California Accident Attorneys Blog

Published on: April 1, 2019

National Fraternity Held Not Liable for Personal Injury at Party

People who are seriously injured when they are visiting the property of others may be able to recover damages from the property owners or possessors in some cases. In some instances, injured plaintiffs may be able to reach defendants that are national companies or organizations. However, as Barenborg v. Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, Cal. Ct. App. Case No. B289766, some defendants may not be vicariously liable for the actions of chapters that are run independently.

Factual background of the case

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a national fraternal organization with more than 13,000 members and chapters at universities and colleges across the nation. The organization has bylaws that local chapters are supposed to follow, but each local chapter independently manages its own affairs and has its own bylaws. The California Gamma chapter was located at the University of Southern California. It had committed multiple violations in the past and occasionally held parties on Thursdays in violation of the organization’s rule that there should be no parties on Monday through Thursday.

Published on: March 13, 2019

Employer May Be Liable For Accident Caused by On-Call Employee

by Steven M. Sweat

In California, if you are injured in an accident that is caused by someone who is working, the at-fault driver’s employer may be liable to pay damages to you. Like other states, California assigns liability to employers when their employees negligently cause injuries to others while they are working. However, employers are not responsible for the negligent actions of their employees when their employees are not acting within the scope and course of their jobs.

In Moreno v. Visser Ranch, Cal. Ct. App., Case No. F075822, the court explored a situation in which a worker was driving an employer-provided vehicle after hours. However, since the worker was required to drive the employer-provided vehicle at all times and was on-call 24 hours per day, the court still found that he may have been acting within the scope and course of his job, meaning that his employer could be found to be liable by the trier of fact.

Factual and procedural background of the case

Published on: February 25, 2019

Court Decision Shows Importance of Consulting Attorney for a Cruise Ship Accident Injury Claim

by Steven M. Sweat

California courts normally give deference to forum selection clauses that are included in contracts when people suffer injuries while they are on cruises. When people purchase cruise line tickets, they are provided with copies of the contracts. Many of these contracts contain clauses that mandate where claims for injury must be filed. As the decision in Korman v. Princess Cruise Lines, LTD., Cal. Ct. App. Case No. B290681 shows, plaintiffs must make certain that they file their complaints in the correct court. It is important for plaintiffs to consult with an experienced cruise ship accident and injury attorney to make certain that their cases are filed correctly.

Factual and procedural background

Barry Korman went on a cruise with Princess Cruise Lines in Feb. 2017. While he was using the day spa, the cruise ship encountered a storm. The passengers were not warned of the impending storm before the cruise ship encountered it. The bad weather caused the cruise ship to tip, which resulted in Korman falling in the spa and breaking his hip. He suffered a permanent injury as a result and filed a lawsuit against Princess Cruise Lines on Aug. 29, 2017.

Published on: January 18, 2019

Legal Implications of Girl in Coma Getting Pregnant at Care Facility

by Steven M. Sweat

A recent case that happened in Phoenix, Arizona shocked many people in California and around the world. The case involved a woman who has been in a vegetative state for years who gave birth. The woman’s case involves both potential criminal and civil liability issues. If it had occurred in California, there are a couple of potential causes of action that could apply.

Facts of the case

A 29-year-old woman who is a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe in Arizona suffered a near-drowning incident. She has been in a coma ever since for more than a decade. The woman has lived in a long-term care facility called Hacienda Health Care in Phoenix since that time. On Dec. 29, the woman gave birth to a baby despite the fact that she has never regained consciousness from her coma.

Published on: January 10, 2019

Are cruise ships doing enough to protect passengers from falling overboard?

by Steven M. Sweat

Are cruise lines like Carnival doing enough to prevent overboard accidents? Millions of people enjoy taking cruises each year. According to Statista, an estimated 13.89 million people from North America took cruises in 2018, and another 6.23 million Europeans also did so.[1] While the popularity of cruises is undeniable, people still need to take steps to ensure that they remain safe. Cruises are considered to be generally safe, but there are some problems that can happen that may result from the negligence of the cruise liner companies. One of these issues that has recently been in the news is the problem of people falling off of cruise ships.

Prevalence of overboard incidents on cruise ships

Time Magazine reports that a spate of five presumed deaths from falling off of cruises occurred during the months of November and December in 2018.[2] The five victims included both crewmembers and passengers. The list of incidents is as follows:

Published on: December 17, 2018

Four Million Dollar Judgment Against Church in Sexual Molestation Claim Upheld

by Steven M. Sweat

When people file civil lawsuits against entities, including churches, that might be responsible for sexual abuse that they have suffered, the organizations must comply with discovery rules. If they do not comply with discovery requests and orders, they may face sanctions. In J.W. v. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Cal. Ct. App., Case No. E066555, the court reviewed whether terminating sanctions were appropriate in a case in which the defendant refused to turn over documents despite multiple court orders.

Factual and procedural background

J.W. is a female who was born in 1997. She was raised from birth in the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have an organizational hierarchy in which the Watchtower serves as the central power. Underneath the Watchtower, the church’s structure is divided into circuits, which are each composed of from 20 to 22 congregations. Each individual congregation is governed by a group of elders. The elders are responsible for managing all of the activities of the congregation, including door-to-door proselytizing, finances, and determining the guilt and punishment of individual members who commit serious sins.

Published on: December 7, 2018

Butte County Camp Fire: Numerous CA Law Firms Have Filed Lawsuits

by Steven M. Sweat

Numerous California law firms have already filed a series of coordinated lawsuits, on behalf of some of the victims of California’s largest-ever wildfire, the Butte County Camp Fire.

The allegations are that Pacific, Gas & Electric (“PG&E”) had a long history of poor maintenance, and numerous other known issues and prior complaints. And they have allegedly caused many other fires in the past. This shameful history demonstrates that PG&E knew that a serious fire could happen, but company executives put their own profits above the safety of thousands of people. In this particular case, there is allegedly good evidence that a failed electrical component, owned by PG&E, started the Camp Fire.

Families may not realize what potential compensation they could possibly recover in these lawsuits. This article explains the basic legal claims, and what damages can be recovered.

Published on: November 19, 2018

CA Appeals Court Rules Against Student Injured on Campus

by Steven M. Sweat

When personal injury cases in California go to jury trials, both the plaintiffs and the defendants are allowed to question potential jurors. The courts may also allow them to make opening statements so that they can present information about the facts and circumstances of their cases. However, as the case of Alcazar v. Los Angeles Unified School District, Cal. Ct. App. Case No. B281313 shows, the court is allowed to restrict the scope of the questioning and has discretion about allowing opening statements. People who have suffered injuries might benefit from consulting with experienced Los Angeles personal injury lawyers to obtain fair evaluations of their potential claims.

Factual background of the case

Edgar Alcazar was a 13-year-old middle school student with special needs. On May 7, 2013, Alcazar was swinging from a branch of a tree on the school’s campus that was growing inside of a concrete planter. Alcazar had been warned not to swing on the branches in the past and had been told that doing so was dangerous. Despite these warnings, he swang on the branch again, falling to the ground and striking his head on a pedestrian walkway during his lunchtime recess. The principal was called over a radio about the incident. When he got to the scene, he found Alcazar lying on his back next to a broken branch from the tree. The branch was about six feet long and 2 inches thick at its widest point.

Published on: October 29, 2018

Corporate America Trying to Avoid Responsibility for Causing Injury and Death

by Steven M. Sweat

When corporations have potential liability in personal injury and wrongful death cases, they often aggressively litigate legal claims that are filed against them by the victims and their families. Businesses may try to limit their liability in several ways. The business owners may try to avoid personal liability by structuring their companies as LLCs or corporations.

Some businesses set up shell companies so that the businesses themselves have few assets and only minimal liability policies. Others, such as Ripley Entertainment in Missouri and MGM Resorts in Las Vegas, take aggressive approaches to the victims by filing lawsuits against them based on antiquated laws or novel interpretations of recent laws. Large corporations also use lobbyists to convince state and federal legislators to limit liability through tort reform. When a business entity is a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit, it is important for the victims to get help from personal injury attorneys who are experienced in handling complex tort litigation matters.

An attempt to avoid liability: Ripley Entertainment and the duck boat disaster

Published on: October 10, 2018

CA Appeals Court Rules No Duty to Provide Defibrillator to Sports Participant

by Steven M. Sweat

In California, certain types of facilities such as health centers and schools are required to have automated external defibrillators available to use in case members and users of the facilities have heart attacks. However, there are limits to this requirement as demonstrated by Jabo v. YMCA of San Diego Co., Cal. Ct. App., Case No. D072613.[1] In that case, the court found that health facilities may not be required to supply AEDs to private leagues that rent fields to use for their games.

Factual and procedural background of the case

Adeal Jabo was a 43-year-old man who was a member of the over-40 Chaldean Soccer League in San Diego, California. The league had contracted with the YMCA of San Diego County to rent the use of a soccer field on the YMCA’s premises for its season on a private basis at a cost of $2,550. Per the agreement, the YMCA agreed to provide soccer balls and an electronic scoreboard to the league to use during its games. It also assigned a YMCA employee to serve as the scorekeeper but did not agree to do anything more.