The San Francisco Bay Area cycling community suffered a tragic loss last November when Mark Pendleton, a loving husband and father to two sons, was struck by a car while riding his bike. The driver of the vehicle did not stop and Pendleton died along the side of a road. As Bay Area bike attorneys, we’ve supported local law enforcement in their efforts to find and prosecute the motorist responsible for the serious bike accident.
Just over six months after the accident, the suspected driver of the vehicle, Harold Brown, was arrested by the CHP. Brown was booked…
As bicyclists, all were shocked in March 2008 to learn the horrible news that Santa Clara Sheriff’s Deputy James Council had crashed into several innocent bicyclists, causing the wrongful death of two riders, and badly injuring a third. As a bicycle accident attorney who handles many cases for riders against public entities, I was surprised and pleased when Santa Clara County actually accepted responsibility for this tragic bicycle crash. In tough economic times, it seems even more rare for individuals or institutions to accept liability, and extremely rare for them to make themselves financially accountable.
We reported last month…
Sacramento ranks high in auto accidents, drunk driving
I was dismayed earlier this week when the California Office of Traffic Safety [OTS] released its yearly ranking of 13 cities of similar size, including Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco, for collisions by daily vehicle miles traveled and average population.
The numbers for 2008 are not yet available, but for 2007, our great state’s capital, Sacramento, ranked No. 1 in many categories related to auto collisions and drunk driving deaths and, extremely disturbing to us, bicycle injuries and fatalities. As Sacramento and Northern California personal injury attorneys, we hope that accountability…
Wisconsin State senators are set to begin debate Tuesday whether to ban texting while driving for people under age 18. Wisconsin would become the tenth state with such a law if it passes. The 18 states which currently ban texting while driving are Arizona, California, Colorado (eff. 12/09), Connecticut, District of Colombia, Illinois (eff. 1/10), Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire (eff. 1/10), New Jersey, New York (eff. 11/09), Oregon (eff. 1/10), Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington
Why is texting while driving so dangerous? While every phone is different and every person is different, driving schools and law enforcers agree that…
I was recently reminded that many California bicyclists are not well-versed in bike law. For example, many understand that a public entity would not be liable-that is, be responsible for personal injuries-to a person who participates in a hazardous recreational activity. (Govt. Code sec. 831.7(a).) Hazardous recreational activity is defined as bicycle racing or jumping, mountain biking and the like.
However, what most may not know is that the public entity can be liable if it fails to warn of a dangerous condition, if the damage or injury occurred when permission to participate was granted for a specific fee, or…
