Given the spate of recent commercial tour bus crashes across the country including in California, many are asking whether there should be more oversight of these commercial tour bus and trucking companies. Various federal agencies, including the National Traffic Safety Administration are faulting a lack of oversight of these companies…
The recent fatal teen crash in Burbank, California that made national news has too many of the common characteristics of car accidents involving teenagers across the U.S., which cause serious injury and death every year. (See story on candlelight vigil related to this incident from the Los Angeles Times). Every year…
Bicycle riders will get a three foot buffer from passing motorists under a new California law that was passed by Governor Jerry Brown last month. Bicycle riding advocates in the Golden State have been pushing for this legislation for several years now. The last attempt was vetoed by Brown due…
CNN reported today that the Michael Jackson wrongful death case will go to a jury for a decision. The attorneys for the defendant, AEG Entertainment Group (AEG), filed a motion to have the case dismissed but, this was overruled. (See full CNN report here: Michael Jackson trial). The jury trial…
The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District recently ruled that an employer may be held legally liable for an employee getting drunk at a company party and causing a fatal car accident. The case is entitled, Purton v. Marriott International Inc. (for a PDF of the full court opinion,…
We’ve all heard the adage “look both ways before you cross the street” from the time we were children. We heard it from our parents and teachers and it used to be that was enough but, recent studies are showing more teenagers and young adults being distracted by electronic devices…
San Francisco, even more so than many other cities in California including Los Angeles, has become more and more a city of bike riders. Cyclists are beginning to commute more to work and home in the “City by the Bay” but, unfortunately, aggressive bike riding recently led to the death…
August 4-10, 2013 has been designated by numerous public safety organizations as “Stop on Red” week to raise awareness of auto accidents caused by people running red lights. It is estimated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) that running red lights is the number one cause of traffic…
Why are so many car accidents caused by texting and driving and does California law prohibit the practice? The statistics are startling. It is estimated by various studies conducted and/or examined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that there are over a thousand people every day injured and…
Americans seem very divided, to say the least, about the recent not guilty jury verdict for George Zimmerman related to the death of Trayvon Martin. Indeed, this has been one of the most emotionally charged cases in recent years. One thought I had as an attorney that has handled both…