Many of us have heard the term “contingent-fee lawyer”. You can find contingency fee attorneys in almost every neighborhood in California.  But what exactly is a Contingency Fee? WHAT IS A CONTINGENCY FEE? A contingency fee is a type of fee that lawyers can charge instead of an hourly rate. Your lawyer agrees to represent the client (you) on a “no win, no fee” basis in this arrangement. If the case is not successful, your lawyer does not get paid. However, if your case is successful, your lawyer will receive a percentage of the award or settlement as their fee. This type of arrangement can benefit [...]

You’re already taking plenty of precautions to protect yourself and others against COVID-19, and you should be able to trust others to do the same. As businesses in California continue to re-open their doors to customers, they have a responsibility to protect consumers from the dangers presented by the coronavirus. Premises liability laws require property owners to take reasonable precautions to protect visitors from harm. If you contract COVID-19 and believe it to be due to the negligence of a property owner, you may be able to make a claim. Let’s take a look at what you need to know about California’s premises liability laws during [...]

While delayed in traffic in a popular business district, a young man passed me on the shoulder of the road, standing hands free on a single wheel vehicle. At first I was intrigued because it was my first time seeing one on these motorized unicycles in action. My second thought was that of concern for the safety of the helmetless rider. What if someone suddenly turns right into one of the many retail store driveways unaware of the electric unicycle? How does the rider stop or swerve to avoid a crash that would surely not fare well for him? This event led me to question the [...]

Any workplace injury is serious and both the injured worker, as well as the employer, needs to take immediate action. Whether it is a serious accident on a construction site or plant floor, a traffic accident during a delivery, or a slip and fall on the office floor, following established company protocol can significantly reduce an employer’s liability. The same protocol should be followed even if the employee incident is due to a preexisting condition such as a fainting spell or seizure. Workers Safety Expectations Employers have a duty of care, under the health and safety laws, to provide employees with a safe workplace. A series [...]

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics news release posted in December 2017, workplace deaths rose by 7% in 2016 to a record 5,190. “This is the third consecutive increase in annual workplace fatalities and the first time more than 5000 fatalities have been recorded by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries since 2008. The fatal injury rate increased to 3.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers from 3.4 in 2015, the highest rate since 2010.” The BLS news release also revealed the following findings: Transportation related work incidents still accounted for the highest percentage of deaths at 40%. That number includes 632 truck drivers, 116 farmers [...]

Follow the Rules and Use Common Sense More than 100 bicyclists are killed in California each year and over 100,000 are injured in collisions. These injuries are commonly the result of the bicyclist or drivers bad judgment, lack of skill or attention, or failure to obey traffic laws.  Although bicyclists and motorists share the same rights and responsibilities, and are subject to the same rules and regulations, bicyclists for the sake of their own safety and the safety of others, must pay especially close attention to traffic signs, signals and crosswalks and follow all the rules of the road. These rules are available to all bicyclists [...]

Berkeley Redevelopers, a New Jersey construction company, has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the estate of Raymond Crosby, an equipment mechanic, crushed to death during the demolition of a former Woolworth store. The construction company failed to obtain a building evaluation by a demolition engineer to properly tear down the building the suit alleged. The construction death resulted when Crosby, an employee of Edgewood Properties, was cutting notches into a steel support beam, at the Beachwood Shopping Center in Berkeley Township, when the roof fell on top of him. Crosby had no prior experience with demolitions. He was sent to the site to repair a [...]

An electrical explosion at the Fremont California Tesla plant caused severe burns and suffering, according to a workplace injury lawsuit filed by Son Nguyen, the injured factory worker. The suit alleges that the company was focused primarily on increasing productivity rather than employee safety. Mr. Nguyen was a contractor at the plant on June 5, 2017, when an arc flash explosion thrust him 15 to 20 feet back, engulfing him in flames. He claims that the company refused to shut power to the equipment he was working on, because they did not want halt production for even a brief period. Nguyen says he is in constant [...]

Electric Power -- when it fails we realize how much we take it for granted. It is a modern convenience that we expect as part of our everyday life. Throw a switch or push in a plug and power is there when we need it. Although it is relatively safe in its contained state, the transmission and storage of electricity can be extremely dangerous. In the U.S., an average of 400 people die from electrocution annually and an additional 4400 are injured. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), electrocution is the second leading cause of death in the construction industry, exceeded only by [...]