Santa Ana accounted for 2 of the 101 fatalities and 1,625 of the 16,620 injuries suffered by motor vehicle occupants in traffic accidents in Orange County in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. That year, traffic signs and signals were a primary collision factor in 140 of the fatal and 12,994 of the injury accidents that occurred throughout the state.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the three people who were injured in the crash involving the driver who ran the red light in Santa Ana a full recovery.

The Orange County Register originally reported this Santa Ana accident.

Resources for accident victims, such as books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an auto accident lawyer in Orange County, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

San Juan Capistrano accounted for 1 of the 101 fatalities and 193 of the 16,620 injuries suffered by motor vehicle occupants in traffic accidents throughout Orange County in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. The California Office of Traffic Safety compares the accident statistics of cities with similar populations, ranking those with the poorest records the highest. That year, San Juan Capistrano ranked 49^th out of 98 cities for fatal and injury crashes.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the four people who were injured last Saturday a full recovery.

The Orange County Register originally reported this head-on collision.

Resources for accident victims, including articles and books on the process of pursuing an injury claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an auto accident lawyer in Orange County, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

In 2010, there were a total of 4,547 fatal workplace injuries in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While accidents involving transportation decreased from 2010 to 2009, accounting for nearly 2 out of every 5 fatal work-related injuries, non-highway incidents involving pedestrians rose by 4 percent.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Joseph Maier, the man who was killed in the accident involving the semi last Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Times originally reported this Santa Fe Springs industrial accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury or a wrongful death claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with a California personal injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

San Bernardino accounted for 39 of the 596 fatalities and 472 of the 13,083 injuries suffered by pedestrians in traffic crashes throughout California in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. In a recent report by the traffic safety coalition Transportation for America the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area ranked the 5^th most dangerous for pedestrians in the country.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Mark Lopez, the pedestrian who sustained fatal injuries in the accident in Mentone.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including links to pedestrian advocacy groups and articles on pedestrian rights, are available to the public free of charge.

To request one of these free resources, or to speak with a California personal injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Seal Beach accounted for 1 of the 101 fatalities and 211 of the 16,620 injuries suffered by motor vehicle occupants in traffic accidents in Orange County, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. The California Office of Traffic Safety compares the accident statistics of cities with similar populations, ranking those with the poorest records the highest, with 1^st place being the worst. That year, Seal Beach ranked 28^th out of 98 cities for traffic safety.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the 6 people who were injured in the multiple-vehicle collision a full recovery.

The Orange County Register originally reported this Seal Beach collision.

Resources for accident victims, including books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these resources, or to speak with an Orange County car accident lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

There are two types of defamation. Slander is when something untrue or otherwise damaging is said about you. Libel is when something negative and damaging is written or otherwise preserved such as a photograph or video.

Defamation cases are extremely hard to prove, and there are several factors that can affect the outcome of the case. The first is the type of person you are. If you are a public figure such as a celebrity, politician or athlete, in some cases you may be eligible to receive compensation, although most defamation cases involve high profile public figures. Free speech also comes into play, and sometimes it’s hard to see the line between what is actually allowed to be stated or written, and what falls under free speech.

The laws of defamation vary by state, but in most cases they are hard to prove. In order to succeed in a defamation case, you must be able to prove that a statement made about you was false and that the statement in question was made to a third party (it cannot be a statement that was made to you). You must also be able to prove that the defamation caused you harm in some way, either through loss of income, or harm to your reputation in the case of libel. In some cases you may be eligible for mental anguish.

If you feel that your reputation has been harmed in some way, the best thing to do before anything else is to consult an attorney that specializes in defamation cases. He or she will be able to guide you through the process and tell you if you have a case. Remember, you must be able to prove that you lost something due to the statements, and you must be able to prove that they are untrue. If you can prove these things, you may in fact be eligible to receive financial compensation due to the loss you have experienced as a result of the defamation of your character.

Additional information on subjects relevant to personal injury law is available to the public free of charge. To request a free book or article, or to speak with a California personal injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

A wrongful death claim is one in which a person died due to the intentional or unintentional actions of another party, such as an attack, manslaughter, negligence, or even murder.

These are serious cases and often require the help of a skilled attorney who specializes in wrongful death. An attorney can walk you through this long and often laborious process, answering any questions you may have. He or she will also help make sure you receive compensation that is adequate in your case. If you think you are going to file a wrongful death lawsuit, you will probably not want to proceed without an attorney.

These cases go through civil court as opposed to criminal charges being filed, such as for homicide or murder. Usually it is the family of the deceased who files wrongful death suits. There are four things that must be proved to win a wrongful death lawsuit.

First, it must be proven that the defendant caused the death, either intentionally, such as in a murder case, or unintentionally, such as cases involving negligence. The defendant may be only partially responsible for the death.

Next, it must be proven that the defendant was negligent or liable in other ways for the death of the victim.

There must be a spouse, relative, or other close family member who can collect the damages resulting from the wrongful death suit.

And finally, there must be financial loss from the wrongful death suit. Some examples include the loss of income provided by the deceased, pain and suffering, or future earnings that are now gone.

An immediate family member of the deceased or the spouse can file a wrongful death suit, but they cannot file these types of lawsuits against other family members. It must also be taken into consideration that if you are going to file a wrongful death suit, you must do so within the statute of limitations for your state. This varies and you will need to check with your state law or an attorney for more information.

Additional information on the process of filing a wrongful death claim is available to the public free of charge. To request a free book or article, or to speak with a California personal injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Many people think that they will be okay, so they either don’t get checked out, or they don’t follow up. If another party is at fault and you do not file a personal injury claim regarding the head injury, by the time you find out it is serious it could be too late to file, leaving you responsible for expensive bills from treatment, in addition to emotional damage and pain and suffering.

A traumatic brain injury can be a life long injury that many people never recover from. It can affect your life in ways you can’t possibly know, and it can affect you long after other injuries from your accident have healed.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that if you have an accident and suffer a head injury, you should seek medical attention as soon as you possibly can, even if that means going to the emergency room. If it is necessary at a later date to file a personal injury claim for the accident, you will want to have it well documented. In many cases if you do not get prompt medical attention and suffer from the injury later, it will be too late to do anything about it, and instead of the right party being held responsible for damages, you will be the one who has to pay out of pocket.

Remember brain injuries can occur even from minor accidents, such as traffic accidents that happen at low speeds or falls that simply result in a headache. You should not judge the severity of a head injury on whether or not the victim is rendered unconscious.

If you believe you have suffered a traumatic brain injury due to an accident caused by someone else, you should first seek medical attention and then seek the advice of an attorney, preferably one who specializes in personal injury cases. Brain injuries can be expensive to treat, and you want to make sure you are adequately compensated.

For additional information on traumatic brain injury, or to speak with a California personal injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

While you cannot stop someone from filing suit, there are ways you can protect yourself.

For personal property, someone can file a claim if they fall on your property, inside or outside. The first thing you want to do is determine what is considered to be your property.  If someone falls on the sidewalk out in front of your house, is that your property? You should know where your property lines are exactly so that you know what you are responsible for versus what your neighbor may be.

Perhaps the easiest way to protect yourself is keeping up your property. This includes making sure walkways are clear, driveways and anything that could cause accidents. If you allow people inside your house, keep stairways clear, and spills mopped up. If you keep good records of everything that you can to show you take good care of your property, this will help you in the event of a personal injury lawsuit filed against you. Do not delay in taking care of weather related issues, such as snow and ice removal, as well as fallen tree branches. If someone files suit, they will have to prove that you could have done something to stop the accident.

For a business, there are more things to consider. First of all, you want to take all necessary precautions, and this includes training your employees properly on all safety procedures. For example, not only is it imperative to clean up spills immediately, but you also want to have a sign letting customers know that they need to be careful.

Again, you should keep records of every precaution that you take, and be extra careful to have maintenance and repairs done as soon as possible. Remember, people are much more likely to sue a business rather than a person, and if you have a retail business, you are likely to have a lot of traffic each day. You also want to make sure if the owner of the property is responsible for any upkeep, that he does it, or at least keep a record that you attempted to have him do it.

The best way to protect yourself from personal injury lawsuits is to keep up on maintenance and take care of your property.

Additional resources on the personal injury claims process are available to the public free of charge. To request a free book or article, or to speak with an Orange County injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

The answer to that depends on several factors. The first one of those being which state you are in, as the laws regarding auto accidents vary from state to state. In some states, a passenger cannot sue a driver who causes an accident unless the driver was extremely negligent or if the accident was caused intentionally. Drunk driving, for example, would be one reason for gross negligence.

In some states, a passenger may sue a driver or his or her insurance company if he or she is injured in an accident and the driver is at fault. The driver or his or her insurance company would be responsible for any damages that are incurred by the passenger.

It’s important to check with your state laws and your insurance policies, as there are policies in which the passenger of your car is not covered by your insurance. In those cases, it’s possible that you could be liable for damages personally, and, if the passenger were to sue you, you could have to pay personally.

You will need to check with your insurance company regarding passengers, as a basic policy likely will not cover any passengers injured in an accident whether you are at fault or not. If you rarely drive other people around this may work, but if you routinely have passengers in your car, you may want to consider buying a policy that will cover passengers, although it may be more expensive. The added expense is not much when compared to the cost of medical bills should you be involved in a serious accident and your passenger is severely injured.

If your passenger is injured in an accident where you are driving but the accident is the fault of the other driver, then it would likely be the other driver that would be held responsible for the accident, and his or her insurance would have to cover it.

Additional information on car accidents and the personal injury claims process is available to the public free of charge. To request a free article or book, or to speak with an Orange County car accident lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.