San Mateo Injury Lawyers Blog — Published by San Mateo, California Injury Attorneys — Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

A Fatal Crash is a Tragic Reminder of the Dangers Motorcyclists Across California Face

January 13, 2021 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

The rate of fatal accidents involving at least one motorcycle has been going up for decades. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that people on motorcycles are, per mile driven, roughly 28 times more likely to die on board their bikes as compared to people in cars, trucks or SUVs. Many times, those accidents occur through no fault of the motorcyclist involved. If you’ve been hurt in a crash while you were aboard a motorcycle, don’t wait to take action. Reach out promptly to contact an experienced San Mateo motorcycle accident attorney.

One of the more commonly occurring situations that can place a motorcyclist in danger of severe harm is a vehicle whose driver is coming in the opposite direction and contemplating a left turn. If that car, truck or SUV driver goes ahead and turns in front of you, your choices may be few… with none of them good.

You may have to choose between swerving, laying your bike down or trying to stop. All of these options create the possibility of your being thrown from your bike, which places you in serious danger of major injury or death. These include severe road rash, broken bones, brain injury or being run over by another vehicle.

The Importance of Pain and Suffering Damages When It Comes to Getting Full and Fair Compensation for Your Auto Accident Injuries in California

January 7, 2021 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

Some people have an unfortunate tendency to view “pain and suffering” damages as somehow less legitimate – mostly just the stuff of shrewd lawyers’ fancy legal arguments and overly sympathetic jurors. Anyone who has been substantially injured in an auto accident – or knows someone who has been – knows that this simply isn’t true. An auto accident injury has the potential to affect you negatively for the remainder of your life. The totality of the harm you suffered in that auto accident is greater than just the amount of income you lost (and will lose) and the sum of your medical bills. When it comes time to seek all of the damages that you deserve, be sure you’ve sought out a skilled San Mateo car accident attorney.

Many times, the totality of your pain and suffering harm (also called “non-economic damages” in California) will exceed your “economic” losses like lost earnings and medical expenses, and perhaps exceed it by a lot. For example, last year, the state Supreme Court ruled on a case where the jury awarded $1.8 million in economic damages and $3 million in non-economic damages. Although the net verdict was a smaller sum, the high court ruled in favor of the trial court outcome.

A trial court case from Southern California (Orange County Ct. Case No.30-2019-01055888) is another good example. The injured driver was a 48-year-old woman who was rear-ended as she traveled to the mall. The woman suffered a cervical soft-tissue injury in her neck.

Unsafe Lane Changes on Northern California’s Roads and Highways: A Potentially Lethal Danger

December 23, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

Four, six, and eight-lane roads offer many benefits, including allowing drivers to get to their destinations more quickly. They also create a degree of risk, particularly when it comes to lane changes. An unsafe lane change has the potential to create a “domino effect” of reactions from other drivers, and may trigger an accident involving many vehicles. If you’ve been hurt in an accident caused by a driver’s unsafe lane change, the legal issues related to liability can be intricate and complex, so make sure you have an experienced San Mateo injury attorney handling your case.

In early December, an unsafe lane change right here in San Mateo County was the basis for one man’s tragic death. According to Patch.com, a man in a silver Toyota was traveling northbound on Highway 101 near the San Francisco Airport when he executed what police investigators believed was an “unsafe right lane change.” That lane change caused the Toyota to hit the rear of another vehicle.

The Toyota then struck a concrete wall and overturned several times. The accident killed the driver of the Toyota. The driver of the other vehicle was not hurt, according to the report.

How a Pair of California Restaurant Customers Were Able to Hold the Eatery’s Landlord Liable After a Car Crashed into the Property… and into Them

December 19, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

Your auto accident case may sometimes seem like a frustrating endeavor. There’s the possibility that the driver who hit you had minimal (or no) insurance coverage and few personal assets, making your chances of recovering full compensation for your substantial injuries low. Especially in these times, a skilled San Mateo personal injury attorney can help a great deal. If you get the right legal team on your side from the start, your attorney can do the in-depth investigation necessary to discover the alternate avenues for compensation that may exist to give you a better chance of getting you the total compensation you need.

For example, we can look at an injury case that was in the legal reports again recently (for reasons unrelated to the victims’ injuries.) The underlying accident was a two-car crash at an intersection in Long Beach, which injured five people. Two of those five were a husband and wife who were in neither vehicle. They were dining at a Mexican restaurant located near the intersection and were struck after the collision caused one of the cars to jump the curb and crash into the restaurant.

According to the couple’s lawsuit, that car kept going until it reached the southeast wall of the restaurant. There, it hit the couple and pinned them against the wall, causing them to suffer serious injuries.

A Driver’s Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign Results in One Death in California’s Central Valley

December 13, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

Drivers here in San Mateo and elsewhere are keenly familiar with the red octagon that is the stop sign. Drivers who fail to obey a stop sign create an acutely great danger, as all the other drivers at that intersection are operating under the assumption that those with a stop sign will do so. If you’ve suffered injuries (or a loved one has been killed) because someone else blew through a stop sign, then you know how damaging and life-changing these crashes can be. When it comes time to protect your legal rights and seek the compensation you deserve, rely upon an experienced San Mateo car accident attorney to represent you in your legal action.

A recent crash near Modesto is just the latest horrifying reminder of the dangers connected to accidents where someone did not obey a stop sign. According to the California Highway Patrol, a teenage driver moving “at a high rate of speed” failed to stop at a stop sign at a “4-way stop” intersection.

The crash sent the teen driver’s vehicle into a power pole and left seven people injured. Six people required hospitalization. One person was dead by the time first responders arrived, according to an ABC 10 report.

Two California Bicyclists Suffer Serious Injuries in an Accident Where Distracted Driving May Have Been a Factor

December 4, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

California’s Office of Traffic Safety’s website says that, in 2017, 3,166 people lost their lives around the country due to distracted driving accidents. That figure represented nearly 10% of all traffic fatalities. These numbers provide a clear and stark reminder of how dangerous it is when a driver drives without his/her eyes, hands and mindfully focused on the task of driving. If you’re injured in a distracted driving accident, you should act promptly to get in touch with a knowledgeable San Mateo injury attorney to discover and pursue your legal options.

Back in October, this blog covered an accident in San Francisco that was potentially the result of distracted driving. Fortunately, no one was hurt in that crash. More recently, another accident with some similarities occurred in Fresno County. Regrettably, this accident was not injury-free.

In that more recent event, a pair of men were riding their bicycles north of Fresno when the driver of a westbound Honda Civic “lost control and drifted onto the shoulder of the road,” according to an ABC 30 report. The vehicle hit the two bicycles head-on.

What Drivers Can Learn from a Tragic Fog-Related Crash in California

November 25, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

Northern California is known for many wonderful things… amazing cultural diversity, economic opportunity and innovation, scenic views, and beautiful weather. And the fog. OK, that last one may not always seem so wonderful, especially if you’re behind the wheel when dense fog rolls in. When an auto accident occurs in a dense fog, it is often said that the fog “caused” the crash. Fortunately, the law has a more complex and nuanced way of analyzing weather-related auto accidents, which means that, even if the weather was a major factor in the crash that hurt you, you could successfully pursue and recover the compensation you urgently need. Be sure to contact a knowledgeable San Mateo car accident attorney to find out more.

One of the biggest multi-vehicle crashes in U.S. history occurred in Northern California due, in part, to fog. The tule fog that frequently occurs in fall and winter led to a 108-vehicle crash on Highway 99 south of Fresno in November 2007 that killed two and injured dozens.

A more recent crash involved fewer vehicles but, tragically, more fatalities. The scene was once again Highway 99, this time south of Chico. The weather factor once again was dense fog. According to a KCRA report, the multi-vehicle accident included five cars and five tractor-trailer trucks. The dead included four young adults and a 61-year-old survivor of the Camp Fire who, according to his son, died while trying to assist another victim who was trapped in a different vehicle, actionnewsnow reported.

What You Can Do in California if You’ve Been Hurt by a Hit-and-Run Driver

November 19, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

Anytime you are injured (or a loved one is killed) in an auto accident, it is an incredibly stressful time. That stress and pain only go up exponentially when the driver who caused the accident flees the scene. Just because the person who hurt you was a hit-and-run driver, that doesn’t mean that you have no options to recover any compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. There are still ways to get the money you need, so be sure to reach out without delay to an experienced San Mateo car accident attorney about pursuing your case.

Fatal hit-and-run accidents occur with depressing frequency in California. In 2016, 337 of the nation’s 2,049 hit-and-run deaths happened in this state. That 337 figure was a 60% increase over 2009, according to CBS Sacramento.

Another one just took place this past September in Solano County. According to the Daily Republic, the male victim was crossing Sonoma Boulevard in Vallejo a little before 11 p.m. when a vehicle struck and killed him. Police had little to go on regarding the fatal impact.

A Northern California Driver Fleeing the Police Crashes, Injuring Pedestrian

November 10, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

When a driver chooses to try to escape the police while behind the wheel, that driver puts not only themselves but also everyone around them in danger, as a recent car crash from Contra Costa County indicates. Sometimes, the law enforcement officers involved in the situation make errors of judgment that make the situation (and the potential for harm) worse. If you’ve been hurt as a result of a high-speed police chase or a driver fleeing the police, you may have various legal options depending on the particular facts of your case. To make sure you’re pursuing all the options available to you for compensation, make sure you have an experienced San Mateo accident attorney on your side.

According to a CBS San Francisco report, the Contra Costa County crash occurred after California Highway Patrol officers attempted to pull an Oakland man over for speeding on I-680. The man fled and exited the freeway, and the CHP terminated the pursuit.

Later that morning, Danville police spotted the vehicle and began a chase. The police allegedly broke off the chase when the driver sped down the wrong way of a one-way street. The driver lost control of his Lexus, hit another vehicle and then crashed into a tree. A pedestrian suffered injuries as a result of the crash, according to the report.

How One California Teen Overcame a Defense Claim of Statutory Immunity in Her Premises Liability Case

November 5, 2020 | Law Offices of Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos

In your premises liability case, as with any injury case, you have to clear several hurdles. You, of course, have to give the court sufficient proof that shows the defendant was negligent and that this negligence caused you harm. You may also, though, need to avoid things like affirmative defenses and statutory immunity provisions that could defeat an otherwise strong case. Having a skilled San Mateo premises liability attorney by your side throughout the process can greatly increase your chances of clearing these hurdles and achieving success.

Overcoming statutory immunity can be a very big deal in your case because, if the defense can persuade the court that the elements of the statute are all present, then you’ll recover nothing. As an example, there’s M.H.’s premises liability case. M.H., a teenage motorcycle rider, was injured while riding at a motocross track. M.H. suffered severe injuries in a collision with another motorcyclist.

The track was located on property owned the parents of her friend, G.Y., so the girl sued G.Y. and his parents. The girl’s argument in her case was that the motocross track was designed negligently and that it lacked directional signs. These things, according to M.H. led to her collision with the other biker.