San Francisco Personal Injury Law Blog

Recently, in San Mateo California a PG&E high voltage power line fell from a pole and onto a residential street, draping itself across the sidewalk and the street and private property, sparking and burning.  When Enrique Tello, a local resident who had been watching television with his family heard the explosion and the lights went out, he went outside to investigate. Within moments, Mr. Tello was electrocuted.   

Unfortunately, PG&E is trying to shift blame onto this 55-year-old man who was killed while trying to protect his family.

I am concerned that PG&E has already begun a campaign of misinformation about this San Mateo Electrocution, attempting to shift public focus from PG&E's failure to maintain its equipment onto the conduct of the victim, Mr. Tello. The television and online media seem to be getting the whole story from a Mr. Guidi, who works for PG&E.

First of all, PG&E initially stated that the line was knocked down by a mylar balloon. PG&E has since recanted that statement. How would a power line carrying 12,000 volts, which could conceivably burn down an entire neighborhood, be vulnerable to a balloon? Secondly, I have watched the videos on the news and no witness has actually said that they personally saw the victim, Mr. Tello, pick up the hot wire.

This wire was a 12,000 volt wire and was hot enough to melt the pavement into glass. Is it even plausible that Mr. Tello actually picked up the wire as stated? PG&E originally stated that Mr. Tello was driving his truck and was blocked by the live wire, and that he got out of the truck and tried to move the wire. PG&E even went onto the news lecturing about the danger of trying to move a live wire.  In a Daily Post article, PG&E admits that a person could be electrocuted just walking in the area of a downed power line.

I personally would like to see some responsible journalism following thorough this investigation. So far, all of the news stories seem to be parroting the same PG&E party line.

If we look at the photo of the truck in the linked article, it is clear that the white truck is parked at the curb. Mr. Tello's niece says that he was home watching television, not driving the truck. Why would Mr. Guidi state to the news that the victim, Mr. Tello was driving the truck and that he had tried to move the wire from the road, when Mr. Tello lives right where his truck is parked?

PG&E wants to shift the public's focus from their own culpability onto Mr. Tello's conduct. If PG&E can keep the focus on what the victim did, they might be able to deflect inquiry as to why this heavy duty live wire fell and was laying across the street sparking and burning and killing in a residential neighborhood.

Shouldn't we as responsible citizens be demanding a real investigation into how and why this deadly power line fell into a residential neighborhood and endangered an entire neighborhood?

Enough misinformation. I would like answers. Please comment if you would like answers also.

About the author: Claude Wyle is an aggressive advocate dedicated to keeping San Francisco Bay Area individuals safe from defective and dangerous equipment and products. Claude has decades of experience representing those harmed by the wrongful conduct of others, and, as a Bay Area personal injury lawyer, has fought to protect the rights of the injured throughout his legal career.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is known as a silent epidemic because the problems that result from TBI are often not visible.  Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) accounts for at least 75% of all traumatic brain injuries in the U.S.  However, it is clear that the consequences of MTBI can be severe and cause life-long disability and deficits.

As a San Francisco Brain Injury Attorney, I agree with the CDC's report to the U.S. Congress on MTBI and support the recommended steps to help with this serious public health issue.

The CDC's MTBI Work Group, composed of experts in the field of brain injury, has determined appropriate and feasible methods for assessing the incidence and prevalence of MTBI in the U.S. and recommends how to better measure the magnitude of the problem. Their efforts were in response to Congress' Children's Health Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-310), whereby they were to obtain data on the incidence and prevalence of MTBI.

One might think that heading out early in the morning is the safer way to travel the busy city streets of San Francisco by bicycle--with less cars on the road--but unfortunately early this morning a 26-year-old bicyclist was hit by a truck.

According to the police the cyclist did not have a light on his bicycle, despite the darkness of the early dawn morning, as he rode south on 5th Street getting hit at 6:28 a.m. by a pickup truck that was turning left at Harrison Street.

Thankfully, the bicyclist survived getting hit by the truck, and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. As an avid cyclist myself and also a San Francisco Bicycle Accident Attorney, I feel it is one of my duties to the bicycling community to continue to promote bicycle safety as often as I can, especially after learning of accidents.

As a traumatic brain injury attorney, I am always interested in new information on head injury.  I am proud to live in San Francisco where we can boast that our main city and county hospital has received a prestigious brain trauma certification in the treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI).

As a San Francisco Brain Injury Attorney, it is a part of my job to show how TBI  dramatically affects the lives of brain injured people and their families. In many cases, these injuries leave individuals permanently disabled, or in need of months, and sometimes years, of rehabilitation and therapy.