Sacramento Injury Attorney Blog

Oakland news reports that Sacramento Kings guard Francisco Garcia has filed a federal product liability lawsuit against the maker of a defective exercise ball. Garcia was using the ball while weightlifting when the ball exploded, dropping him to the floor and causing him to break his arm. As a result of his injury, Garcia was unable to play a full season and lost significant income.

If you have been injured while using a defective product, an experienced Sacramento products liability lawyer can provide you critical advice regarding your next steps and your right to compensation.

Under California law, a manufacturer may be liable for injuries caused by the use of a defective product where the defect exists before the manufacturer released a product and the defect causes your injury.

Defects are generally classified into three different types:

Design Defects - where the risk of harm is foreseeable and could have been prevented with a different design.

Manufacturing Defects - where an error in the manufacturing process causes a few to be defective. A manufacturer may be liable for failing to provide clear warning of the dangers.

Marketing Defects - where distributors or sellers of a product mislead consumers into buying a defective product.

Here, the lawsuit alleges that distributors should have known that the product was dangerous based on previous incidents and that distributors and sellers were deceptive in their advertising of the defective product.

Continue reading "Sacramento Kings Basketball Player Sues Ball Company In Product Liabilty Lawsuit" »

Generally, if you've been hurt on the job California worker's compensation determines your right to recover. However, in some cases a tort remedy (i.e. filing a civil lawsuit) may be available. Other times, both types of claims may be filed. Consulting with a Sacramento worker's compensation lawyer is the best way to determine your next steps and your best options to obtain compensation when you've been injured.

On the job injuries include a variety of situations, from obvious injuries requiring medical care - such as head and brain injuries, back injuries and slips and falls - to diseases acquired from working around toxic substances such as asbestos and conditions that develop as the result of repeated strain or continuous trauma.

Where workers' compensation provides recovery to victims of work place accidents, you may be able to recover medical costs, lost income, expenses related to vocational training, permanent disability compensation and death benefits. A recent California worker's compensation case reviewed just how damages from work place injuries should be measured. Specifically, it evaluated how cost of living adjustments (COLAs) should be determined. This is a significant decision because it determines whether payments are measured prospectively from January 1st of the first year after a worker is injured or retroactively to January 1st after the year in which a worked is injured.

Here, a worker was injured in 2004 and asserted that his weekly payment should be adjusted based on his injury date. The appeals court agreed. However, the California Supreme Court overturned this decision. The Court reasoned that COLAs are intended to be "calculated and applied prospectively commencing from January 1st following the date on which the injured worker first becomes entitled to receive, and actually begins receiving such benefit payments."

Workers' compensation laws are complex and can be very confusing. An experienced Sacramento workplace accident lawyer can evaluate your circumstance and determine whether alternative avenues to compensation exist. Because recovery of damages may be limited in a worker's compensation case, filing a tort claim may provide an opportunity for greater recovery.

Continue reading "California Worker's Compensation - California Supreme Court Reviews Cost Of Living Adjustments In Christine Baker as Administrator v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and X.S. " »