A woman was killed and two others were injured in a Los Angeles car accident the morning of May 28, 2011. According to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News, the fatal car crash occurred on Soledad Canyon, near Langside Avenue, in Santa Clarita. For unknown reasons, the car swerved left and crashed into the center median and then struck a tree. The woman died at the scene of the crash and two male occupants sustained critical injuries. An investigation into the cause of the crash is underway.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of the woman killed in this tragic car accident. My thoughts and prayers are also with the two men who have been critically injured. I wish them the very best for a complete and speedy recovery.

Los Angeles Car Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 11 people were killed and 552 were injured in Santa Clarita car accidents. During that same year, there were 667 fatalities and 52,229 injuries reported as a result of Los Angeles County car accidents.
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On August 26, 2010, Depuy Orthopaedics (subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) shocked their consumers with a recall of their ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System. Over the past decade, many consumers have grown a sickly understanding that many of the products they use were not built with their best interest in mind, but that they were, in fact, built haphazardly with little regard for consumer safety.

What has caused such a stir in this particular case of negligence is that Johnson & Johnson has been a brand trusted since its conception, known for making products that consumers can trust to use for themselves and on their children without a second thought. As times change, we see brands change, and notice with our own eyes the transformation from tried and trusted to negligent and careless.

What Makes These Devices a Defective Product?

For a number of years, studies have indicated that these devices were indeed product defects, but it took an overwhelming amount of confirming data to spur action from its manufacturers. At this point, 93,000 recipients across the globe have been informed that their Depuy hip replacement implants are dangerously defective, having shown a tendency to naturally disassemble resulting in a deposit of metal fragments in a person’s blood stream, as well as bone fracturing around the implant. The pain and suffering inflicted on those implanted with this device have helped make this one of the biggest products liability cases of 2011 and has been characterized by the following symptoms:
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A 3-year-old child was injured in a Riverside County swimming pool accident after nearly drowning the afternoon of May 25, 2011. According to a news report in The Press Enterprise, the serious injury accident occurred in the backyard of a house on Redbud Road in Desert Hot Springs. The toddler suffered critical injuries in the backyard pool of the Riverside County home. It is not clear at this time how the child fell into the water.

My thoughts and prayers are with the young victim of this terrible swimming pool accident. I am relieved to hear the child survived and I wish the victim the very best for a complete and speedy recovery.
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A bus accident in Fairfield, which injured as many as 20 passengers the afternoon of May 23, 2011, was likely caused by brake failure, investigators say. According to KTVU San Francisco, the injury accident occurred along westbound I-80, near Lyon Road, in Fairfield. Yunzho Ma, the 38-year-old bus driver, told officials that she was having trouble with the brakes on the United Coach Tours bus before it veered off the roadway and crashed through a fence. Twenty people were hurt in the crash and 13 of the injured victims received treatment at a nearby hospital.

My thoughts and prayers are with the many injured victims of this Solano County bus accident. I wish them all a complete and speedy recovery.

Car Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), eight people were killed and 615 were injured in Fairfield car accidents. During that same year, there were 33 fatalities and 1,735 injuries reported involving Solano County car accidents.
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A car accident in San Diego resulted in fatal injuries for a pedestrian the morning of May 24, 2011. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the fatal pedestrian accident occurred on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard near Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa when a Toyota Scion driven by 28-year-old Sean Alvarez struck a 71-year-old man who was crossing the street at the intersection. Alvarez has been booked on suspicion of felony DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter. An investigation is ongoing.

I offer my deepest sympathies to everyone who knew and loved this deceased pedestrian accident victim. They will be in my prayers.

DUI Collisions in San Diego

There were 104 deaths and 2,033 injuries involving alcohol-related crashed in San Diego County, according to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS). In the city of San Diego, 34 people were killed and 907 were injured in DUI collisions during the same year.
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Daniel Bogan, 57, was killed in a Riverside car accident when a car struck his motorcycle. According to a report in The Press-Enterprise, the fatal motorcycle accident occurred on Florida Avenue in Valle Vista, an unincorporated area near Hemet the afternoon of May 22, 2011.

Bogan’s 2005 Harley Davidson was hit by a Toyota Corolla driven by 22-year-old Raymond Barrajas, which turned left in front of the motorcycle. Barrajas was driving the Toyota west on Florida and made a left turn across the eastbound lanes in order to enter a private driveway. Officials determined that Barrajas failed to yield right-of-way to the oncoming motorcycle.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Daniel Bogan. My thoughts and prayers are with them following this tragic motorcycle accident.
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Michael Kunkle, 58, was killed in a Los Angeles car accident after he was struck by a vehicle whose driver fled the scene. According to a KTLA News report, the fatal pedestrian accident occurred the night of May 20, 2011 in the 11100 block of Woodruff Avenue in Downey. Officials say the motorist was driving a white SUV, and that the vehicle will have noticeable front end damage and a possibly broken windshield. Kunkle sustained fatal injuries. Anyone with information about this hit-and-run car accident is asked to contact Downey police at 562-904-2339.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Michael Kunkle for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Pedestrian Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), there were no fatalities, but 40 injuries reported involving pedestrian accidents in Downey. In Los Angeles County as a whole, 214 people died and 4,985 were injured due to pedestrian accidents during the same year.
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A 37-year-old man was killed in an Orange County car accident, which officials say, involved a suspected drunk driver, the morning of May 20, 2011. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the fatal car accident occurred on the westbound 91 Freeway in Buena Park. Christen Payne, 21, who was driving a 2001 Volkswagen at a high rate of speed rear-ended the victim’s stalled 2001 Toyota in the number two lane near Knott Avenue. Payne was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Witnesses are urged to call California Highway Patrol investigators at 714-892-4426.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family members and friends of this deceased victim for their devastating loss. Please keep this grieving family in your thoughts and prayers.

DUI Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), one person died and 45 were injured as a result of alcohol-related crashes in Buena Park. In Orange County as a whole, 62 fatalities and 1,492 injuries were reported as a result of DUI collisions during the same year.
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There is no question that understaffing in California’s nursing homes is one of the main causes of nursing home abuse and neglect in these care facilities. According to a column by J.G. Preston, who is the press secretary for the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), understaffing in nursing homes can be downright dangerous to the health and well-being of residents.

Preston cites a recent study done by the University of Pittsburgh and published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. This study basically finds a strong correlation between low staffing levels and the receipt of an infection control deficiency citation at nursing homes. Infections are the leading cause of death in nursing homes – about 400,000 deaths a year nationwide.

What is the connection between understaffing and infections? When staffing levels are low, the study found, caregivers are likely to be hurried and have less time to focus on important infection control measures such as washing their hands. It is interesting to note that the study also finds a strong link between infection citations and nursing homes’ for-profit status.
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Jerome Rene Allen, 37, was killed in a San Bernardino car accident after his vehicle rolled over the afternoon of May 13, 2011. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the fatal rollover accident occurred on the Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. Allen’s 2004 Cadillac SUV veered off the roadway and rolled down an embankment. During the accident, Allen was ejected from his vehicle. He died at the scene of the accident. California Highway Patrol officials are investigating this fatal injury crash.

My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Rene Allen, who was killed in this tragic San Bernardino County accident. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

San Bernardino Car Accident Statistics

According to California Highway Patrol’s 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), 107 people were killed and 1,925 were injured as a result of car accidents in the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County. During that same year, 263 fatalities and 8,504 injuries occurred involving San Bernardino County car accidents.
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