San Diego Personal Injury Law Blog

A pit bull dog attacked and killed a 59-year-old U.S. Postal Service letter carrier while she was delivering mail in Escondido, California. The attack occurred March 1, 2012. The letter carrier was transported to the hospital where, on March 8, 2012, she died. The identity of the deceased will not be disclosed herein, in deference to her family and friends.

According to news accounts, when rescuers reached the scene of the attack the letter carrier's speech was slurred and she became unresponsive. She was taken to Palomar Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with bite injuries and a brain hemorrhage. Several days later she died. The dog attack was listed by the medical examiner as a contributing condition.

In 2011, in San Diego County, there were 3 fatal pit bull attacks and numerous other attacks resulting in significant injury. In 2010 San Diego County ranked second in the nation for the most dog attacks on postal workers. There were 45 dog bite on carriers countywide.

The USPS reported that in 2010 Nationwide, 5,669 postal employees were attacked and bitten by dogs while working in the line of duty.

Postal workers carry pepper spray. Carriers are trained to protect themselves by using a technique known as "block and spray". The carrier uses their mail bag to block the animal while they reach for their pepper spray. This works sometimes but many attacks occur very rapidly, are without warning or are stealth attacks. The carrier never has a chance to protect themselves.

At the Law Offices of David P. Beeson, Attorneys David P. Beeson and John Zucconi have represented letter carriers, members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, USPS Letter Carriers and other Postal Employees in dog attack and dog bite cases. The USPS encourages its employees to hire private attorneys to pursue dog bite injury claims against dog owners and recover medical expenses, lost wages and personal pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one is hurt, or killed, due to a dog bite or dog attack, experienced legal representation can make all the difference. For over 34 years our attorneys at the Law Office of David P. Beeson have been helping victims of dog attacks. Experience counts. Visit our website at www.beeson4law.com or call us at 619-233-6078.

In Escondido, California a drunk driver lost control of his pickup truck and ran over and injured a man standing on his patio. The pickup then crashed through the family's patio doors and wall injuring the man's teenage daughter.

While the victim lay trapped under the truck the drunken driver was busy trying to escape. He revved the engine but fortunately the truck was stuck. When police arrived they discovered that the 23 year old drunk driver was on probation for, guess what,...drunk driving! Additionally, this accident occurred the day after the drunk's birthday.

The injured victim was transported to the hospital with severe injuries. He suffered a lacerated spleen, facial injuries, broken bones and ribs and almost lost his leg.

According to an article from the Centers for Disease Control, entitled "Vital Signs: Alcohol-Impaired Driving Among Adults - United States, 2010" Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 4, 2011, the average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before first arrest. This year, 10,839 people will die in drunk-driving crashes - one every 50 minutes.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Association reports every minute, one person is injured from an alcohol-related crash and one in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime. As with the drunk driver in Escondido 50 to 75% of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive on a suspended license.

The statistics are overwhelming. But for the victims, statistics don't help them pay hospital and doctor bills or put the pieces back together.

This accident occurred on Country Club Lane, at the bottom of a downhill curve. On July 4, 2003 this roadway was the site of a crash that took the lives of a father and his 14-year-old daughter. Area residents, have in the past complained to the City regarding the roadway as being dangerous and in need of stop signs or redesign. While nothing can excuse the actions of the drunk driver, if the City has knowledge of the dangerous condition of the roadway and has done nothing about that danger, the City should address the dangerous condition and help the victims of their indifference.

If you or a loved one are hurt, or killed, in a car accident or vehicle accident involving a drunk driver an experienced attorney can help. At the Law Offices of David P. Beeson we have been representing victims of car accidents, freeway crashes, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents and big-rig accidents for more than 33 years. Visit our website at www.beeson4law.com or call us at 619-233-6078. We are ready to help you.

Street racing with the resulting car accidents, injuries and sometimes death, occur regularly in San Diego. While street racing has long been glamorized by Hollywood, the darker side of injury and death often results in these speed contests. Recently an impromptu street race on I-15 in Escondido resulted in the death of a 22 year old man. The driver of the other vehicle involved left the scene.

The 22 year old man, driving a sports car, lost control and slammed into a light pole, skidded across the freeway, smashed into the center divider and ended up in the car pool lanes. As his vehicle broke apart a wheel became detached and struck a Toyota Camry. This all happened about 4:40 pm. That's correct; right in the middle of rush hour traffic! It is truly amazing that this street race did not result in more victims.

Other favorite areas for street racing include the Del Dios Highway from I-5 through Elfin Forest, Harmony Grove, Rancho Santa Fe and Lake Hodges. This roadway is popular with motorcyclists and sports car drivers. Unfortunately, all too often the thrill of drifting through a turn results in tragic consequences for all the victims of the vehicle accident.  

If you or a loved one are hurt, or killed, in a car accident or vehicle accident an experienced attorney can help. At the Law Offices of David P. Beeson we have been representing victims of car accidents, freeway crashes, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents and big-rig accidents for more than 33 years. Visit our website at www.beeson4law.com or call us at 619-233-6078. We are ready to help you.

Personal injury risks abound in schools.  In San Diego, Fall signals the return to school for many of our children.  Fall sport teams, such as high school and pee wee football, have begun practice. The young athletes begin training in the heat of the summer, sometimes in full pads and helmets. While some risks are inherent in sports, the leagues, athletic departments, coaches and trainers need to be aware of, and not subject our children to, unnecessary risk of injury from heat and heat stroke.

Further, the equipment that is to protect from personal injury can cause personal injury.  Recent months have seen widespread publicity about concussion and other traumatic head and neck injuries sustained by football players.  Senator Tom Udall has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate helmet safety.  In January, 2011 Senator Udall called out Riddell, a leading manufacturer of football helmets and supplier of the NFL, for misleading advertising.  Riddell claims that their new helmet reduces the risk of concussion by 31%.  Senator Udall states in his letter to the Federal Trade Commission that there is actually very little scientific evidence to support the claim. 

An article in the Wall Street Journal discussed this topic.  According to the article, "to become certified for sale, a football helmet has to earn a "severity index" score of 1200, according to testing done by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, or Nocsae. Dr. Robert Cantu, a Nocsae board member and chief of neurosurgery at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass., says that to prevent concussions, helmets would have to have a severity index of 300-about four times better than the standard. "The only way to make that happen, Dr. Cantu says, "is to make the helmet much bigger and the padding much bigger."

The problem with that approach, he says-other than making players look like Marvin the Martian-is that heavier helmets would be more likely to cause neck injuries."

The bottom line is even a perfectly made helmet won't prevent injury but the risk of brain injury and serious neck and spine injury is multiplied when there is a defect in the helmet or equipment.  If an injury has occurred it is imperative that the helmet and equipment be preserved and not modified in any way.  The only way to check for manufacturing defects is if the item is available to be analyzed. 

If you or someone you know have been injured in a sport related incident, contact the Law Offices of David P. Beeson at 619-233-6078.