The accident occurred in March last year. Adriana and her friend Marcus Garfinkel were crossing the street when they were hit by a car driven by Cabrera. Both Bachan and Garfinkel were walking on the crosswalk when they were hit. Adriana was thrown several feet away, and died of her injuries. Garfinkel was thrown on the windshield of Cabrera’s car. Cabrera didn’t stop driving. She kept driving with the severely injured Garfinkel on her windshield. A few feet ahead, she stopped the car, and Joshua got out, pushed Garfinkel off the windshield, got back into the car. The couple then proceed to drive away as if nothing had happened. Witnesses at the time reported that Cabrera had run a red light just before she struck Bachan and Garfinkel. Cabrera was apparently driving with a suspended license at the time of the accident. Her seven-month-old baby boy was in the backseat in the car at the time of the accident.

Adriana’s death resulted in a public outcry. Her mother launched a public campaign to find the hit-and-run driver responsible for her daughter’s death. Lune was arrested as he was trying to re-enter the country from Mexico, and Cabrera was arrested a short while later. The couple was charged not just with vehicular manslaughter in Bachan’s death, but also with inflicting grave bodily injury on Garfinkel. Cabrera is looking at a maximum of eight years in prison after her no contest plea, while her husband could get up to seven years in prison. They will be sentenced on the 24th of May.

For Bachan’s family and for the severely injured Marcus Garfinkel who continues to struggle with his injuries, 7 to 8 years in jail probably seems like a really light sentence considering what they have lost. Both Bachan and Garfinkel were returning home in the early hours of the morning. They were walking on the crosswalk. By all accounts, they were doing nothing wrong. Crossing the street on a designated marked crosswalk is the safe thing to do. You should nothave to worry that a motorist will simply hit you, and then drive away as if nothing ever happened.

It is extremely fortunate that Luna was arrested when he was, and that both husband and wife have been brought to justice. However, California accident lawyers know that every year, hundreds of hit-and-run pedestrian accidents in California go unresolved. The pedestrians who suffer these accidents will find that the road to recovery is long and steep. In many of these accidents, the hit-and-run motorist may never be traced, making options for recovery even more limited for the injured pedestrian.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accident. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

The accident occurred at a construction site of an 8,289 sq. ft. office complex and parking garage. The worker was apparently standing on a platform about 6 feet from the ground, and about 15 feet from the bottom of the open trench. He was using a compactor to push steel filings used for retaining the wall. The vibration from the compactor he held in his hand, seems to be what caused him to lose his balance, and fall headfirst into the open trench. As that happened, the mounds of soil that were stacked at the sides began to fall into the open trench, burying and suffocating him.

It took emergency response workers more than three hours to excavate the victim from the trench. The accident occurred at about 10.30 in the morning on Wednesday, and the victim’s body was finally retrieved by about 3.30 in the afternoon. Several emergency response workers were on the scene trying to extricate the man’s body. The Urban Search and Rescue unit of the Los Angeles Fire Department was called in to help with the extrication, because of the weak and unstable nature of the soil.

According to witnesses at the scene, the soil began to pour quickly into the open trench after the man fell in. There seemed to be little that people at the scene could do to help him. Workers from the Hermosa Beach maintenance yard, which is just a few blocks away, heard the other workers cry for help when the man fell in and rushed to help him. They tried to dig the man out, but it was futile because the soil was extremely unstable.

As more details are emerging about the accident, it seems that the contractor involved in the project did not have a permit to excavate the site. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office is currently investigating the cause of death, but it seems very likely that the man died from asphyxiation, caused when the soil fell on him and suffocated him. The California branch of the Occupational Safety And Health Administration has issued an immediate work order, ceasing construction work at the project.

This latest accident illustrates the dangerous nature of the construction industry and the constant risk to its workers. This is one of the most dangerous industries in the American workplace. Every year, out of every three deaths that are reported in the workplace, one occurs in the construction industry.

Trench collapses are one of the most serious accidents on a construction site. Often, California construction accident lawyers see that these occur because trench walls have not been strengthened, or shored. The risks to construction workers in a trench can be minimized if these trench walls are shored with metal or other materials. That doesn’t seem to have happened here, with tragic results for the worker and his family.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of construction accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, a 20-year-old woman driving a Toyota Celica on the westbound 210 freeway, set off a multi-vehicle collision that involved at least three other cars. Apparently, there was stopped traffic on the freeway, and the woman could not stop in time. She veered to the right and struck a white Honda, and then into a Cadillac. The Cadillac was sent rolling on top of a Mercedes. Four people had to be rushed to the hospital, and one had to be placed on advanced life support. The other victims suffered back, shoulder and neck injuries. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the accident. There is no indication yet that alcohol or drug use were a factor in this accident

The victims here were extremely fortunate. Collisions involving multiple vehicles in heavy traffic can be extremely serious, and lead to instant fatalities or catastrophic injuries. It seems here that the driver of the Toyota Celica was either driving at excessive speeds, or at speeds that were too high for the prevalent traffic conditions. Motorists are required to take into consideration not just existing speed limits, but also existing road, traffic and weather conditions while driving. For instance, driving on a congested freeway will require dropping speeds to ensure that you’re not tailgating the car in front, and to help you bring your car to a stop in case of blocked traffic ahead.

Speeding still remains a major factor in the auto accidents that California accident lawyers come across every day. Speeding doesn’t refer simply to vehicles that are traveling at above the posted speed limits, but also cars that are traveling too fast for prevailing road, traffic and weather conditions. Motorists must slow down, not just in heavy traffic or rush-hour, but also when adverse weather increases the risk of an accident. Driving in stormy weather, heavy snowfall, heavy rains or other adverse weather conditions requires extra caution, and driving even at your normal speed limits may be too fast.

The second biggest factor in auto accidents is drunk driving. Even with all the focus on distracted driving and the number of injuries and fatalities it contributes to every year, more numbers of people are killed in alcohol-related car accidents than accidents caused by distracted driving. Every year, over 1,000 people are killed in California alone in accidents involving drunk motorists. Those numbers have been declining as law enforcement agencies have tightened their hold on intoxicated motorists, and lawmakers have become more proactive in passing laws that focus not just on educating and informing motorists, but also making sure that repeat DUI offenders are not able to drive again.

Cell phone use while driving, texting, shaving, applying makeup, snacking, reaching for a CD, changing music stations, talking to fellow passengers, staring at billboards-all of these constitute distracted driving, and contribute to thousands of accidents every year.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

Those statistics come via a report by insurer Allstate this week. The report says that New York City had the highest number of hit-and-run accidents involving parked vehicles. In fact, in the Big Apple, 70% of hit-and-run crashes involved vehicles that were parked. Houston was at the other end of the spectrum, with just 57% of hit-and-run accident involving parked vehicles. In the cities of Chicago and Phoenix, the rate was at 67% much like Los Angeles.

Allstate mentions that those high rates don’t necessarily mean that the culture in the cities lean towards irresponsible or negligent behavior. However, the congested nature of the cities may be conducive to an accident.

Even when you are involved in a hit-and-run accident involving a parked vehicle, you are required to leave a note on the other person’s vehicle explaining exactly what happened. Allstate has advice for victims of parked vehicle hit-and-run accidents.

• Contact your insurance company immediately.
• Take pictures of the damage to your car.
• Look around to see if you can find witnesses to whatever happened. Take down their contact information.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 37,000 traffic accident fatalities in 2008. Out of these, 447 fatalities involved hit-and-run accidents in which moving vehicles were involved. However, there were 91 fatalities in hit-and-run crashes involving a parked vehicle.

Just because you can’t trace the driver who struck your car while it was parked and fled the scene, doesn’t mean that you have no rights to compensation. This is where Uninsured Motorist Coverage kicks in. Motorists in California are required to maintain Uninsured Motorist Coverage, and this is part of the policy you have with your insurer. Uninsured Motorist Coverage kicks in not just during hit-and-run accidents where you can’t trace the driver, but also in accidents where there is an at-fault driver available, but he or she has no insurance.

Your Uninsured Motorist Coverage should kick in as soon as the accident occurs. Make sure you file a claim with your insurance company. The Uninsured Motorist Coverage must include your medical bills, lost wages and may be even other damages.

It’s important to understand that your Uninsured Motorist Coverage benefits are your rights because you have paid for these. When an insurer refuses to pay out benefits, or delays these, or pays you lesser than you are eligible for, it’s always best to consult with a California car accident lawyer, who specializes in Uninsured Motorist Coverage matters.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

The city of San Francisco was made for walking. It’s not just the residents who love walking here, but also the thousands of tourists who visit city every year. There are even walking tours that allow the tourists to see most of the city’s most famous landmarks with no stress at all.

Not surprisingly, pedestrian safety is a major concern here, given that so many of the city’s inhabitants prefer to bicycle or walk before driving. The San Francisco Police Department has now kicked off a pedestrian safety campaign that will include both pedestrians and motorists. The focus of the campaign will be twofold:

• Getting motorists to respect the right of way of pedestrians, and engage in safe driving practices
• Educating pedestrians about safe walking and avoiding jaywalking

The pedestrian safety campaign fittingly enough has been kicked off in Chinatown. This area of San Francisco has massive pedestrian traffic. Over the next few days, police officers will be educating both pedestrians and motorists about right-of-way and other pedestrian safety concepts. Accident lawyers in California often notice that many motorists are either completely unaware of their right-of-way duties, or choose to ignore these. Either way, it’s the pedestrian who suffers. Most of the pedestrian accidents that occur in California every year, can be traced to right-of-way violations by motorists. A motorist who fails to yield at a crosswalk places a pedestrian at great danger.

Here are some things that motorists can do to prevent accidents involving pedestrians.

• Watch out for pedestrians when you near crosswalks.
• Look for pedestrians especially carefully when you’re driving in poor weather or in the dark, when it may be difficult to spot them.
• When you see a pedestrian at a crosswalk, wait till the pedestrian has crossed before moving forward again.
• Avoid distractions behind the wheel, like cell phone use or text messaging. Such behaviors cause you to take your eyes off the road, and may cause you to miss a pedestrian.
• Avoid driving at excessive speeds. You may be unable to stop in time even when you do notice a crosswalk ahead.

Pedestrians must also play their part in their own safety.

• Avoid jaywalking.
• Cross only at designated and marked crosswalks.
• Walk only on sidewalks.
• Before crossing, look left, right and then left.
• Before you cross, wait for the car to make a complete stop.
• Make eye contact with the driver. This ensures that he can see you and understands that you are about to cross.
• Even when you cross at a designated crosswalk, look for vehicles that may be speeding, and may not be able to stop in time.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

A third congressional hearing into Toyota’s safety issues was held last week, and the topic of a brake overriding system on all vehicles by all automakers, was brought up. Leading the calls for mandatory brake overriding systems on all cars is Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D- West Virginia, who is the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Rockefeller openly wondered why lawmakers couldn’t ask all automakers to have brake overriding systems that would prevent acceleration to dangerous speeds. Such a system would help reduce the vehicle’s power, and enable the motorist to gain control over the car during an episode of sudden acceleration.

Accidents caused by sudden and excessive speeding have been traced to 52 deaths and fatalities, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. According to Sen. Rockefeller, the system that is in place to prevent such safety issues from slipping through the cracks has failed, and lawmakers need to fix it quickly before there are more deaths and injuries. Requiring a brake overriding system on all vehicles would prevent the kind of injuries and fatalities that are cropping up every day from this problem.

By all accounts, Toyota is not the only automaker facing the acceleration problem. Other automakers including Ford, have been linked to sudden speeding up of vehicles without driver input.

Toyota has already confirmed that it will retrofit vehicles that were included in the recent recalls with brake overriding systems. It has also said that brake overriding systems will be fitted into all future vehicles manufactured by the company. The brake override system is actually already in place in some vehicles like BMW models.

Meanwhile, Toyota is also acting to enhance safety at its US facilities. It may be a little late to stall the growing number of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits piling up against the company, but it may help prevent future safety issues at the company. Before the crisis broke, Toyota was considered the biggest automaker in the world. According to the company’s president in North America, Toyota will set up an outside panel whose biggest purpose will be to advise the company’s North American affiliates about quality and safety issues. This will be an influential panel which will have direct access to Toyota chief Akio Toyoda.

A culture of minimizing safety problems and hiding them behind a veil of secrecy has been one of the many factors that auto safety experts and injury lawyers in California have blamed for the crisis Toyota finds itself in. For far too many years, the company has gotten away with denying that it’s vehicles were involved in acceleration episodes, or that the problem was widespread.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of product liability. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

Daiso is based in California and Washington. Since 2008, Daiso California LLC and Daiso Seattle LLC have had to recall toys five separate times. A total of 690 toys and other children’s products were recalled after they were found to be contaminated with high quantities of lead. These toys included stuffed toys, wooden toys and purses. They were sold at Daiso stores in California for fewer than five dollars.

No injuries have been reported from the use of these products. However, the Consumer Traffic to Commission fully intends to enforce the provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The Act which was passed by Congress, lays down strict standards for the presence of lead in children’s toys and other products. A wide range of products are included under the new standards. These include toys, video games, science kits, books, jewelry, accessories and other children’s products.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Daiso had been warned several times in the past about its failure to adhere to the new safety standards.

The company has been accused by the Consumer Product Safety Commission of importing, distributing and selling toys that contain high levels of lead. The company has also been accused of importing products meant for small children that come with small detachable parts. Such toys are a huge injury risk to little children, who can easily remove the small parts and swallow them. This poses a serious choking or aspiration hazard. Besides, Daiso has allegedly also imported toys into the country that did not come with sufficient and adequate warning labels. A safely manufactured product for children must not only be safe to use, but must also come with sufficient labels cautioning parents if the toy poses a danger of risk to their children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission had warned the company several times in the past, but the company failed to comply with standard code, and hence the hefty fine.

Lead contamination in toys has been a major source of concern to California product liability attorneys, toy safety groups and health safety experts. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act lays down high standards for lead content which are far more stringent than the earlier targets for lead in toys. The Act also sets standards for the presence of certain chemical compounds known as phthalates, in children’s toys. These compounds are added to plastic products to make them softer and suppler. They’re found in toys, feeding bottle nipples, talcum powder and a whole range of other children’s products. Phthalates have been linked to serious reproductive disorders in male children. these disorders include genital abnormalities and other conditions.

It’s good to see that the Consumer Product Safety Commission fully intends to add bite to these laws, and prevent any violations that place children at risk of injury.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of product liability. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

A new piece of legislation proposes extending the ban on text messaging or use of a hand-held cell phone while driving to California’s bicyclists. The legislation has been introduced by Sen. Joe Simitian, who was the man behind California’s law banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Sen. Joe Simitian has introduced a piece of legislation that would heavily increase fines and penalties on violators of the hand-held cell phone and text messaging while driving bans.

Under the law, a bicyclist in California found texting while riding, or having a conversation on a handheld cell phone will be fined between $20 and $50 for talking on a cell phone while riding, and between $20 and $100 for text messaging while biking. These are the exact same fines that will be levied on motorists who are caught violating the bans. Besides, the law that the senator proposes will add a point to the record of the violator. According to the senator, California’s current cell phone laws rely heavily on light penalties. A motorist, who finds that the fine is not too heavy and will not result in a mark on his record, is more likely to violate the law. However, the threat of having a point on a record may coerce motorists to switch off the cell phone while driving.

Support for the cell phone ban for bicyclists is strong among bicycle accident lawyers in California and bicyclists. You don’t need more studies to prove the dangers that are at play when you talk on a cell phone while biking, or use it to send or receive text messages. Bicyclists must understand that they place themselves at greater risk of an accident if they’re distracted while riding.   Studies conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute have shown that the risk of an accident for a motorist, who is text messaging while driving his car, is up to 20 times greater than if he’s not. Other studies have also shown the heavy risk of accidents for drivers using cell phones while driving. A biker is at a much higher risk of injuries in an accident than a motorist. Ultimately, the law will serve to protect bicyclists from the severe injuries they can expect if they crash into another vehicle or object, because they were riding while talking or text messaging.

The law isn’t meant to corner bicyclists, or put them in an inconvenient position. It is meant to protect them from the kind of risks they will face from distracted riding. The heavy fines and penalties that will apply to motorists and bicyclists who are caught violating the laws should also be encouraged by injury lawyers in California and auto safety advocates. Ultimately, a bicyclist stands to lose the most in any accident that he is involved in.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of bicycle accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

Billboards have always been a source of distraction for motorists on a highway. In the past, studies around the world have shown that certain billboards tend to have a higher risk of crashes. For instance, a billboard featuring a scantily clad model is more likely to have male motorists lose focus, and crash. However, those distractions tempting as they are, may pale in the face of new distractions from brightly lit, neon colored highway billboards that are cropping up increasingly on our highways. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that out of the approximately 450,000 billboards in the US, only about 2,000 are currently digitized. But the trend to have these digitized billboards at heavy traffic intersections is growing stronger by the day, as advertisers find the prospect of grabbing eyeballs at heavy traffic areas too tempting to pass up.

By any account, the digitized billboard industry is in an expanding one. While a traditional billboard can cost anywhere from $5,000-$50,000, a digitized billboard can cost between $250,000 and $300,000. The price for a digitized billboard is much lower than it used to be just a few years back. As the technology improves, and these billboards become more common, California injury lawyers find it highly likely that these prices could drop further. That means more and more billboards on US highways, distracting motorists who are already talking on their cell phones or text messaging while driving.

There haven’t been extensive studies done into how much these billboards can increase the risk of an accident. In 2007, a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that digitized billboards did not substantially increase the risk of accidents compared to traditional billboards. However, the findings of that study are suspect because the study was financed by the billboard industry, not the most impartial source.

However, federal transportation officials are beginning to take the matter seriously. The Federal Highway Administration is presently conducting a study into the effects of digitized billboards. The study includes installing eye tracking cameras in the cars of motorists, and monitoring for how long these drivers look at these billboards while driving. Last year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute published a study which stressed the need for further investigations into the results of digitized billboard distractions on drivers. This spring, researchers will also have the opportunity to travel around the world to see how other cities have handled the distractions arising from digitized billboards.

As new technologies crop up and compete for a motorist’s attention on the road, it’s important that federal, state and local agencies also expand their policies to meet these new challenges.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of auto accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

The tragic accident occurred on Friday morning in Brentwood. Initial reports indicated that the girl had been crossing the road on the crosswalk, and had been hit by two motorists who had then sped off from the scene. Reports that came out later confirmed that the girl had likely been brushed by the side view mirror of one car, causing her to lose her balance and fall right into the path of another moving car. It has also been confirmed that the two motorists did not leave the scene of the accident, but stayed with the victim until help arrived. Rumors that the crash had been caused by two different drivers caused Los Angeles police to look for cars that met the description as given by witnesses at the scene. However, police have now confirmed that the crash was a tragic accident. There are no plans to charge either of the two drivers in this accident.

As California pedestrian accident lawyers often see, accidents involving pedestrians can be fatal, or result in serious injuries.  Injuries that result in a pedestrian accident can be extremely serious, and can include severe body trauma such as head and spine injuries when the person is flung to the ground. California has a reputation for being one of the most unfriendly places for pedestrians in the country.  That should not come as a surprise to pedestrians here, or to pedestrian accident attorneys in California. While the Golden State has a great climate which encourages walking, the state has done little to improve pedestrian safety. A study last year by Transportation for America names several California metropolitan cities as some of the deadliest for pedestrians in the country. Pedestrians accidents in areas like Santa Ana are fewer in number, and form a much lower percentage of the overall population.  However, they account for a large percentage of fatalities. The fatality rates in fact, are disproportionate to the number of people who actually walk to work in these areas.

Most pedestrian accidents can be traced to motorists who simply fail to either look out for a pedestrian when they near a crosswalk, or fail to yield to pedestrians altogether. Either way, it’s a pedestrian who has to pay in the form of serious injuries, or even death. Looking out for pedestrians when you’re at a crosswalk is not a favor to the pedestrian. It is the duty of every motorist, and it is extremely frustrating to Los Angeles accident lawyers to come across motorists who have simply struck a person on a crosswalk, and then proceeded to drive off. This kind of thing happens far too often.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of pedestrian accident. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.