North County Injury Blog

The criminal investigation into the Coast Guard boat accident that claimed the life of 8-year-old Anthony DeWeese is revealing a startlingly relaxed and sometimes “cowboy” attitude toward the operation of Coast Guard boats. The lead investigator into the accident has testified that boat operators failed to assign lookouts during patrols, used cell phones for talk…

The Boy Scouts of America have agreed to settle a lawsuit with six former scouts who alleged that they were molested in the 1980s by their Portland area scout leader. The settlement is confidential, but to avoid trial, the Boy Scouts have agreed to pay an additional $2.25 million in punitive damages. One of the…

You may recall hearing recently about the federal $75 million cap on damages British Petroleum might benefit from in the Gulf oil spill, well there’s a similar cap for the passenger rail industry. Under federal law, railroad companies cannot be liable for damages that exceed $200 million, and Metrolink has offered that amount to victims…

An empty dump truck ran a red light on Monday and broadsided a small compact car, seriously injuring the woman driving the car. The accident occurred at SR-163 off-ramp to Kearny Villa Road. According to witnesses, the woman entered the intersection on a green light, when the dump truck flew through the intersection, running the…

The San Diego Union Tribune has a story today about last weekend’s tragedy at the California 200 off-road race in Lucerne Valley. Four of the eight killed were residents of San Diego County, as was the driver of the truck that veered into the crowd. Yesterday, a federal investigation was officially launched to determine how…

Eight people were killed, and at least 12 injured when an off-road truck participating in the California 200 race veered off the track and plowed into a crowd of spectators. The race was being held in Soggy Dry Lake Bed near Lucerne Valley in the Mojave Desert. “There was dust everywhere, people screaming, people running,”…

A Northern California man was awarded $2.85 million in a settlement the maker of a stun-gun that was alleged to have caused permanent brain damage. The product manufacturer denied any liability, but agreed to pay the settlement. According to reports, in October 2006, 49-year-old Steve Butler was intoxicated and off his psychiatric medications when he…

Caroline McElhaney would have been 53 years old in two weeks. The mother of three, grandmother of five won’t see her next birthday because of the poor judgment of a negligent driver on Interstate 15 near the Ninth Avenue exit. Yesterday during the morning commute, the southbound driver of a 1999 Dodge Ram was coming…

Watch this excellent video from the Consumer Attorneys of California about what lawyers are doing now, and have done for centuries, to protect the rights of individuals. I particularly like that it highlights California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) and the injustice it has caused. Most people don’t realize that the non-economic damages caused…

The Bahia Hotel must be feeling a bit lucky today. On Saturday a walkway bridge that loads guests on and off the Bahia Belle bay cruiser collapsed, sending approximately 50 people, including an infant in a stroller, into the water. In what could have been a a very serious disaster, apparently no one was seriously…