True Stories Category Archives

Officer Involved Car Crash that Killed Baby Cost Sacramento $9.75 Million

June 20, 2018 | by Moseley Collins

Sacramento has agreed to pay $9.75 million to the parents of a 9-month-old boy who was killed after his parent’s car was rear-ended by an undercover police car. The parents and their young son were on Interstate 80 during heavy traffic hours. An off-duty police officer and his children in a Ford Explorer belonging to the police department hit the back end of their car at roughly 60 MPH. Young Raiden Saechao was correctly strapped into his car seat but died several days later from severe head trauma.

The accident occurred in December of 2013. The couple had suffered several miscarriages as well as the death of a newborn before having Raiden. A court battle began and lasted three years before the city settled for almost 10 million dollars. Prosecutors chose not to file criminal charges. The lawsuit claimed that the officer’s distracted driving caused the death of the child. Officer Greg Mark Halstead is still employed by the police department and denies all allegations brought in the lawsuit. The city claimed the officer was not working at the time of the accident. The parents say they will donate a portion of the money to raising awareness of distracted driving.

Is a Comma Really Worth $10 Million?

April 6, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

Today, I would like to speak to you about how details are important when it comes to the practice of law. Sometimes, all it takes is one tiny little thing that can change the outcome of an entire claim.

For those who don’t know, an Oxford comma is what we also refer to as the serial comma. It is a stylistic recommendation that a comma should be used before coordinate conjunctions (usually and or or) in a series of three or more terms. This advocation exists to try and avoid ambiguity. But the world of writing seems to keep fighting a constant battle on whether this comma should be taken as a mere recommendation or something more.

The latest story comes from Maine, where a local dairy product company is facing a lawsuit for over $10 Million due in overtime hours to truck drivers, and at the heart of the dispute is the lack of this comma in a state law. In essence, the clause states that the following tasks are not eligible for overtime:

Self-Driving Cars Suspended After Uber Accident

April 4, 2017 | by Moseley Collins

California is in the forefront of the self-driving car movement. Only a few U.S. cities have these little modern wonders tooling around their streets and it will take more than the recent accident to keep them off the roads despite being suspended for a few days.

An Uber self-driving Volvo moving around Tempe, Arizona was involved in a three-vehicle wreck in March of 2017 when a driver made a left turn without being able to clearly see all lanes of oncoming traffic. The Uber approached her in the one lane she could not see and the driver crashed into it. The driver, Alexandra Cole, cited that she saw the Uber coming too late to break and struck it, sending it into a light pole, bumping into two other cars and landing on its side. The Uber was in autonomous mode but did carry two Uber employees. The company has estimated the Uber’s speed was approximately 38 mph in a 40 mph zone. No one was hurt in the accident. Uber has been operating self-driving cars in the Tempe area since December of 2016 although they have been developing the technology for a shorter time than other companies.

In response to the accident, Uber shut down its self-driving car services in Tempe, Pittsburgh and San Francisco for the whole weekend. They reopened Monday after Uber execs investigated the wreck to make sure the car was in proper working order when it was hit. The accident was determined to be Cole’s fault and she was cited.

Real Case: Man Rear Ended on Highway 50 in Sacramento

December 19, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

The following is an actual case fought and settled by Attorney Moseley Collins. It involved a man who was rear-ended on Highway 50 in Sacramento, CA. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the involved parties.

Robert Brown was a healthy 38 year old man. He was an athletic man who, when not working at his full time job, enjoyed many outdoor activities, such as basketball, fishing, hiking, and camping. He had never had pain issues with his back or neck. Unfortunately for Mr. Brown, that was about to change.