A burst of severe weather in Sacramento and other parts of Northern California has been linked to many car accidents, numbering in the dozens, overnight.

CBS13.com is reporting that a wet storm is creating perfect conditions for auto accidents, with some amount of flooding and slick slippery roads being just two of the problems motorists are encountering. There has even been a major mudslide near Yankee Hill Road, in Butte County. Officers are warning motorists to exercise caution as they navigate the treacherous roads.

At least one of the car accidents out of the several that have occurred led to hospitalization. It took place near the Howe and University Avenue intersection in Sacramento. At about 2 in the morning, a Mercedes went out of control, and slammed into a tree. The three men inside were transported to the UC Davis Medical Center. They are reported to have suffered minor to moderate injuries in the accident.

When caught in bad weather that interferes with driving, always:

• Drive slowly. Speeding is a bad idea any time, but in bad weather, with slippery roads and poor visibility to contend with, the chances of ending up in a car accident are that much greater.
• Turn on the air-conditioner to keep the glass and windows clear.
• If the bad weather includes high winds, avoid driving too close to big rigs, and other massive vehicles that may be carrying light cargo.
• Be careful applying brakes on wet roads.
• Avoid driving high-profile vehicles in extremely windy conditions.
• Turn your headlights on, and keep them turned on. It not only improves your visibility, but also allows other motorists in the opposite direction to see you clearly.
• Keep plenty of empty space between your car and the one that’s right ahead of you. In case of an emergency, you don’t want to slam on your brakes and careen out of control.
• When you first begin to drive in poor weather, test your brakes to see how far you’ll go before you stop.
• Keep your radio turned on to check for news alerts of the weather getting worse ahead. Make allowances for changes in your driving plans, if necessary.

Of course, don’t even think of driving after having a few drinks, applying make up in the car, snacking while driving or any of the other common mistakes that motorists make. Driving during bad weather requires more alertness and concentration than driving on a normal sunny day. Car accidents seem to be more frequent in bad weather, but it doesn’t really have to be that way.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The OC Register is reporting that the family of Cora Hill, a 65-year-old woman who slipped and fell in an algae filled pool of water in Huntington Beach is suing the city for her wrongful death. The lawsuit contends that the city authorities were aware of the problem of accumulation of pools of water in the area, and had even received complaints about it, but chose to do nothing.

The slip and fall accident occurred on August 31, 2007. Hill along with her husband was returning after a visit to their see daughter and son-in-law. The lawsuit states that it was dark, there were no lights, and before them was an algae filled pool of water that the couple didn’t see. Hill stepped into the slimy pool, and slipped. The fall cracked her left femur, thereby setting off a chain of illnesses that finally culminated in her death in May this year.

After the slip and fall accident, Hill spent her time in a cast brace, and began physical therapy in August. The rehabilitation process was made even more painful by the fact that Hill had arthritis in her right knee. The therapy involved placing weight on the arthritis knee, and soon, she was in extreme pain. The doctors recommended a surgery on her right knee to treat the pain. In order to prepare for the surgery, Hill was advised by her doctors to stop taking the blood thinning medication she was on. This is what is believed to have eventually led to her stroke and death on May 4th. The family’s wrongful death lawsuit damages amount is unspecified.

The pooling of water at 22000, Susan Lane, the location of the slip and fall accident, had been the focus of two earlier complaints by Hill’s family. City records showed that on at least two separate occasions in 2004, when Hill’s family filed complaints, they were informed that the city knew of the problem, but did not have the funds to fix it. In fact, the father of Hill’s son-in-law, who was the original owner of the house, says that he made his concern about the standing water outside his residence very clear to the Huntington Beach city authorities. He even planned to get it fixed with his money, but backed out when he realized it would cost thousands of dollars. In the end, it took an elderly woman breaking her thighbone, and dying many agonizing months later, to bring the sorry state of affairs in the city to light.

It’s the duty of the city to make sure that public spaces are clear for people to walk on. An algae filled pool of water on a street in a residential neighborhood is inexcusable. It’s an irony that Huntington Beach didn’t have the funds to repair the drainage problems that if fixed earlier could have prevented the slip and fall accident, but is now looking at paying out a hefty settlement to the Hill family.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of slip and fall accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A Western Transit bus driver is getting away with a ridiculous sentence for sexual abuse. Edward Sliwinski, a 61-year-old Brea resident has been sentenced to one year in prison for sexually abusing a 24-year-old disabled woman,

The OC Register reports that Sliwinski abused the young woman, a Placentia resident in February. Apparently, the man gave her a $10 bill, and then assaulted her. The abuse included taking semi-nude pictures of the girl who is developmentally challenged. The woman was a student at Hope University, and had been taking the bus to get to classes. There is no information about how the abuse came to light, or how long it lasted.

Sliwinski was charged with sexual abuse of a vulnerable person, and has now received the grand sentence of one year in prison. He will spend five years under probation, and will be registered as a sex offender for life.

One year??? This excuse for a human being gets one year for what he did? Detective Loomis, who is the public information officer for the Placentia police says, that the sentence was not what they had hoped for, but at least he will be “a registered sex offender.” That is very useful no doubt, for all the other young women that Sliwinski will come across in the future, and helps keep them safe, but what about the woman who did not have the benefit of knowing about Sliwinski’s intentions or his record? How does a developmentally challenged person deal with sexual abuse anyway? We can understand the sentiments of Det. Loomis who says that the victim was spared the stress of court testimony, but it’s clear that this sentence leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Sliwinski is 61-years-old, which brings us to the question of his record – were there other victims in this man’s past who have remained under the radar? Did Western Transit, the company that employed him, take the trouble to check his background thoroughly before they hired him, or was he like so many bus and truck drivers in our country, hired solely because he could turn a steering wheel and jam the brakes on time?

The criminal courts, for whatever reason, seem to have failed this vulnerable young woman. The disabled are the weakest sections of our society, and if there’s nothing we can do to prevent horrific crimes against them, then the least that can be done is to ensure that the person responsible for the crime is sentenced justly. Sliwinski will be out of jail in a year’s time, and that’s the extent of his punishment.

The family of the girl must come forward to take legal actions against Sliwinski. Western Transit could be liable if they hired Sliwinski in a rush. Investigations need to be done into this man’s past history. An experienced Orange County sexual assault lawyer will be able to prove grounds for liability here.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of sexual abuse. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A Santa Ana appeals court upheld an earlier jury verdict awarding $3.2 million in damages to a woman who suffered serious nerve damage after a food poisoning episode at a Dana Point restaurant. It’s a milestone decision that can now be cited across other food poisoning lawsuits, the Orange County Register reports.

The case relates to 25-year-old Costa Mesa resident Alexis Sarti. In April 2005, Sarti ate raw tuna at the Salt Creek Grille restaurant. The contaminated tuna caused a severe reaction in the student, and she suffered from sudden paralysis and double vision. She spent the next 49 days in the hospital, and had to drop out of college for more than a year and a half after the food poisoning incident, for medical care and therapy.

Once a high school cross country runner, Sarti today is unable to take part in sports like running, hiking or other forms of extreme physical activity. Muscles and spasms bother her on a daily basis, although she says she’s used to these now. For a long time after the food poisoning, Sarti was confined to a wheelchair. She has recovered somewhat since then, and can take part in normal activities again. But strenuous activity is out of the question, and what’s worse, she expects her situation to deteriorate as she gets older.

Sarti filed a lawsuit against the restaurant, and claimed cross contamination of the tuna with a form of bacteria that exists in raw poultry. A jury handed down a verdict for $3.2 million, and Salt Creek Grille, which also has branches in New York and New Jersey, appealed. The verdict was set aside by Superior Court Judge Derek W. Hunt. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana has now overturned Judge Hunt’s ruling.

In delivering his decision, Judge Hunt said he was constrained by a 35-year-old appellate decision that prohibits juries from assuming that cross contamination in the restaurants was the result of faulty practices or handling. The Santa Ana appeals court seems to have disregarded that older appellate decision in its ruling on Monday that upheld the verdict of $3.2 million for Sarti.

At the trial, Sarti’s attorneys argued that Salt Creek Grille has a record of poor handling practices in its kitchens. It has been cited for improper food storage, cross contamination and incorrect handling on three separate instances - July 27, 2004, July 28, 2005 and May 5, 2005.

It was clear that the negligent food handling practices at this restaurant were responsible for a deadly cross contamination that resulted in Sarti’s food poisoning. Sarti insists that the victory is a moral, rather than monetary one. Still, she has incurred more than a million dollars worth of medical bills, and expects to need more medical care in the future.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of food poisoning. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

California medical device company Thoratec Corp. is recalling certain batches of its mechanical heart pump. The recall was announced on October 15th after five people died while they had been using the device.

The problem with Thoratec’s heart pump, the HeartMate II seems to be wear and tear of the percutaneous lead that connects the pump to the system controller. In the presence of such wear, the pump function is interrupted causing serious complications. According to the Associated Press, the company has had 27 cases that called for the replacement of the devices due to wear and fatigue. These patients had their heart pumps replaced through renewed surgery. However, in five cases, the device could not be replaced, and this resulted in the patients’ deaths.

The product recall for the heart pumps involves batches with catalog numbers 1355 and 102139. These are said to have been distributed to at least 153 hospitals, not just in the country, but also abroad.

The HeartMate II heart pumps, which were only approved in April of this year, were used as devices to help pump blood to all parts of the body, and were implanted in patients who had a weak heart that could not pump blood adequately. During its approval process, the heart pump was meant to be used as a stopgap measure in patients who needed a heart transplant, and were on a wait list. However, experts had opined that the pump was better suited to patients in whom transplantation was not an option, because of the severity and advanced stage of their heart disease.

It is estimated that close to 2000 people have been fitted with these devices. These include both adults and children. Thoratec has provided a breakdown of the probability that the percutaneous lead in the heart pump will begin to wear down, necessitating replacement. The numbers aren’t comforting. Within the first 12 months of implantation, the possibility is at its lowest at about 1.3 per cent, rising to 6.5 % at 2 years. In the case of implantation done 3 years before, the risk was at more than 11 %.

The company has advised individuals who have been fitted with a HeartMate II heart pump to consult their physician or cardiologist as quickly as possible. But, not all of the people who actually need a replacement may be able to have one. The five patients who died were patients in whom it was just not feasible to undertake another surgery to get the pump replaced.

For the many men, women and children who have had these pumps implanted, the next few weeks are going to be full of worry, as they head to their surgeon’s office to evaluate their risk. Even if they are out of the woods now, there’s a possibility that the lead fatigue may occur down the road, placing them at risk.

It’s obvious that the company sent a product out into the market before it was 100 percent ready and safe for people to use. Add to that the fact, that there is a possibility that pump replacement surgery many not even be performed on some persons, and these customers have enough grounds to get in touch with a California product recall lawyer immediately.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of recalled products. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A drunk driver rear-ended a motorcycle in Morongo Valley on Sunday, throwing both the riders off the bike. The driver Carlos Rodriguez, has been arrested.

According to Hi-Desert Star, the motorcycle accident occurred at 6 pm on Sunday. 24-year-old Marco Garcia and 20-year-old Erica Jacome were on their motorcycle, with Marco driving. 35-year-old Rodriguez was driving his 2001 Honda. The car rear-ended the motorcycle, throwing both Garcia and Jacome off. Fortunately, they only sustained minor injuries in the motorcycle accident. Both were taken by ambulance to a Palm Springs hospital for treatment. The mangled motorcycle was lodged beneath the Honda.

Rodriguez meanwhile, continued to drive on, unmindful of the fact that the motorcycle was stuck under his car. He drove on for several hundred feet in this manner. At least two passengers in his car received minor and moderate injuries. One of them was treated at a local hospital, while the other refused to seek treatment.

When the police arrived, they found that Rodriguez had been driving under the influence. He has now been booked for felony driving under the influence.

It was fortunate that Garcia and Jacome were able to escape without any major injuries. As we have reported on several cases on our motorcycle accident attorney blog, the results for motorcycle-car collisions can be deadly. Things could have ended up very differently for the two. Even so, the two have been through a traumatic ordeal, and have suffered injuries for which they are now entitled to compensation.

From all accounts, they were not at fault in this accident. All they were doing was riding along, minding their own business. Carlos Rodriguez on the other hand, needs to learn that consequences have actions. When you decide to get behind the wheel when you’re obviously in no condition to drive, then you must suffer the consequences of your behavior. A firm message at this point will help send out the message that the authorities mean business, and that drunk driving will involve a zero tolerance policy.

Garcia and Jacome should consult a car accident lawyer as quickly as possible to evaluate their case. The right car accident lawyer will be able to win for them the compensation they deserve.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of motorcycle accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

Before a San Mateo truck accident smashed his mother’s car, killing him instantly, 9-year-old Tyler Fahy was everything you would expect a 9-year-old to be. He was a Cub Scout, loved soccer and baseball, and was part of his school’s Little League team. On September 22nd, Tyler and his mother were in their car at a parking lot at a Mollie’s Stone market. Suddenly, a debris truck barreled out of control, and right into the car. The truck also managed to slam into a sports utility vehicle and at least 8 eight other vehicles before finally coming to a stop.

The Fahys’ car was dragged for at least 75 feet further on, as the truck continued its frenzied journey. By the time the truck came to a stop, Tyler was dead, as a result of multiple traumatic injuries sustained in the truck accident.

Tyler’s mother, Adrienne Colao, suffered severe injuries in the truck accident, and still remains in a wheelchair. Now, the Fahys have filed a civil lawsuit against the company that owned the truck, Century Roof and Solar. The suit claims that the company was negligent, and the family also has plans to name the truck driver as one of the defendants.

There is still no information on what caused the truck accident. The San Mateo police have finished their investigations, and have given a report to the county prosecutors, but no charges have been filed yet.

Soon after the accident, there were reports that some of the witnesses had heard the truck driver, who has not yet been identified, screaming for people to get out of his way because the truck was out of control. Those reports are not confirmed yet, but that’s the position that the lawsuit is bound to take – the possibility that there was a mechanical defect in the truck that caused it to go out of control, smash so many vehicles, and cause so much destruction.

Another of the victims of the chain reaction accident, a 62-year-old woman, filed a lawsuit against the company last month. She suffered facial injuries and bruises, and had to be hospitalized.

There could have been one of two factors at work here - a mechanical defect in the truck, or an impaired ability of the truck driver to drive. Initial investigations don’t seem to have raised any answers in this truck accident, but going forward, we may find investigators looking into the driver’s work records, health profile, safety inspection reports of the truck, and so on.

No matter what the settlement of this truck accident lawsuit, and the outcome of the investigations, it’s clear that the family has suffered an immense tragedy that no amount of money will ever compensate.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of truck accidents.  Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A 17-year-old Tustin boy has been indicted on murder charges after he caused a car accident driving while intoxicated earlier in August this year. Santa Ana resident Milad Mouyali is accused of driving under the influence when he crashed his Mercedes Benz into a pole. The impact split the car into two. Mouyali was reportedly doing 100 miles per hour. His 16-year-old passenger was killed. Mouyali himself escaped with minor injuries in the car accident.

In indicting Milad, an Orange County grand jury has charged him as an adult. He has been accused of the killing of Mackenzie Frazee, his friend who he was driving home that night.

On August 28, Milad reported had a party at his house where Mackenzie seems to have been a guest. He had several drinks, and then at about 2:40 am, he set out in his car to drop the young girl home. According to the Orange County Register, Mouyali drove far above the speed limit on the way to Mackenzie’s home, his speed oscillating between 102 miles per hour and 112 miles per hour. At some point, he seems to have lost control of his car, and slammed into a pole. The impact caused the front of the car to explode in flames. Frazee, who had to be extricated from her seat by firefighters, was declared dead from blunt force trauma.

After the car accident, Mouyali’s blood alcohol level was tested, and was found to be .11. He was found to have been driving without a valid license too. He is expected to be arraigned on Monday. Mouyali faces one felony murder count, and one driving without a license misdemeanor charge.

The Orange County grand jury seems to have taken Mouyali’s speed, as well as his drunk driving into consideration in their decision to charge him as an adult. If convicted, Mouyali could be sentenced to life in prison.

The Orange County Register reports that he consumed the alcoholic drinks at his own residence. What were his parents doing, allowing him to drink at home, and then, get behind the wheel? It’s clear there has been a mix of youthful arrogance, and parental negligence at work here. All of these seem to have played an equal part in costing Mackenzie Frazee her life. At this Orange County car accident lawyer blog, we extend our deepest sympathies to her family at this time of loss.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents and drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

As we follow developments on the Delta crib recall front on our attorney blog, we hear that the Chinese foreign ministry is expressing its willingness to “listen to complaints, and find out what exactly are the problems”.

Xinhuanet.com, is reporting on the first reactions of the Chinese authorities, who are already battling a tainted milk crisis that’s had people all over the world swearing off Beijing-made chocolates, to this Delta crib recall crisis.

This is not the first time that Chinese products have been involved in costly and exhaustive recalls in the US, and we fear it won’t be the last. Considering how many of our goods are now being produced overseas, and the lax regulation standards of our own officials who seem to have perfected the “knee jerk reaction” into a fine art form, there is enough to suggest that there will be more lead tainted products, defective cribs, dangerous toys and other product recall stories from China.

Although it’s tempting to blame poor foreign adherence to quality as the prime cause of this most recent crib recall, we must ask ourselves why our own authorities aren’t working round-the-clock to make sure that products that reach our shores are as safe as we expect them to be. Why is Delta guilty of not bothering to check each and every piece of crib equipment that it produces overseas, before these are passed on to unwary consumers? Why is the CPSC so slow to act with announcing and implementing crib recalls? At this crib recall lawyer blog, we, like anxious parents around the country, continue to wait for answers.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of recalled products. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

A Modesto resident has been arrested after he made a dangerous pass, and crashed his car head-on into another vehicle, in a car accident that injured four of the other car’s passengers.

The Modesto Bee is reporting that on Sunday, Ray Servin was driving his Dodge on Highway 132, in rural west Modesto. According to reports by the California Highway Patrol, he made an “unsafe pass,” and as a result, his car crashed head-on into a Toyota coming up ahead. There were four occupants in the Toyota, and all of them suffered injuries. While Gabriel Guzman and her daughters, 2-year-old Mia and 7-year-old Lajady received major injuries in the car accident, the driver of the Toyota Felix Parada, received moderate injuries. The mother and her two kids were taken to the hospital where they were reported yesterday to be in a stable condition. Parada, who also received treatment at the same hospital as the Guzmans, was released after treatment.

Meanwhile, Servin was treated at the hospital for minor injuries sustained in the car accident. Tests conducted have shown his blood alcohol levels as being above the legal limit. He has now been arrested for driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more. Drinking and driving is not the only charge facing Servin. He has also been charged with irregularities in his identification card. Bail had initially been set at $25,000 but as of Monday, he was a free man.

The string of reckless actions this man indulged in was extensive. Not only was he driving recklessly, without heeding traffic rules, but he was also driving under the influence of alcohol. Add to that the charge of driving with a “fictitious, fraudulently altered, or fraudulently obtained identification card” and you begin to see that this man should logically still be behind bars.

It’s fortunate that the Guzman family was able to get the emergency medical help they needed, and are now expected to recover. This family has been put through a harrowing ordeal, no thanks to Ray Servin. This man should be held responsible for the trauma that the kids went though. Servin is currently a free man, cooling his heels after having posted bail. The Guzmans meanwhile, continue to be in the hospital.

CHP reports have confirmed that the car accident occurred not only due to his drunken behavior, but also the fact that he made a dangerous pass. The Guzman family definitely has grounds for a civil lawsuit against Servin. They should consult a California car accident lawyer quickly as possible to make sure that they receive the compensation they are obviously due.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents and drunk driving accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.