Personal Injury Blog | Vititoe Law Group | Westlake Village & Oxnard CA

Hazardous Material Regulations and the Trucking Industry

On January 7, a truck carrying a cargo of both methanol and hydrogen peroxide, collided head on with a vehicle on I-90 near Beloit, Wisconsin. The fire from the trucks ruptured fuel tank lit up the dark early morning sky like broad daylight. Local firefighters called in a hazmat specialty team to assess the situation. Fortunately, the methanol drums did not rupture and mix with the hydrogen peroxide, sparing the emergency responders from facing a massive explosion. This was one of the most recent of many crashes involving hazardous materials on the nation’s highways recently. Hazardous materials, referred to as hazmats, are any material that has [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-25T19:44:15-07:00February 10th, 2017|Truck Accidents|Comments Off

I Was Injured in a Fire Truck Accident – Do I Have a Case?

There has been a nationwide increase in fire truck accidents and California is no exception. On June 30, 2016, an LAFD fire truck was involved in an accident involving three other vehicles, injuring four civilians, two critically. This was just one of many fire truck crashes reported in the state in 2016. The fault in that accident is undisclosed, but the investigation will show that someone was at fault. The law gives responding emergency vehicles using lights and sirens, the right of way over all other vehicles. In other words, if a fire truck is responding to a call, get out of the way. However, emergency [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-25T19:44:53-07:00February 8th, 2017|Personal Injury|Comments Off

Why Do Some People Get Injured by Airbags?

Vehicle airbags are designed to save lives and minimize injuries in auto collisions. Airbags are designed to be a barrier between the driver or passenger and the vehicle. While some people are harmed by the airbag, it often saves their lives or prevents more serious injuries. CarandDriver.com states, “Airbags are hard enough to effectively lengthen the time of impact between you and automotive interior components. It’s basic physics. The more time you take to slow a body (or head) in motion, the smaller the impact force. The airbag inflates and then immediately deflates as you impact it, decelerating you (relatively) slowly.” In just 2012 alone, airbags [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-25T19:45:37-07:00February 5th, 2017|Car Accidents|Comments Off

Should Seat Belts be Required on Buses?

Should seat belts be required on buses? The answer is, “Yes” because it increases passenger safety, but there are some prohibitive reasons as to why they aren’t installed on buses, not even school buses filled with youngsters. Statistically, school buses are approximately 40 times safer than regular passenger vehicles, like private cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. Buses have advantages over other vehicles sharing the road such as riding high, having much heavier weight, and heavily padded seats. But, bus accidents aren’t exactly rare and these do result in several injuries and fatalities annually. It is now mandatory in all states to wear seatbelts while in a [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-25T19:46:46-07:00February 3rd, 2017|Bus Accidents|Comments Off

How Safe is Today’s Air Travel?

The end of 2016, as all other year ends before it, was a season of heavy air travel. Travelers planned trips to other parts of the country, or abroad, to visit family and friends, yet many worried and asked – how safe is air travel? The world was deeply saddened by the recent crash of a LeMia Airlines flight near the Colombian City of Medellin, taking the lives of 71 passengers including members of a top Brazilian football team. Other crashes this year included Egypt Air flight 804 from Paris to Cairo, where 66 passengers perished in the Mediterranean in May and the Fly Dubai flight [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-25T19:47:27-07:00February 1st, 2017|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Negligent Maintenance Issues in Truck Crash Litigation

We have all been behind a truck on the highway with a big sticker plastered on the back asking “How is my driving?” While it is comforting to know that the trucking company is concerned regarding the safe operation of its vehicle, even the most alert and cautious truck driver on the road may be in imminent danger of a crash if the equipment is improperly maintained. Lack of proper maintenance is a prevalent cause of serious truck crashes in California and across the nation. Federal Safety Maintenance Regulations for Truckers The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) can be of significant help in proving negligence [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-26T11:07:10-07:00January 29th, 2017|Truck Accidents|Comments Off

Is a Parking Lot Accident Treated the Same as a Roadway Accident?

Parking lots can be challenging places to drive. Some are vast, like those surrounding shopping centers and stadiums, where simply finding your way in and out can be difficult. Some are lofty structures that hold multiple levels of cars, while others are crowded and cramped little areas where backing out of a space without hitting another car can be a task. The one characteristic that parking lots in California do have in common is that they are often full of confused or inattentive drivers. Drivers in parking lots are often looking for a parking space in the next lane or trying to find the way out [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2020-08-17T20:06:08-07:00January 27th, 2017|Car Accidents|Comments Off

Brain Injuries from Accidents are Not Always Obvious

Brain injuries from accidents are not always obvious and the symptoms are often subtle and often missed. Trauma to the skull can cause many different types of closed head injuries, such as contusion, concussion, coup-contrecoup, diffuse axonal, subdural hematoma, traumatic brain injury, and more. Unfortunately, many brain injuries happen entirely inside the head, leaving no outside sign. Just like a broken rib or arm sprain, no immediate outward indication is visible and therefore brain injuries from accidents are not always obvious. Brain Injuries from Accidents are Not Always Obvious So, just how common are brain injuries in auto collisions? This is a difficult question to answer [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2020-07-29T02:36:44-07:00January 25th, 2017|Brain Injury|Comments Off

Will Requiring Speed Limiting Devices on Trucks Make the Roads Safer?

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in conjunction with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposed a rule, on August 26, 2016, requiring all commercial vehicles with a weight limit of 26,000 pounds or greater, operating on U.S. roads and highways, be equipped with speed limiting devices. The intention is to reduce the risk of high speed accidents, avoiding thousands of fatalities, while improving fuel economy. The devices would limit the maximum speeds that the big rigs were capable of, reducing the frequency of high speed crashes while creating better fuel efficiency. The new rule would affect all trucks, buses and multi-purpose vehicles with [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2018-05-26T11:09:30-07:00January 23rd, 2017|Truck Accidents|Comments Off

What is a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury?

Every year, approximately 235,000 people suffer a traumatic brain injury or TBI, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Additionally, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates about 1.1 million to 1.5 million individuals suffer a traumatic brain injury, and are evaluated in emergency rooms, where about 75 percent are categorized as “mild.” Mild traumatic brain injuries are not life threatening, so the patient is discharged and released. But, exactly what is a mild traumatic brain injury? The National Center for Biotechnology Information defines mild TBI as, “result of the application of either external physical force or rapid [...]

By Vititoe Law Group|2020-07-20T16:55:49-07:00January 21st, 2017|Brain Injury|Comments Off

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