In Dana point, a female driver fell asleep at the wheel and flipped her car while northbound I-5 just north of Camino Estrella.

According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the crash happened at 10:42 in the morning while the driver was on the leftmost No. 1 lane. Allegedly, she dozed off and woke up with oncoming traffic stopping in front of her.

The driver swerved to the left and ended up hitting a wall before flipping her Toyota Corolla. The female driver had minor injuries.

In a survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation’s most recent survey, 28 percent of Americans have admitted to falling asleep while driving while 54 percent (more than half of the respondents), were guilty of drowsy driving.

According to David Cloud, National Sleep Foundation’s CEO, people are not always aware that they are too tired to drive and can fall into a 3-4 second microsleep. If a driver falls into a microsleep while travelling at 65 mph – the distance is equivalent to driving across a football field while unconscious.

But aside from falling asleep at the wheel, fatigued or drowsy driving is also dangerous because it slows down reaction times, impairs vision and judgment. Even if drivers don’t drive off the road because they fall asleep at the wheel, they may end up hitting pedestrians, bikes, or other cars because they were too sleepy to notice their immediate surroundings.

To avoid the hassle of crashing your car or worse, causing an accident that could potentially hurt or kill other motorists, here are some tips you can follow to avoid being a negligent and drowsy driver:

•    Avoid alcohol or drugs/medication that can cause drowsiness before driving.
•    Get enough sleep and adequate rest to be alert on the road.
•    Use the “buddy system” when driving long distances so the both of you can take turns at the wheel when either driver is feeling sleepy or tired.
•    Drink coffee. Two cups of coffee can increase alertness for several hours.
•    If out for a long drive and you’re feeling sleepy, pull over and take a nap. Also, be careful driving especially if you just woke up.

Early mornings or late evenings are often to time when most sleep-related driving accidents occur. So at the start and the end of your day, make sure you’re wide awake and alert because driving is a skill that requires focus and both of the driver’s eyes open.

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This just goes to show that even professional and record-breaking Tour De Force champion bicyclists like Lance Armstrong can get involved in a bicycle accident.

"Lance Armstrong injured in tour of California." (photo credit: examiner.com)

Earlier this week, Armstrong, who was in the Tour of California, was sent to the hospital after being injured in a bicycle crash. The accident happened on a two-lane road outside Visalia, when one of the riders in the main group skidded on gravel and fell, which triggered a chain crash accident.

Armstrong allegedly tried to get back into the race but had to quit because of an injury below his left eye and a wound in his elbow that kept him from holding on too long to the bars of his bike.

Precautionary X-rays were taken and aside from eight stitches below his left eye, Armstrong was fine.

Learning how to ride a bike may be easy, the hard part is how to safely ride one.

These days, heavily congested roads have forced people to resort to using motorcycles and bicycles for their transportation. Riding bicycles are certainly more environment-friendly and fuel-efficient but staying safe on the streets while riding a bike can be a challenge.

Sometimes, when there are no bicycle lanes, cars, SUVs, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles would have to share the road and this has been the cause of many bicycle accidents that have injured or killed thousands of people.

If Lance Armstrong got into a bicycle accident, the odds are, ordinary bikers riding for pleasure, exercise and transportation are even more likely to take a spill on the road sooner or later. So in the meantime, here are some bicycle safety tips:

•    Get a headlight and a rear light for your bicycle especially if you ride during the evenings.
•    Wear bright and/or reflective clothing.
•    Try to avoid busy streets as much as possible, most car drivers will be too busy or distracted to notice you.
•    Take the whole lane when you ride, or at least ride a little bit to the left, rather than stay on the right curb.
•    Never move left or make a turn without checking your area.

If you ride your bicycle safely and follow all of the above-mentioned tips but still get involved in an accident, you may file a personal injury claim especially if the other driver was negligent. Because just as you have the duty to be careful and diligent, so do the other motorists on the road.

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We’ve all heard about “death panels” but it seems that death panel rumors barely hold a candle to the reality of elderly abuse in nursing homes.

Previously, it was reported that a nursing home in Auburn, Colonial Healthcare was ordered to pay $28 million worth of punitive damages for the death of one of its residents in Auburn because of an infected bedsore.

Frances Tanner, 79, although suffering from mild dementia, was healthy when she got admitted to Colonial. However, within 7 months after a fall accident that broke her hip, the long-time civil servant died from a bedsore. Her daughter, Elizabeth Pao, was also awarded $1.1 million for Tanner’s pain and suffering as well as for her loss of companionship.

This time, even after the huge amount of damages awarded against Colonial Healthcare, a Los Angeles nursing home has now been fined $100,000 for an 84-year old patient’s death.

According to a report by the California Department of Public Health, the patient, who was at the center because of a fractured hip and prostate cancer, died because Hancock Park Rehabilitation Center failed to follow the proper policies and procedure.

It improperly administered a nasal feeding tube and the feeding tube apparently started to leak food into the man’s lung which caused pneumonia which led to his death last May 2008.

State health regulators imposed the $100,000 fine, the highest and most severe penalty under state laws regulating nursing homes.

But as evidenced by the continued elderly abuse at nursing homes, mostly brought about by poor management and chronic understaffing, imposing fines and even millions of dollars worth of damages has failed to deter other nursing homes from making the same mistake and abuses on their clients.

If you have a loved one in a nursing home or considering it, it would really be prudent for you to check its background and ask around about its quality of care. But in the worst case scenario that your elderly mother or father or other family members were injured or who died because of the nursing home’s negligence or failure to follow proper nursing care procedures, a fine being imposed against the nursing home by the government is just one of the remedies.

Rightfully, you may file a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death claim against the negligent nursing home to recover compensation for any monetary expenses or loss you and your family suffered because of their acts and omissions.

Filing a wrongful death claim or a personal injury lawsuit isn’t also just for compensation – these facilities should be held accountable for the negligence and since they put profit over people, winning a case against them will force these nursing homes to improve their standard and quality of care to avoid further litigation.

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The online community is abuzz with news about how Samsung cell phone has suddenly exploded right in front of the user’s face.

According to the owner, (who posted a detailed account of his “accident” at http://gizmodo.com/5539192/a-cellphone-exploded-in-my-face) when he got in his car to drive after going to the gym, he dropped his Samsung Rogue phone between the seat and the center console.

"Samsung rogue phone explodes" (photo credit: gizmodo.com)

Allegedly, he moved the car seat back to retrieve his phone but then heard a “creaking sound” right before the cell phone exploded in his face. The owner claimed that chemicals and debris had to be washed out from his eyes.

He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and given antibiotics. He reports that he still feels a burning sensation in his eyes after the explosion.

When the man complained to Verizon Wireless (his carrier) about the incident, all the company did was replace his phone. The man tried to file a complaint against Samsung but the cell phone explosion is still under investigation.

Every now and then, reports of exploding cell phones would make their way online. A few of the cases of explosions have been actually caused by the battery – specifically, batteries made of lithium-ion (Li-ion).

Li-ion batteries are actually very popular right now, and not just for cell phones. These are also used in laptops, iPods and palm pilots because these are lighter and the most energetic rechargeable batteries available.

Allegedly, two or three battery packs in a million end up exploding or bursting into flames – but the rate could be increased as when shorted and/or subjected to pressure.

So far, exploding batteries have not merited any recall on the part of the manufacturers or the government regulators. But if the injuries suffered by the Samsung Rogue owner phone can indeed be traced to a product defect – if the Samsung batteries were inordinately dangerous because of the combustible chemicals – the man would have a right to sue Samsung and/or Verizon as the manufacturer and retailer under Product Liability Law.

There are three kinds of defects which the “exploding cell phones” can be attributed to: manufacturing defects, dangerous design, and marketing or failure to warn defects. If you are injured or have experienced the same situation, it would also be best to consult with a personal injury attorney or a product liability lawyer to weigh the options whether mere replacement of your phone will suffice or further monetary compensation for your injuries.

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It was worth the wait for many former workers of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in California to learn about the news that the world’s largest retailer has finally agreed to pay up to $ 86 million to settle the wage-and-hour class action lawsuit (Ballard v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.), which the workers have filed in the US District Court in Northern California in 2006.

According to the company, the amount would provide about $74 million for unpaid wages and $12 million in vacation pay to nearly 232,000 terminated workers who joined the class-action lawsuit.

The settlement is just awaiting approval of trial and appellate courts.

For these former workers this is surely welcome news however for those unheard few exploited workers, their ordeals are far from over.

So how exactly can a California worker deal with an unpaid wage issue?

First, you must understand that there are different time periods for the filing of a wage claim in California, where majority of workers are under at-will employment.

•    If the claim is based on an oral agreement, it must be filed within two (2) from the date the claim arose.
•    If the claim is based on a written agreement, it must be filed within four (4) years from the date the claim arose
•    Minimum wage, unpaid overtime, and other statutory claims must be filed within three (3) years from the date the claim arose.

Generally, any employee with unpaid wages or other compensation claim may file a claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), which is under the State Labor Commission.

The Labor Commissioner will determine whether the wage complaint will undergo a conference or hearing based on established procedures for investigating complaints (Labor Code section 98 and 98.3).

Having the services of an experienced employment and labor lawyer during this conference or hearing, would prove valuable to your case.

(video credit: SmartTrend)

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