Hit and Run Driver Still Sought

Pulling over and assisting a pedestrian or another motorist after an accident is a far better choice than fleeing the scene and leaving the injured person by himself. These hit-and-run drivers will surely face heavier punishment for leaving the scene of an accident as compared to what he will be charged with had he stopped to look after another person’s well-being.

A 13-year-old boy on his way to school recently lost consciousness after being hit and injured by a parked vehicle from the opposite lane when it suddenly made a sudden U-turn and hit him. The boy was reportedly riding his bike along the northbound lanes of Music Avenue at around 7:30 in the morning when the accident occurred.

The boy sustained facial cuts and injuries to his arms and hand. He told authorities that the vehicle that hit him was a small, gray, late-modeled sedan. Authorities are yet to apprehend the driver.

The Clovis Police Department has appealed for witnesses to come out and contact them so that the driver who left the unconscious boy on the street will be punished.

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Truck Accident Kills Motorcyclist in Mt Baldy Road

A truck accident in Mt. Baldy has claimed the life of one motorcyclist last weekend.

The victim was identified by the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office as Jason Stark, 32, of Alhambra.

According to CHP, a Claremont man driving a 1995 Dodge Ram was making a U turn near the mile post marker 3:30 on Mt Baldy Road when he drove directly on the path of the 1999 Ducati that Stark was driving.

Stark tried to stop but he was unable to avoid crashing into the truck.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The Dodge Ram driver told investigators that he did not see Stark approaching when he initiated the U-turn.

Although it is not clear who the liable party is, the family of Stark can file a wrongful death claim against the Dodge Ram driver.

Like what I said in previous blogs, California is a comparative negligence state so even if Stark has some fault in the accident, he may still collect damages.

But of course the level of his liability will be computed and that percentage will be subtracted from the total amount that the family will receive from the claim.

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White Cop Wins Racial Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit against Latino Supervisor

We usually hear about the abusive White man in the workplace, and many discriminatory lawsuits are usually directed to “White” supervisors, managers and employers.

But this time, the victim who won a racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit is a white cop who claimed that he was discriminated upon by his Latino supervisor.

Officer Paul Waymire was awarded $125,000 for the pain and suffering brought by the actions of his supervisor.

According to the lawsuit, His Latino supervisor treated him differently because he is white and when he filed a discrimination complaint, he was denied promotion even though he is more qualified.

He was actually presented the state’s Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 for rescuing a 22-year-old man from a burning car.

With racial discrimination, it does not matter if you are White, Black, Latino or Asian.

And it does not matter if you are in the minority or not, everyone can be a victim.

That is why it is important to know your rights in the workplace so that you can avoid being a victim.

Under Article VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1984, it is unlawful for employers and people of authority to discriminate against a person on the basis not only of race or color but also his religion, gender and national origin.

By knowing your rights, you would know if you are being abused and you can take appropriate actions.

So if you think you’re a victim of discrimination, contact an employment law attorney for advice.

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White Cop Wins Racial Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit against Latino Supervisor

We usually hear about the abusive White man in the workplace, and many discriminatory lawsuits are usually directed to “White” supervisors, managers and employers.

But this time, the victim who won a racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit is a white cop who claimed that he was discriminated upon by his Latino supervisor.

Officer Paul Waymire was awarded $125,000 for the pain and suffering brought by the actions of his supervisor.

According to the lawsuit, His Latino supervisor treated him differently because he is white and when he filed a discrimination complaint, he was denied promotion even though he is more qualified.

He was actually presented the state’s Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 for rescuing a 22-year-old man from a burning car.

With racial discrimination, it does not matter if you are White, Black, Latino or Asian.

And it does not matter if you are in the minority or not, everyone can be a victim.

That is why it is important to know your rights in the workplace so that you can avoid being a victim.

Under Article VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1984, it is unlawful for employers and people of authority to discriminate against a person on the basis not only of race or color but also his religion, gender and national origin.

By knowing your rights, you would know if you are being abused and you can take appropriate actions.

So if you think you’re a victim of discrimination, contact an employment law attorney for advice.

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Woman Came Forward in Carlsbad Hit-and-Run Accident case

A woman came forward and claimed that she may have been the one who struck and killed a teenager last week on el Camino Road and Cassia Road.

The San Diego Police impounded her car but it is not clear yet if any criminal charge will be filed against the unidentified woman.

According to police, the woman came forward after hearing the news about the hit-and-run accident that killed 18-year-old Steven Kelly.

Kelly was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital after being struck by a car while crossing the road.

The woman said that she suspected that she may have hit something on the road at that time but did not see anything.

Under the law, motorists are required to stop after a vehicle accident.

If the woman has suspected that she had hit something, she should have stopped her vehicle and proceeded to check if she did hit something or someone.

If she found that she indeed hit a person, she could have provided necessary assistance or could have arranged that Kelly be brought to a hospital sooner.

Who knows, it could have saved his life.

That is why she will probably be prosecuted for leaving the pedestrian accident scene.

Will she also be charged for manslaughter? That I do not know.

But the family of Kelly can file a wrongful death case against her if it turns out that she is the one who hit Kelly.

Although it will not bring Steven back, the recovered amount is deserved by the family for what they lost.

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2 Killed and 5 Injured in 605 Freeway Multi-Vehicle Crash

At least two people were killed in a multi-vehicle accident in Cerritos last night.

According to CHP, the car accident occurred on the northbound San Gabriel River 605 freeway shortly before 7pm.

Aside from the two fatalities, 5 more people were brought to a nearby hospital for injuries with four in critical condition.

Authorities are still investigating the circumstances which led to the crash.

Finding the liable party in a multi-vehicle crash can be daunting; finding out who struck who first is always a challenge because of the large number of vehicles involved.

Although it is difficult, it is not impossible.

The victims and their families are advised to hire the services of a good personal injury and wrongful death attorney.

They can help the victims gather evidence that will show who the liable party in the accident is and to whom should they file their personal injury or wrongful death claim against.

Even if the victim has some fault in the accident, he or she may still file a claim as California is a comparative negligence state.

However, the recovered damages will also be reduced proportionate to the victim’s level of liability.

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Price is Right Sued for Pregnancy Discrimination

A discrimination lawsuit has been filed against Price is Right by one of their former models. Brandi Cochran claims that the show was cruel to staffers becoming pregnant and she herself was victimized.

According to Cochran, she became pregnant in 2007 but did not tell anyone because of her fear of being terminated.She claims that because of the stress, she had a miscarriage.She also said that the response of the producer after being informed about the miscarriage is that it is “nature’s way of getting rid of the baby.”

She also claims in the lawsuit that in 2008, the producers did not take it well when she informed them that she was pregnant again.She alleges that the producer said “wide load coming through” when she passed by.

Cochran said in her lawsuit that she went on disability because of complications from her pregnancy and she was eventually squeezed out of the job on February 23.

Bob Barker and his former show “The Price is Right!!” (now hosted by Drew Carrey) are no strangers to discrimination and harassment lawsuits.

Just last September, the court tossed the infamous race discrimination lawsuit filed by Deborah Curling, who alleged that the show fostered a hostile working environment against black employees and contestants.

They are currently appealing the case.

In the case of Cohran, although the law protects employees from disctimination based on pregnancy, childbirth and any related conditions, it is till difficult to prove if it did exist.

For example, some discriminatory comments may come off as just friendly banter that was misinterpreted once presented to the court.

The burden of proof will fall on Cochran and as shown with the case of Curling, Price is Right has a very good legal team.

I hope that she has more compelling evidence to support her case.

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Anthem Blue Cross Sued For Breach of Contract over Out-of-State Liver Transplant

Insurance companies are not your friend.

That is the first thing you should learn when dealing with insurance adjusters.

Sure they will try to be friendly with you at first but you should remember that when doing their job, their primary duty is to make money for their company.

I’m not saying that they are bad people; I’m just saying that they are doing their jobs.

Take this latest lawsuit against Anthem Blue Cross.

Ephram Nehme claims that Anthem Blue Cross committed a breach-of-contract for not paying about $205,000 of medical costs related to the out-of-state liver transplant he undergone.

However, Blue Cross denied any wrongdoing since the operation was done outside the coverage territory of the company.

The real battleground lies in proving whether Nehme would have died if he waited to have his surgery in UCLA.

Nehme claims that is the case while Blue Cross believes that there are not enough evidence to support that.

The trial is still ongoing and who knows how the jury will decide.

Many people, including me, would of course sympathize with Nehme.

Morally, we all believe that it is the insurance company’s duty to cover those expenses.

However, insurance companies are private companies who, of course are looking to make profit.

Less claims covered also means greater profit.

And Insurance companies have denied coverage to cases with fewer reasons than this one.

And they actually have valid legal arguments to support their defense.

Most insurance policies state the terms of their coverage explicitly.

Hopefully, Nehme will win, but I will not be surprised if he doesn’t.

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