Five-Year Old Boy Dies in Drowning Accident

Jun 24

Los Angeles LawyerDrowning Accidents, Personal Injury child drowning accidents, personal injury lawyer, wrongful death lawsuit 1 Comment

With summer looming just ahead and with a lot of beaches deserted because of the oil spill, a lot of people are expected to beat the heat by having fun in their house pools.

Unfortunately, a 5-year old boy from Rolando, San Diego had a fatal drowning accident when he drowned in a pool at the single-family home.

The accident, which was reported at around seven in the evening, said that the boy was found floating in the pool. Paramedics allegedly tried to resuscitate the boy but failed. The police did not provide other details about how the child got into the pool or how long he was left unattended.

Fatal drowning accidents are fairly common among children, 1 in 5 fatal drowning victims are children aged 14 and younger according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Drowning is in fact the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years.

In warm-climate states like California, where a number of houses have their own private pools, drowning accidents especially during the summer season happen quite often. There are a number of factors which can be blamed for such child drowning accidents:

•    Lack of proper adult supervision/attention over the child
•    Negligence on the part of the owner of a swimming pool to install a proper four-sided pool fence
•    Dangerous manufacturing or design defect of the swimming pool/hot tub/spa
•    The fence or gate around the pool was defectively installed

Generally, if such elements were present when your child drowned or almost drowned, these may constitute negligence on the part of the owner.

If such is the case, the parents of the injured or deceased child may file a personal injury claim or a wrongful death lawsuit as the situation may warrant. Drowning accidents can be prevented, had the liable party or the pool owner taken the appropriate measures and precautions to prevent unattended children from wandering into his open pool and drowning.

Most child drowning accidents occur in residential pool areas and in the span of 5 minutes out of sight of a parent or guardian, a child can drown. Simple barriers such as a 4-sided pool fence could have easily avoided such catastrophe.

Seek the advice of a personal injury lawyer to find out if you can hold the pool owner liable for his negligence.

95-Year Old Driver Killed in Bus Collision

Jun 17

Los Angeles LawyerVehicle Accident DUI, impair driving ability, motor vehicle accident 1 Comment

Last Monday evening, a 95-year old driver perished in an accident when his car was involved in a head-on collision with a bus.

The elderly Porterville man was driving westbound in his 1995 Pontiac on Road 296 when he inexplicably drifted into the eastbound lanes. He crashed into the bus driven by Cheryl Lyn Seitz, 48, of Porterville.

He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he died. Three bus passengers, David Johnson, 41, and Angela Roberts, 38, of Lindsay, and Luz Carrillo, 34, of Porterville suffered minor injuries and were taken Sierra View District Hospital for treatment.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 26 million Americans aged 70 years old and older living in the United States — approximately 67 percent these were also drivers. Now that baby boomers are fast becoming old, the growing number of elderly drivers now presents a serious road safety concern.

While elderly people do not get involved in as many crashes as teenagers, a number of them still lose their lives in fatal crashes. In 2008, as many as 4,268 people aged 70 and above were killed in motor vehicle crashes.

The main reason for fatality rates however, was the elderly driver’s fragility. Fragility or their risk of death in a crash increases around ages 60-64 and continues to rise with increasing age.

As drivers age, their physical, cognitive, and visual abilities may also decline. Most often, their vision starts to become impaired and they have slower reflexes. Also, many older drivers take medications for various age-related ailments. Medicine, whether prescription or over the counter, can impair driving ability at any age but can be especially impairing for an older driver.

So if you are an elderly driver, or know someone who continues to drive despite their old age and condition, it would be best to undergo screening the next time the license is to be renewed. It also isn’t advisable to take medication right before driving as some drugs can cause drowsiness and even trigger a DUI-related accident.

There is no general rule regarding elderly drivers being allowed to drive as long as they are able, therefore, it would be up to you, whether as the elderly driver or his/her family, to take appropriate measures to ensure that there is no road safety risk to avoid causing accidents.

Starbucks Settles Sexual Harassment Suit with Former Teen Barista

Jun 11

Los Angeles LawyerSexual Harrassment employee rights, sexual harassment No Comments

Coffee conglomerate Starbucks has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former teen barista in California for an undisclosed amount of money.

Kati Moore, who was 16 years old when she first worked in Starbucks, claimed that the company failed to protect her when her 24-year-old supervisor Tim Horton, would demand for sex.

Allegedly, Horton sent her hundreds of text messages wherein he would summon her for sex and even texted her, “I’d like to f— tomorrow.” Moore also stated that other Starbucks supervisors and managers were aware of what was happening but did not do anything to stop it.

In his defense, Horton claimed that he did not know Moore was 16. He was sentenced to serve four months in prison when he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of illegal sex with a minor.

Although Starbucks initially said that it was confident it would not be found at fault since Horton and Moore supposedly concealed their illegal relationship, the company changed its mind and instead cut a deal with the complainant.

While Starbucks has a concrete policy against sexual harassment and managers dating baristas, it actually had no rules or policies regarding relationships with teen employees under the age of 18.

The settlement between Moore and Starbucks also did not disclose whether the company would create new rules to protect its teen employees against sexual harassment.

According to experts, Moore’s case is not an uncommon occurrence in the workplace, particularly in fast food restaurants. Among all other employees, teen workers are more vulnerable to sexual harassment. In fact, according to a study from Maine, 1 out of 3 high school students experience unwanted sexual advances in the workplace.

Under the law, it is illegal for an employer or a person with influence or moral ascendency to sexually harass an employee. This offense is further exacerbated if the employee is a minor as for most states, it is a crime to have sex with a minor.

Teenagers are vulnerable to many workplace or labor law violations simply because often, they do not know any better. It is the duty of the employer to make sure that the rights of their teen employees are protected and upheld.

Chrysler Recalls 600,000 Jeep Wranglers and Minivans

Jun 08

Los Angeles LawyerAuto Defects, Product Liability Auto Defects, negligence, Product Liability No Comments

The Michigan-based automaker, Chrysler has recently announced a recall of two of its vehicles amounting to nearly 600,000 recalled units of Jeep Wranglers and Chrysler Town & Country minivans.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s notice, the affected models are Jeep Wranglers from model years 2006 to 2010 and Chrysler Town & Country minivans from model years 2008 and 2009.

Although no accidents or injuries have been reported, the recall involved auto defects involving brakes and wiring.

Allegedly, Jeep Wranglers have a condition which may cause its brakes to fail. It is susceptible to brake fluid leak (which can cause partial or total loss of brakes) because of contact between the right and left front inner fender liners and the right front and left rear brake tubes.

On the other hand, some Chrysler Town & Country minivans were built with an improperly routed wiring harness which can cause a short circuit and lead to a fire.

Owners of the above-mentioned vehicles shall be contacted by Chrysler for free repairs.

For most car manufacturers, car defects and auto recalls is an experience they go through at one point or another.  This is particularly common for automakers who share the same parts suppliers.

Aside from Toyota’s unintended acceleration problems with millions of vehicles recalled, Chrysler has also previously recalled vehicles for the same sticky accelerator pedals. The defective pedals were apparently all made by the same supplier, CTS.

In case you own a car which has been recalled, don’t hesitate to take it to the nearest dealer for a free fix. A lot of cars may seem to run fine in the beginning but can hurt or injure you in an accident if it turns out to be defective or prone to accidents.

If you or a loved one were injured or suffered a death within your family because of a defective vehicle or auto part, you have the right to sue either the car manufacturer or the auto supplier for compensation for any damage or loss you incurred.

Under the doctrine of strict liability which is usually applied in product liability cases, parties who make their defective products available to the public, regardless of negligence or tortious intent, are responsible for the injuries those products cause.