especially those who have been grievously affected by the contaminated food, may file a claim for damages against the food manufacturer or distributor.

You can rightfully recover medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering especially if the manufacturer or distributor was negligent in handling the food product and failed to exercise care and quality control.

Consult a product liability lawyer to find out if you can file a claim against the manufacturer. Cases like this can be tricky as sometimes, a mere stomach ache or upset stomach would not amount to a valid claim for damages.

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The rain is wrecking both traffic troubles and tragedies in California roads.

Recently, 43-year old Maria Castellanos was killed in an early morning car crash after her car crashed in a power pole.

According to the California Highway Police, the driver from Sonoma was most likely driving too fast under the conditions before she lost control of her 2001 Ford Taurus on Highway 12.

As she approached a curve near Madrone Road, her car spun out of control and sent her slamming against the power pole.

She died at 10:30 that morning in the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Aside from driver behavior and error, weather conditions like rain, snow and fog are some of the leading causes of car crash accidents.

Rain in particular, has been known to cause car accidents even if the driver is skilled or even driving below the posted speed limit. Slick and slippery roads can cause even a vehicle moving within the speed limit to spin out of control when making a turn.

Often, due diligence is not enough when out driving under bad weather conditions – extraordinary diligence coupled with the exercise of common sense is called for in road situations where there is rain, snow or fog.

When it rains, it is very important to remember not to rush. On its own, speed is already a dangerous and leading factor in fatal car crashes. But wet roads and speed almost inevitably equate to tragedy.

In San Jose, a man barely escaped with his life when his car spun out of control and hit a crosswalk sign. Rescuers managed to cut the man loose from his seatbelt just seconds before the car exploded. Unfortunately, Castellanos is not as lucky.

It is important to bear in mind that taking care and taking time to get to your destination will actually get you to where you want to be. Speeding under the weather will only get you to an early grave.

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The disabled woman who was struck in a hit-and-run accident in Lakeside last week has died of her injuries the other night.
Judith Tellez, 63, was in a coma until she died Tuesday night.

She sustained a broken back and legs, and a fractured skull after being struck by a Ford Expedition while crossing the Old Highway 80.

Police are still searching for the hit-and-run driver.

If he is caught, instead of just worrying about a wrongful death suit, he may be criminally prosecuted by the state as well.

Under California law, a driver involved in a car accident is required to stop and provide reasonable assistance to those who are injured.

The state may file a felony charge against him for leaving the accident scene.

In addition, since the car accident resulted in death, he may also be charged with manslaughter.

If he had stayed, he could have avoided criminal prosecution, or even if he ends up being charge, he can get a more lenient plea for manning up to his mistake.

His insurance company could have also taken care of any civil lawsuits filed against him.

Instead, he chose to run away from his mistake.

No he is also running from the law.

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Following her second DUI arrest last November 2009, Pamela Bach, the ex-wife of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was recently ordered by the judge to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet and attend several AA meetings.

Bach will likely face jail time if convicted for her second DUI offense as a repeat offender for her drunk driving car crash last February and November 2009.

Despite the innumerable fatal drunk driving fatal car crash accidents reported on the news daily as well against law and logic – there are many people who still continue to drink and drive.

A likely reason for the continued rising trend of drunk drivers is the fact that many people, especially non-hardcore drinkers, underestimate the effects of alcohol on their driving skills.

But alcohol is a drug, in fact it is an antidepressant. No matter how good a driver the person is, drinking alcohol can impair one’s judgment, reflexes, and coordination which are all very important to one’s driving abilities.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that drunk driving is very dangerous not just to the driver but also to other motorists and pedestrians. In order to curb repeat drunk driving offenses, here are some of the ways to reduce or control drunk drivers:

SCRAM bracelet – This is an alcohol monitoring bracelet which constantly tests the skin of its wearer for the presence of alcohol. It monitors the alcohol consumption of DUI offenders.

Ignition Interlock Device – It is a mechanism installed to a motor vehicle’s dashboard wherein the driver must first exhale into the device before the vehicle’s engine is started. If the driver’s BAC is greater than the programmed blood alcohol content limit, the device would prevent the drunk driver from driving.

PAS Device – The preliminary alcohol-screening (PAS) device is a hand-held breath-testing unit that gives an instant and accurate measure of the drunk driver’s blood alcohol concentration. This is usually used by law enforcement to measure the blood alcohol level of suspected drunk drivers.

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