Los Angeles Injury Lawyer Blog

California has some of the busiest roads in the country and car accidents are unfortunately an everyday occurrence. If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident in the State of California, you will need a car accident lawyer to fight for you and get you monetary compensation you may deserve. The Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP is located in the Los Angeles area in Southern California and has extensive experience in all types of motor vehicle accidents. We will send someone to your hospital room or house to sign up your case, as we know that a car accident is a traumatic event and we want to make things as easy as possible. Victims of car accidents often face large out of pocket expenses, medical bills and lost wages. There are confusing insurance claims, police reports, medical bills and other complications you have to deal with. It is important to have a qualified car accident lawyer representing you to make sure that your best interests are being covered.

The causes of California car accidents vary greatly, from drunk driving, speeding, negligence to faulty vehicle parts. In addition, car accidents involve complex insurance issues which can involve several companies and complex laws. We will fight on your behalf against the big insurance companies who have lawyers fighting for them. The Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP works with experienced experts and investigators to obtain witness statements, expert opinions, photographs and even create animations for trial if appropriate. Please click here to see some animations we have used in previous trials.

Call us now at 1-800-ALAWPRO for a free consultation. The call is free and we work on a contingency fee which means that we don’t get paid unless you get compensated.

In yesterday’s blog we talked about knee injury accidents and how serious they can be. Yesterday’s blog focused on Medial Meniscus Tears. Today we will be talking about Patella Fracture injuries.

PATELLA FRACTURE: A Patella fracture is also known as a broken knee cap. The kneecap bone is one of three bones that make up the knee joint. A patella can fracture in a single crack across the kneecap, or the fracture can result in the kneecap breaking in several places, which is known as a stellate fracture. Patella fractures are usually caused by a strong direct blow to the knee, such as a knee smashing into the dashboard of a car in an accident or a fall onto the kneecap. When this happens, there is usually also external damage to the skin with abrasions and lacerations. A patella fracture usually requires a trip to the hospital to x-ray the knee to assess the extent of the damage. If the fracture is just a small crack and a patient can perform a straight leg raise, generally surgery can be avoided. In these cases, a leg cast or knee immobilizer can be used to treat the minor fracture. However if the fracture is more serious and the knee cap is broken into several pieces or severely disrupted, it is usually necessary to operate on the knee cap to realign the bone. In this case, an incision is made over the frong of the knee joint. The fractured ends are realigned and held in place with a combination of pins, screws and wires. When damage to the kneecap is so several that realignment is impossible, it may be necessary to remove the kneecap entirely. In this instance the leg is usually put in a cast for six weeks.

If you have been injured in an accident and suffered a patella fracture, you should speak to an attorney as you may be entitled to monetary compensation. If you are in the State of California, please call us at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP (1-800-ALAWPRO) for a free consultation.

To read part one of the blog, click here:
Part I: KNEE INJURY ACCIDENT LAWYER CALIFORNIA: MEDIAL MENISCUS TEAR

A tragedy occurred on December 25, 2007 when a San Bernardino County woman was mauled to death by a pack of pit bulls in Barstow. The victim was 45 year old Kelly Caldwell who was found lying in the street Tuesday night by police after they were called to a home in Yermo. She was taken to a nearby hospital but was later pronounced dead according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s department. Authorities say that three pit bulls surrounded and then attacked the woman, and then ran to a nearby house. One of the dogs returned to the scene while paramedics were trying to save the victim’s life, and deputies were forced to shoot the dog as it started acting aggressively. Another dog was shot to death the next morning as an animal control office was attempting to capture it. Deputies said that the second animal also became very aggressive. Authorities have said that at least one of the dog belonged to a neighbor, but no arrests have been made.

To read more about Dog Bites please visit us at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP.

A knee injury from an accident can be a serious injury and lead to a chronic problem or may require surgery. Both slip and fall accidents, as well as car accidents, motorcycle accidents and truck accidents can lead to serious knee injuries such as a torn medial meniscus (meniscal tear) and a patella fracture. Because of the knee’s complexity, the range of knee injuries can vary widely. It is important that you speak to an accident or personal injury attorney in your state if you have a knee injury as a result of an accident. If you are located in the State of California, please call our law office for a free consultation (1-800-ALAWPRO). Below we describe a medial meniscus injury and tomorrow we will discuss a Patella Fracture.

MEDIAL MENISCUS INJURY: There are two menisci in a knee that are made of touch cartilage. The medial meniscus is a cartilage that curves in a knee joint on the inside of the knee. The other meniscus is called the lateral meniscus and rests outside the knee. These meniscus distribute a person’s body weight across the knee joint. Meniscus injuries usually involve a tear in the cartilage. The most common was a traumatic meniscus tear occurs is when the knee joint is bent and the knee is then twisted. A radial tear occurs when the meniscus tears from the inside to the outside rim, but tears can also occur lengthwise. A bucket-handle tear occurs when a lengthwise tear rotates into the knee joint instead of remaining around the joint’s edge. It is common for a meniscus tear to along with injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL). When these three problems occur together they are knows as the unhappy triad. Some meniscus tears result in a locking of the knee joint and these injuries usually require an operation to correct the condition.

Our client came to our personal injury law firm because she had a slip and fall accident on a slippery laundry room floor and suffered a torn medial meniscus knee injury requiring arthroscopic surgery. We sued the owner of the laundry room and the owner of the laundry machines for negligence and premises liability.

While on vacation in Marina del Rey, California, our client was staying on a boat in the Marina. She was given access to a nearby condominum complex's laundry room, to wash her clothes. The laundry machines flooded the floor of the laundry room, and because there was inadequate lighting, our client did not notice the water on the floor when she entered the room. She slipped and fell, hyperextending her knee and tearing the medial meniscus. She required arthroscopic surgery to repair the tear.
As is often the case, the laundry machines were owned by a different company than the laundry room itself. In litigation, we proved that the laundry machine owner was negligent because it knew that when two of the machines were run at the same time, the floor of the laundry room would have a tendency of flooding. We also proved that the owner of the laundry room knew that the drain in the floor was not sufficient for allowing the water to drain without flooding the room. We proved that the laundry room owner was also negligent for failing to provide adequate lighting that would have given our client the chance to have seen that the floor was wet and slippery before she walked inside. We obtained a significant settlement against both companies.

If you or a loved one has suffered a slip and fall accident or a knee injury accident and needs a slip and fall lawyer or a knee injury attorney and you are located in the State of California, please call our law firm for a free consultation.

Our client was riding his motorcycle when he collided with a car in an intersection in Hollywood, California. As a result of the motorcycle accident, our client suffered a bulging disc injury (also known as a herniated disk). Our client lived in the canyons of Los Angeles, and he was an experienced motorcycle rider. The canyons in the Hollywood Hills are very narrow, and they have many small side streets that enter into the canyon roads. As our client was driving down the canyon, the defendant stopped at a stop sign on a side street leading into the canyon. The defendant negligently started moving forward as the motorcycle approached where the defendant was entering the canyon road. The motorcycle and automobile collided sending the motorcycle rider flying off the motorcycle and into the bushes. At first our client thought he only had bumps and bruises, and he saw a chiropractor. After a few months, he was still hurting, and the chiropractor referred him to an orthopedic doctor who took an MRI scan of our client's back. The MRI showed a small bulging disc at L-4 L-5 in the low back.

Our client was a film editor who would have to sit for many hours at a video machine viewing and splicing film. Although it would hurt him to sit for a long time, he elected not to have an operation. We argued at trial that the jury would either have to compensate our client for a life time of pain if he didn't have other operation, or they would have to give him enough money to pay for the operation in the future.

This case went to non binding arbitration with another attorney, and they were awarded $18,000. The defendant's insurance company did not accept the non binding award and opted for trial which is when we took over the case. Although the defendant's liability insurance policy was for $100,000, the insurance company paid the entire judgment of $325,000 without appealing.

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident or a car accident in California, call our office for a free consultation with an accident lawyer. We cover all cities in California including but not limited to:

Los Angeles County: Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Avalon, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Bradbury, Burbank, Calabasas, Carson, Cerritos, Claremont, Commerce, Compton, Covina, Cudahy, Culver City, Diamond Bar, Downey, Duarte, El Segundo, Gardena, Glendora, Hawaiin Gardens, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Huntington Park, Industry, Inglewood, Irwindale, La Canada Flintridge, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lakewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Los Angeles, Lynwood, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Maywood, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park, Norwalk, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rosemead, San Dimas, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Fe Springs, Stant Monica, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena, Temple City, Vernon, Walnut, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, Whittier.

Orange County: Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Garden Grove, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Westminister, Newport Beach, Buena Park, Lake Forest, Tustin, Laguna Niguel, Yorba Linda, San Clemente, La Habra, Fountain Valley, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, Cypress, Aliso Viejo, Brea, Stanton, Dana Point, San Juan Capstrano, Laguna Hills, Seal Beach, Laguna Beach, Baguna Woods, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Villa Park

Riverside County: Riverside, Moreno Valley, Corona, Temecula, Murrieta, Indio, Hemet, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Perris, Palm Springs, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Coachella, San Jacinto, Banning, Beaumont, Norco, Blythe, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Canyon Lake, Calimesa, Indian Wells

San Bernardino County: San Bernardino, Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville, Rialto, Hesperia, Chino, Chino Hills, Upland, Redlands, Apple Valley, Highland, Colton, Yucaipa, Montclair, Adelanto, Twentynine Palms, Barstow, Loma Linda, Yucca Valley, Grand Terrace, Big Bear Lake, Needles

Lawyers have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all purchasers of securities of Medtronic from June 25, 2007 to October 15, 2007. The suit is related to the recent Medtronic recall of Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads and alleges that the company knew about problems with their leads prior to their disclosure to the public on October 15, 2007. The Medtronic class action lawsuit states that Medtronic had received a substantial number of reports of death and serious injuries caused by fractures in its Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads, and that Medtronic failed to suspend distribution of the Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads in the face of this evidence. The lawsuit goes on to stipulate that the subsequent Sprint Fidelis recall will negatively impact financial earnings of Medtronic and that Medtronic failed to properly inform shareholders of this information.

If you or a loved one had one of the recalled Medtronic Sprint Fidels leads implanted, you should speak to an attorney to learn about your rights. Just as the shareholders have filed a class action lawsuit against Medtronic, patients of these devices also have. Please call us at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP to speak to a lawyer free of charge.

If you or a loved one has been in a car accident in San Bernardino County or Riverside County, you will need an experienced car accident attorney on your side. We are a personal injury law firm located in Southern California and help victims of catastrophic accidents get maximum compensation. We are trial attorneys who are willing to fight for you. If we take your case, we will come to your location in San Bernardino or Riverside County. We want to make things easy for you at this stressful and complicated time in your life.

We cover the following types of motor vehicle accidents:

• Car accidents
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Motorcycle accidents (and bikes)
• Truck accidents (big tractor trailer trucking)
• Bus accidents

When an individual suffers a traumatic injury from an accident, it is a life changing event. You need the experience of a personal injury attorney who can help you. Whether you are a driver, passenger or pedestrian, if you have been the victim of an accident, call us for a free consultation at 1-800-ALAWPRO. We handle cases on a contingency fee basis which means that we collect NO legal fees unless we collect money for you! We also advance all costs of your case. We focus on victims and families in the State of California. Please call us for a free consultation.

In Riverside County: Riverside, Moreno Valley, Corona, Temecula, Murrieta, Indio, Hemet, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Perris, Palm Springs, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Coachella, San Jacinto, Banning, Beaumont, Norco, Blythe, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Canyon Lake, Calimesa, Indian Wells

In San Bernardino County: San Bernardino, Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Victorville, Rialto, Hesperia, Chino, Chino Hills, Upland, Redlands, Apple Valley, Highland, Colton, Yucaipa, Montclair, Adelanto, Twentynine Palms, Barstow, Loma Linda, Yucca Valley, Grand Terrace, Big Bear Lake, Needles.

Nearly 11,000 people sustain a spinal cord injury every year. Some spinal cord injuries are fatal and some result in paralysis or quadriplegia. Car accidents are responsible for nearly half of all spinal cord injuries, and falls the second most common reason for spinal cord injury. Over 250,000 people living in the US are suffering from a spinal chord injury and more than 190,000 people in the US live with paralysis due to a spinal cord injury. Victims of spinal cord injuries should consult with a personal injury lawyer to learn their rights.

Spinal cord injuries usually occur when a blow fractures or dislocates the vertebrae. Most injuries don't sever the spinal cord. Damage actually occurs when pieces of vertebrae rip into cord tissue or press down on the nerve parts that carry signals. In a complete spinal cord injury, the cord can't relay messages below the level of the injury. People become paralyzed below the level of injury. In an incomplete injury, you have some movement and sensation below the injury. Quadriplegia, also known as tetraplegia, is a type of paralysis affecting all four limbs, although not necessarily total paralysis or loss of function. It is caused by damage to the brain or to the spinal cord at a high level. The injury causes victims to lose partial or total mobility of all four limbs (both arms and legs). The severity of the paralysis depends on which cervical vertebra is injured and the extent of the injury.

In the past few years, the number of skiers and snowboarders suffering head injuries and spinal cord injuries has been on the rise. Skiers and snowboarders have been taking greater risks on the slopes performing more complicated maneuvers and skiing down more dangerous terrain. Some of these accidents are fatal, but statistics show that 85 percent of spinal cord injury patients who survive 24 hours after their injury are still alive ten years after the accident. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident or fall, you should consult with a personal injury attorney. If you live in California, please call us at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP for a free consultation.

Medtronic has issued a recall of Sprint Fidelis Cardiac Leads because of the potential of lead fractures which could result in death or serious injury. If the lead fractures, it could cause the defibrillator to deliver a shock or to not operate. To date over 268,000 Medtronic Sprint Fidelis leads have been implanted worldwide, of which 172,000 Medtronic Sprint Fidelis leads have been implanted in the United States. If you or a loved one are one of the 172,000 people in the U.S. who have a Medtronic Sprint Fidelis lead, you should talk to a personal injury attorney immediately to learn your rights. The following model numbers of the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis family of defibrillator leads have been recalled:
• Medtronic Sprint Fidelis 6930
• Medtronic Sprint Fidelis 6931
• Medtronic Sprint Fidelis 6948
• Medtronic Sprint Fidelis 6949

Please call us now at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP 1-800-ALAWPRO for a free and confidential consultation. You are protected under the law and may be entitled to compensation as a result of this recall. The law requires that a product live up to its claims. When a product is found to have an unexpected defect or danger, the product is considered defective. Product liability refers to a manufacturer or seller being held accountable for putting a defective product into the hands of consumers, or in this case, literally into the bodies of consumers. If you are the recipient of a Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Cardia lead, you may have a product liability or defective product lawsuit and should consult with an experienced product liability lawyer.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are quite common in the US and it is estimated that 1.4 million sustain a traumatic head injury every year and that over 5 million Americans are living with a disability as a result of a TBI. A traumatic brain injury is defined as a blow to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. Traumatic brain injuries can result in both short and long-term problems and range in severity from mild to severe or even deadly. Every year, around 50,000 people die from traumatic brain injuries in the US alone. Over 1 million people a year are treated in emergency departments around the country for traumatic brain injuries, and approximately 235, 000 of these people are hospitalized. If you are the victim of a traumatic head injury, you should consult with a personal injury attorney to learn about your rights.

Traumatic brain injuries are 1.5 times more likely to occur in males than females, and the age groups most likely to sustain TBIs are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds. There are many causes of traumatic brain injuries, but the leading causes include falls (28%), motor vehicle or traffic accidents (20%), being struck (19%) and assaults (11%).

There are often long-term affects of suffering a traumatic head injury and around 80,000 people a year suffer the onset of long-term disability due to TBI. People who have been injured from a traumatic brain injury often need additional care to perform daily functions. In fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 5.3 million Americans currently have a lifelong or long term need for help as a result of sustaining a traumatic head injury. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident and sustained a traumatic brain injury, call our law offices to speak to an accident attorney who tell you your rights. We give free consultations to those people who are residents of California or who were injured in California.

Motor vehicle accidents such as car accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents and bus accidents affect us all. Every year thousands of drivers and passengers are involved in crashes and are injured or killed in these wrecks. Below are some statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics from their Transportation Statistic Annual Report 2006 that cover the number of motor vehicle accidents, the number of people injured in motor vehicle accidents, and the number of people killed in motor vehicle accidents:

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS BY MODE 2003
• Passenger car accidents 4,746,307
• Motorcycle accidents 79,081
• Light truck accidents 3,345,165
• Large truck accidents 436,161
• Bus accidents 57,672
• TOTAL 6,328,000

PEOPLE INJURED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS BY MODE 2005
• Passengers injured in car accidents 1,573,000
• Motorcyclists injured in motorcycle accidents 87,000
• Truck occupants injured in light truck accidents 872,000
• Truck occupants injured in large truck accidents 27,000
• Bus occupants injured in bus accidents 11,000
• Pedestrians injured in highway accidents 64,000
• Cyclists injured in highway accidents 45,000
• Others injured in highway accidents 18,000
• TOTAL 2,699,000

PEOPLE KILLED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS BY MODE 2005
• Passengers killed in car accidents 18,440
• Motorcyclists killed in motorcycle accidents 4,553
• Truck occupants killed in light truck accidents 12,975
• Truck occupants killed in large truck accidents 803
• Bus occupants killed in bus accidents 58
• Pedestrians killed in highway accidents 4,881
• Cyclists killed in highway accidents 784
• Others killed in highway accidents 949
• TOTAL 43,443

A car accident in Los Angeles, California left one girl dead and several others injured after a taxi cab was struck by a Toyota Scion being driven by Los Angeles resident Willie Faulkner. Faulkner was allegedly speeding and ran a red light at the intersection of Melrose and Crescent Heights and hit the taxi which was driving through the intersection. The impact caused both vehicles to slide into traffic and both collided with other cars. The taxi was carrying five passengers, and all were seriously injured as a result of the car accident. All were taken to a nearby hospital for care, but sadly one Pasadena woman died on arrival. The other four taxi passengers were admitted for treatment. The taxi driver was treated for minor injuries and later released. Two passengers in Faulkner’s car were also taken to nearby hospital, but were treated and released the same night. Faulkner was arrested and charged with Felony Vehicular Manslaughter and Gross Negligence. The Los Angeles Police Department is asking anyone with information to call them. If you or a loved one has been in a serious car accident, you will need an experienced car accident attorney. California residents should call us for a free consultation at 1-800-ALAWPRO.

A scalding burn is a serious burn to the skin caused by hot liquids, such as tap water, soup or tea, or steam. Scalding is considered a second degree burn or third degree burn and results in damage to the skin in the form of blisters or skin splitting. Hot tap water burns are the second most common cause of serious burn injuries to people, and can lead to death. Some burn centers estimate that as many as half of the burns they treat are a result of a scalding accident. Every year around 112,000 people are treated at emergency rooms with scald burns and around 6 percent of them need hospitalization. A significant number of scalding happens at home by tap water that's too hot. Children under the age of five, the elderly and the physically impaired are particularly susceptible to scald injuries because their skin is thinner and it can be harder for them to get out of the way of boiling hot liquids when they spill or splatter. In fact around 80 percent of hot tap water burns occur within this group. The problem can result from people’s water heaters being set too high. When tap water is heated to 122 degrees, it takes 30 seconds for a child to get a third-degree burn. But when tap water is heated to 149 degrees, a third-degree burn is instantaneous.

According to National Safe Kids Campaign, around 5,000 children are scalded each year, most often in bathtubs. The average bathtub scald burn covers 12% of the body surface with a third degree burn. The location of where scald burns most often occur is 95% residential settings: 54% in apartment houses and 46% in single family homes. Scald injuries can be fatal if it covers a large enough part of the body. It can happen quite suddenly, even to adults. Often people are at home in the shower when the water temperature suddenly skyrockets. If people cannot get out of the way or turn the water temperature down, they can sustain significant burns over their entire body. In this situation, especially the elderly will have a difficult time getting out of the way of the burning water in time not to sustain injuries. Many states now require water heaters to be preset to 120 degrees, but sometimes water in the tank can reach temperatures of 150 degrees even in this situation. Plumbers can install devices to prevent this type of scalding. It is known as a temperature-actuated device and when water flowing through this device gets too hot, it will snap shut and prevent water flow. In addition, a thermostatic mixing device is inexpensive and will mix hot and cold water together. Other examples of scald burns are when boiling water or liquid, such as soup or tea, accidentally spills or splashes someone. If a child or adult sustains a serious scald burn, it can require hospitalization and skin grafts, and even lead to death. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a scald burn injury, you should seek the advice of an experienced injury lawyer.

This motorcycle accident happened in Long Beach, California in Los Angeles County. A car crashed into his motorcycle after it entered the intersection at the wrong time. Our client’s leg was dragged across the ground causing a severe road burn (also known as road rash). Road burn occurs when bikers are thrown or dragged by their bikes, and their skin comes in contact with pavement, gravel, or ground surfaces. Road rash injuries take time to heal and often leave behind permanent scars and disfigurement. In the case of our client, all of the flesh and skin was removed from his ankle. He ultimately needed to have his leg amputated from the ankle down as a result of his road burn. Although the motorcycle crash was a minor impact between the motorcycle and the car, he suffered serious injuries from being dragged across the road and his roadburn was severe.

Our client was an experienced motorcycle rider. He went for a ride and had his sister on the back of his motorcycle. He slowly entered the intersection, not going more that 20 mph. A car negligently entered the intersection at the same time hitting the bike and causing our client to skid across the street for approximately twenty feet. His sister was luckily not injured. Our client, the rider, unfortunately did not have boots on- he was just wearing tennis shoes. The foot that was under the motorcycle slid across the rode, under the motorcycle for about twenty feet dragging off all of his skin and flesh from around the ankle. The injury resulted in the amputation of his leg. The rider called the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP and hired us as his motorcycle accident lawyer.

As our client was still hospitalized, he asked if I could come to the hospital to have him sign the retainer and give me the information on the accident. At the time, I was a young personal injury lawyer, and hadn't seen many seriously injured people. My client was lying in bed covered with a sheet when I entered the hospital room. I didn't know the extent of his injury, but I thought with a low impact motorcycle crash and no spinal injury, no brain injury and no head injury, how badly could he be injured? As I was interviewing him, he asked if I would like to see his injury. Before I could answer, he threw off the sheet, and I was staring at his leg which had his foot totally missing from the ankle down. I had never before seen the damage that road burn could cause. If you think about it, when a motorcycle rider goes down, his body is being dragged across the road which acts like a giant rasp, scraping off the skin and flesh. Road rash injuries are serious, and if you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident you should consult with an experienced motorcycle accident attorney. If you live in California, please call us for a free consultation.

Burns are classified as first, second, or third-degree depending on how deep and severe they penetrate the skin's surface. Burn injuries are typically caused by a variety of thermal, electrical, chemical, or electromagnetic energy. If you have been injured by burns, you should consult with an experienced burn injury attorney to find out what your rights are.

• The most common cause of hot liquid burns is due to hot tap water. Hot tap water burns are responsible for more hospitalizations and deaths than any other hot liquids.
• The leading cause of burn injury amongst adults is an open flame.
• The leading cause of burn injury amongst children and toddlers is scalding.
• 65 percent of children age 4 and under who are hospitalized for burns suffer scald burns.
• 20 percent of children age 4 and under who are hospitalized for burns suffer contact burns.
• The majority of burn accidents occur at home
• Over 2.4 million burn injuries are reported every year
• Around one million will suffer substantial or permanent disabilities related to their burn injury
• Around 27% or 650,000 of these injuries are treated by medical professionals
• 75,000 people are hospitalized due to the severity of their burn injury
• Approximately 27% of those hospitalized for burns (20,000 people) have severe and major burns covering at least 25 percent of their body.
• Between 8,000 and 12,000 children and adults die every year from burn related injuries and fires.
• Accidents are a leading cause of death among children and toddlers.
• The most typical types of accidental injuries occurring at home are: drowning, burns, poisoning, fire arm discharge, suffocating, choking and falling.
• Approximately 75 percent of burns in children are preventable.

[The above are some important burn injury statistics from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign.]

A product liability lawsuit was filed by Dennis Quaid and his wife after an incident where their newborn twins were accidentally given large doses of the anti-coagulant pharmaceutical drug Heparin while they were at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. The product liability lawsuit was filed against Baxter Healthcare Corp. and alleges that they were negligent in the way they packaged different doses of Heparin with similar backgrounds. Three children were killed at a hospital in Indianapolis last year, and the suit alleges that Baxter should have recalled the vials with large doses after these incidents. The company recently changed its packaging by adding a red label that reads “Caution” and must be removed before the vials can be opened. The Quaids are not suing Cedars Sinai hospital for medical malpractice which admitted that this was a preventable error.

The Quaids’ twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, along with a third patient were mistakenly given massive doses of heparin during their stay at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California on November 18th. The vials contained 10,000 units of heparin per milliliter instead of 10 units per milliliter which was 1,000 times stronger than the normal dosage for a small baby. Heparin was used to flush catheters to prevent clotting. The Quaids claim that the lawsuit is not about money and that they just want to save other children from suffering the same incident as their twins. Despite the fact that the twins nearly died from their overdose, they are reportedly doing well, but the long term affects of the incident are unknown.

A dentist’s family was awarded $4M in a medical malpractice settlement as a result of a deep vein thrombosis (clot formation) which led to a pulmonary embolism that killed him while he was a patient at Lutheran General Hospital in 2002. Urban had been injured in a car accident and sustained a break of the pelvis and a wrist fracture. The hospital identified him as being at risk for the development of clots (also known as deep-vein thrombosis) which can lead to a pulmonary embolism (a blockage to the heart and brain of blood flow). A pulmonary embolism is one of the most common forms of death in a hospital. The hospital administered medication to the dentist, Dr. Anton Urban, while he was there in order to minimize clots, but tests were not conducted to determine whether or not clots were actually forming. Clots formed in Urban’s lower legs, and ultimately broke free and lodged in his lungs, which caused his wrongful death. Urban is survived by his wife of 29 years and four adult children.

800,000 Ford Explorer owners reached a tentative settlement for the loss in the value of their vehicles due to the perceived rollover danger of the SUV. A Sacramento, California county judge accepted the deal to settle the class-action lawsuits against Ford Motor Co. in California, Texas, Connecticut, and Illinois.

Several personal injury and wrongful death cases against Ford for several rollover accidents involving the Explorer will continue and are not related to this settlement. These product liability lawsuits were filed after more than 250 people were killed and hundreds were injured in accidents involving Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. tires. Most of these tires were installed on Explorers at the time the accidents occurred.

The California portion of the rollover lawsuit covered around 400,000 Explorer owners and went to trial earlier this year for around 50 days before the parties announced in October that they were close to a deal. The lawsuit alleges that Ford falsely advertised the Explorer as a safe vehicle when they had evidence that they were prone to rollovers. Ford continues to argue that the Explorer was safe and does not admit to any wrongdoing.

The settlement covers consumers who purchased Ford Explorers model years 1991 to 2001. Those customers will either receive a $500 voucher to purchase a new Explorer or a $300 voucher to purchase another Ford or Lincoln Mercury product. Vouchers are transferable to anyone in the same state at the original vehicle owner. In total Ford could pay upwards of $25 million related to this case. A final hearing will be held on April 15 and vehicle owners who do not agree with the settlement will be allowed to object at that time.

Personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP obtained a significant settlement in a slip and fall accident ankle injury case against a Los Angeles, California store owner who was negligent by allowing the stairs at the entrance of the store to be covered by slippery liquid.

A store which is opened to the public has a duty to make sure that its premises is safe for its customers, so as to avoid injury causing accidents. A store can have premises liability for injuries caused by a slippery floor in several ways. If the store causes the floor to be slippery, such as an employee spilling a liquid, or mopping the floor, and does nothing to warn its customers, that is negligence. Even if the store didn't cause the slippery liquid to be on the floor, it can be negligent if it knew the liquid was on the floor, or should have known that the liquid was on the floor because it was there for a long enough period of time that a reasonable inspection of the premises would have revealed it.

Our client slipped and fell as she was entering a Los Angeles store which included a butcher, and sold raw meat to the public. As she climbed the two steps into the store, her foot slipped in some liquid, and she lost her balance and fell to the ground, fracturing her ankle so severely that she required surgery.

The public entrance to the butcher was located in the back of the store, and was the same entrance the store's employees used to bring raw meat in from a refridgeration unit located behind the store. We were successful in uncovering that when the store employees would bring the raw meat in, slippery liquids would drip on the two stairs leading into the store, and the employees did not clean it up.

Because we were able to prove the store employees were negligent by causing the stairs to be slippery, we obtained a significant six figure settlement for our client.

The Los Angeles Times reported that individual patients dropped by Blue Shield insurance may file a class action lawsuit for cancelling policies after policyholders submitted claims. A three-judge panel in the California 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that canceling an individual health insurance policy for omitting information or making a mistake on an application after claims are submitted is strictly prohibited under state law. This is a victory for consumers and opens the way for class-action lawsuits against insurers that have improperly dropped policyholders.

This suit was filed by a Los Angeles jeweler, Augusto Ticconi, whose policy was canceled after his appendix burst and he submitted medical bills totaling more than $100,000. He believes that Blue Shield investigated his application only as a way to avoid paying his bills. In addition he stated that Blue Shield failed to attached his application to his policy when it issued it, which would invalidate the recision. The first trial court ruled in favor of Blue Shield and rejected the class action; however, the appeals court came to a different conclusion.

The practice of California health insurance companies waiting until after individuals incur medical expenses before they analyze policies for misstatements was called into question by the California Court of Appeals. The practice of looking back at claims after expenses are submitted is called post-claims underwriting and is not allowed. All three judges were unanimous in this decision and added that insurers must attach a copy of the application to the policy in order to cancel it. This decision could open the door to several class-action lawsuits against insurance companies.

Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Co. insists that it is following state law which allows insurers to cancel individual policyholders who omit information or make false statements on applications. A spokesman for Blue Shield stated that the ruling was limited to whether or not a class can be certified and that the court ruled that it could. But other experts agree that this is a blow for Blue Shield and other insurance companies and a victory for patients.

Los Angeles, California. Our clients’ parents were killed in a car accident at night when they hit a tractor trailer truck with no lights on. Because the tractor trailer truck did not have any lights running and was negligent in warning oncoming cars of its presence, we sued them for the wrongful death of the parents. The trucking company had an insurance policy for $250,000, but the insurance company refused to settle the case for this amount on the advice of their lawyer. We took the case to trial, and the jury awarded our clients $750,000 for the wrongful death of their parents. The insurance company paid this amount and then hired us, the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP, to sue their attorney for not protecting them against an insurance bad faith claim. We ultimately collected on the negligent lawyer’s policy and helped the insurance company offset some of the cost of the case.

A truck driver was pulling a double trailer across the country road moving from a farm on one side of the road to a farm on the other side of the road at night without any lights. Our clients’ mother and father were driving down a country road in the dark when they suddenly struck the side of the trailer being pulled by the farm tractor. The trailer did not have it's running lights on at the time which would have warned the father that there was a trailer across the two lane road. Both parents died as a result of crashing into the side of the trailer.

The parents had been on their way to visit one of their sons who was incarcerated in a state prison. They also had three other sons. All four of the sons were adults, but two of the sons had mental deficiencies and had lived at home with their parents. Both of these sons had a mental capacity of children about ten or twelve years old. The loss of their parents was a devastating tragedy for these children. The trucking company had a liability policy of insurance that covered the trucking company for $250,000 in liability. We made a demand to settle the case for the $250,000 policy limits. Our claim was that the parents had supported and cared for the two mentally handicapped grown sons, and would have continued to do so for the rest of their lifetimes. The other son would now have to provide the care, comfort and support of his two mentally handicapped brothers for the rest of their lives. The insurance company refused to pay the policy limits.

We went to trial, and the trial seemed to be going well. However, the insurance company lawyer still refused to recommend to his insurance carrier that they should pay the policy limits. The jury awarded our clients $750,000. The insurance company paid the entire $750,000 judgment, and hired our firm to sue their own lawyer for not having told them to pay the policy. They knew at that point that we had a bad faith lawsuit against the insurance company for not protecting their insured from a substantial exposure over the insured amount. We learned that the lawyer kept telling the insurance company that he was winning the case, when in fact, the jury didn't like him, and were very sympathetic for our clients. We collected the attorney's negligence policy to help the insurance company recoup part of their money paid in excess of their policy.

We settled an on the job accident case in Los Angeles, California for $1.85 million where our client first was electrocuted and then fell from a utility pole, paralyzing him from the waist down while trimming trees for work. Workers can suffer serious injuries at work, but often these are only workers compensation cases, which limits the amount of money you can collect from an employer. This was the case for our client. We as his accident lawyer could not sue his employer, but there was another party who was at fault in this accident. Our client was electrocuted on electric lines while he was trimming trees. As a result of being electrocuted, he fell to the ground and suffered a severe spinal cord injury when he broke his back landing on a fence below. Our client was only eighteen years old and was left a paraplegic as a result of the fall. We hired experts and were able to determine that the utility companies had been negligent in their placement of the electric lines on the pole and that without their negligence, the work accident would not have happened.

The details of the case are as follows. Our client was working for a tree trimming company to trim branches in a back yard that were growing into the lines on a utility pole. The utility pole had telephone lines, cable lines and electric lines that were carried on the pole. The more dangerous electric lines are placed higher up the pole, and the cable and telephone lines are placed lower on the pole. Rules and regulations stipulate how far apart these lines are to be separated on a utility pole.

Our client had climbed up the utility pole in order to reach the branches that were growing in the lines on the pole. His legs were touching the cable and telephone lines when he accidentally reached up and touched the electric wire above his head. Because his legs were touching the cable and telephone wires, this created a circuit which caused him to not be able to let go of the electric wire. His fellow workers on the ground saw that he was being electrocuted and could not let go, so they pulled on a rope that was hanging from his belt to try to pull him free. By pulling on the rope our client was set free of the circuit, but he fell to the ground and broke his back when he landed on the fence below. As a result of the fall, he was paralyzed from the waist down. But if his fellow workers had not pulled on his rope, our client would have been electrocuted to death.

We could not sue his employer, as this was only a workers compensation case as it applied to his employer. But experts determined that the utility companies had not followed proper procedures when they placed the various lines on the pole. They negligently placed the wires too close to each other on the utility pole, and if they had placed the lines at the proper distance apart, our client would not have been able to reach the electric wire, and the accident would not have happened. We settled this case for $1,850,000.00.

Southern California had its share of dog attacks in 2006, some resulting in serious injuries. These dog bite attacks are prompting cities, such as Torrance and Redondo Beach, to rethink their dog laws. These two cities are reacting to recent incidents where residents were injured. In Torrance, a vicious pit bull attack left a 60-year-old mail carrier in the intensive care unit of a local hospital with severe facial wounds. In Gardenia, there was a serious incident which involved two loose pit bulls. This past July, a Pasadena man was arrested after his roaming pit bull attacked three people.

These nationwide headlines are prompting city governments to enact legislation to restrict certain breeds of dogs. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that fatal attacks on people appear to be related to specific breeds, with pit-bull type dogs and Rottweilers being the top offenders. But other breeds of dogs also pose dangers, and it’s not clear that breed-specific laws would be practical or constitutional.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, dogs bit 3,184 mail carriers last year. In Southern California, the problem of dog attacks is serious. The Los Angeles-Orange County area saw 226 carriers bitten in 2006. In Orange County-Long Beach alone, 96 dog bites occurred last year, which was the most of any region. The city of Los Angeles alone had 77 recorded incidents of dog bites.