If you were injured in a car accident in San Marcos or elsewhere in Southern California, it is essential to know how to file an auto accident claim. Every car accident case will have its own particular set of facts, but we want to provide you with more information about the claims process and the ways a San Marcos car accident lawyer can help.

Gather Information to Support Your Claim

You will need to gather information and evidence to support your car accident case. This process starts at the scene of the accident, where you should take photographs of the scene on your smartphone. You should also obtain contact information for anyone else involved in the collisions as well as witnesses who may be able to support your version of the events. Beyond the initial scene, it is also important to get medical attention as soon as possible. By seeing a doctor quickly, you will be able to prove that your injuries resulted from the car accident, and your medical records will become important evidence in your case.

Report the Accident to Your Insurance Company

Before you file a claim, you will need to report the accident to your own insurance company. When you report the accident, stick to the facts. If you offer your opinion, the insurance company could try to use it against you at a later date.

File an Auto Insurance Claim

Filing an auto insurance claim is usually the next step for anyone who was injured in a crash in California. To file an auto insurance claim, you will need to decide whether to file a first-party claim through your own auto insurer or a third-party claim through the at-fault driver’s auto insurer. Your car accident attorney can discuss the benefits and limitations of each.

Negotiate With the Insurance Company

Once you have filed your auto insurance claim, the insurance company will need to do an investigation, after which point it will make you a settlement offer. You should know that the settlement offer is negotiable, and you should not accept the first offer you get. Your car accident lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf in order to get you a higher settlement offer.

File Your Car Accident Lawsuit

If the auto insurance company will not offer a reasonable settlement, or if insurance limits prevent you from receiving complete compensation for your losses, it is time to file a car accident lawsuit. You will need to ensure that you file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out. Under California law, an injured plaintiff typically has two years from the date of the car accident to file a claim.

Seek Advice from a San Marcos Auto Accident Lawyer Today

Car accident injuries can be devastating, and they typically happen because of another motorist’s negligence. It is important to hold that at-fault party accountable. Our San Marcos auto accident attorneys can assist with your auto insurance claim and negotiations with the auto insurer. If you cannot get the compensation you are owed from the insurance claim, we will represent you in your car accident lawsuit. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we can help.

See Related Blog Posts: Car Accidents in Encinitas During the Coronavirus Pandemic Driving in San Clemente: Are You at Greater Risk of an Accident Than You Think?

For families living in Carlsbad, it is extremely important to ensure that your children are wearing seatbelts and are properly restrained in the event of a car accident in Southern California. According to a recent report from NPR, 43% of kids who die in motor vehicle crashes are not properly restrained, which means that these children either were not wearing seatbelts at all or were not wearing seatbelts or other safety harnesses in the proper manner. What can parents learn from this information? It is extremely important to require your kids to wear seatbelts whenever they are in the car, and it is also necessary for parents to educate themselves about the proper restraints for children of all ages.

Traffic Accidents on the Rise

As the report explains, deadly traffic accidents are on the rise in the U.S., and many of them are preventable. In particular, in fatal crashes involving children, the simple act of properly restraining your child could prevent deadly injuries. We do know that some parts of the country have higher rates of child fatalities than others. All in all, however, more than 18,000 children across the U.S. were involved in car accidents between the years 2010 and 2014, and of those children, 15.9% died as a result of the car accident.

Where are the highest rates of child car accident fatalities? According to the report, 52% of kids involved in deadly collisions lived in the South. How does the San Diego area compare? According to a fact sheet from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), young child car occupant deaths have risen in recent years in the state. Indeed, between 2013 and 2014, the total number of kids in California between the ages of 0-4 who died in motor vehicle collisions increased by 50% (from 14 deaths to 21 deaths). Teen car accident deaths, too, have increased.

California Seatbelt Law

The NPR report indicates that state with the strictest seatbelt laws tend to have the fewest auto accident fatalities. California has strong seatbelt laws, according to a fact sheet from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Specifically, California has primary enforcement for seatbelt violations, meaning that a person can be pulled over solely for failing to wear a seatbelt. In states with only secondary enforcement, a person cannot be stopped for failing to wear a seatbelt, but instead a seatbelt violation must be tied to another traffic violation for which there is primary enforcement.

In addition, California law requires that anyone who is younger than two years old and under 40 pounds and 40 inches must be placed in a rear-facing car seat. In addition, children who are 7-years-old and under who are less than 57 inches tall must also be in an appropriate child safety restraint system. In California, fines for adults who fail to wear a seatbelt begin at $20, while fines related to child safety seat violations begin at $100.

Contact a Carlsbad Car Accident Attorney

If you have questions about filing an auto accident claim, an experienced Carlsbad car accident attorney can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Motorcycle Awareness Month in Valley Center Distracted Driving Awareness Month in Vista

(image courtesy of Aaron Burden)

If you are staying at a hotel in Rancho Bernardo with your family, and there is a swimming pool accident, who is liable? Hotel accidents and accidental drowning incidents happen more often than they should. Hotels in Southern California and throughout the country often have signs around pool areas that warn about risks. In some situations, parents sign waivers for their kids to use a hotel pool. Can a hotel still be liable in the event that a drowning incident occurs and a child sustains serious personal injuries?

The facts of each case are different, but it is important to know that warnings and waivers do not always release hotels or other property owners from liability in a swimming pool accident.

Premises Liability and Swimming Pools at California Hotels

If you stay at a hotel, you should be able to expect that the premises will be free from hazards that could result in a serious accident. Likewise, you should be able to anticipate that a pool deck area does not have hazards that could lead to a slip and fall accident or a drowning incident. Hotels owe a duty to keep the premises safe for guests. Under California law, to prove that a hotel breached that duty to its guests, the plaintiff must be able to show the following:

• Hotel was negligent in the use or maintenance of the property;
• Plaintiff suffered harm; and
• Hotel’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.

What does it mean for the hotel to be negligent in the use or maintenance of the property? California law clarifies that a hotel can be negligent if it “fails to use reasonable care to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition.” This means that the hotel must “use reasonable care to discover any unsafe conditions and to repair, replace, or give adequate warning of anything that could be reasonably expected to harm others.”

Hotel Swimming Pool Accidents That Could Result in Liability

There are some types of hotel accident cases in which the hotel more clearly bears responsibility for the plaintiff’s injuries. For instance, if there is an unsafe condition around the hotel pool, such as a gaping hole or a broken pool ladder, then it is more likely that the plaintiff will be able to prove that the hotel was negligent in a premises liability lawsuit. However, other situations are trickier.

In instances in which parents rely on a swim instructor or activities instructor at the hotel to provide reasonable care for their kids, then the hotel may be liable, even if the parents sign a waiver. For example, in the California Supreme Court case of Santa Barbara v. Janeway (2007), the parents signed a waiver regarding their child’s swimming at a summer camp. The court held that, while parents can sign a waiver that removes liability in instances of ordinary negligence, such waivers are unenforceable when there are instances of gross negligence.

Yet other situations are even trickier. What if the pool deck does not have any obvious hazards, but it simply has not been updated in a number of years, and the walkway is slicker than it used to be? Does the question of liability change as soon as the hotel posts warning signs? In most situations, a warning sign will help to show that the hotel exercised reasonable care, but it is always important to seek advice from a personal injury lawyer.

Contact a Rancho Bernardo Hotel Accident Lawyer

If you or your child suffered injuries at a hotel in California, an experienced Rancho Bernardo hotel accident lawyer can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: California Supreme Court Sets Precedent for Negligence Claims Liability When Resort or Hotel Guests Get Hurt

(image courtesy of Ryan Wilson)

According to a recent article in Bloomberg, the year 2016 saw a noticeable increase in dog bite insurance claims across the country, including in places like San Marcos. Data from the Insurance Information Institute (III) and other industry groups indicates that “insurance claims for dog bites jumped 18% to 18,123 last year in the U.S.” On average, the cost for insurance companies of a dog bite is $33,230. While that single figure showed a slight decrease from 2015, it nonetheless represents a 70% increase from 15 years ago. Why has the average cost of a dog bite injury continued to remain so high? In short, the III suggests that medical costs are higher and injury victims are receiving larger settlements.

Since National Dog Bite Prevention Week is in April, now is a good time to think carefully about dog bite risks in San Marcos and steps we can take to prevent animal attack injuries.

Total Costs of Dog Bite Injuries Soar in California and Other U.S. States

The rates of dog bite injuries are particularly high. The III’s interactive map shows that the highest number of dog bite claims came from California. The numbers in California are not remaining stagnant. Between 2015 and 2016, California saw an increase in dog bite claims by 250—there were 1,684 claims in 2015 and 1,934 in 2016. In total, California also had the highest amount of payouts for dog bite cases, totaling $76 million.

Dog bite injury claims are on the rise across the country. Other states with notable increases in the sheer number of dog bite claims, as well as insurance payouts, were Florida and New York. In the latter, the average payout was over $55,000. To be clear, 2016 had the highest number of dog bite claims on record, according to the III’s figures.

Children are Often Victims of Animal Attacks

Who is getting hurt in animal attacks? The article highlights the high risk of dog bite injuries among children. In total, children are victims of dog bites in more than 50% of the claims in the U.S. from 2016. One of the problems may be that parents do not teach their kids how to be safe around dogs. While we should not have to worry about a dog attacking a child, it is always important to ensure that children know how to behave around a dog. According to Loretta Worters, the vice president of the III, “kids should be taught to ask permission before petting a dog, and not to run away, because such behavior can encourage pets to chase.” In addition, if kids try to approach a litter of puppies, the adult dogs can become protective and lash out.

Yet the duty really is on dog owners to ensure that animal attacks do not occur. Owners “should make sure they socialize puppies, helping them learn appropriate behaviors when they’re young,” according to the III, “and have the dogs spayed or neutered.” In addition to children, postal workers are also at great risk of a dog bite injury. Between 2015 and 2016, the rate of animal attacks rose by about 200 incidents, and California again was ranked among the states with the highest number of bites.

Seek Advice from a San Marcos Dog Bite Lawyer

When it comes to dog bite injuries, California is a strict liability state. Under California law, a dog owner can be liable for injuries even if she or he was not negligent. If you or someone you love got hurt in a dog attack, you should seek advice from a dog bite injury attorney in San Marcos as soon as possible. Contact the Walton Law Firm today.

See Related Blog Posts: Dog Bite Injuries on the Rise in California USPS Dog Bite Rankings Released

(image courtesy of Manu Adan)

If you or someone you love recently sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in San Marcos, you likely have many questions about how you will get medical care. Currently, regional disability services are not available to victims of TBIs when they sustain them after the age of 18, according to a report from KHTS Santa Clarita News. However, newly proposed legislation aims to allow younger California residents—between the ages of 18 and 22—to receive access to regional disability services. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 283, is a measure introduced by State Senator Scott Wilk, a Republican from Santa Clarita.

If the bill passes, how will it better serve TBI victims in California? What else should you know in the meantime about traumatic brain injuries?

Senate Bill 283 Aims to Provide Disability Services to Broader Population

Senate Bill 283 seeks to make changes to Section 4512.5 of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code, which currently details resident access to developmental services for traumatic brain injuries. As we mentioned above, Wilk’s proposed legislation wants to broaden the population eligible for these services. If the bill does pass, California residents who are 18 and older, but likely those under the age of 22, still may be eligible for developmental disability services related to a TBI even if they sustain the injury after reaching the age of majority.

Why did Scott Wilk propose the bill? According to the state senator, “I can’t even imagine the horror a family goes through when a child suffers a traumatic brain injury, let alone to discover your child is ineligible for services simply because he or she is over 18 years old.” Wilk went on to explain that there is strong medical evidence to support the bill’s extension to younger Californians who are 18 and older: “The medical community believes the brain continues to develop until at least 22 years of age, so it makes sense for California’s eligibility threshold to match scientific data.”

The state senator started thinking about potential changes to the law after learning about a car accident in which a constituent’s child sustained a severe TBI in an auto accident just after his 18th birthday. As a result of the child’s age at the time of the crash, he was “ineligible for basic therapeutic services needed to restore normal functioning, such as speaking, walking, and self-care.”

What is a Developmental Disability, and Why Does it Include TBIs?

Currently, California law defines a developmental disability—that is currently covered by the law that the proposed legislation seeks to amend—as a disability that occurs before the child turns 18 years old. The law also specifies that the disability must have consequences that are likely to continue indefinitely (in other words, the disability cannot be fully treated or cured), and the condition must create a substantial disability for the affected person. Traumatic brain injuries currently are in the category of developmental disabilities, but based on the language of the law, the injury would have to occur prior to a child’s 18th birthday in order for him or her to be eligible for services.

If the proposed bill receives substantial bipartisan support and passes, the primary change it would make to the law would simply be an increase to the age of eligibility for TBI victims. It could impact Californians throughout the state.

In the meantime, if you or your child suffered a traumatic brain injury, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. A San Marcos brain injury lawyer can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm to discuss your options.

See Related Blog Posts: Mouth Guard Helps Researchers to Assess Sports-Related Concussions UC San Diego Research on Traumatic Brain Injuries (image courtesy of Jesse Orrico)

For many San Diego County residents, it is now old news that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was recalled in massive numbers due to a safety defect and the related risk of a lithium-ion battery causing fires and serious burn injuries. For instance, if you traveled via airplane recently, you likely heard warnings about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 aboard the aircraft and the requirement that any of these devices on any passengers be turned off and stowed to avoid causing personal injuries to anyone on board.

A recent article in Forbes Magazine sought to assure consumers that its other products, such as the Galaxy S7, is safe for use. Indeed, in an official statement issued earlier this month, the company said, “Samsung stands behind the quality and safety of the Galaxy S7 family,” and it emphasized that “there have been no confirmed cases of internal battery failures with these devices among the more than 10 million devices being used by consumers in the United States.” Yet the product defects associated with the recalled smartphones have safety advocates at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wondering whether recall practices need to be changed in order to keep consumers safe, according to a recent article from NPR.

Defective Lithium-Ion Batteries Present a Problem That Goes Beyond Smartphones

If you want to worry about consumer safety and the defective lithium-ion batteries in smartphones that have caused bodily harm and property damage, should your concerns stop at smartphones? According to the NPR article, the problem may be a larger one that concerns electronics more generally and the assumptions we make about product safety when we make a purchase.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones may be the most recent product to contain a defective lithium-ion battery, but these items certainly were not the first to exhibit such a safety defect. Over the last few years, consumers have grappled with electronic safety defects—in particular lithium-ion battery issues—linked to “laptops, baby monitors, flashlights, and of course, those electric ‘hoverboard’ scooters,” all of which are known to have “overheated or caught fire.” To be sure, “lithium-ion batteries are a known troublemaker—and a subject of numerous standards and international regulations.” Yet, as much as we recognize that these products can cause serious injuries and simply may not be safe for use in most capacities, we continue to bear witness to events in which lithium-ion batteries start fires and cause burn injuries.

Prevention, Instead of Resolution, is Key to Avoiding Electronics Injuries

Elliot Kaye, the current chairman of the CPSC, suggests that we may need to change the way we approach defective electronics. Rather than seeking ways to resolve safety defects once they occur, the CPSC should be looking for ways to prevent harms. As such, Kaye “introduced a new initiative to help the agency get a broader understanding of the battery industry” and methods for injury prevention.

Kaye has expressed concern, however, about the future of this initiative under a new presidential administration. As the article explains, “under President Donald Trump in 2017, Kaye is expected to step down as chairman to become a commissioner.”

In the meantime, if you or someone you love suffered injuries as a result of a safety defect, a San Diego product liability lawyer can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm to discuss your case.

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

(image courtesy of elisfkc from Orlando, FL, United States)

Rehab Facilities with a History of Abuse

Are high-end drug rehabilitation facilities really places where patient safety is a serious issue? Unfortunately, abuse can occur anywhere, and patient injuries and deaths can result. In some cases, employees at these kinds of facilities commit sexual abuse and violence against patients. In other cases, there’s just a poor quality of care, and preventable injuries happen.

For example, the One80 Center in Los Angeles, an “A-list Hollywood rehab,” according to the Los Angeles Times, recently was exposed as a dangerous rehabilitation facility in California. Over the last few years, two patients died after sustaining fatal injuries in a drowning accident and an Oxycontin overdose. According to a story about those deaths that appeared in the Hollywood Reporter, the rehabilitation facility is a “luxury addiction treatment provider” that houses some of its services in a “$2.9 million Cape Cod-style house on lower Sunset Plaza Drive.”

The first victim, a 52-year-old woman seeking treatment at the facility, Jean Galletta, threatened to “go upstairs, take a bath, and drown myself.” The caretakers at the One80 facility didn’t believe her. Moments later, staff members found the victim in her bathtub. They “placed a bag valve mask over her face and furiously worked an automatic external defibrillator” in an “unsuccessful attempt to revive her.” At her time of death, Galletta’s blood alcohol content was listed at 0.24, which is “enough to lose consciousness.” Following her death, many clients and patient advocates suspected that Galletta’s death had been preventable, as it resulted from improper care at One80.

Less than a year prior, One80 lost another client under questionable circumstances. In August 2011, a 22-year-old overdosed on Oxycontin. The victim, Andrew Witkoff, had been the son of a “Manhattan real estate titan.” He smuggled the drugs into his bedroom, a “sober-living sanctum.” Similar to Galletta’s death, commentators believe Witkoff’s death was the result of improper care at the rehabilitation facility.

High-End Care Hindering Recovery?

According to the story in the Hollywood Reporter, clients come to high-end rehabilitation facilities when they’re at their most vulnerable—they’re in “perilous physical and mental health.” And because these facilities often give “special privileges” to the wealthiest of Americans in need of drug or alcohol rehabilitation, those clients often don’t end up getting the level of care they actually need.

For clients like Witkoff and Galletta, facilities such as the One80 can charge about $90,000 per month for treatment. But that price doesn’t mean that patients are receiving proper care. For example, staff members at some of these high-end facilities have come forward shedding light on realities at the facilities. They’ve emphasized that many clients actually need psychiatric treatment at specialized facilities, yet the owners of luxury rehabilitation clinics such as One80 opt to encourage the expensive monthly payments from these clients instead.

“When you have something extreme” in addition to a drug or alcohol addiction, one staff member asserted, such as “eating disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar with psychotic features—clients need true psychiatric care to get better with their addiction.” Without such care, staff members warn, “you’re setting people up for failure.”

Has your loved one sustained injuries at a high-end drug rehabilitation facility? It’s important to discuss your case with an experienced San Diego personal injury attorney. Whether your serious injuries resulted from poor care or an intentional act, we can help you to seek compensation. Contact us today to learn more.

Photo Credit: Dean812 via Compfight cc See Related Blog Posts: California Earns “F” Grade for Emergency Room Capacities $9 Million UC Davis Medical Malpractice Settlement