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If your opponent in your auto accident case asked the court to take “judicial notice” of a document, would you know what that meant? Would you know how to respond? Even many very intelligent and educated people would probably answer “no” to those questions. However, these kinds of evidentiary decisions can make or break an injured person’s personal injury lawsuit. That’s why it is so important to have the representation of a skilled California car accident attorney in your case.highway

A dispute over “judicial notice” was at the center of one woman’s recent auto accident case. The accident, in which Marie suffered injuries, happened on May 20, 2014. Whenever you are injured in an auto accident, there is the possibility that there may be multiple people and entities that are liable for the harm you suffered. The facts of your case likely will permit you to sue the driver. If the owner is someone other than the driver, this may represent a second possible defendant. If the driver was “on the job” when the crash occurred, you may also have a claim for liability against the employer.

Regardless of the number of people or entities you are suing, it is important to act with all due speed. If you file your lawsuit after the deadline (the “statute of limitations”) has expired, you are not entitled to any compensation, no matter how strong your proof is. So what do you do if you are reaching the end of the statute of limitations period, and you don’t know the identities of some people who could be liable?

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If you’ve been hurt in an accident in California in which another driver was making a left-hand turn, whether the accident took place in an intersection or elsewhere, the facts of your case may place you in a very strong position to recover compensation for your injuries. Making a left-hand turn is a potentially dangerous maneuver, so the law places a substantial onus on the left-turning driver to wait until she is sure it is safe before making that turn. Regardless of the precise details, if you’ve been hurt in an auto accident in Northern California, you should be sure to retain a skilled California car accident attorney to handle your case.car crash

A case from Los Angeles County Superior Court (Case No. BC615394) was an example of a successful left-turn injury lawsuit. The accident was a two-vehicle collision. C.H. was traveling across El Segundo Boulevard when she attempted a left turn. V.H., a maintenance supervisor for the City of Los Angeles, was headed straight in the opposite direction. The two vehicles crashed, and V.H. was hurt.

In California, if you were hit by a left-turning driver, and your traffic signal was green, the odds of success for you can be quite high. The only ways that the left-turning driver can establish that you were actually the one at fault for the accident are to show that you were speeding, that some sort of sudden emergency caused her to slow or stop her turn (which prevented her from clearing the intersection in time), or that your light was actually red, rather than green.

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roof workerWhen you are an independent contractor and you’re hurt on the property of the party who hired you, your premises liability lawsuit can potentially be more complicated. In this type of situation, California law says that there are only two scenarios in which you can proceed with an injury lawsuit: “when the hirer exercised control over the contractor’s work in a manner that had contributed to the injury” and “when the hirer failed to warn the contractor of a concealed hazard on the premises.” If your situation doesn’t include either of those scenarios, then the property owner may be able to get your case dismissed before it even gets to trial, so proving one or both of these exceptions is of paramount importance. To make sure your premises liability case is as complete and unassailable as possible, be sure to retain the services of an experienced California injury attorney.

A recent case from Southern California shows how a worker can proceed in a situation like this,  avoiding a defendant’s request for summary judgment. The injured man was a professional window washer. The injury took place at the property of a very popular and successful singer of the 1950s and 60s. The singer’s home included an indoor pool that was covered by a large, round skylight. While his team was performing a cleaning job of the skylight, the window washer slipped and fell off the roof of the home after he had communicated instructions to the other window washers.

The injured window washer sued. Whether you are on the roof of a home, the yard attached to a home or inside a home, if you’re there with permission, the homeowner has a legal obligation to keep the premises safe for you. If a dangerous condition exists, the law says that the homeowner must correct the hazard or warn of the hazard. In the window washer’s situation, he asserted that there was loose rocks, pebbles and sand on the roof, which was what caused him to slip and fall off the roof. He also alleged that the roof was dangerous because the ledge required to access the skylight lacked safety railings and the shingles on the roof were “dilapidated,” making the surface slippery.

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agreementWhenever you are considering signing any document that restricts your legal rights in any way, it is important to make absolutely sure that you understand what you are signing. You need to be sure that you know what rights you are giving up and what rights you are retaining, in order for you to make a truly informed decision. If you are unsure about an agreement, seek out experienced California legal counsel to provide you with the advice you need.

P.Z. was a person potentially impacted by such an agreement after she was hurt at a health club. P.Z. was walking through a health club’s gymnasium when she tripped and fell. The accident happened because the member’s foot became entangled with a metal “wireway” that the club used to run wires to the club’s treadmill machines. She sued the club in a premises liability action for the harm she suffered, which included a fracture and dislocation of her right elbow.

In many health clubs like this, members sign an agreement as part of the application for membership process. This club had such an agreement. In the document, the member agreed, as part of seeking membership, to waive the right to sue for various types of harm.

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Tan_oaksWhen you hear the phrase “premises liability,” one very understandable reaction might be, “What’s that?” Another is to assume that “premises liability” comes up only in situations where a person suffers a slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident at a place of business. The reality is that premises liability can cover a variety of scenarios, extending beyond just slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall injuries. If you have been hurt while you were on someone else’s property, you may have a case and an entitlement to compensation. Contact an experienced California injury lawyer to learn more.

One example of this “other” type of premises liability injury took place recently here in San Mateo County. A 12-year-old boy and his family were camping in the San Mateo County Memorial Park when a 72-foot-tall tree fell on his tent. The early morning tree collapse was the result of a fungus that left the diseased tree rotten and unstable. In order to save the boy’s life, doctors amputated one of his legs and part of his pelvis.

The boy sued for premises liability. A premises liability case, whether it is a slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall or a case like this one, requires you, as the injured person, to give the court proof that the person/entity you sued is liable through negligence. In other words, you need proof that the person or entity who owned or controlled the property either acted improperly or improperly failed to act and that your injury was the reasonably foreseeable result of that negligence.

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runnersSometimes, the harm that results from an accident can be straightforward and immediately apparent. For example, a situation where a person trips, falls and breaks an ankle is just such a scenario. In other circumstances, though, the harm that is triggered by an accident may include damages that are not immediate. When yours is the latter type of scenario, you may still be entitled to recover compensation for all of the harm you suffered, as long as the accident was the “proximate cause” of all of that harm. For advice about proximate cause, foreseeability and representation in your accident case, look to an experienced California injury lawyer..

Here’s a real-life example from an actual case (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30-2016-00838494): The accident took place during the running of a 5K run/walk held on the sidewalks of a city 37 miles outside Los Angeles. The race was put on by a seller of running/walking shoes and other gear.

The race course ran through a construction zone at one point. Racers had to cross a construction driveway to get from one area of sidewalk to the next. 60-year-old T. caught her foot on a 1.5-2.0 cm ledge located within that driveway.

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bike laneAny time a loved one is killed due to the negligence of another person, it is heartbreaking. It is also a scary time, as the loss of a loved one may, in addition to causing great emotional damage, also inflict financial hardship upon the loved ones left behind. While no sum of money can replace the loss of loved one, an award of compensation may be both proper and necessary to address the possible financial crisis that a loved one’s sudden death might bring about. To make sure your family gets the compensation that you should, be sure to work with a skilled California injury attorney when it comes to handling your case.

A recent Southern California accident demonstrated how harmful alleged negligence behind the wheel can be. According to a Los Angeles Times report, the accident occurred on a straight and unobstructed stretch of Mulholland Highway in Los Angeles County. A Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy was returning from having responded to a call. A he traveled down the straight stretch of highway, he allegedly sent a personal text message to his wife and also typed on the patrol car’s computer. The patrol car eventually strayed into the bicycle lane and crashed into a bicyclist at roughly 48 mph. The bicyclist slammed into the police vehicle’s windshield.

Although he was wearing helmet, the bicyclist was declared dead at the scene. The Los Angeles government and the cyclist’s family reached a settlement in which the family received payment of $12 million.

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city busWhen you experience the loss of a loved one due to an accident, it is inherently tragic and horrifying. If that accident occurred due to someone else’s negligence, there may be many things that you find yourself facing. In addition to personal and family issues, there could also be legal issues. The loss of your loved one undoubtedly left a hole in your heart, but it may also have left a hole in the financial well-being of your family. To make sure your family is protected in terms of your legal rights, be sure to retain a skilled California wrongful death attorney to handle your case.

Succeeding in a wrongful death case involves several different types of proof. For example, take the lawsuit pursued by the family of a San Francisco jogger killed by a bus. Lori was out for an early morning jog in November 2014 when, according to witness testimony, she jogged across a city intersection with the light. As she crossed, a Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District bus turned left, and the two collided. Lori died roughly an hour later.

To succeed in a wrongful death case like this, you need evidence that shows that the person or entity you sued was at fault. In Lori’s family’s case, they had eyewitness testimony that Lori jogged across the street with a white “walk” signal in her favor. That indicated that Lori had the right of way and that the driver improperly failed to yield.

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Venice BeachAccording to the Los Angeles Times, an injured woman and the family of a deceased woman worked out a settlement recently with the City of Los Angeles to bring to an end lawsuits that accused the city of failing to maintain parts of the Venice Beach Boulevard properly, allowing a driver to avoid barriers and crash into pedestrians located on the Boardwalk. The outcome occurred in part because the plaintiffs were able to defeat the city’s claims of immunity (which would have ended their lawsuit) and were subsequently in a position to negotiate a workable settlement. Whether you are intent upon pursuing your case all the way to judgment or are open to settling, it helps to have skilled California pedestrian accident counsel on your side, who can provide you with the benefit of their experience and give you the advice you need.

The accident happened on a late summer afternoon in August 2013. Locals and tourists were enjoying the usual activities along the Venice Beach Boardwalk until a driver, who had managed to maneuver his car around the Boardwalk’s barriers, drove his vehicle into the crowd on the Boardwalk. The crash injured 16 and killed one Italian woman who was on her honeymoon.

One of the injured people, as well as the family of the deceased woman, sued the City of Los Angeles. The lawsuits asserted that the inadequacy of the barriers between the Boardwalk and a nearby city street (which the driver used to enter the Boardwalk with his car) amounted to a dangerous condition and that the city’s failure to correct this hazard made it liable for the injuries caused.

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handshakeIn any complete settlement agreement, there is more within that document than just a payment term and a provision for a release of claims. These additional terms may seem to be a mere formality, but they can be very important. That is just one of many reasons why seasoned California personal injury counsel can benefit you, making certain that all of the terms (rather than just the dollar figures) properly protect your needs and interests.

A recent California case is an example of the importance of these “other” terms. Christopher, a man who filed a personal injury lawsuit in Southern California, worked out a settlement with the defendant. In that settlement, the defendant agreed to pay Christopher $250,000 in exchange for ending the lawsuit.

In the settlement agreement, one of the additional terms beyond the payment provisions stated that, if either side had to undertake a court action to enforce the settlement agreement (and it won that subsequent case), that party was entitled to recover attorneys’ fees.

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