Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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Misaalefua.jpg There is a very interesting legal story developing in Oceanside. Early on Christmas morning, 44-year-old Jimmy Misaalefua was gunned down in the cul-d-sac where he lived by his neighbor Robert Pulley. According to news accounts, Misaalefua was beloved in his community, a former Marine and college football player, who was an active volunteer in the Oceanside community. He left behind a wife and two children, a seven-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son, whose birthday was celebrated a week before his father’s death. A real tragedy.

The events leading up to Misaalefua death raise all kinds of legal questions about police conduct, and whether this tragedy could have been avoided.

According the North County Times, shortly before the shooting, fire fighters had been called to Pulley’s house in response to a 911 call where it had been reported that Pulley and assaulted his 20-year-old son. Apparently Pulley was acting belligerent, and it took several fire fighters to restrain him, which prompted a call to the Oceanside Police Department. When police officers arrived, they determined that this was nothing more than a domestic dispute, and no arrests were made. Police drove away at 2:40 a.m.

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The settlements of most personal injury cases are confidential. Usually a defendant agrees to pay a settlement under certain conditions. One, that no liability is admitted (e.g. we did nothing wrong, but will pay you to “buy our peace”), and two, that the settlement amount will be confidential. Most injured parties agree to these terms, because, frankly, personal injury cases are about compensation, and a fair settlement is always better than protracted litigation.

In the high-profile cases involving a malfunctioning Lexus that killed an entire San Diego family, such a settlement was entered into. Last September the public was notified that the case had been settled, but that the actual settlement figure was “confidential,” and would not be disclosed. Case closed.

Not so fast. While the parties to the litigation agreed in writing to keep the settlement confidential, several media organizations fought to make the settlement public, arguing to a Los Angeles judge that there were compelling public interests to release the amount. The settlement amount of $10 million was disclosed.

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A lawsuit was filed against a big-rig driver and his employer after the death of a 47-year-old cyclist. The complaint alleges that the driver, Gabriel Vera, was driving the truck negligently when he struck cyclist Lauren Perdriau Ward. According to news accounts, this is the third fatal accident Vera has been involved while working.

Interestingly, a CHP investigation into the accident concluded that Ward and not Vera, was responsible for the accident, finding that Ward made an unsafe turn into the bath of the truck.

Earlier this year, Vera and Randazzo Enterprises, his employer, paid $1.5 million to settle a different wrongful death lawsuit involving Vera. The investigation report into that accident also found that Vera was not at fault (but lawyers must have proven otherwise). Ward’s family intends to the same.

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Aguirre.jpgTwo Escondido men who hosted a party were charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, who later lost control of her car and died in the ensuing accident.

San Diego prosecutors charged Michael Love and Nick Bowser with three misdemeanors each, all alleging that they unlawfully provided alcohol drinks to a minor. According to reports, Love and Bowser hosted a party of about 50 people, one of whom in attendance was 17-year-old Veronica Aguirre, a Poway High cheerleader. Aguirre left the party in her Kia Sportage and lost control on Mountain Meadow Road, rolling it several times. She died at the scene.

While it’s unusually to see criminal charges in this type of case, the district attorney office felt it had to do something.

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A diner at Troy’s Burgers on York Boulevard was killed when a car crashed into the restaurant. Investigators still don’t know why a 19-year-old man drove into the restaurant. The driver apparently passed a roadside sobriety test and has told police that he doesn’t remember what happened.

As the dramatic video below shows, the family of Martha Pena is quietly eating at a table near the registers when the car plows into them. Pena was killed, and three other people were injured.

We are seeing more and more accidents like this one, where the negligent driver is not intoxicated, but does something reckless, often with tragic results, but without explanation. Of course, in the news we don’t get to see the follow up story, that explains why the accident occurred, but all indicators point to the use of a mobile device, such as texting. It would not be surprising at all to learn that his kid was texting at the time of the accident.
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Details of last week’s tragic motorcycle accident in eastern San Diego County that claimed the lives of five members of a motorcycle club are now being reported. Twenty-one members of the Saddletramps Motorcycle Club were on a desert ride to celebrate its 10th anniversary when the horror began. According to witnesses, the group was traveling together, in a pack, on a two-lane desert road when a gold Honda Civic pulled up behind them, then attempted to pass the group. The Honda reached speeds of up to 90 mph.

As the Honda tried to pass, it must have either not seen the Dodge Avenger driving in the oncoming lane, or ignored it, but to avoid a head-on collision, the Dodge swerved to the right, but overcorrected in its attempt to recover, and drove directly into the pack of motorcycles. One witness described it as a bowling ball knocking down pins.

The “carnage was unreal,” said Saddletramps president Carl Smith, who himself was narrowly missed by the careening Dodge. The accident, we now know, killed four riders, and critically injured five more (a passenger in the Dodge was also killed). A Blood Drive will be held for the survivors this Saturday, November 20, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. held by San Diego Harley Davidson in the parking lot at 5600 Kearny Mesa Road in San Diego.

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The high-profile case involving the shooting death of a male dancer by San Diego Harbor Police on a charted boat has been settled. The parents of Steven Hirschfield have agreed to a sum of $2.5 million to settle the wrongful death case they brought against the Port of San Diego.

Steven Hirschfield was hired to be a dancer aboard the 222-foot cruise ship Inspiration which was chartered as part of the Gay Pride weekend in San Diego. While the facts are a bit sketchy, Hirschfield jumped into the waters of San Diego Bay at about 11 pm during the evening of July 19, 2008. Two Harbor Police officers were dispatched to pull him out of the water, when Hirschfield got into an altercation with the officers. According to testimony from the officers, Hirschfield tried to grab one of the officer’s guns, at which point the second officer shot Hirschfield.

Hirschfield’s parents Alan and Nicole Hirschfield disputed this account, noting that Hirschfield was shot in the back. That was the basis for their civil rights lawsuit against the officers and the Port.

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Nationwide, fatal car accidents involving drunk drivers have been on the decline. But yesterday, a study was released listing the 20 cities in the United States where drunk driving is most prevalent, and San Diego tops the list. Not far behind San Diego was Los Angeles, which ranked seventh.

Despite the trend downward, driving under the influence continues to be a serious problem. In 2008 (the most recent statistics), nearly 12, 000 people were killed in the United States because of drunk drivers. At Walton Law Firm, we have represented numerous victims of drunk driving accidents. The effort by various states to curb drinking and driving, though, has paid off. In 2007, over 20,000 people were killed in drunk driving accidents, nearly twice the number of the following year. Of all the states, Vermont has the lowest fatality rate, and Montana the highest.

Based on an Insurance.com survey of traffic violations involving drunk drivers, here are the rankings for the top 20 large metropolitan areas:

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Kitchens are full of inherent dangers – stove tops, knives, and other sharp, dangerous items. A tragedy in Missouri has lead to a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a 2 year old, who was killed when the kitchen stove tumbled over onto the child, killing him instantly.

Deondrew Watson, Jr. death could have been prevented, the family says, by the use of a simple bracket that would have secured the stove to the wall. Since 1980, over 34 people have died in accidents involving tipping appliances.

“This is something that should never happen,” said Fred Pritzker, a personal injury attorney. “We’ve known about this lurking disaster in homes for years. Yet it’s inexpensive and easy to fix.”

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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 and text while on the water, and failed to evaluate risks before embarking on mission.

The investigator, Cmdr. Brian Roach said he couldn’t believe what he saw when he began his investigation. When the 30-year veteran was taken to the scene of the accident by other crew members he was stunned by what he witnessed. The four-person crew used their phones and ignored lookout duties:

“Disappointing is the better way to put it,” Roach testified the criminal investigation hearing, adding that when no one else did it, he started calling out the locations of nearby boats. “The crew looked at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ My palms were starting to sweat.”

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