According to the Modesto Bee, two men have died as the result of a scuba diving accident at a Tuolumne County mine. Four men were diving at the old Jamestown Mine when two of them disappeared under the water. Although they were able to bring one of them to the surface, he subsequently died as the result of his injuries. The body of the other man has not yet been recovered.

Whenever tragic accidents occur, several questions of fault are raised. It is important to speak to an experiencedCalifornia personal injury attorney to determine your next steps.

Here, it is unknown why the men were scuba diving at the mine. The circumstances surrounding that decision are important. Further, it is unknown whether appropriate restrictions and warnings were in place surrounding the gold mine and whether the county allowed an unreasonably dangerous condition to exist on its property. Answering these questions is crucial to maintaining a lawsuit.

When accidents happen, an experienced California personal injury lawyer understands the issues involved and will conduct a thorough investigation into all the factors at play and determine the best steps for obtaining compensation in your matter.

For more information, or if you or a loved one has been harmed in a California accident, please contact the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette, dedicated to helping those injured by the carelessness or recklessness of others.

The California state Assembly has voted in favor of the nation’s first rental car recall bill which requires rental car companies to remove recalled vehicles from the road.

The bill would close a loophole that allows rental car companies to continue using recalled vehicles, unlike auto dealers who are not allowed to sell or lease cars that have been recalled. Assemblyman Bill Morning, D-Monterey, stated “Consumers need to know that when they rent these cars, that these cars are safe.”

If you have been injured in a car accident where a faulty car part may be to blame, it is essential to contact an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer at once to protect your rights and begin an investigation. In any car accident, several factors may contribute to the harm, leading to multiple claims. Not only is driver error an issue, but if a defective auto part is at fault, the manufacturer or distributor may be found liable in a product liability or negligence lawsuit.

The bill was written after the death of two California women who died when the steering failed on a Chrysler PT Cruiser they had rented from Enterprise Rental Car in central California. The car caught fire after colliding with a truck. Although the rental car company had received notice of a PT Cruiser recall, it continued to lease the vehicles.

Last year, a jury awarded the girls parents $15 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. Sponsors of the bill hope to prevent further tragic accidents.

For more information, or if you have been injured in any motor vehicle accident, please contact the experiencedStockton car accident lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette.

According to Recordnet.com, a collision between a bicyclist and a motorcycle in Lodi ended tragically after a bicyclist attempted to cross the road and was hit by a motorcyclist.

The motorcycle was unable to maneuver quickly enough to avoid the accident. Tragically, the bicyclist died from his injuries and the motorcyclist sustained critical injuries.

With the increasing popularity of bicycles as a mode of transportation, we all need to increase our awareness of each other on the road. Further, while it is unknown the exact circumstances surrounding this accident, it serves as a important and frightening reminder to all motorists and bicyclists to follow some basic safety tips to help keep California roadways safe.

These tips include:

For all drivers – motorcyclists, car drivers, truck drivers and bicyclists – avoid distracted driving. Texting while driving is illegal in California and has been shown to increase the risk of accidents and death significantly.

Further, whatever your mode of transportation, follow safety precautions. Whether this means wearing a helming, wearing bright clothing or following the rules of the road, taking simple actions can save your life and prevent injury.

Finally, use common sense and be aware of your surroundings. Taking time to anticipate another’s movements can often avoid an accident completely.

Unfortunately, even with precautions and safety measures accidents do happen. Hopefully though, by working together we can improve the safety of California roadways.

For more information, or if you or a loved one has been injured in a California accident, please contact the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette, a California attorney dedicated to helping those injured for more than 15 years.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a Stockton nursing home was fined $100,000 after a resident died. An investigation into Creekside Care Center found that inadequate care led to the death of a woman.

The investigation conducted by the California Department of Public Health found that staff at the nursing home failed to adequately treat an elderly wheel chair bound patient who mysteriously suffered a left thighbone break. The woman subsequently suffered cardio-distress and died in the emergency room.

If you have a loved one in a nursing home, and believe that they are not being treated properly, a Stockton personal injury lawyer may be able to help.

When we place our elders in nursing homes, it is often because they cannot care for themselves. We expect that they will be cared for by the nursing home staff. When staff fails to adequately care for patients – such as treating illness and injuries – or neglects or abuses patients, it is considered a form of medical negligence.

Here, the state investigation concluded that the center did not provide an adequate level of care and fined the home.

For more information, or if you believe a family member has been mistreated at a nursing home, contact the Stockton nursing home negligence lawyers at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette.

Earlier this week, Toyota Motor Corporation and the survivors of the late CHP Officer Mark Saylor reach a confidential settlement in the California wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the tragic crash that claimed the life of Saylor, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law. The accident drew national attention to the issue of sudden acceleration and prompted Toyota to recall millions of vehicles due to defective parts.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed around the country as a result of the problems experienced with Toyota vehicles. In addition to personal injury and wrongful death claims, many lawsuits allege consumer issues based on the vehicles depreciated value.

In many cases involving car accidents that occur as the result of defective parts, more than one party may be at fault. In the accelerator defect cases, injured parties have asserted claims against both the manufacturer and various dealerships.

Although a settlement was reached with Toyota, the company has not publicly admitted fault. Further, the lawsuit will continue against Bob Baker Lexus, the dealership that installed an ill-fitting mat that may have contributed to the injury.

Despite the settlement of this case, thousands of lawsuits are pending in courthouses throughout the country. Further, questions still remain for Toyota such as when were they first aware of the potential for sudden acceleration and whether they acted quickly enough to warn of the unreasonably dangerous condition created by the defect.

As a California personal injury attorney concerned about safety, I believe that negligent car manufacturers and distributors must be held accountable for their actions in placing cars with dangerous and defective parts on California roadways. Hopefully, paying substantial verdicts and settlements will serve as a deterrent to future companies who place profits over safety.

For more information, or if you have been in an auto accident either as the result of a defective car part or otherwise, please contact the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette, dedicated to helping the injured throughout California.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the families of two 20-year-old patients who died last year from prescription drug overdoses have filed separate wrongful death lawsuitsagainst a doctor accused of illegally prescribing painkillers. The medical malpractice lawsuits allege that Dr. Lisa Tseng prescribed powerful and addictive drugs to patients who later died from the medication. Tseng has been linked to ten drug deaths.

Ryan Winter of Aliso Viejo died five days after his last prescription in July 2010 and Riley Russo of Laguna Niguel died in December.

According to the lawsuits, Dr. Tseng prescribed Opana, a powerful narcotic, and Xanax to the patients with little examination or reason. She also failed to obtain a proper medical history or refer the patients to specialists. The lawsuits further allege that Tseng has earned a reputation for her willingness to prescribe narcotics knowing they will be used for recreational purposes.

Under California law – the Drug Dealer Liability Act – families may file a lawsuit against anyone in the chain of improperly obtained drugs. The lawsuit also alleges medical negligence and intentional and negligent misrepresentation.

In addition to the families’ lawsuits, Tseng is also being accused of gross negligence by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. Undercover investigators have determined that Tseng routinely prescribed large amounts of powerful drugs such as Percocet, Opana and codeine without proper examination.

If you have any questions concerning medical care and believe that a loved one has received a prescription in error – either for recreational use or as the result of medical malpractice – consult with a California medical malpractice attorney immediately. For more information, please contact the dedicated Stockton wrongful death lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for a confidential consultation.

Nearly a year after the deadly off-road accident in California’s Mojave Desert, questions concerning fault and just what went wrong that fatal evening remain. Brett Sloppy – a driver of a truck that ran into the crowd of spectators killing eight – believes that the incident was an accident.

According to KCBS, Sloppy notes that the steering wheel of his truck was “ripped out of his hands” after it jumped a stretch of the track known as the “rockpile.” He attributes this to an accident. Eight people died and dozens of others were injured after the truck slammed into the crowd and landed on its roof.

Questions have been raised concerning numerous different factors such as were the spectators allowed to get too close to the race? Did spectators disregard warnings? Did the U.S. Bureau of Land Management take the necessary precautions? Did race promoters follow proper protocol?

Here, several avenues of fault may exist. First, an internal investigation has shown that the Bureau of Land Management did not adequately monitor the race and failed to follow all the necessary procedures. Further, only one ranger was on patrol. Spectators crowded the course.

As Sloppy notes, “That was… the worst sight in my life and I never want to see that again.” Whenever any tragedy occurs, it is important to uncover the reasons behind an accident and do what is possible to prevent a similar incident from recurring.

Hopefully with all the attention garnered from this event, safety measures will be put in place to avoid future accidents.

Sloppy notes, “I didn’t want to hide, I wanted to get out and say my apologies.”

If you or a loved one has been harmed in a serious accident, please contact the dedicated Stockton personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette, to protect your rights and your future.

Salinas News reports that the holiday weekend has been a deadly one on the Central Coast. According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) three separate crashes have resulted in the deaths of five people in Monterey County. Four other people suffered major injures as the result of the two car accidents and one motorcycle accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured or suffered a wrongful death as the result of any type of personal injury accident, it is important to contact an experienced central coast accident lawyer to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.

Both of the car accidents involved head-on collisions. In the first accident, the driver of a Yukon collided head-on with a driver in the southbound lane, killing the driver instantly. Drugs and alcohol were not suspected to be involved. In the second accident, two Toyota Pickups collided while the driver of one was trying to pass slower moving vehicles. Both drivers died at the scene, while a total of three passengers in the two trucks were taken to area hospital with serious injuries.

The motorcycle accident occurred after the motorcyclist attempted to pass cars by driving on the shoulder and lost control of his cycle, sliding into the ditch, killed himself and his passenger.

All three of these incidents are under investigation. It is unknown what factors contributed to the crashes. Often, even where an accident seems straightforward, many other factors may contribute to both causing an accident and its severity. Here, it is unknown whether issues such as roadway design, faulty auto or motorcycle parts or driver error on any of the parties may be partly or fully to blame for the tragic outcomes. How this fault is determined will affect compensation available.

For more information, or if you or a loved one has been involved in a serious accident, please contact the dedicatedcentral coast personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for a free consultation.

Broward County, Florida officials are giving dangerous dogs a “second chance” to stay off of “doggie death row,” the term applied to Florida’s dogs who are awaiting euthanasia after violating that county’s one-bite rule. County officials have now changed the standard, euthanizing dogs after a second attack.

Dog bites are serious injuries – over 1000 dog bite victims are sent to emergency rooms around the country each year. The impact of a dog bite can be lifelong, with victims not only facing injuries, but potential physical and emotional scars as a result of the animal attack. If you have been injured in an animal attack or bitten by a dog, a knowledgeable California dog bite lawyer can help.

California dog bite laws are strict. Under California Civil Code Sec. 3342, the owner of any dog who bites another person is responsible for the injuries – even if the dog hasn’t been vicious before and even if the owner has no knowledge of the dog’s potential to be vicious. This means that if you are bitten, the dog owner may be responsible for your damages including medical costs, damage to property or personal damages, and emotional distress damages. You may even be able to recover punitive damages if the dog owner behaved in a reckless or malicious manner.

Unlike Broward County, California – including Stockton and San Joaquin County – does not have a “one bite law” or other hard and fast rule regarding euthanizing dangerous dogs. Rather, a court will evaluate the dog’s conduct and determine whether to quarantine or euthanize the animal based on the severity of the attack and the dog’s prior history.

For more information, or if you have been harmed in a California dog bite attack, contact The Law Office of Frederick J. Sette, an experienced California personal injury lawyer.

The team doctor for the San Diego Chargers has been foundnegligent as the result of errors he committed in performing a hip replacement surgery on Kathleen Adams, a 54-year-old woman. As a result of the surgery performed by David Chao, Adams “has constant radiating pain in her foot and ankle, walks with a limp and has to take four types of medication daily just to make the pain tolerable…[t]he pain will be there the rest of her life.”

Medical malpractice or medical negligence occurs when a physician, hospital or other caregivers fails to meet the standard of care in a particular area of medicine. Where that failure causes harm, you may be able to sue for damages.

Chao has been sued 20 times since 1998 by patients on a wide variety of tort counts, including malpractice, personal injury, negligence and fraud.

If you have sustained an injury as the result of another’s negligent conduct, you may be able to recover compensation including lost wages, medical expenses and pain and suffering.

For more information, contact the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette, dedicated to helping those injured by other’s negligence for more than 15 years.