Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney Blog
The family members of people who are killed by the negligent or wrongful actions of others in California can file wrongful death lawsuits against the negligent or wrongful actors. By filing lawsuits, the family members might recover damages to compensate them for their economic and non-economic losses. While economic losses are fairly simple to calculate, non-economic damages are more nebulous and difficult to calculate. In Fernandez v. Jimenez, Cal. Ct. App., No. B281518, the court considered whether a non-economic damages award of $45 million was excessive in a wrongful death case.
Factual and procedural background
Claudia Fernandez was a single mother who was 38-years-old. She had four children who ranged in ages from 22 to 10 and worked in an animal hospital to support them. Her children’s names were Rachel Fernandez, Jeremy Valle, Donovan Valle, and Ryan Valle. Rachel was attending college, and the three younger brothers were all enrolled in school.
In accidents that are caused by the defendants’ violation of the law, people may be able to claim negligence per se. When an accident results from breaking a traffic law, it is enough to prove the element of negligence. Once a defendant’s negligence has been established, the plaintiff will then need to prove that the negligence resulted in the accident and that he or she suffered injuries and harm because of the defendant’s breach of his or her duty of care.
In California, people who are injured in accidents may still be able to recover compensation for their losses when their own negligence contributed to the accidents’ causes as long as the other drivers were also negligent. A driver may be found to be negligent per se if he or she violated a statute and the violation was a proximate cause of the accident. In
Hit-and-run crashes and fatalities are increasing and have reached a record high in California and across the nation. There are several reasons that are attributed to the rise in hit-and-run accidents. With the improvements in the economy, more people are sharing the roads. Smartphone use while driving has led to an increase in distracted driving accidents, including hit-and-run crashes. At the same time, more people are choosing to walk or to ride their bicycles to get where they need to go. Finally, drunk driving and speeding continue to be real problems. It is important for you to understand the risks of hit-and-run collisions and to take steps to protect yourself in the event that you are involved in one.
What are the new California traffic laws for 2019? As we roll into a new year, Californians need to be aware of a number of new traffic laws that might affect them in 2019. These laws may have an impact on cyclists, motorists, minors, scooter riders, DUI offenders, and others. It is important for you to familiarize yourself with these laws so that you do not commit any traffic violations in the upcoming year. Here is a description of each of these new laws and what they might require you to do.
Visitors to Los Angeles as well as California residents rely on rental cars to meet their transportation needs sometimes. While most people are familiar with traditional rental car agencies that you might see at the airport and dotted throughout the city, fewer might be familiar with a rental car app called Turo. This app allows individuals who own vehicles to rent them to others at deep discounts as compared to rental car agency prices. However, rentals from an app come with some risks to both the drivers and others who are traveling around them. If you have suffered an injury in a collision with a vehicle that was rented on the app, getting help from an experienced lawyer is important. Here is what you need to understand about the app and how to protect yourself.
Because of the high accident fatality rate in Los Angeles, the city implemented its Vision Zero initiative in 2015. The initiative is focused on reducing traffic deaths to zero by 2025. However, the city has some of the highest fatality rates in the U.S., leading the city to try new approaches to curb fatalities. One of these new efforts is adding new speed limits and better signs on streets throughout the city. If you have been injured in an accident or have lost a loved one, getting help from an experienced personal injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Steven M. Sweat might help you to recover compensation for your losses.