San Diego Injury Accident Attorney Blog Spot
San Diego-based attorney Mark C. Blane keeps a blog on his website with regularly posted messages on a wide range of issues related to his practice and focus areas: major traumas like brain and spinal cord damage, insurance companies' practices, case settlements, court decisions and legal news, pedestrian and cyclists accidents, premises owners' and occupiers' responsibilities, dog bites, and unsafe products, etc. Request a regular feed on subjects of interest to you or visit us frequently to stay up to date.
Simply choose a practice area from the drop-down menu below to read news and information about accidents, injuries, and cases similar to yours. You will be kept informed on important legal developments in a wide-variety of injury cases and the law.
- Page 5
-
Lawyer Costs in a California Child Accident Case | San Diego Injury Law Firm San Diego Kid Injury Lawyer: The Attorney Costs in a California Child Injury are usually Apart and Separate from the Attorney Contingency Fee... -
Ca Child Injury Lawyer Mark C. Blane’s Legal Representation Process San Diego Kid Injury Law Firm: All injured child clients receive a free & private consultation with me directly by and through their parent(s) or legal guardian -
Special Statute of Limitations for Child Abuse in California | San Diego Generally speaking, any legal action for an injury to a minor child in California, either physical or mental, is tolled until the child’s eighteenth birthday. -
Death of a Fetus & Preconception Injuries in California | San Diego Child Injuries Many people have inquired about wrongful death actions for unborn fetuses in California. Each state in the United States varies on whether a person may bring... -
Allstate Insurance & MIST Cases | San Diego Car Accident & Injury Claims Allstate insurance came up with the MIST case designation which stands for "Minor Impact Soft Tissue" or "MIST" for short. The advent of MIST programs corresponded with the industry growth of bio-mechanical expert witnesses. At Allstate insurance, supervisors are trained how to "motivate the need for MIST specialists. -
Preparing the Plaintiff for the IME | San Diego Car Accident Law Firm Preparation for the IME is important in any injury case. Before the plaintiff (injured party) goes to the medical examination (the independent medical exam called by the defense), he or she should review the medical records as the defense medical doctor will take a detailed medial history, often from date of birth forward. -
Attending the IME Exam | What to Expect for your San Diego Car Accident One of the earlier California cases allowing an attorney-at-law to be present at an Independent Medical Exam (IME) called by the defense was Shariff v. Superior Court of City & County of San Francisco (1955). What is interesting from this case was the courts logic or rationale for why a representative would be needed in the exam: -
Defense Insurance Medical Exams for a San Diego Car Accident Injury When the insurance company, in the first party stance, demands an exam, the plaintiff (injured party) should generally cooperate and attend in the accordance with the contract of insurance. However, safeguards should be insisted upon to the full extent as reasonably possible. -
Auto Insurance Companies Known to Use Colossus for Accident Claims Colossus is a computer program that is the auto industry's leading computer system for assisting claims adjusters in the evaluation of bodily injury claims from accidents. It assists claims adjusters in interpreting value to medical reports and to look up definitions of injuries, treatments, complications and permanent impairments using AMA 4th Edition guidelines data. -
Business Owner's Failure to Inspect for Hazards | Slip & Fall in San Diego Cluttered aisles in a California retail store can be a major problem for the owner. I have been to some retail stores and noticed that merchandise tend to get picked up by customers and placed on the floor. One such store is the Ross Dress for Less stores. -
Sweep Logs | Establishing Notice of a Store Owner on a CA Slip & Fall Case The law in California has clearly established the business owner's duty to inspect, maintain and make safe the business premises; especially if any hazard or defect is found on the premises. This is to protect the public, patrons, or customers from any potential slip and fall accidents. -
Three Ingredients to a San Diego Slip and Fall Injury: Shoes, Floor & Person Whenever you are dealing with a California slip and fall injury accident, you always have the same three ingredients: the victim's shoes, the floor, and the person (slip and fall victim). The injured person needs to be able to narrow down the causes or issues of the accident in concise terms. -
Supermarket or Retail Store Duty in a San Diego Slip and Fall Case The supermarket or retail store has a duty to maintain its premises in a such a manner that it does not create an unreasonable risk of harm to the patrons or customers. It must, under California law, exercise ordinary due care under the circumstances of the slip and fall to minimize the commonly occurring slipping hazards (which caused the fall in the first place!). -
The Notice Element in a San Diego Slip and Fall Injury Case | What to Know The Notice evidentiary element is by far the most critical element in a San Diego slip and fall injury case that needs to be established as soon as possible in a case. Without the crucial notice evidence, there is very little hope of success for a slip and fall victim. -
Absence of a Hazard in a California Slip & Fall Injury Case | San Diego Firm On occasion, a California slip and fall accident and injury can occur when there is no obvious hazard; the floor is dry and clean, free of any dangerous debris. Usually, slip and fall victims of this type of injury fall allege the floor was so dangerous due to it being over polished and shiny. -
Control of the Premises in a Slip and Fall Injury Case | San Diego Injury Firm Since duty in a slip and fall negligence case attaches to the management of the property where the slip and fall occurred, an issue will arise as to the control of the premises. A landlord may have control over the common areas of an apartment complex, but not over the interior of individual dwelling units. In the same context, the tenant of an apartment building will not have control over the common areas of the apartment building. Thus, in the analysis of a San Diego slip and fall case, it is necessary to decide whether the at fault party had or should have had control over that portion of the premises where the slip and fall accident happened. That is the question of the entire injury case. -
Duty of Ordinary Care in a Slip and Fall Injury Case | San Diego Injury Law Firm Most jurisdictions require that the landowner use the level of care of an ordinarily prudent adult to prevent an unreasonable risk of harm. Under this legal rule, the custom and practice of industry is often used to establish ordinary care. As an example, abrasive admixtures added to exterior paint on walkway surfaces is ordinarily used in apartment complexes to reduce the risk of injury on wet walkway surfaces. -
Hazards & Debris on Floors & Sweep Logs | San Diego Slip & Fall Accidents FREE books by San Diego Slip and Fall Law Firm: The basis of California slip and fall law stems from proving a property owner breached a duty owed to the injured slip and fall victim. Injured parties used to be faced with frightful burden of proving both breach of duty and notice. Over time, the courts have eased the injured parties' burden in regards to this burden (rightfully so too in my opinion). A 1954 California case called Hale v. Safeway Stores held that frequent inspection of the sales areas in markets was necessary and that 12-15 minutes between inspections would not be unreasonable. -
The California Slip and Fall Victim | San Diego Trip and Fall Law Firm San Diego Slip and Fall Victim: The plaintiff's attorney for a California slip and fall victim must effectively present the victim of the slip and fall accident, who is quite frequently the only witness to the incident. (Interestingly, with the advent of technology, more and more of my clients are able to use their cell phone camera modes to video tape what happens after a slip and fall including witnesses). Remember, only the victim can best describe the conditions of the walkway surface and those events occurring immediately before the slip and fall accident. To succeed at a slip and fall trial, the credibility of the victim is extremely important. -
The Hazard that Causes a Slip and Fall | Causal Link | San Diego Injury Firm Identifying the Hazardous Condition: In most California slip and fall cases, some physical feature or condition is a major contributing factor in the injure party's fall. The hazard may be as simple as water on the floor of a supermarket or as complex as a subtle variation in the riser height of a step in a stairway. In each case, something caused the injured person to fall down.