Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer - Automobile Accidents - Most Popular

The Most Deadly Vehicle - The 15-Passenger Van

IB Contributor — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 12:56:29 GMT

Why haven't they been recalled?

There is no doubt, the evidence is clear, the fifteen-passenger van is the most dangerous vehicle on our roads. It is the vehicle most likely to be involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident. Rollover accidents are the most deadly type of traffic accident on our highways today.

The fifteen-passenger van is the extra-long van that is commonly used by airport shuttles. It is the type of van that is used extensively by colleges and church groups. Its sale to primary schools and high schools is outlawed. This type van is rented daily by unsuspecting consumers from rental car agencies without adequate warnings regarding their accident propensity.

Why are rental car agencies allowed to rent 15-passenger vans, especially without adequate warnings?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an updated safety advisory on these vehicles. In fact, the latest advisory marks the 4th time in just 5 years that NHTSA has issued a safety warning regarding these vehicles. On its website, NHTSA says the good news is, "The percent of 15-passenger van occupant fatalities that occur as a result of rollover crashes is down from a high of 81% in 2000 to 52% in 2003."

The good news should be that NHTSA orders them recalled and dumped in the ocean to make reefs off our coasts. At least NHTSA should forbid the rental of these vans to anyone without a commercial drivers license. What could possibly be the reason that NHTSA does not more highly regulate their use or ban them from our highways completely? Political influence?

We successfully sued an auto rental company twice for renting these vans to unsuspecting groups. The first was a group of friends that rented a Dodge B3500, 15-passenger van, intending to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to celebrate a birthday. The other was a church group that rented a Ford E350, 15-passenger van, to travel from the Los Angeles area to the San Francisco Bay area to perform volunteer work. The result was the same. The vans rolled due to their unstable nature, resulting in multiple deaths and serious injuries. We held Ford and Daimler-Chrysler accountable as well.

On its website, NHTSA says:

Still, more needs to be done to alert operators of these vehicles' high center of gravity -- particularly when fully loaded - and their increased chance of rollover. NHTSA is continuing to work to get the word out about this increased rollover risk, as well as what can be done to mitigate it.

Take the damned things off the road. Forbid them to be rented to non-professional drivers. Require warning labels to be plastered all over the interior of the vans advising of the inherent dangers of these 15-passenger vans.

Please do not ride in these death traps. The rollover risk rises dramatically with the number of occupants. With ten or more passengers, these vans are three times more likely to rollover in single vehicle accidents than when lightly loaded. The auto dealers and rental car agencies never tell you that.

If it sounds like I have an attitude about these vans, you are right. I do. I have represented the injured and the families of the deceased. It make me angry that the governmental agency responsible for vehicle safety and standards, chooses to cater to the auto makers and rental agencies at the cost of lives. NHTSA's solution to this problem, non-required, "hangtags" in these 15-passenger death traps that warn of their dangers. At least they could require the information permanently displayed in a prominent place in the interior of the vans.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Teen Ejected in Car Accident Involving Drunk Driver

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:57:13 GMT

The driver of a speeding car suspected of driving while under the influence, veered off the road and struck a sign, causing his 17-year-old passenger, not wearing a seatbelt, to be ejected from the backseat , authorities said.

The passenger sustained serious injury in the car accident, according to California Highway patrol.

The accident occurred on Friday, at 2:45 a.m. when the 23-year-old driver of a 1988 Oldsmobile failed to manipulate a curve in the road. The driver lost control of the vehicle and spun onto the shoulder, hitting a curb and striking a sign.

The driver, who was wearing his seatbelt, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence. He suffered injuries in the crash but to what extent is unknown.

Please visit our section on Car and Motorcyle Accidents for more information.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Street-racing crash in Yorba Linda kills 68-year-old woman

IB Contributor — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 22:17:41 GMT

A 68-year-old Orange County woman was fatally injured in an auto accident Sunday when she attempted to make a left turn from a residential neighborhood, The Orange County Register reported Monday. Police officials suspect that street racing may have caused the crash.

Witnesses told Brea Police officials that two cars were seen speeding side-by-side, southbound down the hillside street of Fairmont Boulevard when one of the cars, a black Chevrolet pickup, collided into the victim's white Buick sedan, the article stated.

The accident occurred at 12:47 p.m., at the corner of Fairmont and Oak Meadow Drive.

Joetta May Martinez of Yorba Linda was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The driver of the pickup, Charles William Marquardt III, also from Yorba Linda, was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. The 17-year-old male driver of the car reported to have been driving next to the pickup was questioned by police. No charges have been filed yet and their names were not released.

Residents who live nearby said they came running out of their homes when they heard a loud collision. One neighbor rushed to the woman's aid and tried to check her pulse, but didn't get one on her neck or hand. Another rushed to check on the driver of the pickup, who was reportedly shaken up and kept inquiring about the lady and whether she was alright. Neighbor Paul Noonan said the driver of the pickup "seemed brokenhearted and just devastated."

Several residents cited a growing problem with cars speeding around their neighborhood and the danger of turning from a residential street onto a downhill street with a blind curve. The speed limit on Fairmont is 40 mph; Oak Meadow is 25 mph.

Residents have asked for a traffic light at that intersection, but it hasn't happened so far

If this were indeed a street-racing incident, Marquardt is looking at prison time. He is also looking at a civil lawsuit for wrongful death. In the right circumstances, if Marquardt was driving someone ele's car, whoever allowed him to drive their car could be liable to the family of the deceased accident victim under a theory of "negligent entrustment".

I curious to see how the Orange County District Attorney's office handles this case. The DA has an opportunity here to send a message that street racing will not be tolerated in Orange County and that violators who cause accidents and injury people will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Here is an interesting link to a nonprofit group called Street S.M.A.R.T.S. (Sports Machines Against Racing on the Street), which aims to educate people about the dangers of street-racing. Their Web site is http://www.streetsmartsusa.org/. The Web site has memorials to victims of street-racing as well, which serves as a tragic reminder. I like their motto, which is, "If you must race, remember, TAKE IT TO THE TRACK!"

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Roof Crush Intrusion - "Deadly By Design" Expose

IB Contributor — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 15:00:20 GMT

In response to my Dec. 23, 2006 "The Most Deadly Vehicle" article, I received an email from Paula Lawlor, a roof crush consultant, who has co-authored, along with Todd Tracy, "Deadly By Design". According to its authors, "Deadly By Design" is "An expose of the weak government standard that has lead to more than three decades of unnecessary fatalities and catastrophic injuries in rollover accidents". "Deadly By Design" goes through the history and statistics of "roof crush intrusion" or what is sometimes called "roof crush failure" or simply "roof crush".

The conclusion that Lawlor and Tracy come to is:

Year after year, for the past 36 years, thousands of people have unnecessarily died and been maimed due to pathetically weak roof structures that crush excessively during a rollover. Rather than engineer roof designs that promote the idea of preserving

the passenger compartment space, the vehicle industry has made a concerted effort to defend itself in litigation with a defense known as the "diving theory" which has proven to be a hoax.

Having been involved in litigating dozens of rollover vehicle accident cases wherein "roof crush" was responsible for multiple deaths and catastrophic injuries, I am in agreement with the conclusion of the Lawlor/Tracy expose. With ten thousand deaths and 16,000 catastrophic injuries each year due to rollover accidents, why hasn't the auto industry built their vehicles more stable, in order to prevent rollovers and built the roofs to hold up in a rollover accident The auto industries' own data indicates that stronger roofs save lives, yet they fight every attempt to legislate stronger roofs.

Is it any wonder that the American auto industry is continuing to lose market share and billions of dollars annually. Their philosophy of fighting higher standards for automobile safety standards is appalling. They will spend more on cosmetic extras, leather seats, navigation and entertainment systems than they will on safer more reliable vehicles. Maybe their philosophy of building questionably safe vehicles, according to today's technology, and then defending lawsuits with junk science and smoke screens is catching up to them. Maybe if they start "doing what is right" rather than worry about the next quarterly report, it would turn them toward long run profitability and respectability.

Everyone of our rollover/roof crush cases has encountered the auto industry's "diving theory" as well as multiple other defenses. So far we have been successful in ninety percent of our rollover/roof crush cases. We continue to accept and aggressively pursue rollover and roof crush cases that have resulted in a death or catastrophic injury. Litigating these cases is our way of coaxing the auto industry to build safer vehicles for us all and holding them accountable for the harm their negligence has caused.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Ford Excursion Rollover Fatality

IB Contributor — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:48:24 GMT

Was this a roof crush fatality?

A California man driving a Ford Excursion on U.S. 6 just east of Ely, Nevada died Sunday in a single-vehicle rollover accident according to a story by NBC News 4.

Jay Wooten of Fairfield, California was driving his Ford Excursion with five other people in the vehicle, when he swerved to avoiding hitting an elk. According to Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper George Edwards, the Ford Excursion crossed both travel lanes and rolled over, killing Wooten. The five passengers in the Excursion were injured and taken to an area hospital. Four of them were children.

The news article did not mention if Mr. Wooten was wearing a seat belt, if he was ejected or if his fatal injury was due to the roof of the Ford Excursion caving in.

No one who is familiar with the Ford Excursion would be surprised at it rollover in a sudden defensive maneuver like Mr. Wooten apparently performed. We have been after Ford Motor Co., in a number of lawsuits, for the instability of their SUVs for some time. I doubt that Mr. Wooten's Excursion was equipped with any type of stability control to prevent rollover, which I am relatively certain would have prevented this accident from being a rollover and saved Mr. Wooten's life.

We are in the process of crash testing Ford Excursions to test their roof strength in rollover accidents. What we have discovered so far is frightening. Our testing shows that in a moderate rollover accident, the roof on the Excursion is so weak that it flattens like a pancake, leaving no survival space. It is very possible this is what happened to Mr. Wooten, the roof crushed in and killed him. Only an inspection of the vehicle by experts would tell us for sure, but I'd bet on it.

If you have been the victim of a rollover or roof crush (roof crushing in) accident and you need legal assistance contact me. If you are an attorney who needs restraint system test, crash test, stability test or roof crush test results, especially for Ford Motor products, contact me.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Faulty Ford spark plug causes fires.

IB Contributor — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:23:27 GMT

Federal agency says it's not bothered by it.

Defective Ford truck spark plugs are costing car owners more than time and money, according to a very interesting article posted on www.consumeraffairs.com.

The article by Joe Benton, posted Sunday, says thousands of truck owners have paid thousands of dollars to repair the damage caused by the Ford Triton V-8 engine spitting a spark plug from its aluminum cylinder head. But Benton writes that a Huntington beach man saw his 1997 F250 reduced to a mass of charred rubber, melted glass and frayed wires.

The first plug on this man's truck blew from the number three cylinder on the passenger side. That was repaired and then 200 miles later the number four cylinder from the same side spit a spark plug. Only, this time, the loose plug started a fuel fire and burned the truck down to the axles in 12 minutes. The truck was completely destroyed.

Other consumers, who wrote to the Web site, agree this could cause a lot of harm.

"Truly this is a dangerous situation because the fuel rail is right above the coil and spark plug. If this rail and injector break when the plug blows out this could result in a fire," said Robert of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, whose 2001 F250 Super Duty Crew Cab blew its #3 spark plug a few weeks ago.

But what does the National Highway Transportation Safety Administrators have to say? No problem. That's their answer.

According to the article, NHTSA officials disagree with these consumers' warnings saying that "no one is going to die because, as they see it, the spark plug issue presents no serious safety consequence."

An attorney in Santa Clarita had petitioned NHTSA, asking it to investigate reports that Ford SUVs, pickups, Crown Victorias and Mustangs sold in the 1997-2004 model years had spark plugs that can come loose and fly through the hood.

But it seems the federal agency, funded by taxpayer dollars, is backing Ford. Officials denied to consider all these complaints saying that their analysis found that the 474 complaints "found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences. None of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence."

For its part, Ford continues to deny the problem and refuses to acknowledge any responsibility, a policy that is causing unrest among Ford service managers and technicians. According to the article, one service technician recently told ConsumerAffairs.Com that, even when Ford agrees to repair one of the engines, it pays dealers so little for the repair that the technicians end up working free hours.

NHTSA concluded its brief investigation with this statement: "In the need to allocate and prioritize limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition (for a full-scale investigation possibly leading to a recall) is denied."

At Bisnar|Chase, we've seen that they have a track record with denial. They've denied that their Ford Escort front seatbacks are not up to standard and have caused several fatalities. They continue to deny that their Ford Explorers have a roof-crush issue in rollover accidents.

They deny there are any problems with their 15-passenger E-350 van (see what NHTSA has to say about this van http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/studies/15PassVans/15PassCustomerAdvisory.htm). And the list goes on.

As for NHTSA's statement, it sounds as though not enough people have died for them to spend their "resources".. Recently thousands of 2008 Ford trucks were recalled for causing tailpipe fires. The spark plug issue seems to be a dangerous one and if Ford or NHTSA don't address the problem, it could be very costly in terms of life and of course, litigation for Ford. However, the number of vehicle's that would have to be recalled due to the spark plug issues is probably hundreds of times more than the number recalled for the tailpipe issue.

Know of a manufacturing or design defect in an production automobile, truck or van? I'd like to hear about it.

Do you suspect that a traffic accident injury or death was caused or contributed to by a manufacturing or design defect, I'd also like to hear about it.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

California Man Killed in Pedestrian Accident

Chrissie Cole — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:40:37 GMT

A pedestrian accident, early Sunday morning, claimed the life of a 31-year-old man as he walked in front of a vehicle that was heading eastbound on State Road 198, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The man, of Lemoore, was struck by a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo, according to reports by CHP. The woman driving the SUV was traveling at approximately 70 mph. She applied her brakes to avoid hitting the pedestrian, but was unsuccessful in doing so.

State Road 198 heading eastbound was closed for approximately two hours while officers investigated the accident.

If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a pedestrian accident, you can use the form located on the right to contact one of our personal injury lawyers for a free and confidential consultation.

For more information on this subject, please visit our section on Pedestrian Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Three Killed in Tragic Car Accident after Crashing into Light Pole

Christina Cole — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:48:34 GMT

Three men, in their 20s, were killed in a tragic car accident when their Lincoln Town Car rear-ended a vehicle, bounced off another and crashed into a light pole. A fourth passenger was hospitalized, police said.

One of the victims was decapitated in the accident that occurred on Victoria Street near Canyon Drive at 8:45 p.m.

Two of the men were thrown from the vehicle and killed, as was a backseat passenger. The driver was taken to Western Medical Center. The crash is under investigation. At this time it is unclear if alcohol was involved.

Witnesses report the driver was speeding and attempted to pass a slow moving vehicle, setting off the chain of events that led to the deadly crash.

The accident ripped off one of the Lincoln's doors, caved in ther oof and crumpled the car beyond recognition. Glass and metal were strewn across the road.

"This is one of the worst accidents I have ever seen," said Costa Mesa Police Sgt.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Second Fatal Street Racing Accident In A Month

IB Contributor — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 23:30:54 GMT

Another teenage street racing death.

Two illegally street racing vehicles collided last Friday night about 9:15 p.m. killing an 18-year-old Fontana woman passenger, according to Fontana police as reported by the Press Enterprise.

Monica Molina was a passenger in a Nissan being driven by Juan Barajas, 19. Barajas was racing Jose Alcantar, 23 who was driving a black Ford. The were racing westbound on Foothill Blvd., east of Sultana, when the vehicles collided and overturned. The crash caused Molina to be ejected from Barajas' Nissan. She was rushed to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries.

In February a 14-year-old boy died when a car packed with eight teenagers slammed into a pole during another Inland area street race. The 16-year-old driver of that vehicle is the first person in Riverside County to be charged under a new California law that toughens penalties for street racers.

The new vehicle code section that went into effect January 1st permits prosecutors to file a felony charge against a driver who injures someone in a street race. The charge carries a maximum three-year prison term for a conviction.

Teenagers, even those involved with street racing, know to wear their seat belts. I wonder if Molina's death was contributed to by a faulty restraint system. I have seen a number of cases of seat belted people being ejected from vehicles during an automobile accident due to seat belt failure of some type. I hope whomever the lawyer is representing Monica Molina's family knows enough to check for a failure of the seat belt system as well as other auto defect issues.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Two wrecks on the 5 Freeway leave one dead

IB Contributor — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:11:20 GMT

Lagnua Niguel man charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Two Orange County auto accidents, occurring nearly simultaneously about 11:15 p.m. Thursday, left one woman dead and four others injured - two critically - on the southbound San Diego (I-5) Freeway near the Alicia Parkway exit., the Orange County Register reported Friday.

The collisions, which the CHP is treating as unrelated, also led to the arrest of three of the drivers of the four vehicles. All are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. Two of the arrestees face felony charges.

Catherine Malloy, 72, of Philadelphia, died in the collision, the report said. She was pronounced dead at the scene by Orange County Fire Authority paramedics.

The blue Volvo in which Malloy was a passenger stopped along the freeway for unknown reasons, and then was hit from the rear by a Ford F-150 pickup in the same lane, CHP officials said. The driver of the pickup, Trevor Coffman, was taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo for treatment of major injuries, according CHP reports.

Coffman, 35, of Laguna Niguel, was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter. The driver of the Volvo, Sally Howd, 76, of Dana Point, is reportedly in serious condition at Mission Hospital with major injuries. Her husband, Frank Howd, 82, got out of the rear passenger side of the Volvo shortly before the collision and was struck by the car while he was standing in the traffic lane. He is in critical condition.

Almost at the same moment, a white Infiniti driven by Eric Fuentes, 30, hit the right side of a black Toyota, deflecting the Toyota into the center divider, were it came to rest. Fuentes, of Laguna Beach, fled the scene of the accident and was later arrested at his residence under suspicion of felony hit-and-run and felony driving under the influence of alcohol, CHP reports said.

Fuentes is also held in the Intake and Release Center in Santa Ana in lieu of $100,000 bail. The driver of the Toyota, Michael Medina, 58, was taken to Mission Hospital for treatment of major injuries. He is listed in critical condition. Medina, of Rancho Santa Margarita, was also arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Traffic backed up for nearly three miles following the crash after CHP officials shut down all lanes of traffic for over 40 minutes following the crash, starting at 11:35 p.m., CHP officer Katrina Lundgren said.

And it's not even St. Patrick's Day yet! This is a horrible tragedy for the victim and her family. It was probably a rare coincidence that two simultaneous crashes involved so many suspected drunk drivers. It's shameful.

People who drive under the influence pose a significant hazard on our roadways. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, about 40 percent of all traffic collisions in this state are alcohol-related. In Orange County there are at least six DUI-related injury traffic collisions every day.

I have no doubts in my mind that driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is one of the worst forms of negligence. If you are impaired, take a cab.

Have a fun Saint Patrick's Day celebration tomorrow. Please do not drink and then drive.

The three gentlemen arrested last night probably thought they were "OK" to drive. One of them is responsible for killing one person and seriously injuring two others. I'll bet all three of them wish they had taken a cab home. If the three of them had taken cabs, one other person would still be alive and two others would not be injured. Drinking and driving isn't worth it. Saving the cab money isn't worth it.

I am sure when Mr. Coffman left wherever it was that he was drinking, he never thought he'd be arrested for manslaughter before the sun came up. Don't drink and drive.

Maybe the Toyota and Nissan "anti-driving under the influence" auto equipment should be mandatory on all new automobiles. See my March 12th blog entitled "Cars Against Drunk Driving" for more information.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor