After you’ve been involved in a California car accident, you must be able to prove negligence of the other party in order to have a valid California car accident claim. There are 5 elements of negligence that you and your San Diego car crash lawyer will have to prove to improve chances of obtaining compensation from your California car accident claim.

Five Elements of Negligence

The 5 elements of negligence are: 

• Duty: The court will decide if the defendant had a duty to act in a certain manner that could have prevented your California car accident. Obeying posted speed limits and using turn signals are examples of a defendant’s duty.
• Breach of Duty: If the defendant failed to abide by the duty owed to the plaintiff, the defendant could be held liable for a California car accident. For example, if your California car accident resulted because the defendant was speeding, this will serve as proof that the defendant breached his or her duty.
• Cause in Fact: This is essentially the legal cause of your accident. If the defendant was speeding and hit you because he or she was not able to brake in time to avoid a crash, cause in fact can be established.
• Proximate Cause: This is the sequence of events that led to your injury. Without proximate cause, you would not have injuries or a valid California car accident claim.
• Damages: The plaintiff must show documented physical injuries to recover damages. To help your California car accident claim, you should take pictures of your injuries and property damage and keep all medical appointments and receipts. 

When negligence can be proven, your chances of collecting compensation are still 50/50. After you’ve proven that the defendant caused your California car accident, it comes down to your percentage of fault in the car accident to determine the worth of your California car accident claim.

California distributes compensation for injuries based on its pure comparative negligence system. You’ll be compensated based on your total percentage of fault. Even if you’re 97% at fault, you’ll still be compensated for the 3% that you weren’t.

Contact a San Diego car crash lawyer to help protect your California car accident claim. A San Diego car crash lawyer is familiar with the process in filing a California car accident claim under California’s negligence laws and will work to fight for the compensation you deserve.

Help After a California Car Accident

When the unthinkable happens and you or a loved one is injured in a California car accident know that you don’t have to face this challenge alone. The San Diego car crash lawyer at the law offices of Keith J. Stone are here to provide all of the information you need about California injury law so you can make informed choices about your California car accident claim. We even offer a FREE auto accident guide for Southern California residents. If you’re looking for personalized care and attention at this vulnerable time, contact our offices today – 1-619-531-2022 or toll-free at 1-888-59-HELP-NOW.

The San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone serves the following areas in Southern California:

Typically the person who caused the harm walks away with no problems. Unfortunately, the victim may suffer traumatic spinal injury, brain injury, brain damage, wounds, amputation, multiple fractures, or severe burns. Attorney Keith J. stone has experience and the know how to assist you so you can receive the very best compensation for all the harm that you have suffered.

In the turmoil and anxiety that follows the accident or crash, try to keep a cool head in order to help yourself and you loved ones. San Diego serious accident attorney Keith J. Stone wants to help you right away! The following is a to-do checklist of information that should be collected as best possible to assist in your case. This checklist should be started as soon as possible, for every item in this list can seriously impact the end result of your case:

• Accident: document the location, accident scene and description, photos, police report, witnesses and contact data are all helpful- don’t forget the power of your cell phone, use your cell phone’s camera if necessary, document that other person, the scene and cooperation with the police officers

• Other party’s information: name, insurance company and policies, vehicle identification, driver’s license, address and contact data. Did you smell any alcohol on the other’s person’s breath? Did the other person make and admissions or apologies such as “I did not see you,” “I could not stop in time,” “I was on my cell phone”

• Medical expenses: if you paid for parking at your doctor’s office get a receipt. Under California law it provides that the person who caused your harm should reimburse you for all the harm that he or she causes. This includes doctor and hospital visits, prescriptions, medications, and other types or modalities of medical care. Do the best you can and keep track of your medical bills, your damages, and/or other items that include recovery for the harm that the other side has caused.

• Loss of income: keep track in term of your own records as to the amount of hours or days that you were not able to work due to your crash related injuries and/or damages. Please get written confirmation from your employer if necessary. Please ask your doctor should your case warrant providing you with a work release so you have adequate time to heal so your injuries or damages do not increase at work.

Attorney Keith J. Stone can assist you in obtaining the appropriate forms to establish your loss of income and/or future income.

• Loss of education: note of interrupted school time or training courses missed, or class due to your crash related injuries, not being able to study for tests, having to change careers due to life changing injuries.

• Pain and suffering: In California pain and suffering would also include your anxiety, duress, embarrassment, and other intangible elements of pain and loss of quality of life.

Attorney Keith J. Stone recommends that you keep a log or diary as to what you are going through in terms of these areas.

• Out of pocket expenses: please keep all receipts or expenses related to your accident. These can include property damages repairs, holiday bookings lost, car rental and taxi receipts, childcare and elder care receipts, co-pays and parking.

To ensure that your case is complete and all current and future expenses and suffering accounted for, San Diego attorney Keith J. Stone works with the best experts in the medical field including neurology, spinal surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery- and consults with other various health professionals regarding healing, rehabilitation, therapy, infections and psychological care.

Calculating the immediate and long term implications of a serious injury, and achieving the highest compensation in or out of court is the work of specialists, and the work of a passionate lawyer who puts people over profits. 

Call attorney Keith J. Stone now for a free discussion of your case or send him an email.

The San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone serves the following areas in Southern California:

From ladders to lifts to lawn-mowers, cranes to contraceptives, toys to tractors, products should be manufactured to be safe. Safe in the sense that consumer should not be exposed to products with design or manufacturing defects.  Surely some products can be dangerous, but they should not be defective.  Manufacturers owe it to consumers to provide sound products that will not cause bodily harm, severe injury, or death due to faulty manufacturing or design.

Unfortunately though, it does happen.  For example, as of March 2012 12,000 lawsuits have been brought against the manufacturers of Yasmin/Yaz contraceptives.  These contraceptives have been known to have severe side affects such as blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, and gallbladder related issues.  Cases where someone is harmed due to defective products are categorized as “Product Liability” cases.

According to Product Liability laws an individual can hold the manufacturer of a bad or faulty product responsible for injuries incurred hile using the product.  If found the product is unsafe due to a design or manufacturing problem, manufacturers can receive sever penalties and have to pay compensation to the plaintiff, the person bring the lawsuit against the manufacturer.

In some cases, Strict Liability can be cited as a claim for a Product Liability case.  Strict Liability operates under the assumption that the defendant, the person being sued, was aware of the fault or defect in a product before it reached the plaintiff.  Strict Liability is different from negligence because the plaintiff is relieved of the burden of proof (or the requirement to prove that any injuries were the direct result of a defendant’s negligence).

Strict Liability simply states when injuries or damages were sustained the defendant is responsible.  However, in order to claim Strict Liability a few things must be true:

1.  The defendant manufactured the faulty or bad product

2.  The product was defective upon purchase by the plaintiff

3.  The product was defective upon sale by the defendant

4.  The fault in the particular product was to blame for the plaintiff’s injury

A particular case involving Strict Liability occurred in the 1970’s involving the Ford Pinto automobile.  Feeling pressured to produce a new car to compete with Volkswagen in the small-car market, Ford rushed the production of the Pinto in a much shorter amount of time than they normally would have.  during the production engineers discovered that rear end collisions easily ruptured the Ford Pinto’s fuel system which could quickly ignite.  Rather than spend the $11 it would take on each car to implement a safer fuel system, which Ford owned patents on, ford continued with the production of the dangerous Pintos.  Estimates indicate that around 500 deaths have occurred due to Ford’s faulty fuel system, and countless more injuries.

In the case of the Ford Pintos Strict Liability applied because:

1.  Ford, the defendant, manufactured the defective automobile

2.  The Pinto was defective when purchased by the plaintiff, or the consumer

3.  The Pinto was defective when sold by Ford

4.  The fault in the Pinto’s fuel system that caused the automobile to easily catch fire when arear end collision occurred was the reason for the consumer’s injuries.

On another note, manufacturers can be exempt from liability in such cases that the product was unsafe, but the consumer knew about it.  The danger of the product must have been common knowledge to the public before the consumer used it, however.

In any case, it is valuable to read up on and become familiar with Product Liability and Strict Liability if you or a loved one has been the victim of a faulty or defective product.  If you or someone you know has been injured because of a bad product, contact the Law Offices of Keith J. Stone.  Keith Stone and his team have handled many Product Liability cases and can offer valuable experience that can help your case.  they will work tot he best of their abilities to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.

San Diego, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura Counties including the cities of:

San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, Glendale, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Oxnard, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Rancho Cucamonga, Santa Clarita, Garden Grove, Ontario, Pomona, Palmdale, Pasadena, Corona, Torrance, Escondido, Lancaster, Orange, Fullerton, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, El Monte, Inglewood, Costa Mesa, Downey, West Covina, Victorville, San Buenaventura (Ventura), Norwalk, Burbank, Carlsbad, Temecula, South Gate, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, Rialto, Compton, El Cajon, Carson, Vista, Westminster, Santa Maria, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Hawthorne, Alhambra, Hesperia, Whittier, Newport Beach, Chino, San Marcos, Buena Park, Lakewood, Indio, Baldwin Park, Chino Hills, Blythe

Keith J. Stone also handles cases originating elsewhere in California and across the USA.

On July 30 around 2:30 p.m. a car crash on Interstate 805 killed 1 child and left two other children and one adult hospitalized.  The collison involved a pickup truck and a minivan according to authorities.  Due to extensive damage, the roof of the minivan had to be removed by San Diego fire crews to extract the victims.  The child unfortunately died at the scene.

It’s a tragedy any time a child dies.  The death of a child is undoubtedly one of the absolute most horrendous moments in a parent’s life.

In the event that an accident occurred in which the child died and somebody else was at fault, then it is considered a “wrongful death” cases.

In “wrongful death” cases involving minors (those under the age of 18) parents or legal guardians can sue the party at fault for  damages.

What are damages to the parents?

Damages attempt to measure, in financial terms, the extent or harm a plaintiff (the person bringing suit) has suffered because of the defendant’s (the person being sued) actions.  Damages are usually directly awarded to somebody injured as a result of another person.  However, in the case of a wrongful death of a child, damages go to the parents.  If there are no parents, siblings or grandparents may be eligible.

Damages can be assessed for parents’ loss of love, companionship, affection, comfort, solace, moral support, and protection that the child could have been expected to give throughout the parent’s expected life.  Parents do not receive damages for grief, sorrow, or the deceased’s pre death pain and suffering.  Damages vary from case to case depending on such factors as a child’s age, disposition to be kindly and affectionate, and wether there are other children in the family etc.

How do you assign a dollar figure for the loss of a living, breathing, mischievous, laughing, playful, and joyful young child?  These cases are difficult on all fronts.  If you, a friend, or a family member has suffered such a loss please feel free to contact Keith J. Stone for support and advice.

San Diego, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura Counties including the cities of:

San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, Glendale, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Oxnard, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Rancho Cucamonga, Santa Clarita, Garden Grove, Ontario, Pomona, Palmdale, Pasadena, Corona, Torrance, Escondido, Lancaster, Orange, Fullerton, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, El Monte, Inglewood, Costa Mesa, Downey, West Covina, Victorville, San Buenaventura (Ventura), Norwalk, Burbank, Carlsbad, Temecula, South Gate, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, Rialto, Compton, El Cajon, Carson, Vista, Westminster, Santa Maria, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Hawthorne, Alhambra, Hesperia, Whittier, Newport Beach, Chino, San Marcos, Buena Park, Lakewood, Indio, Baldwin Park, Chino Hills, Blythe

Keith J. Stone also handles cases originating elsewhere in California and across the USA.

What happens if you, a loved one, or anyone you know is out for a stroll and a dog in Southern California bites all of the sudden? Typically the dog was not provoked and there was no warning to anyone’s knowledge that this animal would attack you.

Dog bites occur more often than one would think. If you do sustain injuries, you may have to deal with doctors, emergency rooms, animal control, plastic surgeons, land and/or homeowners, landlords, and/or other people. For these reasons, you may wish to consult with an attorney who has experience in dealing with dog bites.

Scared by dangerous dogs? Keith J. Stone’s FREE new book “It Bit Me!” explains how dog attacks happen and how to make sure the owners are accountable for the actions of their animals. Order this informative free book now.

Keith J. Stone has been an attorney since 1986. He has experience in dealing with dog attacks.

Let attorney Keith J. Stone interact with your healthcare providers, and your mounting medical bills. Keith J. Stone has insight on how to deal with the insurance companies in terms of documenting your claim and/or obtaining money/reimbursement from the dog the owner should this arise.

Elements helpful in dealing with dog attacks include such things as:

• Identifying the dog (male or female and breed);

• Taking pictures of the dog, scenes of attack and injury or wound;

• Documenting the injury by contacting the appropriate authorities such as the police, sheriff, animal control and ambulance;

• Obtaining the dog’s prior record and vaccination history; and

• Identifying the responsible party such as owner, landlord or third party

Did you know:

• That chained dogs are 2.8 time more likely to bite than unchained dogs;

• Younger dogs (less than 6 years) typically bite more often than older dogs; and

• Boys are more bitten than girls and younger children under age 10 are bitten the most.

Injuries that result from a dog bite include: lacerations, punctures, contusions, avulsions, crushes, fractures and various types of infections depending on the type of care.

Keith J. Stone has insight on the necessary medical issues and can refer you out to appropriate specialists if need be.

Let attorney Keith J. Stone help you deal with physical and emotional scars of the dog attack.

San Diego based attorney Keith J. Stone has successfully obtained fair settlements for others just like you who have been hurt when a dog attacked. Call our office now at 619-531-2022 for a FREE evaluation of your case. Feel free to use our online contact form to send us questions.

¿Habla usted español? Tenemos una ofician bilingüe y ¡lo podemos ayudar!

The San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone serves the following areas in Southern California:

When your child suffers a dog bite attack in San Diego, California it causes your family physical, emotional, and financial pain. A San Diego dog bite lawyer can help you seek a fair settlement through a personal injury claim to compensate for these damages.

Steps to Take after a Dog Bite Attack in San Diego, California

Once your child’s injuries have been addressed, they are safe, and recovering, it’s time to assess the damages. Make sure that your child’s medical needs are met, especially concerning tetanus shots and a rabies analysis.

By filing a personal injury claim you can seek compensation not only for the current medical bills but also emotional and financial damages you and your family have suffered, both current and future. To have the best chance at providing the evidence to prove your child’s personal injury claim you should preserve everything you can from the attack incident.

Try to collect evidence of the attack such as: 

• torn or bloody clothing the child wore during the attack;
• photographs of the accident scene;
• photographs of your child’s injury;
• contact information for any witnesses;
• contact information of the dog’s owner;
• the dog’s name and breed; and
• a police report, if available.

The more evidence you have of your child’s dog bite attack in San Diego, California, the better chances you have of obtaining a fair settlement for your child’s injuries and family’s suffering.

Proving a Dog Bite Attack and Injury Claim

When you file a personal injury claim for your child with the help of a San Diego dog bite lawyer they will be working to prove that the dog’s owner was negligent in keeping their animal secured. To have a valid personal injury claim the owner must have been negligent in restraining their dog.
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Another way that a dog owner can be considered negligent is if the dog is an aggressive breed or has been trained to be aggressive. If your dog bite attack occurred with a dog with a prior history of aggression and the owner failed to post notice on the property, you can most likely prove additional liability, otherwise known as strict liability.

After a dog bite attack injury claim is filed you may be hearing from the owner’s insurance company. Remember to consult with your San Diego dog bite lawyer about how to deal with insurance adjusters to avoid damaging your claim. If a settlement is offered, review it with your lawyer to make sure it adequately compensates your family for the financial and emotional damages you have incurred.

Help After a Dog Bite Attack in San Diego, California

When the unthinkable happens and you or a loved one is injured in a dog bite attack in San Diego, California know that you don’t have to face this challenge alone. The San Diego dog bite lawyer team at the law offices of Keith J. Stone is here to provide all of the information you need about California dog bite laws so you can make informed choices about your dog bite claim.

If you’re looking for personalized care and attention at this vulnerable time, contact our offices today – 619-531-2022 or toll free at 888-59-HELP-NOW.

The San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone serves the following areas in Southern California:

California has very specific laws regarding Dog Bites, and if you are the victim of a dog attack the San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone is here to help you win a settlement for your injury. California is one of the states that have a dog bite statute, meaning a law that repudiates in whole or part the common law’s requirement of “scienter” (i.e., knowledge that the animal had previously injured a person in the same manner, such as by a bite). In gist, with few exceptions, the owner of a dog that bites another person is “Strictly Liable” for the injuries under the following civil codes:

California Civil Code §3342 Dictates Liability for Dog Bites
(a) The owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness. A person is lawfully upon the private property of such owner within the meaning of this section when he is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this State or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when he is on such property upon the invitation, express or implied, of the owner.

(b) Nothing in this section shall authorize the bringing of an action pursuant to subdivision (a) against any governmental agency using a dog in military or police work if the bite or bites occurred while the dog was defending itself from an annoying, harassing, or provoking act, or assisting an employee of the agency in any of the following:
1.    In the apprehension or holding of a suspect where the employee has a reasonable suspicion of the suspect’s involvement in criminal activity.
2.    In the investigation of a crime or possible crime.
3.    In the execution of a warrant.
4.    In the defense of a peace officer or another person.
(c) Subdivision (b) shall not apply in any case where the victim of the bite or bites was not a party to, nor a participant in, nor suspected to be a party to or a participant in, the act or acts that prompted the use of the dog in the military or police work.

(d) Subdivision (b) shall apply only where a governmental agency using a dog in military or police work has adopted a written policy on the necessary and appropriate use of a dog for the police or military work enumerated in subdivision (b). [1953 ch. 37, 1988 ch. 298.]

The San Diego-based Office of attorney Keith J. Stone serves the following areas in Southern California:

Bob Barker from the “Price is Right” once said, “a person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life.” While Bob is certainly entitled to his own opinion about dogs, a victim of an unprovoked dog attack will definitively have a different perspective towards dogs. An attack by a dog can change the way a victim feels about dogs forever.

Although dogs have been living with human beings for centuries, most of that time as domesticated pets, anyone who has seen a dog chase a cat can attest that they haven’t lost their predatory instincts. When those instincts drive them to bite or maim the result can be devastating because dogs have strong jaws and sharp teeth. They can literally tear human flesh causing massive loss of blood and skin, broken bones, nerve damage, organ damage, infections after the fact, and can kill or gravely injure the victim of the attack.

According to the 2010 – 2011 National Pet Owners survey conducted by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA), there are approximately 78 million dogs that live in 43 million households across the USA. However for every 40 seconds that passes by, someone in the United States seeks medical attention for a dog bite. Annually, there are 800,000 bites that are serious enough to warrant medical treatment; most of the victims are children, and most of them are bitten on the face. Getting bitten by a dog is the fifth most frequent cause of visits to the ER.

Often a dog bite injury leaves the victim physically scarred around the face and neck, necessitating multiple dermatological treatments or surgeries to resume a normal appearance. The victim of a dog bite may even need years of follow-up treatment to fully recover emotionally, especially for child victims, requiring therapy or special accommodations to resume normal activity without fear.

As a personal injury lawyer, one becomes familiar with the commonality that dog bites represent. The unfortunate occurrence is that they happen frequently. Statistics from the federal Department of Health and Human Services reveal that dog attacks on average: kill 17 people every year, hospitalize 6,000 others, and send a total of 386,000 to emergency rooms for serious injuries.

Enough of the stats! If you, a friend, or loved one is bit by a dog, get medical attention right away (if serious), or apply first aid to prevent infection. Call the authorities such as the police or animal control, ID the dog & the dog owner, and above all cooperate with the authorities.

If possible take pictures (remember the power of your cell phone) of the dog and where he lives. Take pictures of the wounds and the bites. If “enough is enough,” then contact an attorney in your area that has experience in the technical nuances of dog bite litigation.