Four people injured received treatment for injuries ranging from major to minor after being injured in a car accident in Concow, some 80 miles north of Sacramento. However, the road to obtaining medical attention involved a circuitous sequence of events.

After a single car accident occurred in Concow – including one person being thrown from the car – the four accident victims decided to find their own transportation to the hospital.

A passerby stopped to help, but got a flat tire on the way to the hospital. Cal-Fire and Paramedics were then sent out to bring the four individuals to the hospital, but the California Highway Patrol was not there. After much confusion and delay, the car accident victims were then sent to two different hospitals and were treated.

As stated by a Butte County spokesperson, the message here is “Please call 9-1-1.”

Familiarizing yourself regarding what to do after a car accident is crucial. First, ensure you are all right and anyone who needs medical assistance receives it at once. This means calling 9-1-1 and seeking medical attention immediately.

Accident victims have the best chance for a good outcome if they are treated within an hour. People in accidents in remote areas can often receive medical aid fastest from paramedics and airflight teams.
After securing any necessary medical attention, you can then turn to information gathering about the conditions surrounding the accident.

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

Bay Area news reports that an elderly woman was struck and killed in San Jose late Tuesday night while she was walking in the street. The woman was 75-years-old and was struck by a 19-year-old woman driving a Toyota Camry. The pedestrian accident is still under investigation.

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries as the result of any type of personal injury accident it is critical to contact an experienced Stockton accident lawyer promptly to preserve your rights and determine your next steps. Even though a lawsuit may be the furthest thing from your mind, it is important to discuss your options with a dedicated personal injury attorney in order to protect your future.

Reports indicate that the cause of the accident wasn’t “immediately clear.” Here, as in any accident it is important to investigate all potential factors in order to determine exactly what happened. Many times, the real cause of serious injuries and wrongful death isn’t readily apparent. For example, an accident may be the result of driver error – including recklessness or careless such as driving too fast for the conditions, distracted driving or drunk driving. Other times, a defective auto part – such as tires, brakes or lighting – leads to an accident. In these situations a knowledgeable Stockton product liability lawyer can advise you of your rights. In some cases, negligent roadway design – such as improper lighting, inadequate signage or poor maintenance is the real cause of an accident.

Determining the causes of an accident is the first step to recovering appropriate compensation for you.

For more information, or if you or a loved one has been injured in a car or pedestrian accident, contact the dedicated Stockton personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for immediate attention.

According to Los Angeles News, two fatal car accidentsoccurred this past weekend on the dangerous Angeles Crest Highway. As of today’s date, there have been 5 total fatalities on this road since it was recently reopened. If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a California car collision, contact an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer immediately to discuss your options and protect your future.

In one instance, a woman driving a blue Honda left the road near the Coldwater Campground. It is unknown whether there were any other occupants in the vehicle. She died as the result of personal injuries sustained in the accident.

This latest fatality raises questions of safety and roadway design. The stretch of road in question – a steep winding route through the San Gabriel Mountains – has just been reopened. The road was closed for repair from January 2010 to June as the result of damage caused by heavy rain that washed debris from the surrounding hillsides. In addition to these recent incidences, three other fatal accidents have occurred on this stretch of roadway.

Often – many factors contribute to car accidents and serious injuries. Driver error, including reckless or careless conduct, including drunk or distracted driving, are often contributing factors to car accidents. However, in some cases it is the design of a roadway itself that is the cause of an accident. A roadway may be considered negligently constructed where its design fails to provide motorists enough time to react or it is unreasonably dangerous. Examples of negligent design include:

• Lack of or improper notice of changing traffic patterns

• Insufficient signage or notice of road conditions – such as dangerous turns or construction zones

• Defective barriers

• Inadequate maintenance

Where accidents occur as the result of defective roadway design, governmental entities may be found responsible for injuries that occur. Here, due to the high number of accidents on the same stretch of road, whether negligent roadway design played a role in any of the accidents is called into question.

Other dangerous California roadways include:

• Interstate-15, running from San Diego to San Bernardino

• State Route 17 from Santa Cruz to San Jose

• Interstate -10 crossing from Santa Monica to San Bernardino to the Arizona border.

For more information or if you have been injured in a car accident that may be the result of negligent roadway design, contact the experienced Stockton personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette for immediate attention.

San Francisco news reports that a Visalia man was killed Saturday in a car accident just south of Devil Slide in San Mateo County. According to reports, all lanes of the highway were closed after the accident in order to allow police to begin an investigation. One man was pronounced dead at the scene and another three people were taken to San Francisco General Hospital. What lead to the deadly crash is still under investigation.

In fact, single vehicle accidents are one of the most misunderstood types of Stockton car accidents. While many people assume that if they are hurt in a one-car crash, they will be unable to recover compensation for their injuries. This is not the case. In fact, several factors may lead to a single car crash making it critical to consult with an experienced Stockton car accident attorney to ensure you recover the compensation you deserve.

While in some cases a driver may be to blame in a one-car accident such as in a drunk driving accident, other times less obvious factors are at play and may cause or contribute to a single car crash with injuries.

Some common factors that lead to single vehicle accidents include, but are not limited to:

1. Defective or faulty automobile parts. Common examples include defective tires, faulty brakes, or other auto defect.

2. Poor roadway design. Where the design of the roadway causes or contributes to a car accident, the municipality or other body responsible for the design may be subject to a lawsuit for roadway negligence and responsible to pay compensation for your injuries. Roadway negligence includes poor signage, inadequate lighting, too steep turns or inclines. The way a road is constructed – especially in mountainous regions or dangerous passes – affects the frequency and severity of single car accidents.

3. Inadequate roadway maintenance. In some cases, the condition of the roadway itself may lead to an accident, such as where shrubbery becomes overgrown, dangerous potholes are allowed to exist or other debris blocks safe passage.

   For more information about car accidents, please contact a top California car accident attorney at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate consultation.

A California Court of Appeals has determined that a Newport Beach doctor must pay damages in a medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuit filed against him. The action involved his erroneous reading of a computerized tomography (CT) scan of an 85-year-old woman, Lois Shafer. A jury determined that Dr. Luke Cheung’s actions in misinterpreting the scan and failing to diagnose the woman’s intracranial bleeding, led to her unnecessary death.

If you believe a loved one has died as the result of the negligent conduct of another, it is important to consult with aStockton wrongful death attorney. Where you believe a nurse, doctor or other hospital staff made a mistake that harmed – or led to the death – of a loved one, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Not all medical mistakes constitute a medical malpractice action that entitles a family to obtain compensation. Generally, you must be able to show that the doctor’s or other health care provider’s actions fell below the accepted standard of care and that these actions led to the harm.

Here, Shafer was taken to the Hoag Hospital emergency room. After Dr. Cheung’s failure to diagnose the bleeding, an emergency room doctor then discharged Shafer. At trial, a medical expert testified that if Cheung had diagnosed the bleeding, Shafer wouldn’t have been discharged, treatment would have begun quickly and the patient would have had a very successful outcome…complete recovery or close to a complete recovery.”

A California jury determined that based on the evidence, Cheung’s actions caused Shafer’s death. This past week, a Santa-Ana based appellate court determined that the evidence supported the jury’s decision and upheld the award

For more information or if you believe a loved one may have been harmed by a medical mistake, contact an experienced Stockton wrongful death lawyer at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette for a free confidential consultation.

This past week both Toyota Motor Corp. and the Chrysler Group announced significant vehicle recalls due to safety issues. Cars affected by the recall include Tacoma Trucks, Camry sedans and Venza vehicles. Problems include airbag defects that prevent the airbag form deploying in the event of an accident. Additionally, Chrysler is recalling over 200,000 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicles due to problems with its rear lower arms that may cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle. The number of injuries caused by these defects is unclear.

If you have been injured in a car accident or other motor vehicle accident as the result of a defect, several different avenues of recovery exist. Filing a product liability lawsuit may be possible to recover compensation for your injuries. Consulting with an experienced Stockton product liability attorney is important to determine your rights.

Product liability lawsuits fall into three main categories.

• Design Defects – these occur when foreseeable risks of harm could have been reduced or eliminated by using another design, and failure to do so makes the product unsafe.

• Manufacturing Defects – these occur when the product is being made. Usually an. error in the manufacturing process causes just a few products out of all those of the same type to be defective. Products are designed to be used for certain purposes and if someone uses them for another purpose, there may be danger of harm. Therefore, the manufacturer has to include clear, visible and concise warnings describing the danger and failure to do that can cause the product to be considered defective.

• Marketing Defects — the distributor and seller of the product may also be liable in a strict liability case, if there is found to have been misleading marketing.

Although every case is different, injuries that occur from recalled products typically result from design or manufacturing defects and by filing a negligence lawsuit, an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer may be able to obtain the money necessary to pay for your harm.

For more information or if you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a defective product, contact a top Stockton accident lawyer at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate, confidential consultation.

Palo Alto news reports that a Menlo Park woman has been awarded a $22 million medical malpractice verdict. According to the negligence lawsuit, Robyn Frankel underwent an unnecessary medical procedure that caused her to have a stroke, and she subsequently lost use of her arms and legs.

If you have suffered injuries as the result of another’s reckless or negligent conduct it may be possible to bring a personal injury lawsuit. Where a doctor, nurse or other hospital staff fails to act with the requisite “standard of care, an injured party may be able to bring a medical malpractice claim. If you have been harmed as the result of another’s negligent or wrongful conduct, it is important to speak to an experienced Stockton personal injury attorney to determine your rights and obtain compensation.

Here, doctors with the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group ordered an angiogram to investigate an abnormal vein in Frankel’s brain in order to determine the cause of her migraine. During the procedure, Frankel suffered a vasospasm and went into a coma. Evidence presented at trial revealed that the angiogram was unnecessary and that the Medical Group’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the harm to Frankel.

Frankel is now a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair and requiring around the clock care. The award will go to cover medical costs, past and future economic losses and pain and suffering. However, due to the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act [MICRA] caps, the $6 million awarded for non-economic damages will be reduced to $250,000.

For more information about medical malpractice or if you or a loved one has suffered any serious personal injury, contact the dedicated Stockton personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for a free, confidential consultation.

A recent bike safety article provided by the Bay Citizen for the New York Times reviewed the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Brandon Sorenson, a 13-year-old Alameda boy would was killed last month while riding his bike. While Brandon was in an intersection, he was struck by an S.U.V. and later died at a nearby intersection.

While the accident is still under investigation, the incident brings to light a startling statistic – Bay Area bicyclists aged 10 to 19 are at the highest risk for suffering injuries in a bike collision. Half of the accidents involved boys ages 12 to 16.

If you or a child has been injured in a bike accident, it is important to speak to an experienced bike accident lawyerimmediately to begin investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and preserve your right to seek compensation.

Based on California highway patrol data, 434 San Jose teenagers were involved in bike collisions with cars, the most of any Bay Area City. Oakland was second with 193 bike accidents. Although in some instances accidents may be the fault of the bicyclist, in many others the driver is to blame. Figuring out just what happened is crucial to determining fault.

Police officers urge early education about traffic laws and safety to lessen the number of accidents.

As a Stockton personal injury lawyer and bicycle advocate, I am hopeful that wit increased awareness drivers and bicyclists will learn to share the road, resulting in fewer injuries and collisions. For more information or if you or a loved one has been harmed in a bicycle accident, please contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette.

A recent story run in the Orange County Register reported an alarming statistic – close to 300 amusement park accidents involving injuries occurred at amusement parks in the last 2 years. While some of the injuries were minor, many serious injuries occurred such as back injuries, head injuries and spinal cord injuries.

If you have been injured at a California amusement park, it is important to speak to a Stockton personal injury lawyer to determine your next steps.

Amusement park injuries – or any type of injury that occurs on the premises of another – generally fall into the category of “premises liability.” Premises liability refers to the concept that owners or operators have a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition and to provide warnings of dangerous conditions that the owner or operator knows about, or should have known about. Premises liability actions can arise in any situation where someone is harmed at the place of another, be it a home, shopping mall, sports arena or amusement park.

Where the owner or operator acts negligently or recklessly in maintaining their property in a reasonable manner, those injured may be able to recover medical costs, rehabilitation casts, pain and suffering, lost wages and lost earning capacity.

For more information, or if you believe you may have been harmed due to “premises liability,” please contact the dedicated Stockton personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette.

According to reports, a negligence lawsuit has been filed against Muni after a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus driver hit and killed a pedestrian, Emily Dunn, in the city’s Castro District. The Muni bus lawsuit alleges fault on the part of Muni officials for placing an inexperienced driver on a new route.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, consulting with an experiencedStockton personal injury lawyer is important to begin an investigation into the various factors that may have caused or contributed to an incident.

Here a complete investigation into the pedestrian accident involves more than just looking at the actions of the driver of the bus – Wallace Loggins. Loggins was charged last month with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and pleaded not guilty. He was turning left when he hit Dunn, who was almost across the street when she was struck. Loggins didn’t realize he had hit someone until he heard screams from a bystander. According to the wrongful death lawsuit, while Loggins may be partly to blame for this accident, it was Muni’s negligence that “caused” the death. By placing a new driver with just eight months experience on a new route, Muni acted negligently and caused the harm. The suit claims that Loggins “did everything he could,” but he was on a new route, lost and Muni failed to provide directions.

Many times, several factors may go into causing an accident. It is important to meet with a skilled Stockton accident attorney to evaluate all of the issues that may have caused or contributed to an accident to ensure you receive all the compensation you deserve.

For more information or if you or a loved one has been in an injury accident contact a top Stockton personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette for a free, confidential consultation.