Category Archives: Bay Area legal updates
Can I Arbitrate My Kaiser Malpractice Case in San Francisco Without A Lawyer?
From time to time people in San Francisco, Oakland, and around the Bay Area ask me if they need an attorney to pursue a claim in the Kaiser malpractice arbitration system. Reading the Kaiser Arbitration Rules, you could easily get the impression that you could file a claim without a lawyer. The Kaiser arbitration… Read More »
Proving Fault In A Bay Area Slip or Trip and Fall Injury
I get many calls from people who were injured in the greater Bay Area or Oakland in falls in stores or restaurants. Often times, the callers think that falling in a store or restaurant automatically means that they can recover damages. And to a very limited extent they are actually right: most businesses here… Read More »
Should California Helmet Laws Apply to Adults?
In California, and about half the other states, the law requires minors to wear a helmet when on bikes. Bike accident statistics strongly support the position that helmets save lives for adults as well as kids involved in bike accidents. But no U.S. state requires adult riders to wear helmets, as many do for… Read More »
Starbucks Sued For Burns From Hot Tea
A woman burned by hot tea at a Starbucks has sued the chain, alleging negligence. This will no doubt bring back memories of the infamous McDonald’s coffee case of years past, where a woman sued after spilling hot coffee into her lap that she had purchased in a drive-through window. The Infamous McDonald’s Coffee… Read More »
California Kaiser Malpractice Claims – Do You Have to Arbitrate?
In California, most Kaiser Permanente medical malpractice claims are normally heard in a private arbitration, rather than proceeding in court. This is due to the Kaiser arbitration agreement, which calls for arbitration in Kaiser’s own system, under their own rules. Arbitration is a system where cases are heard with the same procedural rules as… Read More »
San Francisco Muni Accidents: Why Are There So Many Streetcar Crashes?
Many San Francisco car accidents are caused by our streetcars, also known as light rail vehicles, or LRVs. Many people do not realize how much longer it takes streetcars to stop. There is essentially a double delay: LRV brakes do not even begin to work until a second or two after they are applied,… Read More »
California Driving: How To Set Your Car’s Mirrors To Really See Your Blind Spots
Do you turn you head to check your blind spot before making a lane change? Here in congested San Francisco, turning your head even briefly away can increase your risk of being in a car accident. There’s a way to reset your mirrors that makes head turning unnecessary. It’s the Blindspot and Glare Elimination… Read More »
San Francisco Bay Area Accidents: Sudden Acceleration Can Always Happen
Having a car take off as if it has a mind of its own is pretty unnerving. It happened to me when I was in college, driving a friend’s old Buick, and the accelerator stuck. I felt panicked at first, then shifted into neutral, which solved the problem. Fortunately, I didn’t hit anything between… Read More »
Professional Football and Brain Injury
There have been many reports in the news about links between playing professional football and early onset of dementia. Now, according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, Congress is investigating. All this recent attention started with a New Yorker Magazine piece about the high number of pro football players with dementia, often… Read More »
$16.5 Million Wrongful Death Verdict in Sacramento Radio Station Contest
As reported in a CBS news story, one of the participants in station KDND’s contest, entitled “Hold your Wee for a WII,” Jennifer Strange, died from water intoxication after drinking massive amounts of water, but not urinating, in order to win an endurance contest. Water intoxication is a little-known condition, often affecting runners who… Read More »
