North County Injury Blog

The troubled company AIG has just sold is automobile insurance arm – 21st Century Insurance – to Zurich Financial Services for $2 billion. Zurich will fold the new purchase into its car insurance business Farmers Group. We’ll have to wait and see what does to auto insurance rates, or Farmers current ranking as the 7th…

It has happened again. The driver of a vehicle loses control “for unknown reasons” and causes a catastrophic automobile accident. Several of these accidents have been blogged about here, but most haven’t. It leads to one inescapable conclusion: the use of cell phones while driving. Shortly after 5:00 a.m. this morning a 2-year-old boy died…

A 43-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed in Santa Ana when he was struck by a small black car while crossing First Street west of Jackson Street. The accident occurred about 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 11. The victim died at the scene. According to witnesses, the black car fled westbound, and probably has damage…

Every few years we hear about doctors fleeing states to get away from high malpractice insurance premiums. The medical malpractice insurers then claim they have to raise rates because of excessive malpractice lawsuits. Then the legislatures get nervous and enact laws that limit when and how victims of malpractice can sue, and how much they…

After a fatal big rig accident, California’s top transportation official has temporarily banned large commercial trucks from Angeles Crest Highway for a period of 90 days. On Wednesday, a big rig truck transporting automobiles lost its brakes while driving down a steep grade on the Southern California highway. The large truck smashed into several cars…

The New York Times is out with a story about independent medical exams – or IMEs – in the state’s beleaguered worker’s compensation system. The article more or less confirms what injury attorneys all over the county already know: there is nothing “independent” about IMEs. Generally speaking, an insurance company in a personal injury or…

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris to overturn a state verdict of $79.9 million awarded to the widow of a longtime smoker by an Oregon jury. Legal analysts believe the ruling may mark a shift in the court, who most consider to be decidedly “pro business” it its rulings.…

The North County Times is out with a story about Highway 67 in Ramona, the site of yesterday’s horrible auto accident that claimed the life of a young woman, and reveals a very troubling history about this busy stretch of San Diego County roadway. In the last 10 years there have been 46 deaths by…

RAMONA, CA – A 25-year-old mother was killed yesterday on Route 67 after her car was struck by out of control racers. Alexandria Drake of Chula Vista was driving her Volvo near Quail Rock Road when she was struck by a speeding Jaguar that had veered into oncoming traffic. According to witnesses, the Jaguar was…

A Temecula boy who fell from a play structure at a local Burger King restaurant was awarded a $20 million settlement. Jacob Buckett, now 12, suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell at a location in the play structure where there was no cushioned flooring. According to reports, the boy suffered damage to his…