19-year-old Mauricio Alaniz is a gifted young man – a basketball player at Modesto Junior College, music technician for his church’s Spanish services and deeply involved in his church’s high school group. On Thursday night, the teenager was out in his SUV when it was slammed into by a vehicle driven by a 60-year-old woman. Alaniz suffered life-threatening injuries and is battling for life in the intensive care unit of the Memorial Medical Center.

The next 48 hours will be critical for Mauricio, and doctors have already told his family there is severe brain injury and brain stem damage. There is also swelling in the brain, and a tube has been inserted to drain the fluid. Family members say and they are waiting for him to emerge from his coma.

The woman who crashed into his car, a Riverbank California resident, has also been injured although her injuries haven’t been reported as life threatening.

As soon as news of the accident broke, students, friends and family began gathering at the hospital. Family members are maintaining a vigil praying he’ll come out of the coma, although the prognosis remains grim.

The days following your or a family member’s involvement in an accident can be traumatic and confusing. In cases where you may be eligible for compensation however, claims for damages must be filed as quickly as possible to increase the chances of a settlement. If you’ve been injured in an auto accident, call the experienced California accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation today.

When a group of lawyers brought a huge class action lawsuit in Sacramento California against Ford Motor Company for return of profits the company made by selling its defective rollover-prone Explorer SUVs, customers who have watched their Explorers decline sharply in value, might have expected to be compensated, if not extravagantly, at least justly for their troubles. As it turns out, the only justice they can expect is a $500 voucher on their next purchase of an Explorer or $300 if they want to purchase another Ford vehicle.

Ford has faced personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits across the county stemming from numerous rollover accidents involving the Explorer. Explorer owners asserted their vehicles have lost value because of the perceived danger of the popular SUV. The plaintiffs also alleged false advertising as Ford marketed the vehicles as safe when the company knew the Explorer was prone to rollovers.

Obviously Ford is very pleased with the verdict. And why wouldn’t they be? The settlement that is worth $500 million overall might seem like a large amount, until you consider the trickle down effect and how much each Ford customer who purchased an Explorer in the 90’s will actually receive. The settlement applies to approximately one million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas.

California Public Interest Research Group admits that Ford got a better deal out of the lawsuit than they deserved. Ford admitted no wrong doing at the trial, and continued with its ad nauseum defense of the Explorer saying the SUVs performed the tasks they were meant to perform. Consumer advocates who would have liked Ford and other auto manufacturers to introduce more safety features in the vehicles they put on the roads are sorely disappointed, and they have every reason to be.

In short, this is a decision that’s going to end up helping Ford increase sales of its Explorer instead of punishing the manufacturer for its actions.

If you have been injured, or a loved-one has been killed as the result of a defectively designed vehicle, contact the California personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

It looks like it’s going to be a holiday of fewer weekend fatalities than last year. At least that’s what the California Highway Patrol is hoping as it comes out with holiday injuries and arrest figures for San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. 
 
A total of 8 people were killed in road accidents in these two counties and 133 were arrested on charges of drunken driving, the California Highway Patrol reports.
 
Riverside County saw a total of five accidents over the weekend. One was an fatal SUV rollover which involved a family of four.  25-year-old Cindy Ponce, and her 3-year-old son were killed when they were ejected from their seats when the boy’s father Alfredo Calva swerved the SUV to avoid a parked vehicle.  Their one-year-old daughter is battling for life at the Loma Linda University Medical Center.  Calva and a five-year-old son who were in the front seat of the SUV received minor scratches and injuries.
 
Overall, Riverside saw 40 people arrested for drunken driving over the weekend.
 
In San Bernardino, 3 people were confirmed dead as a result of accidents over the weekend.  Over 93 people were arrested for drunken driving.

According to the Sacramento headquarters of the California Highway Patrol, those figures indicate the number of fatalities this year will be lower than those recorded last year.  The total number of accidents and fatalities for California has not been made available yet.

If you have been injured in an accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.  Contact the California personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

According to a report presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, there has been a substantial increase in the number of kids suffering ATV related injuries. 
 
ATVs or All Terrain Vehicles are motorized vehicles that are meant for off highway use. They can weigh up to to 600 pounds and have low pressure tires.  The American Academy of Pediatrics warns against their use by children under the age of 16, but monitoring accidents and related injuries that occur in children is difficult because most of these accidents occur on private property or off the highway.
 
In 2005 alone more than 40,000 children were rushed to emergency rooms across the country as the result of being involved in an ATV related accident.  The number of deaths in the same year stood at 120. This marked a dramatic increase over a 10-year period. 
 
Injuries sustained cover the gamut from spinal injuries including spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries, head injuries including skull fractures and brain injuries, and lung injuries.  Over 70 per cent of the children who were involved in ATV related accidents reported injuries to the kidneys, spleens and liver. It’s not difficult to see where all this extensive damage comes from.  Most ATV accidents involve crashes, rollovers or ejections. Consider the fact that a typical small sized ATV will weigh up to 600 pounds and it’s easy to understand the potential for damage when children are allowed to drive these.
 
Even toddlers haven’t been spared from ATV related injuries. At least 2 two year olds were rushed to hopital over the past year, one of them suffering severe disability, when they fell off an ATV.  One fails to understand why there are ATVs that are meant for kids when the American Academy of Pedatrics has made it clear they are dangerous for children under 16.  Even if these are manufactured, it shouldn’t be difficult to introduce a device that ensures that children below a certain weight are not allowed to get on these dangerous vehicles. A sensor that detects when a 2-year-old is trying to start the ATV and then shuts itself off to avoid a potential disaster could help prevent more such disasters in the future.
 
Meanwhile, the list of children injured by ATV related accidents, some of them with permanent and lasting damage, is growing longer by the day. These injuries that can be prevented through some foresight by the manufacturers involved. 
 
If your child has been injured in an ATV accident, call the experienced California accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

It was going to be a great Thanksgiving.  4-year-old Oakland toddler Jacklin Monguia-Herrera, her 3-year-old sister, mother, and cousin Stephanie Cervantes were in a Ford Mustang heading East on D Street in Oakland, California.  It was 7:20 pm and it was Thanksgiving.

A Ford Excursion SUV, whose driver it now seems was driving under the influence, ran a stop sign and slammed into the Mustang.  The impact was so great the Mustang almost tipped over, and immediately caught fire with all four occupants still inside.  People in the neighborhood, many of whom were enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner, rushed out to see the Mustang in flames.  Some people tried to douse the fire, while others tried to extricate the people in the car.  It was almost impossible to get Jacklin out of the car – she was pinned so tightly against the front seat.  She died along with her cousin 14-year-old Stephanie in the front seat, her hand still holding a plate of turkey.  The mother and the three-year-old girl were rushed to hospital.

The Ford Excursion ricocheted off the Mustang and slammed into another SUV parked nearby.  That driver limped away with minor injuries.

Police have managed to trace the Ford Excursion to Oakland resident Carmelo Salas. He has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under he influence, driving without a license and felony hit and run.

Meanwhile for residents in the neighborhood where the crash took place is still, trying to come to grips with the senselessness of what happened.  Children who witnessed the crash and saw the bodies trapped inside have nightmares. 

A person who drinks can be held liable for any injuries or death that may be caused by his drunken driving.  At the very least, suing a person for damages ensures that they take traffic rules and the lives of others more seriously in future.

If you’ve been injured in an accident where the other person was clearly driving under the influence, call the California car accident attorneys at The Reeves Law Group for a consultation.

Not too many were willing to give Guadalupe Gomez the time of day when the 68-year-old insisted he tried in vain to control his car just before the accident that killed a San Jose, California man earlier this summer. As it turns out Gomez was telling the truth all along.  New investigations have pointed to a design defect in Gomez’s Toyota Camry that California Highway Patrol officials now say could have been the main factor in the crash.

On July 26, eyewitnesses reported seeing Gomez’s Camry speeding along on a crowded stretch of Interstate 280.  The car rear-ended another car before it smashed into a Honda Accord driven by 39-year-old Troy Edwin Johnson, a father of five. The Accord burst into flames, killing Johnson instantly.

In the days after the crash, Gomez insisted that he slammed on the brakes but the car wouldn’t slow down. The car was new, and it was his first experience with a push start ignition.

A new report by the California Highway Patrol confirms that Gomez was indeed right.  On investigation, they found that the Camry’s floor mat could possibly jam the gas pedal down, causing the car to speed forward. Investigators found evidence that Gomez had indeed tried to slow down the car, but had failed.  This defect in the Camry’s design was the one of the reasons cited by Toyota when they recalled 26,000 of these cars in September this year. 

This new twist in the tale has caused the California Highway Patrol to reconsider their earlier plan of recommending charging Gomez for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.  Instead a report has been submitted to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office without a recommendation. 

The news must come as a relief to Gomez, who found no takers for his explanation soon after the fatal accident.  This accident also points to the tragic consequences when defective cars are let loose on the streets.

When an accident is caused by the defective design or manufacturing of a vehicle, the manufacturer can be held liable for damages to the injured party.  If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by a defective car, call the experienced California car accident lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

A large number of truck accidents can be traced back to the overall health of the driver at the time of the accident. The trucking profession is not generally known for the high standards of fitness members are required to maintain. After all, with their long hours and frequent stops at unhealthy roadside fast food stalls, health related problems in the profession have long been regarded the norm. A new reality TV show, in fact is aiming to change all that. Country Music Television is featuring a line up of real life truckers who are being put on a strict diet and exercise schedule to slice off the pounds and makeover their stressed out and overworked lives.

It’s not hard to figure out the connection between poor trucker health and the number of truck related accidents on the roads. Obesity can contribute greatly to sleep apnea, a condition in which a person may stop breathing during sleep for as long as 10 seconds. Sleep apnea manifests itself in other symptoms like drowsiness in the daytime, fatigue and forgetfulness – all potentially lethal symptoms when you consider the person might be driving an 80,000 pound big rig. Overweight truckers also suffer from driver fatigue, another major cause of truck accidents.

The correlation between poor truck health and the increasing number of big rig accidents hasn’t been lost on the powers that be. California Senator Diane Feinstein recently called for greater efforts to be made to address common problems like driver fatigue that could be responsible for the recent rise in big rig accidents. Among other things, she proposes on-board computers that automatically log when a driver is driving so he doesn’t drive for more than his stipulated 14 hours a day and 10 hours of driving non stop.

In California, most of the major trucking companies are located in the Ontario, Fontana and Colton areas. Already an Iowa based trucking company is offering its drivers a new health plan that includes fitness and nutrition coaching as well as tests to determine the existence of conditions like sleep apnea. Efforts like these are commendable, and signify a deep rooted commitment to decreasing the likelihood of truck accidents. One hopes California’s trucking companies will also follow suit.

A truck accident can cause substantial damage to the vehicles involved besides resulting in massive personal injuries and death. If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in a truck accident, contact the California truck accident lawyers at The Reeves Group. Initial consultation is free and you don’t pay unless we win a settlement for you.

DUI has been pointed as the causing factor in the fiery multi-car collision in September on Interstate 15 in Wildomar, California.  This marks an about face from the previous theory that the 56-year-old driver of one of the vehicles was driving the wrong way, and this was the reason for the crash.

Talpa Bocanegra and her husband were on their way to Mexico on one of their frequent weekend trips to visit family, when they encountered a car driving the wrong way at breakneck speed.  That car, a Ford Focus was being driven by 18 year old Ryan Carreon. The two cars collided head on killing the couple and Carreon instantly.  Another car broadsided the Focus moments after the initial collision.  The occupants of that car suffered severe injuries with the driver remaining in coma for three weeks while the passenger sustained spinal cord injuries.

The initial investigations were hampered by the massive destruction caused by the collision. Debris was strewn across the highway and according to the California Highway Patrol, initial witness accounts were often misleading and conflicting.  The initial verdict was that Talpa Bocanegra was at fault.  Now, new investigations have revealed that Carreon was in fact drunk at the time of the accident and his blood alcohol limit was at 0.18 per cent.

For the Bocanegra children who’ve struggled with the initial information that their parents may have been to blame for the crash, news of their absolution is sweet, albeit tinged with grief at their loss.  They don’t really blame Carreon for the crash, and it’s easy to understand why.  Three of the people involved in the horrific crash are dead, and the two women passengers of the third car are slowly recovering from massive injuries.  Just one more accident that could have been avoided had the “don’t drink and drive” message been drilled a little deeper.

Drunken driving is a major cause of accidents in this country.  If you’ve suffered as a result of an accident caused because the driver of the other vehicle was driving under the influence, contact the California wrongful death lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for an initial consultation.