Modesto Injury Lawyer Blog

According to a recent study by the Insurance Information Institute, more than one-third of homeowner's insurance claims in 2009 were related to dog bite incidents. The Institute reports that 16,586 dog bites were reported throughout the U.S. in 2009, totaling more than $412 million in claims. The average cost per claim was $24,840, which was up 1.5 percent from 2008's costs. Overall, dog bite claims have risen 30 percent since 2003, when reporting first began.

Experts say that while the actual number of dog bites hasn't grown that much, the inflated costs of medical bills and the increasingly large settlement amounts in these types of cases are causing the claims total to rise exponentially every year. Most homeowner's policies and renter's insurance policies cover anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000 in medical bills and/or damages caused by a dog attack. However, as settlements continue to reach further and further into the five and six-digit range, many insurance companies are forced to raise their premium rates across the board.

If you are being denied coverage for a dog bite attack on your property or if you have been bitten by a dog on someone else's property, it is imperative that you contact a personal injury lawyer right away. A lawyer can help you sort out the situation and save you time and money in the process.

Penalties for drunk driving in the state of California can be quite severe, especially for repeat offenses. The BAC (blood alcohol concentration) limit is .08 for adults 21 and over. Anything above this level is punishable by varying jail time, fines, license suspension, mandatory DUI programs and more. According to DrivingLaws.org, the state can issue the following consequences for driving drunk:

First DUI Conviction:
- Jail time: 96 hours up to 6 months
- Fine: $390 to $1,000
- License Suspension: 6 months
- Ordered to complete a DUI program
- May have to install an Ignition Interlock Device
- Required CA SR22 Insurance for Restricted License

Second DUI Conviction:
- Jail time: 90 days to 1 year
- Fine: $390 to $1,000
- License Suspension: 2 years
- Ordered to complete a DUI program
- May apply for restricted driver license
- Required CA SR22 Insurance for Restricted License

Third DUI Conviction:
- Jail time: 120 days to 1 year
- Fine: $390 to $1,000
- License Suspension: 3 years
- Habitual Offender Designation
- May apply for restricted license after 1 year
- Required Ignition Interlock Device
- Ordered to complete a DUI program
- Required CA SR22 Insurance for Restricted License

Fourth DUI Conviction (Within 10 years of previous convictions):
- Jail time: 180 days to 1 year
- Fine: $390 to $1,000
- License Suspension: 4 years
- May apply for restricted license after 1 year
- Required Ignition Interlock Device
- Ordered to complete a DUI program
- Required CA SR22 Insurance for Restricted License

Drunk driving is a serious offense with grave consequences in California. If you have been accused falsely of drunk driving, be sure to contact a DUI lawyer right away. A lawyer can examine your situation and the actions of police officers to determine your innocence.

According to NBC affiliate station KCRA, a fatal crash in Winters, CA killed a motorcyclist and ten other people on Tuesday night, August 3, 2010. The chain-reaction crash occurred just after 10pm last night on I-505 south of Putah Creek Road. The California Highway Patrol stated that both drugs and alcohol played a role in the crash.

The crash began when one car unexpectedly spun out of control and hit a guardrail, said the CHP. The driver was suspected of DUI. From there, two other vehicles hit the first car and then a motorcyclist hit a freeway divider while trying to avoid the accident. He died at the scene, according to the CHP. Several other people who suffered injuries were treated and released from local hospitals.

Drunk Drivers Must Be Held Responsible
All too often, drugs and alcohol play a role in terrible accidents like this one. When someone uses alcohol or an illegal substance and then operates a vehicle, they can be punished under the law for injuries caused as a result of their behavior. They will likely face criminal charges, but they can also be sued for injuries caused or for wrongful death.

A Modesto auto accident attorney can help explain your options if you've been in an accident that involved drugs and/or alcohol. You may be able to receive compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills and more. If someone you love has been killed, you may be entitled to settlement for their death.

Back pain, stiffness and soreness after an auto accident could be the sign of more severe damage. Disc injuries are some of the most common after auto accidents, slip and falls and other unforeseen incidents. The discs are the support cushions between the vertebrae of the spinal bone, so injuries to them can cause severe and chronic pain, even paralysis.

When a disc in your back is ruptured or herniated (bulging out of place), the soft center of the disc pokes through a weak spot in the fibrous outer layer. This, in turn, can cause painful pressure on nearby nerve endings. If you've been injured and are experiencing any of the following symptoms, you should see a doctor right away:

- Sudden backache
- Sudden neck pain
- Unable to straighten up without extreme pain
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Weakness in one or both arms
- Pain in the legs
- Bladder problems

Anytime you've experienced an injury, you must see a doctor and have tests administered to find out what's causing you pain. A doctor will likely run one or more tests to examine your back, including: x-rays, CT scan, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), electromyography, myelography or discography. The results will likely show if discs are out of place or if any other damage has occurred.

Some injuries take a while to present symptoms or they may be so gradual that you just learn to live with the pain. However, a personal injury attorney can fight for your rights to get you compensation for your injuries if they have been caused by someone else's neglect or willful action. Never wait to see a doctor - get a medical opinion immediately so that you don't risk making the injury worse.

According to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) in California, there are strict rules regarding overtime and how employees must be paid for working longer hours. If these rules are violated, an experienced attorney can help you file a claim with the DLSE as well as against your employer to get you the money you deserve.

The DLSE states that employees 18 years of age or older (or minors 16 or 17 years of age who are not required to attend school) must be paid one and one-half the amount of their regular rate beyond eight hours a day or six days a week. This rate applies up to and including 12 hours a day. After 12 hours and/or seven consecutive workdays, employees must receive double their regular rate for hours worked.

Many employers exploit workers and make them work overtime at the regular pay rate. Employees, in turn, are often scared they'll lose their jobs and don't make a fuss when overtime hours are not paid. However, this is a violation of California Labor Law and you have every right to demand what you are owed without fear of retaliation or firing.

Statute of Limitations
In California, there is a strict statue of limitations when it comes to filing a claim against an employer for unpaid overtime wages. For jobs that were structured based on an oral agreement, the claim must be filed within 2 years of the date the claim came about. Claims regarding jobs that have contracts/written agreements must be filed within 4 years of the date the claim began.

Statewide, California teens under the age of 18 are required by law to wear helmets while riding bicycles. Unfortunately, many teens risk their lives by not wearing helmets and other safety equipment. When an accident occurs, the result is often quite severe, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and even death.

The National Bicycle Safety Network (NBSN) reports that the failure to wear a helmet is the direct cause of most head and brain injuries in bicycle accidents, particularly for teens age 13 to 17. According to the NBSN, well over half of those killed in bicycle accidents were not wearing helmets. In fact, wearing a helmet can reduce your risk for major injury and/or death by up to 88%.

Reduce Your Teen's Risk
Parents can help protect their teenagers by encouraging them to follow a few simple rules when riding bicycles:

- Always wear a helmet
- Always obey traffic signals and stop signs
- Always ride with traffic
- Always use hand signals
- Always wear reflective clothing or accessories, even during the day

It is also very useful for teens to brush up on bicycle safety techniques, especially when they head off to college or begin using bicycles as primary transportation. Sometimes, it's easy to think that you're invincible on a bike because you can fit into smaller spaces that other vehicles cannot. However, poor judgment and inattention can cause injuries that can easily be avoided with the proper precautions. If your teen has been hurt while riding a bicycle, contact a Modesto personal injury lawyer regarding your case to get all the facts as to your rights under the law.

Wrongful death caused by choking on small toys or parts of toys is a real concern for Modesto parents. Especially now that summer is here and children are spending most of their vacation time playing with siblings and friends, parents must take necessary steps to safeguard their children against choking hazards.

How to Prevent Choking Hazards
One of the most important things you can do is check for government or manufacturer-issued recalls. Recalls are mandatory actions that must be taken to send back products that have been identified as dangerous in some way. For a list of recalls on toys that present choking hazards, visit the website for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or go to Recall.gov, a collaborative site that joins forces with six federal agencies to list all of the most current product recalls across the country.

Before you buy or allow your child to use toys that may contain small parts, be sure to read all packaging and examine the toys for several things:
- Recommended age for use (is the toy age appropriate?)
- Warning that small parts may present choking hazards
- Quality of the product and any interlocking parts
- Harmful chemical ingredients such as BPA or lead

If a toy, regardless of a recall, injures your child, you must contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. Toy manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the safe use of their products and they can often be held liable for injuries caused by their items.

On June 7, 2010, the Modesto Bee reported a story about a two-year-old toddler who drowned in a pool in Antioch, California after wandering away from relatives at a family barbecue. The drowning was ruled an accident and no negligence was found, but stories like this one are becoming all too common during the summer months in our state.

The number one cause of death for children under the age of 14 in California is drowning. If you have a pool, it's important to use the following pool safety tips to avoid tragic accidents on your property:

1. Make sure an adult is supervising children at ALL times. Even walking away for a few minutes can lead to tragedy.
2. Install a four-sided barrier (such as a fence with gates that automatically close) around the pool on all sides.
3. Install alarms on pool gates so that you know if anyone enters the pool area while you're not watching.
4. Use safety covers to prevent drowning while the pool is not actively in use.
5. All adults and children who use the pool should know how to swim.
6. Get basic CPR training and first aid training to help victims in case of an accident.
7. Install an outdoor phone line or keep a cell phone handy to quickly reach emergency services should and accident occur.

With more than one million private residential pools in California, pool safety should be top of mind this summer. If you have experienced the loss of a loved one on someone else's property, it is critical that you contact a Modesto personal injury lawyer to represent your case.

According to the Mayo Clinic, tinnitus (pronounced TIN-i-tus) is defined as noise or ringing in the ears. This condition affects about one in five people. Particularly after car accidents, tinnitus is a common problem that can be caused in a number of ways. The sheer decibel level of a car accident can be enough to cause temporary or permanent tinnitus. Airbag deployment can also cause tinnitus. As a matter of fact, the explosion of an airbag creates sound pressure equal to 170 decibels--more than an airplane jet engine or a shotgun blast at close range.

Recent studies suggest that more than 15 percent of car accident victims suffer some type of permanent hearing loss after airbag deployment.

The intense level of sound pressure caused by an auto accident is enough to cause immediate and even permanent hearing loss. "Acoustic trauma" can rupture the eardrums, causing other related problems such as severe loss of equilibrium (including dizziness and unsteadiness) and tinnitus (this can exhibit as persistent ringing, buzzing, roaring or pulsating sounds in the ears). Some people with serious trauma may even experience severe ear pain and bleeding from the ear canals.

If you've been in a car accident and suffered from tinnitus or any type of hearing loss or ear injury, you must contact a Modesto personal injury lawyer right away. This type of injury can cause you to suffer from ear ringing for years to come, and only a professional attorney can help you obtain fair compensation for your injuries.

Social networking has revolutionized the way many Modesto residents are connecting with each other, sharing personal information and keeping in touch. Unfortunately, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are also causing a myriad of problems for personal injury and workers compensation victims.

Insurance companies are savvy when it comes to social networking sites. They are now using information that people post on public profiles to deny or limit payments for car accidents, truck accidents, workers' compensation and other injuries. For example, if an insurance company approves a car accident victim for a settlement and she posts: "Healing quickly, headed to the gym this morning!" on her Facebook page, an insurance company can use this as justification to deny further benefits.

Although this act is reprehensible, it is not necessarily illegal. If you publicly declare any information about your injuries or recovery, you can invalidate your benefits, so lawyers advise that it's better to simply stay mum when it comes to your personal injury.

In addition to denying benefits, insurance companies can also use information that you post against you in court to damage your character or embarrass you. If the insurance company can prove that you're a "bad person" (by using illegal or immoral evidence found on your page), then they may also be able to prove that you don't deserve damages. Also, be sure to tell friends not to write about your recovery or tag you in photos that may be used against you.

If you are being denied coverage for a personal injury, be sure to contact a personal injury lawyer in Modesto today.

As the Memorial Day Weekend approaches, it is vital that drivers and passengers in Modesto wear their seat belts every time they get in a vehicle. Typically, holidays are times when law enforcement steps up seat belt vigilance with "Click It or Ticket" programs that target drivers who aren't buckled up. This is because the holidays are times when the numbers of drunk and distracted drivers increases to year-high levels.

According to AAA, more than 32.1 million Americans will travel over Memorial Day weekend this year. This number is up 5.4% from 2009. With busy roadways and possibly messy weather conditions in parts of the country, seat belt safety should be a top priority. And it's not enough to simply rely on air bags, says the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. According to the NHTSA, "If you don't wear your seat belt, you could be thrown into a rapidly opening frontal air bag; a movement of such force could injure or even kill you." Passengers in the back seat are similarly in danger from side-impact air bags as well. Seat belts saved over 13,000 lives in the U.S. in 2008 alone, cites the NHTSA.

Memorial Day is also a time when many people take buses and trains to destinations throughout the country. Boats, motorcycles and ATVs are also popular recreational vehicles used around Memorial Day and through the summer months. While all of these forms of transportation can be safe, there are inevitably going to be accidents. It pays to safeguard yourself and your family by buckling up whenever and however you travel.

If you or someone you love is hurt in an accident, you must talk to a qualified Modesto personal injury attorney right away. An attorney can listen to your case and evaluate whether or not you may be able to collect damages for your injuries. Holidays are great times of the year, but it's always important to keep safety in mind at all times.

Personal injury lawsuits in Modesto often involve auto accidents, although personal injury attorneys can represent a variety of cases that fall under this category. Dog bites, slip and falls, defective products, food poisoning and property injuries are just some of the many other types of personal injuries. Some accidents can be pursued in a legal manner to recover damages for the victims, while others aren't severe enough to warrant litigation.

If you or someone you love has been injured by the negligence of another person or party, you likely have questions. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions regarding personal injury claims:

Q: Will I have to go to trial?
A: In most cases, no. Approximately 95% of personal injury cases are settled out of court before they ever reach trial.

Q: How much can I recover for my injuries?
A: There is no minimum or maximum amount for personal injuries, and the amount you can receive depends on the severity of your injury; whether or not you have lost work or the ability to work as a result; and the costs of your medical care.

Q: What is negligence?
A: Negligence is the failure to act in a reasonable manner in any given situation. For example, if you know your dog is vicious and you let people on your property with the dog unchained, you are likely responsible for injuries caused.

Q: What is contributory negligence?
A: Your settlement may be reduced if the other party can show that you contributed to your injury in any way through negligence on your part.

Q: When should I agree to settle?
A: Working with a Modesto personal injury attorney, you can decide the best time to settle, but it is usually when you have determined the extent of your injuries as well as the need for further medical attention. To act before this could cause you to lose out on future damages.

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, 41.3% of all spinal cord injuries (SCI) in the United States since 2005 were caused as the result of motor vehicle accidents. The center cites that 57.5% of people who were victims of these accidents were employed at the time of their injury. After a year of recovery, only 11.6% of those people were still employed.

The severity of spinal cord injuries often takes a heavy toll on quality of life for many victims. Not only is the ability to work drastically reduced or even eliminated, but earning potential is also greatly affected, even after victims return to work. The study found that 20 years after spinal cord injury, more than 20% of victims were permanently unable to return to work.

Especially for older workers, single parents and people who are financially responsible for minors or dependants, SCI can be devastating both physically and financially. That's why it's so important to hire a lawyer to represent you if you've been injured due to someone else's negligence on the road or anywhere else. Slip and falls, workplace injuries and product defects can all cause spinal cord injuries and responsible parties are legally obligated to pay for your medical expenses and other costs when you've been hurt.

Hiring a lawyer in Modesto for your personal injury case is an absolute necessity after a traumatic injury like SCI. The insurance companies have lawyers working hard on their side to deny you benefits, so it's vital that you have a professional legal representative to fight for your rights. Remember, pursuing damages for your injury is your entitlement under the law.

Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is a serious condition that can occur as the result of a personal injury. Motor vehicle accidents are the most frequent cause of TBI in Modesto and across the nation. According to the results indicated by trials in a recent TBI study by Theresa Pape, a research scientist and professor at Hines VA Hospital and Northwestern University, respectively, familiar voices to victims of TBI may help them recover faster.

The study found that when people suffering from TBI hear voices that they recognize, test results show that they have a spike in brain activity. In trials, even severely damaged neural networks in the brain of vegetative victims were more responsive to familiar voices during MRI scans than those that were exposed to only non-familiar voices. During the scans, familiar voices sparked brain activity that showed up as bright yellow and red indicators across the brain, whereas there was little of this activity during exposure to non-familiar voices.

Pape submits that repeatedly hearing familiar voices of loved ones, family members and friends can actually help TBI victims' brains repair themselves faster. In TBI cases, thick white fibers called axons are shred after an injury. Pape hopes that the brain activity sparked by familiar voices will help heal that damage to help patients recover faster and with more success. Pape also hopes that the results of her study will help provide solace to family members who talk to their loved ones while they are in comas and wonder if the patients can hear them.

Although promising research is increasing the chance of survival for many victims of TBI, the majority of severe cases are still very damaging to the wellbeing of the victims. 16 to 24 year-old males are most at risk for traumatic brain injury in the U.S. In addition to motor vehicle accident victims, soldiers and athletes are most likely to suffer TBI. According to Pape, TBI occurs every 21 seconds in the United States, and one-third of those injuries is considered severe.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a motor vehicle accident or other accident that has caused a traumatic brain injury, contact a Modesto personal injury attorney right away. You may be able to receive compensation for your injuries, medical expenses and pain and suffering.

May 16 to May 22, 2010 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week across the U.S. If you're heading out to a dog park in Modesto this month, it's important to consider your safety and the safety of your pet while you're at play. Dog parks are great places where owners and their pets can enjoy an open space for fun. Most dog parks are leash-free zones in which dogs can play freely without restriction. Although most interactions in these environments are incident-free, dog bites to people and other dogs do occur more than you might realize.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), dogs bite more than 4.7 million people each year in the United States. Of those injured, 800,000 people seek medical attention and 386,000 require treatment by emergency room staff. Only about 16 Americans die from dog bites, but many of those injured are small children.

So who's liable if you get bitten? Although cases vary greatly in circumstance and severity, the same rules apply to dog parks that apply when you're on someone's personal property: the owner is typically responsible for injuries caused to another person. Dog parks are leash-free havens, but they're not unincorporated territories in which anyone can be injured without repercussion! Even if there are signs that say "Enter at Your Own" risk, you do not necessarily waive your right to safety when you're in a dog park.

If a dog has bitten you at a dog park or anywhere else, it's important that you contact a reliable personal injury lawyer to represent you. You may be entitled to damages for your injuries, loss of wages or other expenses. Similarly, if you're being accused of causing an injury to someone else, you need superior representation to fight for your rights.