Sacramento Tag Archives

Personal Injury Lawyer Fraud

July 27, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

When clients come to a personal injury lawyer, they expect to be treated fairly and trust in their attorney to handle the case with care and dignity. For most people, it’s usually safe to assume that when someone tells you that he or she is an attorney, you can trust them. That, however, is exactly what led to trouble in California.

accident-lawyer-in-sacramento Oliver Ortega, a Guatemalan immigrant, learned this lesson the hard way five years ago. Ortega sought out a personal injury lawyer to aid him in his legal battle with a former employer who he was planning to sue for a wage claim. That’s when Ortega met Jesus Lozano, and his troubles really began.

On the surface, Lozano seemed to be a qualified, respected personal injury attorney. On his business card, he stated that he offered a wide range of different legal services. According to Ortega, Lozano had two complete sets of the California Penal Code on his bookshelves. So to get his case stated, Ortega paid Lozano $400 and was promised that he would begin working.

Back Surgery Fraud

July 9, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

Since the widespread use of the internet, it’s become easier and easier for patients to research their own doctors and surgeons. This better prepares them for any major surgeries and encourages trust between doctors and patients. Because medical records and medical malpractice information is a matter of public record, patients now have the power to pick the best surgeons for their health needs/

But what happens when a doctor is moving around the country and uses different aliases? This was the case of Birmingham doctor Aria Sabit, who been accused of performing bad spinal surgeries and sending in fraudulent bills to several healthcare programs. Sabit’s work has crossed state borders many times and stretched from California to Michigan to Alabama. Now the case is in the hands of federal prosecutors, and they’re expecting a guilty verdict to come down.

The case surrounding Sabit stems from the lumbar spinal fusions he performed. During these procedures, he was known to not use the correct medical devices to perform the surgery safely on the spinal columns of his patients. After the surgery was complete, Sabit would allegedly bill the healthcare providers of his patients for many different services – most of which he did not actually perform. His patients believed he had performed the surgery correctly, but the truth eventually came out.

Statute of Limitations on Auto Accidents in California

July 6, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

When you’re in an auto accident, you might feel as if you’re being pulled in so many different directions. You’re worried about your own injuries and how they will affect your personal life and your ability to hold down a job. You might also be worried about any loved ones of yours who were also injured in the accident. Finally, your car has probably taken some serious damage, and it might be awhile before you have the money to either fix it or get a new one.

sacramento auto accident attorney What you do need to be keenly aware of, out of all these issues, is the matter of statutes of limitations. After you’re in your accident, you have a set amount of time during which you need to get your claim filed. These limitations can change how you and your insurance claims are handled. If you file a claim past the deadline, you will not be able to file a case or a claim with your insurance.

If you have a personal injury claim resulting from an accident, then you have two years to file a lawsuit with regards to auto insurance. If you have property damage to your vehicle or personal property, then you have three years for which to file a lawsuit.

Causes of Serious Auto Accidents

June 27, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

Have you ever driven past an accident on the side of a highway and thought, “What in the world happened?” Sometimes it’s not easy to actually tell what happened at the scene of an accident, especially when you only have a few seconds to assess the scene before you drive right by.

Now you may not have to wonder about these accidents any longer. The Auto Insurance Center, an information and news site dedicated to keeping up with the latest in car insurance news, began researching the answer to that very question. The center combed through records in the United States from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatal Accident Reporting System, which has been keeping records on every serious and fatal car crash in the United States from 2009 to 2013.

The data itself showcased the number of pedestrian, driver, and passenger deaths that resulted from those accidents. When the center finished compiling their information, that made a color-coded map to show which fatal accident was the most common in each state. The map included nine colors:

Motorcycle Safety Awareness in California

June 24, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

This past May, we celebrated Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in California, but this is really a topic that is applicable all year round. In 2013, about 14 percent of all vehicle fatalities were motorcyclists, which made them 16 times more likely to die while out on the road. Although motorcyclists only account for about three percent of drivers, it’s important to respect motorcyclists and share the road with them.

Motorcycle riders Of course, motorcyclists also have an obligation to drive safely and wear protective gear. After all, there are quite a lot of them in California. According to the latest numbers, there are about 830,000 motorcyclists registered in California, the most of any state in the country. In 2013, number showed that there were 485 motorcyclists killed in accidents on Californian roads and 13,143 were injured. To keep motorcyclists safe while on the road, there needs to be a joint effort between vehicle drivers and motorcyclists that promotes safe driving for everyone.

It is important that drivers remember to always share the road with motorcyclists. These cyclists have the exact say rights to the road as any other car and truck. As motorcycles are smaller and less noticeable than cars at times, it is very easy for them to move into another car’s blind spot. If a driver doesn’t see the cyclist, there’s a good chance the driver will hit the cyclist if the driver tries to make a turn or change lanes.

Are Sacramento School Zones Safe?

May 20, 2015 | by Moseley Collins

Whenever you see the yellow diamond-shaped sign with two black figures crossing a road, you know you’ve entered a school zone. Typically the speed limit drops, and drivers need to be extra cautious to avoid hitting any parents and children when school is in session.

Whether or not school zones in Sacramento are safe depends almost exclusively on the drivers and the attention to the road. Most research concludes that each year roughly 100 children are killed on their way to or from school, and another 25,000 are injured in accidents around school zones.

Of course, children should be taught how to stop, look and listen when crossing the street, and many school districts employ crossing guards to get children safely across the street. However, neither of those factors excuse a negligent, distracted driver who is speeding through a school zone.

The Basics of Personal Injury Torts

August 11, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

The people who most often seek out their legal options by contacting an attorney are those who have been injured in a car accident, or by someone else’s negligence. In most of those cases it is the first time A may have seen online or through their own research.

One of the most confusing law terms for the newly legal immersed is tort. It is a commonly used legal term but most people do not know its true connotations. Essentially, a personal injury tort is a civil claim against another person for injuries caused unknowingly. There are several key points to keep in mind.

Injury or Harm

Car Accidents Can Cause Hard to Prove Chronic Pain

July 29, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Slip and fall and construction accidents can cause life altering pain. However, automobile accidents result in more instances of chronic physical pain. Car accident collisions inflict great trauma and blunt force upon the human body resulting in violent jolts. The body bounces brutally inside the vehicle and is slammed into the hard interior façade.

Chronic pain resulting from a car accident can egregiously affect a person’s quality of life. The most basic things most people take for granted can be affected by chronic pain. Victims of chronic pain also frequently experience problems with mental health, depression, anxiety and a wide range of emotional disorder. The chronic pain teamed with the other issues it brings with it change a person’s life immeasurably.

California car accidents often incur whiplash during an accident. When the head is suddenly thrown forward and back violently injury to the muscles, nerves, ligaments and vertebrae occur, known as whiplash, a common cause of chronic pain.

Common Causes of California Big Rig Freeway Accidents

July 16, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

California freeways are notorious for becoming overcrowded at certain times. The state is simply not able to keep up with the ever-growing need for more and wider freeways. Some of our highways and freeways are more heavily trafficked by big rigs than others. It doesn’t help when unscrupulous shipping and trucking companies overload the trailers to cut expenditures. Add to those issues the tired and overworked drivers pushing their trucks to the limit to make their schedules on time and it is no wonder California freeways are one of the country’s leaders in commercial trucking accidents.

Federal regulations and California law dictate all big rig drivers to operate under strict safety measures. Negligent drivers who do not adhere to the safety regulations cause freeway accidents and should be held responsible. Contact Moseley Collins today to discuss your options in a California freeway big rig accident. More and more freeway pileups containing an amalgam of passage cars and commercial trucks of various sizes are reported each month. Making matters worse, big rigs often follow each other closely on the freeway and when one loses control vehicles behind it have less time to react to the danger.

Big Rig Freeway Accident Factors

Common Causes of California Big Rig Accidents

February 28, 2014 | by Moseley Collins

Heavy shipping in and out of the bay gives San Francisco some of the heaviest trucking traffic in the state of California. This increased trucking traffic also increases the number of big rig accidents. Unfortunately, these types of accidents are commonplace in high trucking traffic areas like San Francisco. As commonplace as they can be, it’s a whole different story when you’re involved in one yourself.

There are five most common causes of big rig trucking accidents. Tired driving, aggressive driving, distracted driving, inexperienced drivers and failure to maintain vehicles are some of the most common reasons large trucks wreck.

Truck drivers are notorious for driving long hauls without the proper sleep. Trucking companies often slave drive their workers and demand they make these types of hauls but other drivers just take it upon themselves to employ these unsafe driving tactics. Perhaps they need the money or maybe some type of drug is involved. Whatever the reason, tired truck drivers cause accidents.