Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Man Faces Vehicular Manslaughter Charges

April 16, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

A man in Paso Robles has been rearraigned and is facing three felony charges from a car crash he caused on Highway 101 near Ventura, CA.

In the crash, the man, Jeremy White, killed one man, Andreas Parra, 20, and severely injured another, California Highway Patrolman Anthony Pedeferri, 36. Officer Pedeferri has been with the CHP for over 11 years and is an accomplished tri-athlete. He is currently in the hospital for rehabilitation

The charges the young man, only 20-years-old, face are gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence, causing an injury and refusing to take a chemical test, and selling/transporting marijuana.

Brothers Attacked by Zoo Tiger Suing City

April 8, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

The two brothers who were attacked by a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo are now filing a claim against the city of San Francisco, alleging negligence and defamation.

The brothers, Kulbir and Amritpal “Paul” Dhaliwal, along with a friend, 17 year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr., were attacked Christmas Day of this year by a 250-pound Siberian Tiger at the San Francisco Zoo. Apparently, the tiger scaled the walls of its habitat and viciously bit and clawed the three boys, seriously injuring Kulbir and killing Carlos. The tiger was eventually shot and killed by the police.

At first, the blame seemed to be placed on the boys’ shoulders. The Zoo claimed the boys taunted the tiger maliciously, causing the tiger to become so distressed it attacked. In fact, the Zoo was so convinced the attack was the boys’ fault that, despite the intense emotional and physical trauma experienced by the boys, the Zoo impounded their car and considered pressing charges against them for over a month.

Miraculous 2003 Brain Injury and Recovery

April 4, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

Way back in 2003, a Truckee man shocked the world with his bizarre injury…and miraculous recovery. The story was so unbelievable that many wrote it off as a hoax, but, in fact, it actually happened.

Up in beautiful Truckee, CA, an adventure-resort town just a few hours north of Sacramento, California, lives a man named Ron Hunt, nick-named the “Miracle Man”. In 2003, Hunt was working at a construction site when he fell from a ladder and landed, face first, upon an 18 inch, 1 1/8 inch chip-auger drill bit. The drill went through his eye, pushed his brain aside, and exited his skull by his ear. Tahoe World reports the following:

Just to write the description of the injury gives us the heebie-jeebies. But miraculously, Hunt survived the accident with minimal trauma, losing the eye and having titanium plates installed where the bit went through his skull, as well as some minor nerve damage in the right side of his face.

Young Girl in Car Wreck Receives $1.25 Million

April 4, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

Note: This article was taken from the Charleston Gazette Law Blog page of their website. To view the article, please click here.

From the Charleston Gazette:

Girl hurt in wreck gets $1.25 million

Canada Woman Suffers Unnecessarily Due to Medical Malpractice

March 28, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

A young mother in Canada has suffered tremendously due to medical malpractice, specifically neglect from her treating doctors and nurses. Jennie, a 27-year-old mother of a three-year-old and three-month-old, injured her back about five weeks ago. She was taken by an ambulance to the emergency room at a Toronto hospital where a CT scan showed she had an enlarged disc. Rather than treat the problem, the doctors gave Jennie some anti-inflammatorys and pain killers, and sent her home.

Jennie’s pain continued. Soon she began feeling numbness in her lower extremities. Her family doctor told her she needed to return to the hospital and get an MRI. Jennie went to a different hospital this time but they did not have the time to see her. She was transferred to yet another hospital where they gave her an MRI and, due to the alarming results, sent her into an emergency surgery.

Still her injury grew worse. All it was was a herniated disc, a very treatable condition, but due to the lack of care she received from her doctors, it slipped farther and farther down her spine and damaged a bundle of nerves. As she recovered from the surgery in the hospital, Jennie and her husband grew alarmed at the black color that was spreading around the surgery site. The nurses she informed did nothing to fix, change, or alert anyone else of the discoloration. Within days Jennie had to undergo another surgery to remove the black tissue.

Post Office Worker Bitten by Pit Bull

March 28, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

A female postal worker was bitten by a Visalia, CA, woman’s pit bull last Wednesday afternoon. The pit bull was one of the woman and her family’s three dogs. According to the Visalia Times, the postal worker was walking by the family’s home when the seventy-pound dog, called Corduroy, pushed open the backyard gate and ran toward her. Corduroy managed to nip the postal worker’s leg before the owner’s daughter pulled him away and took him inside.

The postal worker, who denied to give her name, notified the SPCA and they went to the home later that day to pick up the dog.

Suzanne Longoria, Corduroy’s owner, claims the five year old is a “good natured dog” and says she allows him to play with her 8 month old grandson.

Elderly Woman Crashes her Car into Post Office

March 28, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

Another bizarre car accident occurred this week, this time in Burbank, CA, a city near Sacramento’s strange sister to the south, Los Angeles.

On Monday, March 24, an elderly woman drove her vehicle into a post office, injuring three people, including herself. Apparently, according to the Los Angeles Times, the woman mistook her gas pedal for her brake. The Times states:

“Typically, that’s what happens in these cases,” Sanchez said. “It was an accident. There was no mechanical failure and no intent to cause harm.”

Man Causes 4-Car Crash on Highway 20

March 17, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

A man caused a four car collision on Highway 20 in Grass Valley, CA, a rural town north of Sacramento, on Thursday, March 13. Steve Poston, 55, of Smartville, apparently weaved and swerved through the morning traffic scattered along the highway, reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour, despite a heavy fog that blanketed the road and reduced visibility to only 200 to 300 hundred feet.

According to witnesses and California Highway Patrol Officer, Dina Hernandez, the officer who reported to the scene, Poston lost control of his silver Dodge pickup and sideswiped the white Ford 250 of James Klauer, 42. Thus began the chaos. In the words of Hernandez, interviewed by TheUnion.com:

The ensuing wreck looked like a war zone,

Former Paralyzed Woman to Climb Mount Everest

March 10, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

On September 4, 2006, Australian doctor, Verena Doolabh, was shot in her spine while traveling in Jordan. The culprit was a gunman who opened fire on the tourist group Doolabh was traveling with. On March 10, 2008, Doolabh shared her story with the Australian newspaper, The Daily Liberal:

“Being a doctor the first thing that went through my head when I was shot was ‘I’m going to be in a wheelchair’,”

Unfortunately, her intuition was right. Doolabh was immediately paralyzed from the waist down. An immediate surgery to remove the bullet plus six months of intensive therapy, however, set her upon her feet again. Recalling her recovery, Doolabh said:

Man Dies While Helping Car Accident Victim

March 10, 2008 | by Moseley Collins

A 44-year-old Rio Linda, California man died this past Saturday, March 8, 2008, while trying to help a young woman involved in a car accident.

Kaili Jackson, a 20 year old woman from Sacramento, CA, was driving southbound on SR-99 when she drove her Toyota Tundra into the center median and the vehicle rolled over. News10.net reports:

Witnesses said 44-year-old Guy Pierce of Rio Linda stopped on the righthand shoulder and walked across the lanes and checked on the condition of the occupants in the Tundra.