San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

This week USA Today reported that toxins and chemical flame retardant have been cited in baby toys and children’s product recalls. According to the report, a new study reveals that a staggering 80 percent of all baby products contain flame retardants that are either toxic or untested. The new study, which was recently released in Environmental Science & Technology, shows that car seats, changing pads, and portable cribs were among the items tested, and that nursing pillows were also tested and found to contain chlorinated tris, a chemical never banned but was removed from children’s pajamas in the 1970s over cancer concerns. The Environmental Protection Agency has raised a moderate level concern over the chemical because of its links to cancer and issues with developmental and reproductive problems. Also, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman said that tris may pose a significant health risk. In addition to tris, the flame retardant, TCEP, which was listed as a carcinogen by the state of California, was found in 10 of the nursing pillows.

Here at the Brod Law Firm, consumers should be able to trust the products they purchase are safe. The sad truth is, though, that consumers are frequently injured by common, everyday products. The list of products on the market that pose dangers is endless. Sadly the failure or these products cause significant injuries or death. If you or someone you love suffered an injury after using a defective product, you should keep the product and its packaging, as they are important in proving your case. In California a product liability suite can be based on strict liability. Strict Liability does not require proof of fault on behalf of the designer, manufacturer or seller. In a strict liability claim the injured party need only show that the products was defective, the defect existed prior to the manufacturer releasing the product, and the defect caused the victim’s damages. If you would like to know if you have a potential product liability case or if you have questions about product liability law, please contact our firm today.

An 18-year-old woman from Rohnert Park named Kaitlyn Dunaway was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for allegedly running over a 2-year-old girl, according to sfgate.com. Dunaway was distracted by texting when she crashed her vehicle in to Cali Murray and Cali’s mothers as they walked through a cross walk holding hands on December 1st. Cali was killed and her mother was seriously injured. Dunaway has not been arrested, but she has been issued a citation letter to appear Thursday in Sonoma County Superior Court. If she is convicted, she could spend as much as a year in county jail. Dunaway is freshman at Sonoma State University and is considered a standout volleyball player who attended Petaluma High School. It is shame that she might have to suffer such heavy consequences for what, on the ground level, looks like such a small thing--the sending of a text.

Texting while driving has been banned because it has become a public health issue. The wireless communications law took effect on January 1, 2009, making it infraction to write, send, or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communications device, such as a cell phone, while driving a motor vehicle. Some believe that making texting while driving a felony would be a good way to deter people from doing it. But what about texting while walking? Shouldn’t there be a ban on that as well? According to Ohio State University researchers, pedestrian texting accidents let to more than 1,000 emergency room visits in 2008. CTIA-The Wireless Association reported that Americans sent 1 trillion texts in 2008 and sent 2.1 trillion in 2010. That is a lot of people not paying attention to their surroundings. Whether you are driving and texting, or texting and walking, the message is clear: Texting via any means is hazardous and puts people at risk for injury.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury due to the negligence of another, please contact our firm for a free consultation. Our auto and pedestrian accident attorney is focused on helping victims receive the maximum compensation for their losses. With offices conveniently located in Oakland and San Francisco, we make it easy for Bay Area residents to meet with our experienced personal injury attorney.

Stacking is a term that means treating multiple policies that apply to a single loss as cumulative—as a “stack” of coverage—rather than each as mutually exclusive. Therefore, stacking issues can arise almost any time multiple policies cover a single loss. Stacking refers, literally, to the stacking of policy limits. In other words, stacking is the ability of the insured, when covered by more than one insurance policy, to obtain benefits from a second policy on the same claim when recovery from the first policy would alone be inadequate to compensated for the actual damages suffered. Also, stacking refers to the stacking of policy limits across different policy periods. For example, a continuous loss can occur across multiple policy periods and may be covered under every policy applicable to every such period, and each such policy may provide coverage up to the entire amount of the loss. In fact, in January 2009, the California Court of Appeal, 4th district, made a landmark decision when it ruled that a policyholder facing long term property damage or personal injury claims may stack liability policy limits across policy periods to maximize recovery. The decision was especially important for policyholders in manufacturing, pharmaceutical, construction, and chemical industries that face claims for continuous injury which occured in past years.

If you have questions about how to recover damages for long-term property damage or personal injury claims under your insurance policies, please contact our firm for a free consultation. Our expert insurance attorney will be able to explain the complex, complicated world of insurance policies in an uncomplicated, easy to understand language. We have over 10 years of substanstial experience helping personal injury clients navigate complex insurance matters and manage negotiations with insurance companies, ensuring that they receive the compensation they deserve. For more information on how we may possibly help you, call our firm today.

This morning a man had stopped his pickup on the shoulder of Highway 101 in Brisbane because he was having mechanical trouble and was struck and killed by another vehicle, according sfexaminer.com. As he was standing in front of the pickup, a man driving a Camry veered onto the shoulder and slammed in to the back of the pickup. The pickup pushed forward into the man, throwing him about 75 feet, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. It is not known if the driver veered off the road intentionally or accidentally.
Such a story is a good example of how accidents can happen even when you think you have followed every safety precaution. Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss a safety issue that could save your life the next time you get on the freeway: knowing how to react when your car has mechanical trouble on the highway, or any other type of emergency, and what to do to get help safely. First, it is vitally important that you get out the traffic lanes onto a shoulder or breakdown lane. Here are some other safety tips:
• Stop your car as far away from traffic as you can.
• Turn on your hazard lights as soon as you recognize that there is a problem—or at any time you are going significantly slower than the traffic around you.
• Call for assistance.
• Don’t get out of your car unless you have to or get out of the car and stand a safe distance from your car and the highway.
• Remember that cars with distracted drivers or impaired drivers will often plow into disabled cars on the side of the road—do not stand next to your car.
• If strangers offer to help you, stay vigilant, especially if you are alone.
• Put your hood up to signal for assistance if you need help.

Here at the Brod Law Firm, we are dedicated to helping victims of car accidents recover damages from all types of car accidents. We understand that a serious car, truck, bike, motorcycle, or pedestrian accident can leave a person with severe injuries, extensive medical bills, lost wages, permanent disabilities and chronic pain. In cases such as the one above, we are committed to helping families of deceased victims understand their rights during their time pain. We will aggressively pursue any personal injury case to the fullest extent necessary in order to get victims and their families the compensation they deserve for their losses. Sometimes we settle cases out of court to minimize the trauma for victims, but we are always prepared to go to trial when necessary. If you suffered injuries due an accident, please contact our firm for a free consultation today.

Sony has announced the credit card information of millions of users has been compromised--after its Sony Online Entertainment PC gaming service had been hacked and the PlayStation network service had been breached. And now consumers are banding together and filing class action suits against Sony. A law firm in Toronto is handling a class action lawsuit launched against Sony Entertainment and its associated companies. Natasha Maksimovic of Canada is leading the charge against a number of Sony subsidiaries all around the world, including Sony Japan, Sony USA, and Sony Canada, for the breach of privacy. She is seeking damages of over $1 billion, claiming the company must pay for credit monitoring services and fraud insurance coverage for all suffered users for the next 2 years. She also claimed that she can’t trust Sony because it failed to protect her private data. What is more, she has accused Sony of being focused more on protecting its products than its customers. The company faces another class action lawsuit over hacker intrusion of its PSN; it is one of three, the first two were both filed in California. All of them accuse the company of allowing a leak to occur, and for failing to notify consumers in a timely manner.

A consumer class action suit is a legal action brought by a class action attorney on behalf of a large number of people, referred to as a class, with similar legal claims involving being wronged by company or organization. Class action legal claims usually involve a defective consumer product, a fraudulent or misleading business practice, or a deceptive financial practice. Class action cases involving financial issues deal with improper billing practices, overcharges, and failure to honor warranties, and class action cases involving defective products focus on design defects, manufacturing defects, or marketing defects.
If you feel you have been wronged by a company or organization, please contact our class action attorney today for a free consultation.

According to consumeraffairs.com, Sears has been selling extended warranties, what they call maintenance agreements, and then not following through on the promises within those agreements. Typically employees offer consumers the agreement at the time of purchase, and the agreement generally states that the consumer is eligible for the 3 year Maintenance Agreement, which covers repairs and replacements for any damages due to wear and tear, and an annual preventive maintenance check, all of which are supposed to save the consumer the cost of repairs. Sadly, consumers are finding that when they attempt to make use of their Sears extended warranty agreements, by asking for repairs, replacements, or refunds, they often get the runaround. On many consumer complaint internet forums, you can find numerous complaints posted by consumers who have been duped by Sears.

For a long time, consumer advocates have questioned the worth of extended warranties. Most of the time major appliance shoppers take the bait, paying extra for an extended warranty or service contract, of which the terms and conditions are not made clear by the salesperson. Here at the Brod Law Firm, we have met many people who have been dissatisfied with extended warranties and MA’s due to lack of follow through on the part of the manufacturer or seller. MA’s and extended warranties are supposed to provide peace of mind along with insurance for your product, but the problem is that they cover the period of the product’s life cycle when the least failures occur. What is more, the MA usually runs out just before the product begins to fail, at which point the consumer can’t renew the MA. The best thing consumers can do, before purchasing an extended warrenty, is think about the chances their item will break during the warranty period-- and keep in mind that manufacturers and stores know most products are reliable and will outlast the extended warranty period.

If you have been the victim of consumer fraud, please contact our consumer attorney for a free consultation. Our firm is dedicated to working hard for not only large groups of consumers in class action litigation but for the individual consumer as well, no matter the size of the case. Should you need to file a lawsuit, our consumer attorney will fight hard for your rights and make sure you achieve the justice you deserve.

A crash occurred this morning on Highway 1 near Montara State beach at about 6:45am, according to SFexaminer.com. Two vehicles appeared to have been involved in the collision, which caused one driver to drive off the road and plunge more than 100 feet to his death. At the moment, his name has not been released, and the crash is still under investigation. Interestingly, the area where the accident occurred has been a concern for its residents because that particular stretch, between Half Moon Bay Airport and Devil’s Slide, passes sensitive coastline, communities with high pedestrian and bicycle activity, and carries significant commuter and tourist traffic. According to San Mateo County’s official website, San Mateo County and the Local Government Commission are in the begining stages of conducting a participatory planning effort to improve safety and mobility on that stretch of highway. The reason for the project is, back in 2009, a 12-year old child was struck by a car and critically injured when she was crossing the highway. It turns out that more than 100 people have been injured over the last ten years from accidents along highway 1 from Moss beach to Montara. Highway traffic speed is cited by residents as a challenge throughout much of the area.

Here at the Brod Law Firm, we have handled our share of car accidents, and we have a few tips for driving coastal roads. When driving on coastal highways drivers should always remember to drive defensively, wear their seatbelts, pullover if too many cars are following—when it is safe, however—and never pass double yellow lines. Remember that when you are driving south to north, you will be driving on the inside curbs; but when driving north to south, you should use extra caution, as you are on the cliff side, with nowhere to go but off the road if forced to avoid a collision. Always allow plenty of time to get to your destination so that you don’t feel rushed and tempted to go over the speed limit. Use extra when as you navigate those especially sharp curves in the road (just think: you will be able to enjoy the scenery better if you slow down). Always be alert for animals on the road, bicycles and pedestrians--for they can suddenly appear and can startle you. And during rainy weather or times of decreased visibility due to fog, slow down.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to a car accident, please contact our firm for a free consultation to find out if you have grounds to file a claim. Should it be determined that you need to file a claim, our experienced car accident attorney will fight hard on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve. Our firm has over 10 years both settling and winning complex personal injury cases, and have the expertise to successfully handle your personal injury matter.