You may have read in the news recently that Universal Studios is being sued. The lawsuit stems from a ride malfunction that occurred in 2022. The Harry Potter ride stalled as a result of a power outage, leaving dozens of people stranded in an awkward position until they could be unloaded from the ride. Several people suffered injuries as a result of this incident. Amusement park injuries can be different that ordinary injuries. Ordinarily, party A owes party B the duty of reasonable care not to cause injuries. But in an amusement park setting, this is different. This is because California cour ..read more

From time to time here on Tort Talk, I talk about one of my favorite areas of personal injury law. The issue is uninsured motorist coverage. On most auto insurance policies, uninsured motorist coverage is lumped together with “underinsured” motorist coverage. These two forms of coverage are often referred to as “UM/UIM”. Many people I talk to don’t understand what these coverages are. To be honest, prior to working as a Los Angeles personal injury attorney, I didn’t understand them either. The basic rule is this: Uninsured motorist coverage is there to protect you in the event you get hit by a ..read more

A hijacked bus? I’ve seen it all! Los Angeles news outlets are reporting a story out of Downtown Los Angeles. A metro bus was hijacked Thursday evening. The hijacker took control of the Metro bus and crashed it into the Ritz Carlton hotel on Olympic Boulevard. Police officers found a BB gun on the bus. This was the weapon the hijacker used to take control of the Metro bus. Reports say that the bus driver and other passengers were injured in the hijacked bus crash. This bizarre story raises an important question: Does insurance cover damage or injuries caused by a hijacked vehicle? The simple a ..read more

We’ve all been in a situation where an important bill wasn’t paid. Usually, this problem is easily corrected. What if that bill was an auto insurance premium payment, and the policy got canceled as a result? Furthermore, to what lengths must an auto insurance company go to to notify a policyholder of a pending cancellation? We have our answer in Molinar v. 21st Century Insurance Co., decided by the California Court of Appeal last week. Silvia and Alberto Molinar purchased a 21st Century auto insurance policy in 2006. They added their daughter Tania to the policy in 2013. Tania added her Mazda ..read more

As a Los Angeles personal injury and dog bite lawyer, I try to stay informed about Los Angeles dog bites and dog bite issues. To that end, the Los Angeles Times recently published a thorough report discussing dog bites in California and nationally. Dog bites have increased in California since COVID. In 2022, there were roughly 48,596 emergency room visits in California stemming from dog bites. This is a 12% increase from 2021, and a 70% increase since 2005, according to the CDC. Can you guess which dog breed was most responsible for these dog bites? Yep. Pit bulls. Just last week a man was mau ..read more

The sun is finally out again!! Southern California got pounded by an “atmospheric river” Pineapple Express this week. Los Angeles and other cities received more rain in 48 hours than we’ve seen in years. Along with torrential downpours comes another issue: potholes and road damage. My office has received questions about Los Angeles potholes this week, so it’s a good time to discuss this important issue. In the past, I’ve discussed bicycle and motorcycle accidents caused by Los Angeles potholes. The question is, who is responsible for repairing a Los Angeles pothole? The answer is straightforwa ..read more

As a Los Angeles sidewalk accident lawyer, I get some variation of the following question several times each week: Who’s responsible to fix a Los Angeles sidewalk? It’s an important question, and one that so many people want the answer to. I’ve discussed this issue before, most recently in this blog post. As with so many legal questions, the answer depends. Let me give you an example. My office recently handled a case where the client tripped and suffered serious injuries requiring surgery. When the client consulted with my office, it appeared to be a Los Angeles sidewalk injury case. I took i ..read more

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your 2024 is off to a great start! Recently, I came across an article discussing the state of affairs for Los Angeles drivers. The article contains some troubling statistics. In 2023, there were over 300 traffic fatalities in the City of Los Angeles. The numbers were slightly lower than 2022, but still way too high. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there were 307 traffic deaths in Los Angeles in 2023. The number one cause was distracted driving—ie, cell phone use. 2023 also saw the highest number of Los Angeles pedestrian deaths at 162. We previou ..read more

Forgive me! I’m somewhat breaking tradition by sending out an extra Tort Talk blog post. That’s because I’m super excited to present to you my year in review for 2023. This is where I’ll highlight two of my favorite cases I handled during this past year. 2023 was a busy year. We handled cases all over the personal injury spectrum, from rear-end car accidents, to injuries caused by drunk drivers, to a hit-and-run bicycle vs. car and a trip and fall on a dangerous driveway with grievous injuries. The latter case is one I’ve discussed before. My client was walking to her car after seeing a movie ..read more

As a Los Angeles bicycle and car accident attorney, I handle cases with unique facts. From your run-of-the-mill rear-ender case to a trip-and-fall on a dangerous Los Angeles driveway with serious injuries, I’ve seen it all. I also have experience with bicyclists getting “doored” here in Los Angeles. Getting doored is when a driver who is parked adjacent to the bike lane opens his or her car door into a passing bicyclist. Getting doored is every bicyclist’s nightmare, and it can cause serious injuries. In my most recent “doored” case, the offending driver gave my bicyclist client false informat ..read more