Oakland Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Recently, I discussed a tragic drowning which occurred at the Castro Valley High School Swim Center in my posting "Castro Valley Swimming Pool Drowning: Lack of Supervision?" More information has now come to light. At the time of the drowning, the little boy was under the care of a daycare center, Kids Care Plus. His parents were not at the pool but had trusted the daycare center to take good care of him.

According to the news report, the daycare center would not answer reporters' questions about the drowning. Questions will be asked however, and they will have to be answered. When a daycare takes on the responsibility of caring for young children, they have the legal obligation to take all reasonable steps for the safety of the children under their care. Additionally, daycare centers are regulated by the State. There are certain staffing ratios that the centers must meet. The ratios range from 1 staff member to 4 children for the youngest, all the way up to 1 staff person to 14 children for older kids. There are numerous other regulations about proper training and background checks of their employees.

As an Oakland personal injury attorney, I have seen many unfortunate accidents over the years where young children were injured at daycare centers, or in after school programs. Usually, these injuries occur because of improper training of the staff, and inadequate numbers of staff members. Kids Care Plus will ultimately have to answer questions like these and many others about how this drowning occurred on their watch.

Resources

San Francisco Chronicle, July 29, 2010, Authorities Identify boy who drowned in Public Pool

Daycare.com, California Requirements

A young seven year old Oakland girl was bitten in the face by a pit bull yesterday. A few days back a young boy in Walnut Creek was mauled and killed by a pack of five pit bulls. It seems every year or so there is another horrific dog mauling in the news. Is it the fault of the dog or the owner?

Over 300,000 dog bites result in emergency room treatment every year. It has been estimated that the medical cost of these dog bites, including hospitalization, doctors fees, and other related costs total over $164,000,000.00. These are just the economic costs.

As an Oakland personal injury attorney, I have personally seen the long lasting effects of a serious dog attack. The scarring from a dog bite can remain a life long memory of a terrifying attack. The psychological impacts of such attacks can be devastating if not dealt with by appropriate medical and psychological healthcare providers. If you have been bitten by a dog, you should obtain appropriate medical care and know your legal rights.

If you own a dog, you owe a special duty to the public to keep the dog on a leash. Almost every California County has a leash law--so it's your legal duty to do so. If you are a landlord and your tenants have dogs, you can be responsible for dog bites if you knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous history.

These serious dog bites can be prevented if we all take proper care of our animals. Remember, it's an animal. If we own a dog, we are the ones responsible for making sure it doesn't seriously injure someone. Let's not place the blame on the dog.

Resources

Oakland Tribune, July 26, 2010, Pit bull bites 7-year-old Oakland girl in the face

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Hospitalizations for Dog Bite Injuries

The tragic case of a six year old boy drowning at a public pool in Castro Valley points out the importance of good supervision of young children swimming. The death occurred at the Castro Valley High School Swim Center. According to the report, there were 44 visitors at the time and three life guards on duty. I am not condemning the life guards without knowing the facts, but my question is "Were the lifeguards doing their job and keeping a close watch over the area or were they talking with others and being distracted?"

Because drowning incidents can cause severe brain injuries or even death, pool owners, both public and private, must take all reasonable steps to make sure young children are properly supervised when in the pool.

Drownings are the leading cause of death for children in California who are under the age of four. A swimming pool is 14 times more likely to cause death than an automobile accident. There are many steps that can be taken to prevent drownings--closer supervision is important, but other good practices such as proper fencing, preventing pooling of water on covers, etc are also important. For a comprehensive listing of swimming pool safety practices check on the State of California's website on Drowning Prevention.

My heart goes out to the family of the Castro Valley boy and others who have lost children in drowning accidents. As an Oakland brain injury attorney, I have seen the devastating effects of brain injuries caused by drownings. If you own or manage a swimming pool, I urge you to take all safety precautions to prevent swimming pool drownings. If you have life guards working for you, urge them to be vigilant and not be distracted by friends or activities. Young children's lives are in their hands. Let's do all we can to prevent these tragedies from recurring.

Resource:

The Oakland Tribune, July 27, 2010, Boy drowns in Castro Valley Pool

I reported on June 1, 2010, in my post "Defective Product Recall: Drop Side Cribs Related To Infant Deaths", about the risk to babies of using drop side cribs. At that time, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled over two million of these defective products.

These defective products can cause infant deaths when the sides of the crib separate and the baby's body falls in the gap. This can cause the baby to hang and suffocate. More recently, Pottery Barn for Kids announced that it will no longer sell drop side cribs. This is a step in the right direction, but a complete ban is the only solution. While Pottery Barn has acted responsibly, other retailers continue to ignore their corporate responsibility to provide only safe products to the public.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has now proposed an outright ban on drop side cribs. The CPSC states that the drop side cribs are responsible for the deaths of 32 infants.

As a father of four, and as an Alameda personal injury attorney handling defective products cases, I can think of no greater tragedy than a family who loses their child as a result of of a crib which should never have been on the market in the first place. Safety should come first; not corporate profits. The time to ban these drop side cribs is now.

Resources: Reuters, July 14, 2010, Pottery Barn recalls drop-side cribs, U.S. plans ban

The number of uninsured motorist injury accidents in Alameda County and throughout the State of California is astounding. This post addresses the problem and potential solutions to protect you against uninsured drivers.

If you are involved in an automobile injury accident in Oakland or throughout Alameda County, the odds are almost one in five that one of the parties will be uninsured. The State of California Insurance Department does not release information of the current numbers of California uninsured drivers, but as of 2004, a study released showed that over 13% of Alameda county drivers were uninsured. In some counties, the percentage exceeded 20%. More recently, The Insurance Research Council estimate the percentage of uninsured drivers on California highways to be approximately 18%. That's almost a one in five chance that your automobile injury accident will be involving an uninsured driver.

Fortunately, California law requires that all insurance policies include coverage against uninsured drivers. The coverage however can be waived if done in writing.

As a Oakland personal injury attorney, I recommend to my clients to never waive the uninsured motorist coverage on their policies. Also, it is important to have your uninsured motorist limits equal your liability limits. In this way, you will be protected if you have the unfortunate experience of being involved in an uninsured motorist accident.

For further information, see the article "Uninsured Motorist Coverage--What you Should Know".

Resources:

Don't Go Without Auto Insurance, LA Times, 5/28/2010

California Department of Insurance, Estimated Rate of Uninsured Motoists, 2002 - 2004

Two recent settlements illustrate the point that employers can be responsible for the actions of their employees who cause personal injury auto accidents. In one recent case, San Francisco based PG& E agreed to pay the mother of a college student $5,000,000.00 to settle a wrongful death claim in Santa Clara County. The employee, who was diabetic, passed out causing the fatal accident. In another case, the family of Jose Vega received an award of $7,000,000.00 whose death was caused when a Verizon employee was driving on the wrong side of the road on Highway 101, causing the death of Mr. Vega. In both instances, the employees were on the job when the accidents occurred. Therefore, the employers were responsible for all of the harm caused by their employees.

This legal principle which holds the employer responsible for the acts of their employees goes back to old English times where the master was responsible for the wrongs of his servants. It was known by the Latin term "respondeat superior." Today it is simply called "vicarious liability." The rule is not limited to situations where the employee is actually on the job. The employer may also be responsible for the employee's wrongdoing outside of normal work hours if the employee is on a special errand for the employer or must use a company car as part of his job.

As a bay area personal injury lawyer who has represented San Francisco personal injury accident victims over the years, I have noticed a trend. Employers are requiring their employees to do more and more work from home and on weekends. More frequently they are required to use their own person vehicle in their work. This broadens the scope of the employer's responsibility if their employees get in auto accidents which cause serious injuries. In investigating Oakland auto accidents, it is crucial to investigate all of the facts to determine whether the responsible driver was employed at the time of the accident and whether the employer bears any responsibility.

Resources:

PG&E to pay bereaved mother $5 million in wrongful death lawsuit, Mercury news, July 6, 2010

Wrong-Way Driver Victim's Family Awarded $7 Million, Santa Barbara Independent, July 1, 2010

Bridge tolls across bay area bridges were increased this week and for the first time in 30 years carpool lanes in the bay area will no longer be free. This has bay area commuters upset. For commuters who travel the carpool lanes daily, including those who use the vanpools, the economic incentives have diminished and may lead to a decrease in the use of carpools. Motorcycles will now have to pay tolls, too. This causes motorcycle drivers the unique inconvenience of having to remove protective gloves to retrieve toll money from their pockets.

Not only are the tolls increasing, the tolls vary according to the time of day, proving to be challenging for those travelers paying cash. Delays as vehicles approach the toll plaza and scramble to find the correct change may also increase the likelihood of more auto accidents. As an Oakland personal injury lawyer, I have handled many cases involving automobile and motorcycle accidents on the Oakland Bay Bridge.

Having Fastrak is convenient and may help ease the congestion at the toll plaza. The fastrak transponder will automatically calculate the correct toll according to the time of day and in the carpool lanes.

Caution on the bridges is always recommended, especially during this transitional period as drivers adjust to the toll changes.

Resources:
Mercury News, 6/20/2010, New bridge tolls take effect July 1

Contra Costa Times, 6/29/2010, The Queen of the Road: Toll increases affect motorcyclists, vanpools

Bay Area Toll Authority, 2010, Bay Area Toll Authority