Articles Posted in General Legal

The New York Times is out with a story about independent medical exams – or IMEs – in the state’s beleaguered worker’s compensation system. The article more or less confirms what injury attorneys all over the county already know: there is nothing “independent” about IMEs. Generally speaking, an insurance company in a personal injury or…

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris to overturn a state verdict of $79.9 million awarded to the widow of a longtime smoker by an Oregon jury. Legal analysts believe the ruling may mark a shift in the court, who most consider to be decidedly “pro business” it its rulings.…

The Voice of San Diego is out with an article about the impact the economic downturn is having on San Diego’s larger law firms. Nationwide, thousands of lawyers and support staff have been laid off, mainly younger associates that don’t yet have a book of business to sustain their own workload. Luce Forward laid off…

The American College of Trial Lawyers and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System has issued a report calling for major reform to the American civil justice system. Current rules allow attorneys to delay litigated disputes by demanding irrelevant or difficult to find information. Current federal discovery rules, which require the sharing…

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) is out with a research report on the egregious ways insurance companies make money at the expense of consumers. Despite being an industry with trillions (yes, trillion with a “t”) in assets, and billions in profits, insurance companies engage in time-honored tricks of the trade to avoid paying claims.…

On Saturday, a Cessna 172 crashed into a utililty pole east of Oceanside Municipal Airport seriously injuring both the pilot and his passenger. According to reports, the plane was registered to California Flight Academy of El Cajon, but whether the plane was being used for training purposes at the time of the accident is unclear.…

The new year will bring new laws to all California drivers. Just as the CHP is reporting that many Californians are ignoring the 6-month-old ban on using cell phones without a hands-free device – 42,000 citations have been issued – a few new laws will begin tomorrow. • No text messaging while driving. This one…

In recent years there has been a raging debate about what is the best age to allow a person to obtain a driver’s license. For teenagers, it is a rite of passage to get a driver’s license, but in increasing numbers teen drivers are causing mayhem on the roads. While road fatalities have dropped in…

FACTS: Last September 52-year-old Theodore Angle was struck and killed by an SUV while jogging at the intersection of Via Cordoba and Redhawk Parkway in Temecula. The SUV was turning onto Redhawk from Via Cordoba when it struck Angle. Allegations were made that the intersection was dangerous when turning left from Via Cordoba, because traffic…

FACTS: During a routine traffic stop in East San Diego County, police discovered an elderly woman bound and gagged in the back seat of the Dodge Magnum. According to reports, 75-year-old Natalie Vinje was kidnapped from her home on Friday night, and bound with duct tape. It was discovered that she had been beaten, and…