If you are in a car accident in Vista and file a lawsuit against the negligent driver, how will your case be impacted if the defendant says you are partially to blame for the accident? This question concerns “comparative fault,” which is sometimes known as contributory negligence or contributory fault. In short, when a plaintiff files an accident claim against the responsible party, that defendant can raise the issue of comparative fault as a defense to avoid paying the plaintiff the full amount of compensation he or she is seeking. While each state has its own laws concerning comparative fault, it is important to know that a plaintiff in California can still recover damages even if the court says the plaintiff is partially to blame.

We want to tell you more about California’s comparative fault law, and to explain how it may affect a car accident lawsuit in Vista.

California Follows a Pure Comparative Fault Rule

As we mentioned above, different states handle issues of comparative fault in various ways. Some states follow what is known as a pure contributory negligence rule, barring a plaintiff from any type of recovery if that plaintiff is even one percent at fault for an accident. Other states follow some form of a modified comparative fault rule in which a plaintiff is barred from recovery once that plaintiff is either 50% or more at fault, or 51% or more at fault—the distinction varies based on the particular state.

California follows what is known as a pure comparative fault rule. This means that a car accident plaintiff in Vista can recover damages from the defendant whether that plaintiff is 1% at fault, or even 99% at fault. In other words, as long as the defendant is still at fault in some capacity, then the plaintiff is still entitled to recover damages. However, it is important to know that the plaintiff’s damages award ultimately is reduced by his or her portion of the fault and the defendant is responsible for paying only his or her portion of fault. In other words, fault is apportioned accordingly.

Comparative fault is not an issue that the plaintiff would raise, or that the court would raise on its own. Rather, comparative fault is a defense that the defendant might raise in order to reduce his percentage of liability. If you are concerned that you may be partially at fault for your car accident, you should talk with a Vista car accident attorney about gathering evidence to prove that the defendant (or defendants) is entirely at fault and that you bear no responsibility or fault for the collision.

How Does Comparative Fault Work in Practice?

If the defendant is successful in proving that the plaintiff is partially at fault for a Vista car crash, then the plaintiff’s damages award is reduced by the plaintiff’s portion of fault.

For example, if the jury decides that the plaintiff is 5% responsible, that plaintiff’s damages award would be reduced by 5%. Let us say that the jury awards the plaintiff a total of $100,000. The court would then reduce that amount by the plaintiff’s portion of fault, or 5% (so, $100,000 – 5%, or $5,000), and the plaintiff would recover $95,000. The same type of equation would be used whether the plaintiff is nominally at fault or largely at fault. For instance, if the plaintiff is 90% at fault, that $100,000 damages award would be reduced by 90%, or $90,000, and the plaintiff would recover $10,000 under California’s comparative fault law.

Contact a Vista Auto Accident Lawyer

If you have questions about comparative fault and your traffic crash claim, an experienced car accident attorney in Vista can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Self-Driving Vehicles and Car Accident Risks in Rancho Bernardo Is Marijuana a Factor in San Marcos Car Accidents?

Nobody wants to think about toxic substances that may exist in the drinking water in Encinitas or elsewhere in Southern California. However, companies have disposed of toxic and otherwise harmful substances in ways that result in serious and fatal harms to consumers in California and throughout the country, giving rise to a category of personal injury lawsuits known as toxic tort claims. Toxic tort injuries in a small town in Southern California made national news back in 1996, yet as a recent article in Grist highlights, those toxic substances continue to have relevance.

Toxic Torts Legislation in Hinkley, California

Anyone who has seen the film Erin Brockovich (2000) probably remembers the name Hinkley, a town in Southern California made famous in 1996 when, as the article explains, “a group of residents famously won a massive direct-action arbitration against Pacific Gas and Electric.” The case involved allegations against Pacific Gas and Electric, which ultimately was found responsible for “dumping hexavalent chromium (aka chromium-6), a carcinogen used to suppress rust formation at the Hinkley gas compressor station, into an unlined pond in the ‘50s and ‘60s.” By the 1990s, the chromium-6 had seeped into the groundwater in Hinkley, and many people suffered serious injuries.

Yet the dumping of toxic waste continues to impact residents. While many people moved away from Hinkley, some people stayed. The groundwater remains contaminated, and experts have suggested that a complete cleanup could take as long as 50 years. Property owners cannot find insurers, and residents of the town remain at risk of toxins in the groundwater. While those who decided to remain in Hinkley have taken important steps to hold Pacific Gas and Electric accountable and to ensure that remediation does occur, there is no clarity as to when (and whether) the full cleanup will be completed.

Public Utilities Engage in Dangerous Behaviors Beyond Toxic Torts

Utility companies and other energy companies can be responsible for severe toxic tort injuries that result from harmful substances being dumped into the water and ground in California. At the same time, it is important to remember that utility companies can also engage in other dangerous behaviors beyond those associated with toxic tort claims that can put California residents at risk of serious personal injury.

For example, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the Southern California Gas Co. recently was fined for failing to test a section of its pipeline that was damaged in an explosion that occurred in January 2017. Southern California Gas Co. is the largest natural-gas operator in the state of California (and indeed in the country). As such, it supplies natural gas to thousands of Californians. However, California state regulators also allege that the company has been “putting its financial bottom line ahead of public safety by refusing to fully investigate [the] 2017 explosion.” The California Public Utilities Commission fined the utility company $3.3 million, citing its practices as “irresponsible to the public safety and unacceptable.”

Contact an Encinitas Toxic Torts Lawyer

If you have questions about toxic torts or filing a toxic torts claim in Southern California, you should speak with an Encinitas toxic torts attorney about your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information about how we assist clients in personal injury cases.

See Related Blog Posts: Brain Injury Research Gets a Boost New Study Highlights Open Water Drowning Dangers

One of the great features of any hotel when you are on vacation with your family is an outdoor pool. Even for visitors to Rancho Bernardo who are planning to spend much of their time at the beach, if you are staying at a hotel with a pool, there is a good chance that you and your children will enjoy some time by the poolside. However, pools can be extremely dangerous, and children especially can sustain serious hotel injuries at a pool. While drowning due to swimming inexperience or slipping and falling typically is the primary concern when it comes to hotel pool injuries, there are other ways that guests can get hurt while enjoying the water. Specifically, pool drain accidents and pool filter accidents happen more often than you might think.

Hotel Pools and Circulation Entrapments in Drains

Pools and hot tubs at hotels have drain systems and filter systems that are designed to clean the water and to create circulation. While these systems help to ensure that hotel guests are swimming in clean water, they can also lead to serious personal injuries if proper safety precautions are not taken or if these devices do not undergo regular maintenance. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) refers to many of these injuries that lead to drowning deaths as “circulation entrapments.” In such situations, an injured guest may be able to file a hotel negligence claim.

As an article in the New York Daily News clarifies, “the suction created by the drains [in pools and hot tubs] can trap children under the surface or catch limbs, in some cases causing serious injury or death.” Indeed, according to a spokesperson for the Pool Safety Council, “the force of a drain on a residential pool has a weight of at least 500 pounds.” Every year, 390 children under the age of 15, on average, suffer fatal injuries in “pool or spa-related submersion injuries,” with many of these accidents involving pool drains and filters. More than 50% of these injuries occur at public pools or hotel pools.

Between the years 2008 and 2012, pool drain injuries were responsible for a total of 39 emergency department visits, and most of the victims were children. They suffered from a variety of injuries, including drowning symptoms, fractured bones, and intestinal prolapse. At least two children during that period died from their injuries. A 7-year-old girl recently suffered a near-fatal drowning after her hair got caught in a swimming pool filter, according to an article in News.com.

Pool Drain Accidents can be Prevented When Hotels Take Proper Safety Measures

Pools drains need to be inspected regularly, or else they can come loose. As the article emphasizes, many newer pools have domed drain covers that are designed to prevent these types of injuries, but even this type of drain cover can lead to a circulation entrapment if it is not checked often by hotel maintenance. In some cases, the screws come loose, and in others they become rusty and the drain cover comes off.

If a child does get stuck in a pool drain, it is important to avoid trying to life the child directly off the train. To be sure, “the force of the suction makes that impossible.” What should parents or staff do? An adult should attempt to wedge their fingers between the drain and the child’s body, and then roll the child off the drain sideways.

Contact a Hotel Negligence Attorney in Rancho Bernardo

Hotels and motels have a duty to maintain pools properly, including drains and filters. If your child suffered an injury at a hotel or motel in Southern California, you should speak with a Rancho Bernardo hotel negligence lawyer about your options. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we assist injury victims.

See Related Blog Posts: California Hotel Liability and Swimming Pool Accidents Liability When Resort or Hotel Guests Get Hurt

(image courtesy of Ryan Wilson)

Ziplines are becoming more popular in Southern California and throughout the country at a wide range of locations, from outdoor education centers to local parks to summer camps. While children and teens might be excited to try ziplining, it is important for parents to recognize that zipline injuries are actually quite common, and they can be severe and debilitating. A recent study discussed in the Claims Journal indicates that the number of commercial ziplines has risen dramatically in the U.S. over the last two decades, from fewer than a dozen ziplines in 2001 to more than 200 as of 2012. That number does not even include the “more than 13,000 amateur ziplines found in outdoor education programs, camps, and backyards.”

We want to take a closer look at the study and provide key information to parents in Carlsbad about zipline accidents and risks.

Ziplines Pose a Serious Risk of Injury, Study Says

The key takeaway point from the study is this: As more ziplines have been created in the U.S. over the last two decades, the number of zipline accidents has also risen sharply. The study was conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy and at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The research appeared in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Between 1997 and 2012, the researchers reported that approximately 16,850 nonfatal injuries connected to zipline use required treatment in emergency departments. Of those injuries, around 70%—or about 11,800 injuries—all occurred during the last four years of the study period. Looking only at the numbers in 2012, more than 3,600 zipline injuries occurred that required a visit to an emergency department. To put that number another way, about 10 zipline injuries occurred every day, on average, in 2012.

In other words, more zipline injuries are happening as more ziplines are developed. For California residents, the Department of Industrial Relations does require that ziplines undergo an inspection and meet certain equipment requirements. Anyone operating ziplines that can be defined as amusement rides must have a permit to operate a commercial zipline. Yet it is not clear whether these regulations are sufficient to keep zipliners safe from injuries.

Common Injuries in Zipline Accidents

In addition to assessing the rate of injury from ziplines, the study also explored the types of injuries that are most common in zipline accidents. Here is what the researchers determined:

• Falls are the most common reason for injury (77%);
• Collisions with trees and other anchor structures are the second most common reason for injuries (13%);
• Broken bones are the most frequent type of injury (46%);
• Bruises also occur with some frequency (15.2%);
• Strains and sprains can also be common (15.1%); and
• Concussions and other closed-head injuries occur in around 7% of all cases.

In around 11% of all zipline injuries, the patient requires medical attention at the hospital. Nearly half—45%—of the patients who were injured were children under the age of 10, while kids aged 10-19 account for 33% of those injured. To put that another way, nearly 80% of zipline injuries involve kids.

Seek Advice from a Carlsbad Zipline Accident Lawyer

Was your child injured in a ziplining accident? You should discuss your case with a Carlsbad zipline injury lawyer as soon as possible. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Liability When Resort or Hotel Guests Get Hurt Amusement Park Accidents and Fatalities

(image courtesy of Anthony Delanoix)

Pedestrian accidents happen a lot more frequently than they should in Encinitas, according to a recent article in The San Diego Union-Tribune. The city recognizes the particular risks for pedestrians who walk along El Camino Real, and the city is taking steps to try to make this stretch safer for anyone who is on foot. The city recently hired an expert to conduct a “walking audit” of El Camino Real with a group of participants and to make recommendations for preventing a pedestrian accident and improving safety in general for pedestrians in the area.

What can the city do to make Encinitas a more pedestrian-friendly place?

The “Walking Audit” and its Outcome

The “walking audit” was conducted by Dan Burden, a consultant hired by the city to work with participants to determine what kinds of safety measures could be taken to prevent pedestrian accidents on El Camino Real. The “walking audit” involved walking several miles with the participants down El Camino Real as they each pointed out “trouble spots” and “opportunities to do better.” Burden then developed a list of recommendations for Encinitas, and he presented them to the City Council shortly afterward.

What did Burden suggest for improving pedestrian safety on El Camino Real? He came up with two different types of recommendations—“easy fixes” as well as plans for more long-term improvement along the El Camino Real corridor.

Recommendations for Preventing Pedestrian Accidents

Here is what he recommended in terms of “easy fixes” in Encinitas:

• Plant trees in the roadway medians;
• Widen the sidewalks;
• Encourage any neighborhood shopping centers that are remodeling to link their properties to pedestrian pathways;
• Narrow certain vehicle traffic lanes on El Camino Real;
• “Colorizing” bike lanes to make them stand out better to motor vehicle operators; and
• Reduce the speed limit for vehicles on El Camino Real to 35 miles per hour.

As you might be able to guess, some of these “easy fixes” could be implemented without significant work—such as reducing the speed limit or planting trees—while others would require some substantial construction efforts, at least for a short period of time. What did Burden recommend in terms of long-term goals for reducing the rate of pedestrian accidents and fatalities on El Camino? He proposed cultivating better public and private partnerships with shopping centers along El Camino to develop pedestrian safety plans and creating a “theme” for this section of El Camino, and using it “as a decorative embellishment along the corridor.”

In other words, long-term plans should focus on raising awareness about pedestrian safety and more generally changing the way that Encinitas residents see their roles in promoting pedestrian safety along El Camino Real. According to Mayor Catherine Blakespear, the City Council “plans to set aside $250,000 in the coming fiscal year for improvements to El Camino and will use Burden’s advice as it explores how to spend that money.”

Contact an Encinitas Pedestrian Accident Attorney

If you or someone in your family suffered serious injuries in a pedestrian accident, you should speak to an Encinitas pedestrian accident lawyer to learn more about filing a claim for compensation. Contact the Walton law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Pedestrian Hit-and-Run Accidents in San Diego Fatal Pedestrian Accident in La Jolla

(image courtesy of Nabeel Syed)

For residents of Vista, California who regularly commute to work in San Diego County or have teen drivers on the road, it is extremely important to be aware of the dangers of distracted driving. As a fact sheet from the National Safety Council (NSC) explains, April is distracted driving awareness month. It is always a good idea to think about how distracted driving can impact our lives and to discuss safe driving and car accident prevention tips with your teen drivers. What else should you know about distracted driving and the risks of a crash in Southern California?

Using Technology to Prevent Distracted Driving in Vista

We often link technology with the increased risks of distracted driving. For instance, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), texting or talking on a cell phone while driving can greatly increase the risk of a serious motor vehicle crash. However, sometimes technology can actually help when it comes to distracted driving prevention.

For example, the NSC has an online distracted driving course that can “change drivers’ behavior and attitudes about distracted driving.” In addition, organizations can require employees to take an online distracted driving course to “lower liability risks and costs associated with vehicle collisions.”

Learning More About Distracted Driving Courses Online

You might consider an online distracted driving course for drivers in your family, including your teenagers. What do these online distracted driving courses look like? There are two versions: a 90-minute version and a 45-minute version. The shorter course is an abbreviated version of the longer course and typically is recommended as a refresher. The 90-minute course includes the following material:

• Research into distracted driving, including scientific studies about the brain’s reaction to distractions;
• Learning more about why people engage in distracted driving, and some of the more common distracted driving mistakes;
• Risks of distracted driving for everyone on the road, including the driver, the passengers in the distracted driver’s vehicle, and all other cars in the surrounding area;
• Steps being taken at the local and federal levels to address distracted driving; and
• Solutions to prevent distracted driving, including at your home, at work, and in the public more generally.

Apps Can Help to Prevent Distracted Driving

Online driving classes are not the only way to use technology to prevent distracted driving. As an article from Verizon Wireless explains, there are many apps for your smartphone that you can download for yourself or for your teen and are designed to prevent texting while driving. For instance, you can look into some of the following apps that block texting while driving and/or encourage drivers to be safer behind the wheel:

• Cellcontrol;
• Driver Safe Mode;
• Life2Txt;
• SafeDrive;
• Drivermode; and
• Drivesafe.ly.

As you may know, California law prohibits any use of handheld phones if you are driving. As a recent article from ABC News clarified, California drivers cannot even hold their phones to use them as GPS devices. In short, drivers in Vista must either use hands-free devices or be prepared to pay the substantial cost of a ticket.

Contact a Vista Car Accident Attorney

Were you injured in a car accident caused by a distracted driver? An experienced car accident attorney in Vista can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information about our services.

See Related Blog Posts: New Takata Air Bag Safety Risk and Recall in San Diego Medical Bills at Palomar Medical Center After Accidents

(image courtesy of Bethany Legg)

What should Carlsbad drivers know about drowsy driving? It is extremely dangerous, and it may result in impaired driving car accidents that are similar to those involving alcohol. According to a recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, reported in a CBS News article, the risks of drowsy driving are actually quite comparable to those of drunk driving. Specifically, missing anywhere from two to three hours of sleep per night (or more) can quadruple a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash. What is the ideal amount of sleep for an adult? Adult drivers should sleep for at least seven hours per night. With that figure in mind, losing two to three hours of sleep on any given night means that driving after sleeping for only four or five hours can drastically increase the risk of an accident.

Whether you are driving locally in Carlsbad or are on the I-5 heading to work, it is extremely important to avoid drowsy driving. What else can California drivers learn from the recent AAA study?

Drowsy or Fatigued Driving Can Be More Dangerous Than Other Risky Behaviors

Could drowsy driving actually be more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol or distracted driving? According to the article, drowsy driving—or fatigued driving—may be more hazardous than distracted driving simply because fewer drivers understand the risk. While parents generally understand the risks of texting or talking while driving, there is little discussion surrounding the risks of fatigued driving.

What is one of the common misconceptions about drowsy driving? Many people believe that fatigued driving tends to impact drivers on long trips, or long-haul truck drivers, for instance. While covering a substantial number of highway miles may induce drowsiness and require the driver to take a break, fatigued driving can easily affect local drivers, as well. Regardless of the type of driving that you are doing, it is very important to take away one of the key points from the study: as a society, we know how dangerous drunk driving can be and as such we have instituted laws to prevent it, yet drowsy driving may be just as dangerous.

Fatigued Driving Impacts Teens and Night-Shift Drivers

It is also important to realize that drowsy driving can affect almost anyone and that inexperienced teen drivers, as well as elderly drivers and those driving home after night shifts, may be at particularly high risk of a fatigued driving accident.

The article cites an instance of a teen driver who likely fell asleep at the wheel, which led his car to cross three lanes of traffic, to flip several times, and finally to come to a stop after crashing into a tree. The teen driver sustained fatal injuries in the crash. His parents emphasize that we need to do more to educate teens and their families about the dangers of drowsy driving.

Yet teens are not the only ones who tend to be at especially high risk of a drowsy driving crash. According to the AAA director for traffic safety and advocacy, there are three key groups of people who tend to be at higher risk of a collision caused by fatigued driving:

• Teen drivers;
• Seniors; and
• Night-shift workers.

As the AAA director underscores, many people are not aware that “driving with having only earned four to five hours of sleep in a 24-hour period can be just as impairing as driving legally drunk.” In order to prevent such accidents from happening, it is important for the driver to acknowledge her or his limitations and to pull over to rest. In addition, passengers can help to keep a driver alert and to take over the wheel in the event that the driver becomes fatigued.

Contact a Carlsbad Car Accident Lawyer

If you or someone you love sustained injuries in a crash caused by a drowsy driver, an experienced car accident attorney in Carlsbad can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today.

See Related Blog Posts: Police Looking for Witnesses in Oceanside Truck Accident that Killed Navy Man What Carlsbad Drivers Should Know About the IIHS Automobile Top Safety Picks (image courtesy of Sean Brown)

Headlamps are Primary Focus of IIHS’s Safety Picks This Year

As the article explains, we are living in a time in which car manufacturers have “had to add high-tech features to get top ratings” in the IIHS annual “top safety picks” survey, yet a more low-tech item may be what is holding a number of vehicles back from earning that coveted “top pick” rating: headlights and headlight safety.

The IIHS indicated that it has made its criteria for headlight safety more rigorous in order for a vehicle to earn the Institute’s “highest safety honors, the Top Safety Pick Plus label.” As IIHS President Adrian Lund explained, the IIHS has “raised the bar,” encouraging automakers to do more to promote driver and passenger safety in automobiles. He explained further that “automakers have not focused enough attention on whether or not headlamps are aimed such that they light up the road for the driver ahead of them.”

Some automakers have gone to great lengths to develop elaborate headlight schemes, particularly in luxury vehicles. For instance, some 2017 models have “fancy headlights that shift with the curvature of the road in an effort to provide better illumination.” However, according to Lund, these intricate and high-tech headlamps are not necessarily making it any easier for drivers to see, and thus they are not improving safety in a noticeable way. Indeed, some of these headlights simply cause too much glare, while others do not provide enough nighttime visibility for a driver.

Fewer Cars Earn Top Safety Picks, Suggesting Need for More Safety Improvements

As a result of many high-technology headlights that simply do not work as well as their older-school predecessors, fewer cars received top IIHS ratings. As we mentioned above, only 38 models from 2017 received high scores from the Institute. Each year, the IIHS looks at approximately 200 different models. Last year, it awarded a “top safety pick” seal of approval to nearly 80 models from 2016. As you can see, the IIHS cut that number in half this year.

What are some of the vehicles with approved headlights that earned top scores? Toyota fared well, earning the “Top Safety Pick Plus” for a number of its 2017 models, including the Corolla, the Prius, the Camry, RAV4 crossover, Lexus NC, and Lexus RX SUVs. Honda models also received the IIHS designation, with five different models listed out of the 38. When looking at the major automakers, only Ford was left out, with none of its vehicle models making the list.

Contact a Carlsbad Car Accident Lawyer

If you or someone you recently got hurt in a traffic collision in San Diego County, it is important to discuss your case with a Carlsbad car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Contact the Walton Law Firm to speak with an advocate about filing a claim for compensation.

See Related Blog Posts: Child Injury Prevention and Car Seat Requirements in California Motorcycle Accidents on the Rise in San Diego

(image courtesy of Sai Kiran Anagani)

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, many parents in Carlsbad and throughout San Diego County are beginning to think about holiday gifts for children. With considerations for children’s toys often come concerns about toy safety, product defects, and the risks of child injury. According to a recent article in WebMD.com, a safety group has just released its “annual dangerous toys” list just in time for the holiday season. What toys should parents avoid when purchasing gifts for young children?

WATCH Releases List of Dangerous Toys

Each year, World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH), a consumer watchdog group, releases a list of dangerous toys. As WATCH emphasizes, “since January 2015 there have been recalls involving more than 800,000 individual products, including 500,000 this year alone.” As such, it is important to be careful when selecting toys for children. Just because a toy says that it is intended for a child of a certain age group does not mean that the product is free of safety defects.

As WATCH points out, “every three minutes a child is treated in a U.S. emergency room for a toy-related injury.” Over the last two years, nearly 20 children’s toys have been implicated in recalls related to safety defects. In many cases, visits to emergency departments result from preventable injuries caused by defective children’s products. Not all children’s products that cause injuries are defective, but numerous toys that may have safety defects are not always subject to a recall. Of the items on this year’s list of dangerous toys, the possibility of a marketing defect, or the failure to warn, seems to loom large.

Generally speaking, product defects that can lead to product liability lawsuits typically fall into one of three categories:

• Design defects (defect in the very design of the product),
• Manufacturing defects (soundly designed product, but a defect occurred in the manufacturing process),
• Marketing defect (there is nothing inherently wrong with the product, but it was not properly marketed so as to warn consumers about potential risks)

Toys Identified as Dangerous for Californians This Holiday Season

What toys topped the list of potentially hazardous products that could result in child injuries? The article lists some of the following:

• Peppa Pig’s Muddy Puddles Family, which can pose a choking hazard because of its small parts;
• Kids Time Baby Children’s Elephant Pillow, which can pose a suffocation hazard but does not warn consumers about such a risk;
• Slimeball Slinger, which can cause eye injuries from the toy’s ammunition;
• Banzai Bump N’ Bounce Body Bumpers, which can cause impact injuries;
• Nerf Rival Apollo Blaster, which can cause eye injuries but does not come with warnings about such a risk;
• The Good Dinosaur Galloping Butch, which can cause puncture wounds but does not have a warning that mentions this;
• Peppy Pups, which can pose a risk of strangulation;
• Flying Heroes Superman Launcher, which can pose a risk of injuries to the eyes and to the face;
• Baby Magic Feed and Play Baby, which can pose a risk of obstructing the airway of a child but does not properly warn about this risk; and
• Warcraft Doomhammer, which can pose a risk of impact injury.

If your child gets hurt after using a product designed for kids, it is important to learn more about filing a claim for compensation. An experienced San Diego County product liability lawyer can discuss your options with you today. Contact the Walton Law Firm to speak with an attorney about your case.

See Related Blog Posts: Injuries Caused By Exploding E-Cigarettes Recent Product Recalls Linked to Child Injuries

(image courtesy of Uberprutser)

If your child currently plays tackle football in San Diego County, you might want to think twice before agreeing to let your child attend another practice or play in another game. Indeed, according to a recent article from NBC News, a new study suggests that head injuries of all sorts—including but not limited to concussions—may irreparably alter a child’s brain. The study was conducted by a team of researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, who were interested in exploring the wider effects of head trauma on kids who play football. Unlike several other recent studies, these researchers wanted to broaden their study to include more brain injuries than just concussions. In so doing, they learned that various types of head injuries can change the way a child’s brain works.

Details of the Recent Study of Youth Football Players

Currently, about three million kids across the United States play in tackle football programs. Up until now, research has primarily looked at the effects of concussions and has explored ways to prevent mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). However, the recent study from Wake Forest suggests that we need to be worrying about more injuries than just concussions.

In studying 25 different youth football players between the ages of 8 and 13, the researchers were surprised to learn of the force with which kids on the field sustained hits to the head. The researchers equipped each child with a helmet that included sensors to measure both the frequency of head impacts, as well as their severity. Of the children studied, 60% sustained hits to the head during the course of a practice that registered on the researchers’ scales. According to Dr. Alex Powers, one of the authors of the study who is also a pediatric neurosurgeon, the youth players were “hitting [one another] at extremely high levels.”

Prior to recording data from the head hits, the kids involved in the study underwent pre-season MRIs. After the season was over, the researchers performed post-season MRIs of the brains of each of the children involved in the study. What were the researchers looking for? In brief, they were seeking out “tiny changes in white matter, which is the tissue that connects the neuron-rich gray matter.” And what did they find? According to Dr. Chris Whitlow, one of the lead researchers in the study, the researchers “detected some changes in the white matter . . . and the importance of those changes is that the more exposure you have had to head impacts, the more change you have.”

Impacts of the Study on Kids and Sports

What impacts will—or should—the new study have? According to Whitlow, the study should make clear to parents and to coaches that children’s brains are changing and growing, especially when they are between the ages of 9 and 18. Given that we still do not know a lot about precisely how those brain changes impacts kids in the long run, we may need to reconsider whether it makes sense to allow kids to play tackle football.

At the same time, though, Whitlow emphasizes that the study also warrants more study to answer some of the following questions:

• Do changes to children’s brains as a result of football injuries persist, or do they heal themselves?
• Do injuries worsen as kids sustain more hits to the head?
• What are the long-term effects, in young adulthood and into old age, of head injuries sustained during childhood?

In the meantime, if you have questions about filing a brain injury lawsuit in California, a brain injury attorney in San Diego can assist with your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm to discuss your options.

See Related Blog Posts: Youth Football Helmets Recalled Due to Injury Risk NFL Implicated in Influencing Brain Injury Research

(image courtesy of Oliver Stollmann)

Many Southern California residents know that they live in a part of the country where dog bites and animal attack injuries tend to occur with some frequency. A recent report from CBS News alerted readers to a pit bull attack that occurred in Van Nuys. The victim sustained serious injuries, including cuts and bite marks to his hands and face. As a result of his injuries, the victim required hospitalization. According to the report, the incident occurred shortly before 5:15 p.m. on a Thursday evening in a local business parking lot. This is not the only dog attack in recent memory. A recent article in the Castro Valley Patch reported that a woman was attacked by a dog late last month, and she required hospitalization to treat the multiple bite wounds she sustained. That incident occurred just before 10:00 a.m. on a Monday morning near a local golf course.

Are dog attacks actually this common in Southern California? What can we do to prevent them?

Recalling a Deadly Dog Bite Incident in San Diego Last Spring

For a number of San Diego residents, these recent animal attack reports may bring back startling memories of an incident that happened last spring in which an infant was attacked and killed by a dog. As an article in Reuters explains, a three-day-old infant boy was killed during a dog attack in his parents’ bedroom last April in San Diego. The family, including the parents and the infant, had been laying in bed with their dog just prior to the incident. The dog, an American Staffordshire terrier-Great Dane mix weighing 97 pounds had been lying near the three-day-old child. The dog was startled when the infant’s mother coughed unexpectedly, and it “bit the baby, causing traumatic injury,” according to the article.

While the parents were able to remove the dog and were able to rush the infant to a nearby hospital, the young child died as a result of the injuries. A sergeant with the San Diego police described the incident as a “tragic accident.”

The dog was taken into quarantine, and a subsequent autopsy, according to a report in CBS News, confirmed that the boy died as a result of dog bites to his dead. The San Diego County medical examiner ruled the death an accident.

Preventing Dog Bite Injuries

According to a fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 4.5 million dog bites happen every year in the United States. Of these dog bites, about 20% get infected. Anytime a dog bite occurs, the attack can result in serious and sometimes even fatal injuries. The CDC emphasizes that young children are at greatest risk of serious injuries from dog bites, particularly those in between the ages of five and seven years old. The CDC also underscores that about 50% of dog bite injuries happen in the household where the dog lives, just like in the incident that happened in San Diego with the three-day-old boy.

Preventing dog bites can have more to do with what you should not do than what you should do. The CDC highlights the following safety tips:

• Do not approach a dog you do not know;
• Do not run from a dog;
• Do not panic or make any loud noises when you encounter a dog;
• Do not disturb a dog when it is eating, sleeping, or caring for its puppies;
• Do not reach to pet a dog before allowing it to sniff you and see you;
• Do not encourage aggressive play with dogs; and
• Do not allow dogs to play unsupervised around small kids.

If you or someone you love sustained injuries in an animal attach, a dedicated dog bite lawyer in San Diego can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today to discuss your case.

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(image courtesy of Andraz Muljavec fotomorgana)

Beginning on January 1, 2017, residents of San Diego County will have to abide by a new law concerning child injury prevention and auto accident safety. According to a recent article in the Benito Link, as of the first of the year—just a few months away now—California residents will have to pay close attention to a new law that requires children who are under the age of 2 to ride in a rear-facing car seat. There are only a couple of exceptions to the recently passed law. If the child weighs 40 pounds or more, or if the child is 40 inches tall or greater, then the child is not subject to the terms of the new law, even if she or he is under the age of 2.

What else should you know about this law? And will it help to prevent child injuries in serious car accidents?

Comparing California’s Car Seat Laws and Child Seat Safety

In addition to the age requirement specified by the new law, there is another part of the law that parents should understand. Regardless of whether your child is required by law to ride in a rear-facing seat—those under the age of 2 regardless of the child’s weight and/or height—there are additional requirements: the child also must be “secured in a manner that complies with the height and weight limits specified by the manufacturer of the car seat,” according to a fact sheet from the California Highway Patrol (CHP). As such, parents will need to pay particular attention to the safety requirements provided by the car seat manufacturer.

How does the new law compare to the one that is currently in effect? As the CHP fact sheet explains, current California law requires children who are under the age of 8 to be secured in a car seat or a booster seat, and they must be in the back seat of the automobile, unless they have reached the height of 4’9”. For children between the ages of 8 and 15, as well as those under the age of 8 who are 4’9” or taller, still must sit in the back seat and be secured with a safety belt. For passengers who are at least 16 years old, standard safety laws—including California’s Mandatory Seat Belt law—are applicable.

As you can see, current law does not address safety requirements aimed specifically at younger children, including infants and toddlers.

Ensuring that You Comply with California Law on Child Safety Seats

How can you be certain that you are complying with the law? In addition to ensuring that your toddler or infant is secured in a rear-facing car seat in the back, it may be difficult to ascertain, with certainty, whether you are also abiding by the manufacturer’s safety instructions. As the article in Benito Link highlights, the CHP is co-hosting a number of child safety seat events with organizations such as AAA Insurance and Safe Kids California.

In a parking lot near you, you may be able to meet with a CHP officer who can perform a “Car seat safety check-up” for you to ensure that you are abiding by the new law that will go into effect in January.

In the meantime, if your child got hurt in a car accident, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. An experienced San Diego car accident attorney can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: School Bus Safety Law in San Diego Preventing Overuse Injuries in Children

According to a recent article from NBC Los Angeles, a Metro light rail train collided last week with an automobile near the University of Southern California, leaving a film student in “grave condition.” Officials reported that nine people who had been on the train, including the operator, were taken to the hospital following the car crash.

Details of the Metro Train Collision

How did the accident happen? Based on initial reports from investigators, the driver, Jacob Fadley, a 31-year-old film production graduate student, “may have made an improper turn to his left, crossed the tracks, and collided with the train.” The collision with the train resulted in the car being “wedged between the train and a pole,” which resulted in a train derailment. The automobile driver became trapped inside his badly damaged vehicle. In total, 21 people required medical attention from the accident, reported the Los Angeles Fire Department.

One witness, a USC freshman, told authorities he heard “a big, loud crash of metal” while inside his dorm room. He added that “it was huge, so we knew it wasn’t just a car crash. We figured something big happened, so we looked out our window and we saw half of a car smashed into the rail.” The driver was rescued from his “crumpled Hyundai Sonata” and rushed to the hospital for treatment. Several other victims sustain serious injuries, including the train operator.

Dean Elizabeth Daley of the USC School of Cinematic Arts reported that the driver, Fadley, “was very seriously injured,” but that he “is currently in stable condition.” Officials aren’t yet certain what caused the crash. The Los Angeles Police Department is looking into the possibility that there was a signal failure. The Department currently is in possession of an onboard camera that may provide some clarification.

Signal Failure and Train Crash Causes

Some suspect a possible signal failure, given that left turns, such as the one made by Fadley, “are regulated by a red or green left turn arrow, and there are flashing alarms for approaching trains, which are supposed to get ‘train stop’ signals if cars are turning across the grade crossing.” According to Najmedin Meshkati, a civil engineering professor at USC, train crossing could prove dangerous and should be the focus of a new study.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Safety Analysis recently reported that nearly 10,000 train accidents occur each year, with more than 6,000 reported serious injuries. Of those injured in train collisions and derailments, more than 600 fatalities occur annually. If drivers and pedestrian thought more carefully about safety, many of these severe and deadly injuries could be prevented. Some important safety tips include the following:

• Don’t assume you can cross train tracks simply because you don’t see a train coming. No matter what, abide by the safety signals at railroad crossings.
• Don’t walk along train tracks. It’s illegal, and you’re far more likely to suffer a serious or fatal injury.
• Don’t stop on the tracks for any reason while you’re driving. Always come to a complete stop before the tracks if the safety signals alert you that a train is nearby.

Train accidents can be extremely dangerous. In many cases, negligence is a primary factor in derailments and serious collisions. If you or someone you love has been injured in a train crash, contact an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer today to learn more about how we can assist with your claim.

Photo Credit: Ayton via Compfight cc See Related Blog Posts: Fatal Train Crash Under Investigation Fatal Train Accident Involving California Teenagers

For example, “sometimes they’re for something as benign as a mislabeled sticker.” Or, in other cases, “durability tests find a suspension spring could wear out prematurely.” And even if your car is subject to a more serious recall, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll experience that problem. To be sure, “a vast majority of affected cars will never experience the potential problems outlined in a recall notice.”

Yet many of us aren’t always sure how to tell the difference between a relatively benign and a more serious recall. How can you learn specific details about recalls and whether you need to pay particular attention? And in the event that your car is recalled for a significant reason, what should you do?

Recent Recalls and Consumer Injuries

In 2014, a number of automobile recalls shook the news. Nearly 8 million recalls took place for cars that had certain Takata airbags installed. If you’ve been reading about the Takata air bag recall, you know that these automobile parts “are prone to explode in collisions, spraying passengers with shrapnel,” and “sometimes with fatal results.” Some of the automakers that use Takata airbags include GM, Honda, Toyota, and BMW. Honda was just recently fined $70 million for failing to report more than 1,700 injuries and deaths that occurred in its automobiles, according to an article in the Washington Post.

In addition to the Takata recall, GM also recalled about 2.6 million vehicles in 2014 due to a defective ignition switch. In certain cases, these cars could simply turn off during operation, resulting in serious and fatal accidents. And just shortly before news about the GM recall hit the internet, Toyota and Lexus recalled more than 10 million automobiles because of a problem that resulted in “unintended acceleration” and deadly car accidents.

Learning About a Recall

How do most of us find out about recalls? Whether an auto manufacturer issues a recall for a minor or a serious problem, it will contact car owners by snail mail or email, and it will provide instructions for having the defective part repaired or replaced. How long does an automaker have to alert you to the recall? Once it has informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the recall, it must let you know within 60 days.

If you find out that your car is part of a recall, you should follow the instructions—which usually involve visiting the nearest dealership—and have the fix or replacement completed. In some cases, the dealership won’t have the parts in stock that are needed for the repair. In such a case, you should find out if the recall “involves a key operating component, such as the acceleration, brake, steering, suspension, or fuel systems.” If it does, and the automaker suggests that you stop driving the vehicle until it can be repaired, it “should tow your car to a dealership and provide a loaner.”

Social Media and Product Recalls

If you want to stay informed about product recalls, social media can provide very useful tools. For example, you can follow your automaker on Twitter or Facebook. After GM instituted its massive recalls, it began using these precise social media platforms to let consumers know that they needed to pay attention.

If you do sustain an injury from a defective car part, you should always report the problem to the NHTSA and contact an experienced San Diego product defect attorney. You may be eligible to seek compensation for your injuries.

Photo Credit: Manish Prabhune via Compfight cc See Related Blog Posts: Do Product Recalls Prevent Consumer Injury? Dangerous Airbag Recall Expands

Reasons for TBIs Shift from Childhood to Adulthood

A recent article on NPR discussed the different ways in which children sustain TBIs. Adults sustain brain injuries most often following involvement in a car accident, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children, however, tend to sustain TBIs more frequently from falls. According to the article, the changes in the ways that children, teens, and adults suffer injuries tend to shift as “their forms of motion change.” And the types of fall-related injuries also vary depending upon the age of the child.

An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine emphasized that young children sustain brain-related injuries from different types of falls than do young adults. The authors of the paper are members of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, and their research involved analyzing data from 43,000 children admitted into emergency rooms from “blunt force head trauma” between the years of 2004 and 2006.

Falls Most Common Cause of Childhood Head Injuries

The article’s authors found that three primary causes of blunt force head trauma exist for children under the age of two:

• Falls from elevation, or falls from heights, accounted for 54 percent—more than half—of all emergency room visits related to blunt force trauma to the head;
• Falls down the stairs led to 14 percent of all emergency room visits for kids under two years old;
• Falls to the ground from a walking or standing position resulted in nine percent of emergency room visits.

As is evident, the top three causes of brain injuries for children under the age of two are all linked to fall-related injuries. By and large, falls from heights produce the highest number of serious injuries in these young kids. At the same time, however, it is important to note that falls that occur while a child is standing, walking, or running can also lead to a severe head trauma. How many times has your child slipped and fallen while running on the kitchen tile? How frequently does your toddler trip and fall on the playground asphalt?

For kids between the ages of two and twelve years old, the researchers also discovered that fall-related injuries are the major cause of serious head injuries. The top three causes of head trauma for kids in this age group include:

• Falls from elevation, or falls from heights, accounted for 24 percent of head injuries;
• Falls to the ground from the position of standing, walking, or running led to 14 percent of brain trauma in children between the ages of two and twelve;
• About nine percent of head injuries in this age group resulted from being accidentally struck in the head by an object.

As children grow older, the causes of their head injuries look more like those of adults. Specifically, teen head traumas most frequently result from assault (24 percent), sports (19 percent), and car accidents (18 percent).

If your child suffered a brain injury in a dangerous slip and fall accident, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Contact a dedicated San Diego premises liability lawyer today to discuss your options.

Image Credit: clarita via morgueFile See Related Blog Posts: Baseball Coach Sustains Traumatic Brain Injury Brain Impairment at a Younger Age for Tackle Football Players

Head Health Challenges Allots Funds for Brain Injury Research Teams

In connection with Under Armour and GE, the league developed the “Head Health Challenge,” a plan designed to give researchers “funding to develop new ways to prevent, measure, and detect brain injury.” All in all, it is a $60 million initiative that will provide money to different groups in the months and years to come. The challenge was launched last year.

How is the money allotted? In many ways, it works like a contest, and the NFL recently announced the winners. Seven research teams will each receive $500,000, and they will also have a chance at winning an extra $1 million in 2015. They can award additional funds if the organizers find “continued innovation advancements, potential for commercialization, and on-field impact.” Researchers from 19 different countries submitted proposals, and the organizers received about 500 different proposals in total between September 2013 and February 2014, according to the NFL press release.

These winners are part of the second group to receive funding. The first group of winners received funds back in January; their projects were linked closely to the diagnosis and treatment of brain injuries. This second group of winners, according to the NFL’s press release, contains research projects that will focus more closely on protection from TBIs and new ways to measure head impacts upon collision.

Winning Projects Range from Helmet Improvement to TBI Diagnosis

Some of the winners include:

• UCLA and Architected Materials, Inc.: Based in southern California, this winning research team is in the process of developing an “energy-absorbing microlattice materials for improved helmet performance.” The material would be used as an under-helmet liner that would help to absorb energy during head hits.
• University of Miami Miller School of Medicine: This research team is in the process of developing a “portable eye-goggle that gathers and measures precise eye movements,” which “will assist in identifying mild traumatic brain injury in real time, leading to more accurate concussion diagnosis.”
• Viconic Sporting, Inc.: In Detroit, this research group is creating a synthetic turf system that will be more absorbent, and thus will help to make the football fields themselves safer for players.
• University of Washington and VICIS: This team will develop a “revolutionary football helmet” created with a shock-absorbing structure.

The San Diego area, as well as regions across the country with amateur and professional sports teams, needs more attention to brain injury prevention. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can lead to serious, life-threatening, and life-long consequences. If you or a loved one recently sustained a sports-related TBI, it is important to talk about your case with an experienced San Diego brain injury attorney. You may be eligible for compensation.

See Related Blog Posts: Brain Impairment at a Younger Age for Tackle Football Players New California Law Aimed at Brain Injury Prevention

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