Routine Vehicle Maintenance and Safety Inspections Can Prevent Serious Injuries | Ontario Auto Accident Attorney

The failure of conducting proper safety inspections can be shown by a recent tragic accident on the 210 Freeway in San Dimas, California. While traveling eastbound through San Dimas, California, on the 210 Freeway, a 62-year-old San Bernardino man was struck and killed by an errant tire that came off of a small pick up truck traveling in the opposite direction on the freeway. After separating from the read of the ruck, the tire began to bounce and cleared the center divider K-rail then ended up going through the windshield of a 2008 Toyota Camry. After causing this fatal blow to the driver of the Camry the tire continued down the road striking as may as six other cars before finally stopping its path of destruction.

Tragically, the early morning accident resulted in the death of David Ballejos of San Bernardino.

This accident was completely avoidable with a routine safety check of the truck. Routine maintenance and inspection of your vehicle is so important before setting out for any long trip. Failure to perform such an inspection can directly lead to injuries to you or others. While this accident was very odd, it was not unprecedented. I handled a case nearly identical to this case, but fortunately, my client was only injured and not killed. The key in that case was identifying all responsible parties, such as the driver and owner of the car and the employer of the driver. Only by finding all the sources of insurance to cover the losses, way my client able to receive sufficient compensation for the injuries he suffered.

If you are looking for an attorney to handle an injury claim as a result of a vehicle failure or traffic accident, I encourage you to look io the Inland Empire Law Group for legal help in recovering all that you deserve. 909-481-0100.

October 21, 2013 – Serious Fontana Intersection Accident (Foothill Blvd. & Citrus Avenue)

A horrific accident occurred at the intersection of Foothill Blvd. and Citrus Avenue in Fontana, California. This massive collision resulted in at least three deaths and several others suffering very serious injuries. About twenty minutes before 9:00 p.m., on October 21, 2013, it is believed a vehicle drove through a red light striking another car in that intersection, with ultimately three cars involved in the accident. The negligent driver, cost a child, a woman and a man their lives.

Fontana police officers are investigating the cause of the accident. Some of the important aides in determining the cause of this accident will be information from the occupants of the cars in the accident, independent witnesses, skid marks, if available, and the damage to the vehicles. If one driver admits he or she ran the red light, then the investigation is made much easier.

Sometimes, victims of these type of major accidents, while grieving and struggling emotionally and physically, are bombarded by unethical lawyers and their “runners” and “cappers” trying to get these victims to sign up their cases. This conduct is unethical and illegal. Beware and don’t get trapped by these ambulance chasers. Only use lawyers that comply with the law and are looking out solely for your best interest for your personal injury and auto accident claims.

David H. Ricks is an attorney with the Inland Empire Law Group in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He handles personal injury and auto accident cases and has done so in the Inland Empire since 1987. If you have questions, or need legal counsel, call (909) 481-0100 or contact him at http://www.davidrickslaw.com.

MOTORCYCLISTS SUFFER INJURIES AND DEATH IN ACCIDENTS, THEN SUFFER FROM BIAS WHEN TRYING TO RECOVER

This past week, on August 27, 2013, a horrible accident occurred in Rancho Cucamonga, California on Sixth Street, between a motorcycle and a semi-truck.  The reports seem to indicate that this accident occurred when the semi-truck was trying to make a U-turn in front of the motorcycle.  This accident ended the life of a 4 year old girl who was on the back of the motorcycle at the time of the collision.  The shock and horror the family and friends must have felt when they heard about the accident is unimaginable.  Our thoughts and concern go out to the family and friends suffering from this tragic accident.

After I read the report of this accident, I was appalled at some of the comments written in response to the article reporting on the accident.  As I read those comments, I saw uncaring and/or uneducated comments solely because this accident involved a motorcycle.  In my experience as a personal injury attorney, I have learned that there is so much bias against motorcyclists that even when an accident results in the death of the small child, the bias cannot be tempered.  This is why most motorcycle accidents need serious legal representation to overcome the bias that exists at every stage of the process.  The bias often starts with the accident report.  So many reports assess liability on the motorcyclist even when there is almost no contributing responsibility attributable to the motorcyclist.  Other areas of bias come from witnesses, the insurance adjuster, a judge or the jurors.  Overcoming these biases and establishing liability on the responsible party for the accident is critical to the success in a motorcycle accident case.

Finding the best personal injury lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga is a critical part of overcoming motorcycle bias when dealing with such an accident.  The Inland Empire Law Group is a well established Rancho Cucamonga law firm capable of turning back the bias against safe motorcyclists using our roads and highways.  For proper legal representation call now, 909-481-0100.

A Street Racer and Car Thief Causes a Serious Accident in Riverside- April 22, 2013

On April 22, 2013, a car thief, driving a 2008 Mustang may have been racing another car when the Mustang was racing along Magnolia Avenue when the car crashed into a Chevrolet Malibu with a 5 year old girl in the back seat in a car seat. The impact hit the left side of the Malibu critically injuring the child within the Malibu. After the accident the driver of the stolen Mustang ran away and the other street racer drove away. Both were being sought on the day of the accident.

So what rights do injury victims have in situations like this Riverside car accident where the car is stolen and/or the driver runs off and cannot be found? First, while you have “legal” rights against the driver if he is found, the problem is he probably has no money or assets and you will most likely not recover a dime. You can’t turn to the insurance coverage for the stolen car because insurance does not cover injuries caused by someone who has taken a car without permission. So your only real source of insurance would be your own uninsured motorist insurance coverage.

First, you must have purchased this type of insurance coverage before the accident. After the accident, you have to establish that the other driver was not insured. You do this first by using the police report to show that the car was stolen or to see if there is any indication that an insurance policy was in place. Next, if there was an insurance carrier for the stolen car, you need to make sure that company has denied coverage under the policy applicable to the car. With this information you can then proceed to work with your uninsured motorist insurance carrier to establish a claim and get your damages paid for. Sounds complicated? It could be. However, with the right lawyer handling your case, you don’t have to worry about the complexities of the claim, rather, you are able to focus on your recovery from your injuries.

The piece of mind which comes knowing you have the right attorney and right legal team on your side is beneficial to a full recovery from your accident. The David H. Ricks and the Inland Empire Law Group is a personal injury law firm that can provide piece of mind and serious legal knowledge and trial capabilities to your personal injury claim. Give us a call at 909-481-0100, or come visit with us if you need help after an accident.

Victorville Head on Collision Results in Death and Injuries – Janruary 29,2013

This picture has no relationship to the accident.

Two were killed in a head on collision on State Route 62 near Highland Rd. A 50 year old male from Anaheim Hills was traveling west bound when his BMW crossed into the eastbound lane and struck the Toyota SUV of a 54 year old female from Morongo Valley. Both drivers were pounced dead at the scene by paramedics. See The Sun report.

Cross over accidents recently have taken way to many lives. Once such accidents occur not only are lives lost, but the families and friends left behind have to pick up the pieces and deal with the emotional trauma of the losses. In my efforts to represent families suffering from the loss of their family members, understanding their feelings and being able to communicate those feelings effectively to an insurance adjuster, judge or jury is one of the most important, yet difficult part of representing the suffering families.

To better serve injury victims and their families, I ask your help. If you have experienced these feelings in your life, or are presently experiencing the recent loss of a loved one, please share your thoughts and feelings about how the sudden loss of a family member from a traffic accident has impacted your life. With this information, it will increase my understanding to move insurance companies and culpable parties to pay the most required to compensate families and injury victims.

When looking for a personal injury lawyer, consider David H. Ricks of the Inland Empire Law Group.

Protect Yourself From Holiday Roadway Accidents

Holiday accidents are especially tragic.  During the holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, there is so much hope and happiness with families gathering and friends celebrating their blessings, the prosperity of the past year, the memory of good times and relationships and the hope of a new year and a brighter future.  These joyous times can be shattered in a moment from an auto accident.  Maybe, a child is traveling from school and she falls asleep at the wheel following a grueling finals week and suffers a serious or fatal accident.   There could be a drunk driver leaving a party or a bar and he blows through a red light killing a family coming back from a holiday party.  An early afternoon rain floods the freeway and someone doesn’t slow down to adjust for the dangerous conditions causing his car to hydroplane and strike the small car of a husband and father returning home early from work for a holiday gathering.

While these events sound horrible, they happen every year during the holiday season.  In a recent article in the Daily Bulletin, writer Beatriz E. Valenzuela identified that 31 people died during the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday weekend in California alone.  These car accidents occurred from 6:00 p.m. Wednesday night prior to Thanksgiving to midnight on the Sunday following Thanksgiving.  The year before, 32 people lost their lives during the same period of time.

Some of these accidents were not from the negligence of another, while many others were caused by a negligent or drunk driver.  Some accidents may have also been from fatigued driving.  Fatigued driving can be just as deadly as driving while intoxicated.  No matter how these accidents occurred, they resulted in 31 deaths in the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday season.  More than 31 families suffered during that time instead of celebrating the season.

With Christmas and New Years 2012/2013 upon us, I encourage everyone to take extra care in driving to and from your holiday parties and events.  If friends and family need rides from their parties because they have had too much to drink, a small expense for a taxi cab is a better solution than trying to pick up the pieces of shattered lives from a car accident and fatality due to drunk driving.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, turn to a quality law firm that has the experience to properly handle a personal injury or wrongful death case.  With over 25 years of experience and a team of excellent personal injury professionals, the Inland Empire Law Group stands ready to fight for your benefits and your compensation from the injuries and losses sustained in a car accident in Southern California.  Contact us (909) 481-0100 for your free Glove Box Accident Form to help you get the information you need at the time of an accident.  If you have already suffered from an accident, please e-mail us or give us a call to receive a free consultation to evaluate your legal rights and help you secure a proper financial recovery from your accident.

Riverside Car v. Pedestrian Accident Kills Woman in Riverside – June 10, 2012

In a sad story, a 35 year old woman was struck and killed in Riverside as she attempted to cross the street at Tyler Street at Kidd Street. A 2007 GMC truck struck the woman at about 8:30 p.m. shortly after dark. Condolences to the family of the killed woman.

Have you ever experienced a situation where you looked left then right and still didn’t see the pedestrian crossing the street? I have and it is really scary to know I came so close to hitting an unprotected pedestrian. It is so easy to miss seeing a pedestrian when you as a driver are looking for cars, trucks and motorcycles. Pedestrian accidents are often serious if not fatal.

So as a pedestrian how do you protect yourself from accidents, or in an accident? Here are five things you should do.

1. Try to avoid crossing the street at night unless absolutely necessary.

2. Wear bright and visible clothing if you expect to be walking

3. Cross in a crosswalk and not in the middle of a block, drivers will not expect you to be walking in the middle of the street and

4. Use defensive strategies when crossing the street. In other words, do not think the driver of the car or truck will see you in the street

5. Protect yourself with a large uninsured motorist insurance policy. You will be covered if the insurance policy of the driver is insufficient to cover your losses.

I once represented a girl who darted across the street and was hit be a car that sped off following the accident. She suffered significant injuries but was able to recover from most of them. Until she came to our office with her father, they did not know that their insurance had uninsured motorist coverage that would protect her from a hit and run driver. The small preparation and forethought of her father protected her from loss. We settled for the policy limits.

Follow these rules for safe walking and avoid the trauma accompanying car verses pedestrian accidents.

 

 

Teenage Driving is a Blessing and a Curse

Teenage driving is a blessing and a curse. As a parent of four children who have all gone through the teenage driving phase, I was grateful that my teenage drivers were able to drive themselves to school or to get to their sporting practices or even to run some errands for me. On the dark side of teenage driving is the fact that their inexperience, lack of appreciation for the responsibility and since their sense of personal invincibility makes them a greater danger to themselves, their passengers and the general motoring public.

This thought was brought to the forefront of my mind when I read about an 19 year old teenage driver, Michael Navarrete of Hemet, who was driving his Ford Explorer when he lost control and ran into a traffic signal pole in Menifee. While all the details of the accident are unclear, it appears that speed and inattention played a part in the cause of the accident. As a result of this accident where the Explorer struck the pole, a 19 year old boy, Donovan Adams, was killed and two other teenage passengers, Joel Connor Fritz and Gregory Gonzalez, were critically injured. This tragic accident will have lasting affects on the families and friends of all these young men yet it was an avoidable accident.

Not long ago I handled a case involving graduating seniors at high school who were traveling from a school sponsored picnic home, when two cars, one filled with boys and the other filled with girls, ended up colliding and ejecting several passengers because they had too many in the car and not enough seat belts. One of the drivers was not even licensed but the father still let him drive.

If you are the parent of a teenager, or a teenage driver, remind them over and over of the dangers associated with driving. Remind your teenage passengers to be firm about the driver driving safely and to focus on the task of driving and not on the distractions in and out of the car. Make sure your children know they can call you if they find themselves in an unsafe situation and that you will be there for them as their true friend and not to judge them.

Finally, if your teenager has been involved in an accident where he or she has suffered injuries, contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your options for recovering damages. Don’t forget that if your child is either insured or lives in your home, and your insurance policy includes Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, some of the damages or losses may be covered by that insurance policy. A good personal injury attorney has the ability to assist you in finding all available insurance coverage to reduce the financial impact on you and your child.

TEXTING TEENAGER CONVICTED OF MOTOR VEHICLE HOMICIDE

This week a new legal landmark occurred in the arena of texting and driving.  In Massachusetts, a 18 year old teenager was convicted of motor vehicle homicide.  The conviction results from a head-on automobile accident caused by the teenager texting while driving and allowing his car to veer into the on-coming traffic.  The teenager, Aaron Deveau, killed Donald Bowley, a 55 year old father of three.  Deveau argued that he was not texting, but the phone records show text messages were sent and received only a minute prior to the accident.  There were 193 texts sent on the day of the accident.

Texting while driving is a crime in California as it is in many other states.  This means that it is a crime to text anytime the car is in drive, whether you are moving or not.  If a person has been involved in an accident, and it is suspected that texting or cell phone use was a possible distraction which contributed to the accident, get the responsible driver’s cell phone records and compare them with the time of the accident.  A lawsuit and a personal injury attorney may be necessary to subpoena those records.  That information, if it shows texting or talking was on-going at the time of the accident, will help establish liability for the accident.

Smartphones can as be extremely helpful during an accident.  Watch our video on to collect and gather information at an accident scene.  Be safe out there and don’t drive and text.

Several Lives Claimed from Inland Empire Accidents

In two days, April 29 and April 30, 2012, I read about four traffic accidents causing four deaths in the process.  I found this tragic loss of life terribly disturbing. Looking at each of the accidents, the mechanics of these accidents were so different from each other.  Look to see what I mean.

1. April 29, 2012:   Fontana, California.  A 25 year old pedestrian walking west on Citrus Avenue, near the intersection with Jackson Street, lost his life after being struck by 2006 Ford van traveling north on Citrus.

2. April 30, 2012: San Gabriel, California.  A man was killed while walking along San Gabriel Boulevard north of Sheffield in an area that was extremely dark.  The driver of the vehicle, Michael Munoz, that struck the pedestrian, Zhong Yi Cheng, apparently did not see the pedestrian due to the area being so dark.  There was also some concern that the intersection was not properly marked or did not have proper stop signs.

3. April 30, 2012: Barstow, California.  A 24 year old woman from Fort Irwin was killed in a head on collision along Fort Irwin Road, south of Kolath Road.  The car within which she was traveling apparently crossed into on coming traffic and collided with a 1996 Honda.  The driver of the Honda, Diore Trammell of Apple Valley suffered major injuries in the accident.

4. April 29, 2012: Angeles Crest Highway.  Two motorcycles were in an accident which resulted in the death of Junior Estuardo Quic-Ortiz, 30 years old.  Mr. Ortiz apparently lost control of his motorcycle, was thrown off the motorcycle and then he struck a second motorcycle which was traveling eastbound.  The other motorcycle rider, Patrick Ramirez of San Dimas, was also injured in the accident when he was thrown from his motorcycle.

While not all this terrible accidents result in wrongful death claims, the tragedy remains with the loss of these young lives.  For those who were injured in the accident may have claims of their own against the insurance companies that may have provided insurance coverage for this type of accident.

If any person has been involved in an accident, they should always consult an attorney to verify their rights for recovery to pay for the medical expenses, loss of earnings, property damage and pain and suffering damages.  The Inland Empire Law Group is centrally located to handle cases in Fontana, Barstow, San Gabriel or anywhere along the Inland Empire highways and roadways.

Call for a free consultation.  (909) 481-0100.