A 70-year-old man, Allan Sundquist of San Jose, California, was walking from Monterey Street to OD’s Kitchen when he tripped over the sidewalk at 28 Martin Street. Sundquist lost consciousness when he fell and struck his head on a tree and was taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital. This accident took place on March 26, 2010.

Sundquist proceeded to bring a personal injury lawsuit against the City of Gilroy, the owner of the building, Santa Clara County and the owner of the business. Sundquist said that he sustained permanent cognitive damage from the incident.

$700,000 settlement

Sundquist accepted what is being referred to as a hush-hush $700,000 settlement in the personal injury lawsuit. The City of Gilroy paid $450,000.

The other $250,000 of the settlement was paid by Robert Tapella, who was at the time of the accident, the owner of Garlic City Billiards. Tapella paid part of the settlement to Sundquist because his insurance company believed it would be cheaper than fighting the personal injury lawsuit.

The real thing responsible for the accident, according to the City of Gilroy, was a Magnolia tree that is 40 years old or more. The roots of the Magnolia tree were lifting and tearing the cement of the sidewalk. The Magnolia tree is still there, even though the crack in the concrete has been smoothed over with some fresh concrete.

City refused to fix sidewalk

Tapella is furious at the City of Gilroy because they had not fixed the sidewalk in front of his store, even though he had been asking the city to remove the Magnolia tree for 17 years. He said the City of Gilroy told him that they did not have the money to fix the sidewalk, and the sidewalk problems were not resulting from the Magnolia tree.

At one point, Tapella offered to cut the tree down, but the city threatened to fine him if he did. The city told him that it was their tree. They said they had planted it, and he could not touch it.

Tapella was then served with personal injury lawsuit papers one day in October, 2010. He did not believe that he had any responsibility for the accident due to the fact that he had been trying to get the city to remove the tree for 17 years.

California state law

However, according to California State law, property owners do have the responsibility of maintaining the sidewalk that is in front of their building or home. In August, 2007, in an attempt to shift legal liability from the city to the homeowner in the event that a person tripped in front of a residence, the city council passed a sidewalk ordinance. However, six months later the ordinance was overturned due to the fact that three new council members were not in favor of the ordinance.

One of the city councilmen, Perry Woodward said, “If a homeowner went out to his sidewalk with a jackhammer, then we’d expect him to be liable. Woodward went on to add that the city had created the problem by planting trees in residential park strips in the 1970s, when the city decided to become a recognized “Tree City USA”.

Related articles

• Injury From an Uneven Sidewalk and Slip and Fall Claims (personalinjuryplace.com)

Your hip is one of the primary weight bearing joints in your body. Your hip is made-up of a ball and a rounded socket. Your femoral head (ball) is located at the top of your femur (thigh bone). Your acetabulum (rounded socket) is situated in your pelvis. The ball on your thigh bone fits into the rounded socket in your pelvis.

Bands of tissue (ligaments) are what connect the ball to the socket and help make them steady. A tough, smooth material that is known as articular cartilage covers the surfaces of your ball and joint. Your bones are cushioned by this articular cartilage, and it enables them to move easily.

Lubricant for your hip joint

A smooth, thin tissue liner that is referred to as synovial membrane covers the rest of the surfaces of your hip joint. The synovial membrane makes a small amount of fluid that works like a lubricant to keep the bones in your hip joint from rubbing against each other.

There are several things that can cause a need for a hip implant. Among these are:

Osteoarthritis in your hip joint
Bone tumors that break down your hip joint
Rheumatoid arthritis that brings about joint pain, swelling and stiffness
Injury of your hip joint
Osteonecrosis that results in the death of bone in your joints.

The defective DePuy hip implant is particularly disturbing because hip replacement surgery where you have a hip implant is the second most common replacement surgical procedure. It is a close second to knee replacement surgery.

Another disturbing thing about the defective DePuy hip implant is that the parent company, Johnson and Johnson, continued to sell the defective DePuy hip implant even after the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) expressed concerns about the device in 2009. Initially, in 2005, the FDA approved the DePuy hip implant. The FDA did not require any safety data on metal-on-metal implants being used in humans. It was two years later that the FDA stopped approval on the DePuy hip implant as a result of studies that showed the device was failing prematurely in a high percentage of people.

It was a full year after being warned about the dangers of the hip implant by the FDA before Johnson and Johnson removed the device from being used. Many people have had to have the DePuy hip implant device removed and replaced.

Problems with the DePuy hip implant

Several problems have resulted from the DePuy hip implant. These include components of the device coming loose and metal fragments being deposited in bloodstream and tissues and fracturing bone around the implant.

There are two things that should be considered in bringing a lawsuit for the defective DePuy hip implant. First, the general kinds of damages that are available to people who are injured by defective products. Second, the outcomes of previous hip implant litigation.

The need for new resources for semi truck accident victims is painfully apparent. Every 16 minutes in the United States, a person is injured or killed in an accident that involves an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer or semi truck. In 2008, 3,944 fatal trucking crashes took place and 123,918 non-fatal accidents occurred. The majority of fatal truck accidents take place during the daytime in rural areas.

One of the reasons that people in a passenger vehicle sustain serious or fatal injuries in a collision with a semi truck or commercial truck is due to the tremendous difference in weight of the two vehicles. An average passenger car weights about 3,000 pounds, while a typically fully loaded commercial truck may weigh over 80,000 pounds.

Unsafe acts

New resources for semi truck accident victims include knowing some of the reasons why they were an innocent victim of a passenger vehicle that was involved in an accident with a semi truck or commercial truck. These include unsafe acts caused by a semi truck or commercial truck. These include:

Driver had prescription drug, drugs or alcohol use issues
Tire blowouts or tire tread separation
Going at too great a rate of speed
Driver losing control of the truck due to jackknifing, lack of trailer control
Making an improper lane change
Overdriving for current weather conditions
Driver fatigue
An improperly secured load
Driving too aggressively
Driver talking on cell phone or being distracted
Driver making illegal maneuvers
Unfamiliarity with roadway or highway.

New resources for semi truck accident victims include The Semi Truck Accident Victim Center’s Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights is what the Semi Truck Accident Victim Center says that it will do for semi truck accident victims. The Semi Truck Accident Victim Center says that when it learns of a passenger vehicle being innocently involved in an accident with a semi truck or commercial truck that has serious injuries or fatalities it will send investigators to the scene of the accident to get as much information as possible from witnesses or first responders and to follow through with an investigation.

The Semi Truck Accident Victim Center also says that it will get on the spot information regarding the most capable doctors and the best local trauma centers in order that family members or loved ones can make the best possible medical choices, put together a national caliber personal injury team of attorneys and legal experts and always be available to any loved one, family member or victim of a semi truck or commercial truck accident.

The Semi Truck Accident Victims Center offers this as a free service that they believe is unsurpassed. They believe that they are the right group to call for an instant unsurpassed response.

Both Bucchere and Hui were taken to the hospital in San Francisco with injuries. However, Bucchere was released with minor injuries. Hui was said to be in critical condition with severe head injuries. Later, Thursday afternoon, San Francisco police released a statement saying that Hui was in a non-life threatening condition. However, Hui died four days later on Monday, April 2, 2012. The cause of Hui’s death has not been released.

It is reported that witnesses told police that Bucchere may have ran a red light before striking Hui. Witnesses also reported that Bucchere may have been speeding down the hill, racing against the clock, trying to shave seconds off of his time as he was returning from a Marin Headlands group ride.

Footage of the accident on surveillance camera

Footage of the accident was captured by a surveillance camera at Market and Castro street in San Francisco. One person who saw the video of the accident said that Bucchere was hunkered down and did not appear to try and slow down at all.

According to the District Attorney’s office of San Francisco, police are investigating the accident and charges may be brought against Bucchere, which may include vehicular manslaughter. In fact, police claim to have information from a motorist who said he saw Bucchere and another cyclist racing through red lights and stop signs before the accident.

To make matters worse, a person who identified themselves as Chris Bucchere put a post on the website of local cycling group MissionCycling.org.  The post said, “The light turned yellow as I was approaching the intersection, but I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions…I couldn’t see a line through the crowd and I couldn’t stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find.

I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn’t mine. I really hope he ends up OK.”

The end of the post

Bucchere then ended the post by dedicating it to his now-broken helmet. He said, “may she die knowing that because she committed the ultimate sacrifice, her rider and live and ride on. Can I get an amen? Amen.”

John Alex Lowell, who is a member of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, said that he was saddened and shocked by the post, in particular by the tone of the post.

Bucchere’s attorney said in a statement that his client was devastated by the accident and the tragic death of Sutchi Hui. However, the attorney said that Bucchere believes that he entered the intersection lawfully and did everything possible to avoid the accident.

Obviously, there is more to the question than this. There has to be another reason why you would want to sue a bar, other than the fact that you simply got drunk at the bar. Perhaps, you fell off a bar stool and injured your leg. Or, you fell down on the curb outside of the bar and suffered injuries.

What you are really asking is, “Can I sue a bar that I got drunk at because of injuries that I sustained due to being drunk? Is the bar or bar owner liable for serving me alcohol until I got drunk? Should the bar have stopped serving me alcohol before I got drunk?”

Take responsibility for your own actions

If you look at people’s responses on the internet to someone who is intending to sue a bar for this reason, you will find that the overwhelming majority of people responding think that you should not be able to sue. They believe that you should take responsibility for your own actions. They would say that no one held a gun to your head and forced you to get drunk. You did that of your own free volition.

Having said that, 38 states now have dram shop laws or case law in place in which a bar is held strictly liable for anyone who is injured by a drunken patron of that bar. On the other hand, California recently passed legislation that bans this strict liability. The reason being that it is often difficult to prove that alcohol is the specific cause of an accident, due to the fact that there is always an intervening cause, which is the person who is drunk.

The state that you live in

The answer to the question, “Can I sue a bar that I got drunk at,” really depends on the state that you live in. For example, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that a man who pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated has the right to sue the bar where he got intoxicated. The man who had a blood alcohol content of .196 was involved in a 2006 motorcycle accident.

However, in Nevada, bars are not liable for injuries that you sustain after getting drunk. The reason may very well be due to the devastating effect it would probably have on the tourist industry in Nevada.

In some states, a bar can only be sued if they serve alcohol to a minor. In other states, the maximum amount of damages that you can get from a bar are limited to a specific amount. This is based on the idea that the lion’s share of the injury should be the responsibility of the person who got drunk.

The test is fuzzy

Another important point to remember is that the test is fuzzy for deciding whether a bar should have recognized and realized that a person was drunk and should not have been served more alcohol. Courts consider the condition that a drunk person is in and whether it was “foreseeable” to the bar that you were “visibly intoxicated”. The real issue being not how much you have had to drink, but how has the alcohol affected you.

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The official title of the bill is Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2011. The proposed bill is named after two sisters, Raechel and Jacqueline Houck who were from Santa Cruz, California.

In 2004, Raechel (age 24) and Jacqueline (age 20) were killed in a fiery crash while they were driving a PT Cruiser that had been recalled. They got the rental car from Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The PT Cruiser had been recalled because of a defective steering hose that was likely to leak and catch on fire. However, Enterprise did not repair the steering hose before they rented the car to the Houck sisters.

Campaign to support bill

Raechel and Jacqueline’s mother, Cally Houck, has been leading a campaign to get support for the Safe Rental Car Act. She is doing this with a high-profile news and social media campaign. In order to try and get public support for the Safe Rental Car Act, Houck has turned to online forums, such as Change.org, TV station KABC-TV Los Angeles and USA Today.

Houck said that when a petition was first posted on Change.org, giving people a chance to support the Safe Rental Car Act, they were getting 10,000 signatures an hour. So far, more than 152,000 people have signed the petition. Houck added that many of those who have signed the petition are customers of Enterprise who say they will not rent from Enterprise again until Enterprise supports the Safe Rental Car Act.

At the present time, Enterprise is not supporting the legislation. However, another large rental car company, Hertz, has stated their support for rental car safety legislation.

As it stands now, a rental car company is allowed to rent cars that are under recall even though they have not repaired the recall item. However, a car dealer is not permitted to sell a car that is under recall until the recall item is repaired.

How can you be safe

What can you do the next time you are going to be traveling and renting a car to make sure that the car you rent is safe. Here are a couple of things that you can do.

If there is a model that you are considering to rent, check for recalls on that model before you rent it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently auditing the repair history of the fleets of all of the major rental car companies. Before renting a particular model, it would be a good idea to scan the online data base of the NHTSA. If the model you want is on the list, it makes good sense to switch to another model.

Another thing you can do is to really know the vehicle that you are renting. For example, your own personal car may be equipped with an anti-lock braking system. However, the car that you rent may only have a standard braking system. This is a safety issue that has an impact on everyone who rents a car.

What is it? The Terrafugia Transition is a street-legal airplane. It is literally an airplane that also drives as a car.

In July, 2011, the Terrafugia Transition was cleared for being driven on the road by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Although in order to do so, the NHTSA has a requirement that the airplane must take off and land at an airport. The Terrafugia Transition is the first vehicle that flies and drives that has been granted exemptions by the NHTSA.

The Terrafugia Company

The Terrafugia Transition is the product of the Terrafugia Company. Terrafugia, which is derived from the Latin, “escape the earth,” was founded in 2006 by award-winning MIT-trained aeronautical engineers (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and MBA’s (Master of Business Administration), who are also passionate private pilots. To put it simply, some business students at MIT got together with some aeronautical engineer students at MIT to start a business together.

From the first, Terrafugia made headlines. This is because the company’s goal was to build a vehicle for pilots that had the additional capability of driving on the ground rather than attempting to build a car that would fly.

Terrafugia built the Proof of Concept Vehicle in 2007 and 2008. After six months of intensive testing, the Terrafugia Transition made its first successful flight on March 5, 2009. The maiden flight was performed by a retired United States Air Force Reserve Colonel. It took place at New York’s Plattsburgh International Airport.

First flight successful

The maiden flight was not a long one. It only lasted for less than a minute. However, six more successful take-offs and landings were also made.

First production will be in Woburn, Massachusetts. According to Cliff Allen, vice president of sales for Terrafugia, the Woburn plant could produce about 30 of the vehicles a year. The site where large volume production will occur has not yet been determined.

If you would like to purchase a Terrafugia Transition, you will need to put down a $10,000 deposit that is refundable. The anticipated base purchase price is $279,000.

Late 2012 release date

The target date for the first orders to arrive was set for late 2011. That was then changed to an arrival date in late 2012. Allen says that Terrafugia is on schedule for the late 2012 delivery or an early 2013 release at the very latest.

The Terrafugia Transition is designed like a small airplane and a two-seater car. It has a wingspan of about twenty seven feet when it is functioning as an airplane. Using buttons inside of the cockpit of the car, the wings fold up so the vehicle can be used as a car. As an airplane, the Terrafugia Transition has a top speed of around 115 miles per hour and a range of 100 to 500 miles. As a car, it gets about 30 to 35 miles per gallon and can go around 65 miles per hour.

The way this vehicle would work if you owned one is that you could park it in your garage and drive it around like you would any car. The Terrafugia Transition runs on regular unleaded gas whether flying or driving. You would also have the option of driving the vehicle to a local airport and flying the airplane short distances of 100 to 500 miles.

Matt Bush is the former overall No.1 pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. Bush was drafted by his hometown team, the San Diego Padres.

However, only two weeks after accepting a bonus offer of $3.15 million from the San Diego Padres, Bush was involved in several altercations that related to the use of alcohol. At this point the San Diego Padres considered the possibility of voiding his contract, but they decided to stick with him.

Injuries and alcohol

Bush spent five years with his hometown San Diego Padres. During that time, the Padres converted him from a shortstop to a pitcher, but Bush hurt his arm and had to have what is known as Tommy John surgery. Added to that, Bush fell back into problems related to alcohol. Finally, in 2009, after another incident related to alcohol, the San Diego Padres traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays put Matt Bush on their 40-man roster. However, Bush got drunk and missed a 7 o’clock workout. The Toronto Blue Jays released him on April 1, 2009.

The Tampa Bay Rays signed Matt Bush later in 2009. Even though he was injured for most of 2010, the Rays saw enough to place him on their 40-man roster before the 2011 season. It seemed like a sure thing that sometime in 2012, Bush would be called up from pitching in Triple-A and finally make his major league debut.

Thursday night incident

Then, Thursday night happened. Bush allegedly stole his spring training roommate Brandon Guyer’s 2011 Dodge SUV. He went to a strip club and got drunk. He then got up on the stage at the club before bouncers got him out of the club.

As Bush got back on the road in Guyer’s SUV, he hit a 72-year-old motorcyclist named Tony Tufano who was riding home. To make matters worse, Bush did not stop to check on the man’s injuries and ran over Tufano’s head as he sped away attempting a hit and run. Thankfully, Tony Tufano was wearing a helmet. Bush drove away with a blood alcohol level of .18, which is more than twice the legal level that is allowed in Florida.

Now, Bush is in the Charlotte County jail where he has been charged with multiple DUI violations and leaving the scene of the accident. If Tony Tufano dies from his injuries, Bush will probably spend at least two years in jail. That is the minimum penalty in Florida when a hit-and-run DUI results in a death. If Tony Tufano lives, the penalty will be lessened. This is especially true because Bush pleaded down his previous crimes to misdemeanors.

Tufano in medically-induced coma

On Monday, Tony Tufano was placed in a medically-induced coma and is hooked up to a respirator and feeding tube. His condition is listed as critical, but his family is optimistic about his recovery.

The family of Tufano is planning on bringing a civil lawsuit against Bush. They have also named Guyer in the lawsuit.

The baseball future of Matt Bush seems certain to be over as he may be considered “persona non grata.” However, when you can throw a baseball 97, 98 or 99 mph, you never know for sure.

It happened very early last Thursday morning, March 15th in Ogden, Utah, about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. The 8 year old boy whose name has not been disclosed told police that his 5-year-old sister wanted to go to the store. So, while their mother was asleep in another room, the 8 year old boy got the keys to the family van and headed out about 2:00 A.M..

Fortunately, the 8 year old boy made sure that he and his sister had their seat-belts on and buckled before they began their middle-of-the-night journey. The journey turned out to be a short one.

Hit a tree

They had not made it far out of their driveway when they hit a tree across the street. According to officer Danielle Croyle of the Ogden police, if the van had gone just a few more feet, it would have gone done an embankment into the Ogden river.

The 8 year old boy was not even tall enough to see above the steering wheel. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the crash, but the family van was probably totaled. Officer Croyle said, “It could have been much worse if they didn’t have their seat-belts on. They were just too smart for their own good.”

Justine McDonald heard a crash. She said, “We just thought we heard a gunshot.“ She looked out of her balcony window and saw the van. She and her roommate, Holly Maxwell, left their apartment. Maxwell said they, “ran down the stairs like a herd of elephants.”

Maxwell called 911

Maxwell said she stopped in the yard of the apartment building and called 911. Maxwell went on to say that a car passing by stopped and a woman got the two kids out of the van and brought them into the yard of the apartment building.

Maxwell said, “I asked the little kids, ‘Where’s your mommy and daddy?’” The 8 year old boy told Maxwell that his mother was asleep inside of their apartment.

Maxwell said the kids were worried about mommy being mad at them, but they were calm. However, she said that the kids would not let go of her hands. Maxwell took the children and followed a police officer to their apartment when the officer got there.

Apartment was unlocked

Maxwell said that when they got to the apartment, the officer knocked on the apartment door several times, but no one answered. McDonald said, “He called her name like four or five times.” The officer then tried the door handle, and the apartment was unlocked.

According to McDonald, the officer said to the kid’s mother, “Did you know your kids took a joyride in your car?” “She just rubbed her head,” McDonald said.

Lt. Croyle said there was no evidence that either one of the two children had been neglected and no criminal charges were expected to be filed. She called it an accident.

Authorities have not disclosed the name of the mother. She did not answer her door on Thursday, and no telephone number was listed for her.

Lohan’s probation was due to end two years ago. However, her probation was extended because of several probation violations. These include a shoplifting conviction, failed alcohol and drug tests and missed counseling sessions.

In recent days, however, Lindsey Lohan has been meeting all of the probation terms that were set out for her. In fact, she was given a positive probation report last month.

Scheduled to appear before judge on March 29th

Lohan is scheduled to appear before Judge Stephanie Sautner for a final progress report on Thursday, March 29th, at which time she was due to be set free of all of her legal obligations regarding her drunk driving and shoplifting charges. Now, that all may change with this accusation of hit and run.

It has been reported that Lindsey Lohan is freaking out over the fact that it is a very real possibility that she could be sent back to jail. The police report and the accusation could lead Judge Sautner to revoke her probation and send her back to jail.

The alleged incident happened around 12:30 A.M. as Lohan was leaving the Sayers Club  in Hollywood. She was surrounded by paparazzi and club patrons from the Hookah Lounge that was close by.

A heated exchange

It is said that she made a quick turn in her new black Porsche. It just so happened that the club manager was leaving in his car at the same time. Lohan almost hit the club manager’s car. The club manager got out of his car to talk to her about the incident and a heated exchange took place. Lohan then allegedly sped off. As she did so, she allegedly grazed the club manager’s knee and ran over his foot.

One of the club manager’s employees called the police and reported a “traffic collision.” When the police got there, they interviewed people at the scene, as well as the manager of the Hookah Lounge.

It was reported that a police spokesperson said, “There was no evidence of a crime or a hit and run. There was no evidence of a crime.”

Multiple witnesses said that Lohan’s car struck the club manager, but they also insisted that he was not hurt. According to one report, the club manager did not know who Lindsey Lohan was at first. He also told the police and paparazzi that he did not need medical attention.

In Lohan’s Twitter account

Later, however, the club manager began complaining that he was injured. It is then reported that he went to an emergency room where he said he planned to press charges.
In an attempt to set the record straight, Lohan wrote in her Twitter account, “Scrape? This is all a complete lie. I’ve been at community service. Last night, I attempted to wish a friend happy birthday, which I didn’t even get to do because I was freaked out by all of the paparazzi,” she tweeted.

One of Lohan’s representatives added, “At no point was there ever any indication that her car hit anyone or anything. We are confident that this matter will be cleared up in the next few days.”