Blog Posts in December, 2014

Important Tips for Bicycle Accidents - Avoidance & Aftermath

Bicycling is on the rise. By way of example, bicycling has increased 71% in San Francisco between 2007-2011.[1] And bicycle commuting increased 63% in the 70 largest cities in the United States from 2000-2010.[2] Why? Because bicycling is cost-effective transportation, faster in many cases than public transportation or driving (bike parking is easier in cities than finding a space for a car), and ...

San Francisco Muni Hit with Wrongful Death Suit

Surviving Spouse Seeks Focus on Public Safety SAN FRANCISCO, May 24, 2011 – Dr. Theodore Glaza, the husband of Scott Whitsett, late yesterday filed a wrongful death lawsuit (Case No. CGC-11-511170) in San Francisco Superior Court against the City and County of San Francisco (Muni) and the driver of the 14 Mission bus that killed Whitsett on the morning of Apr. 21, 2010. The suit, filed by John M. ...

RFTM Investigating Pradaxa Complications

Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn is investigating claims of patients who have experienced uncontrollable bleeding associated with Pradaxa. Pradaxa, also known generically as Dabigatran, is a blood thinning medication that has been prescribed to over 850,000 patients in the United States. Pradaxa is commonly prescribed to patients who have an irregular heartbeat due to atrial fibrillation, not caused ...

CAOC's Feder warns that courts face further cuts

PRESS RELEASE SACRAMENTO (May 13, 2014) - California’s court system, which has already closed hundreds of courtrooms as the result of more than $1 billion in General Fund budget cuts over the past six years, will face further cuts and closures if Governor Jerry Brown’s revised state budget is approved, Consumer Attorneys of California president John M. Feder warned today. “We are grateful the ...

Uber Driver Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter of Sophia Liu

Uber driver, Syed Muzzafar, is being charged with misdemeanor manslaughter of 6-year-old Sophia Liu. Mr. Muzzafar was waiting for a fare to turn up on the Uber app when he struck Sophia Liu, her 4-year-old brother and 34-year-old mother in San Francisco at Polk and Ellis streets. Uber originally denied that Mr. Muzzafar was working at the time of the incident. Since then, Uber has deactivated Mr. ...

Lawsuit Filed Against PG&E After San Bruno Fire Death

Jessica Morales’ Family Takes Aim in Hope of Forcing PG&E to Focus on Public Safety SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 26, 2011 – Israel and Rene Morales, the parents of Jessica Morales, today filed a wrongful death lawsuit (Case No. CGC-11-507629) in San Francisco Superior Court against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). Morales perished when PG&E’s natural gas line exploded in the City of San Bruno and ...

Court Funding, Patient Safety Effort Among 2014 Goals

Press Release from the Consumer Attorneys of California CAOC will also support seniors’ legislation and protect consumer rights SACRAMENTO (Feb. 25, 2014) – Restoration of adequate funding to California’s courts and efforts to address the state’s patient safety problem are among Consumer Attorneys of California’s goals for the 2014 legislative session. “Our primary objective is to make it possible ...

A Man Wearing a Safety Harness Falls 11 Stories and Lands on a Car

This morning a man was setting up to wash windows at 400 Montgomery Street when something went wrong. He was wearing a window-washer’s safety harness but fell 11 stories landing on a moving vehicle. He was conscious and in critical condition. The KTVU story states the company, Century Window Cleaning, has multiple past Cal OSHA violations. http://bit.ly/11LhiX7. Similar to a past case, RFTM was ...

Sign of hope for courts in Brown's proposed budget

Press Release from the Consumer Attorneys of California SACRAMENTO (January 9, 2014) - Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed 2014-15 California budget released today included a spending boost for the state’s judicial branch, but not enough to prevent further court cuts and closures, according to Consumer Attorneys of California president John M. Feder. “We are grateful that the governor has added $105 ...

New Bike Lane Opens in Memory of Lauren Ward, Late Wife of Former Client

On October 24, 2013, cyclists, government officials and loved ones gathered to dedicate a new bicycle lane to Lauren Ward, a cyclist who died after a trailer truck struck her on Alpine Road near Interstate 280. Lauren, 47, of Los Altos Hills, was remembered for her passion for public safety. Former state legislator Joe Kimitian, now a Santa Clara County supervisor attended the dedication, noting ...

Anaheim Angels Fan Beaten Outside Angel Stadium

Authorities are searching for three people who beat an Anaheim Angels fan in the parking lot of Angel Stadium on Friday, October 3. The attack occurred around 10:30 p.m. following the Angels’ loss to the Kansas City Royals. The victim and a relative were walking in the parking lot when they were attacked without provocation by three people. No weapons were involved, but the victim was severely ...

Alex Donald Jackson Faces Life in Prison for Dog Mauling of Pamela Devitt

Alex Donald Jackson, 31, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Pamela Devitt. Devitt, 63, was walking around her neighborhood of Littlerock when four of Jackson’s dogs attacked her in the street. Devitt did not have a cell phone and no one was nearby. By the time help arrived, she had been bitten approximately 150 to 200 times and an arm was severed. She died from blood loss. ...

Pei Fong Yim Killed in San Francisco Pedestrian Accident

Pei Fong Yim, 78, was killed in a San Francisco pedestrian accident in Chinatown on September 20, 2014. Yim was in the crosswalk at Stockton and Sacramento streets that morning when Calixto Dilinila, 40, struck her with a vehicle. Yim was likely heading to a nearby senior center she frequented. Dilinila was arrested for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and for failing to yield to a pedestrian. ...

Disoriented UCSD Patient Thomas Vera Dies After Walking Out of Hospital

The family of Thomas Vera is upset after a broken bed alarm and security mishaps allowed Vera to wander away from his hospital room without anyone noticing. Thomas Vera, 57, wandered out of his hospital room at UCSD Medical Center in May 2013. His body was found five days later less than a mile from the hospital entrance. An investigation revealed broken alarm systems that were known to be ...

Son Hoang Nguyen Killed in San Jose Pedestrian Accident

Son Hoang Nguyen was fatally struck in a San Jose hit-and-run accident on Sunday, August 17, 2014. San Jose police were summoned to the area near Senter Road and Balfour Drive after callers reported seeing a vehicle strike a pedestrian. Officers found Son Hoang Nguyen, 53, lying in the street. He was transported to a hospital where he died from his injuries. A preliminary investigation revealed ...

Car Crashes into San Francisco's Comstock Saloon

A car crashed into Comstock Saloon, a popular bar in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. Around 1:45 p.m., a dark red BMW sedan plowed through the double doors of the saloon, located at 155 Columbus Avenue. The vehicle came to a stop after it hit the bar. Two patrons at the bar were taken to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The driver ...

Kulwant Jandir Killed in San Jose Pedestrian Accident

Kulwant Jandir, 58, was struck and killed while walking in the Berryessa neighborhood of San Jose on July 15, 2014. Jandir was walking on the sidewalk of Jackson Avenue when a vehicle jumped the curb and fatally struck him. The driver of the vehicle that hit him remained at the scene but was hospitalized after complaining of pain. San Jose Police are investigating the accident and will send their ...

Lead Based Paint Lawsuits

Lead-based paint is a known health hazard. It is a major source of lead poisoning in children and can also adversely affect adults’ health. In children, lead poisoning may cause irreversible brain damage and impaired mental functioning. It can also retard mental and physical development and impair attention span, and it may even affect fetal development. In adults, lead poisoning can cause ...

Cal/OSHA Investigating San Francisco Hotel Renoir Fire

The California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (“Cal/OSHA”) is investigating a three alarm fire at the former site of Hotel Renoir in San Francisco. The mid-market Hotel Renoir fire occurred on Monday, August 4, 2014. The three-alarm blaze injured eight construction workers from two construction companies who were on site to renovate the former hotel. The property was purchased in 2012 ...

PCB Lawsuits

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are synthetic organic chemicals that are harmful to people and the environment. The EPA lists PCBs as a known carcinogen or cancer-causing agent. Although PCBs are no longer manufactured in the United States, people can still be exposed to them through the environment and in the workplace, since PCBs can exist in the environment for decades. PCBs can exist in ...

Uber Driver Suffers Seizure, Hits Pedestrian in San Francisco

An Uber driver suffered a seizure while driving passengers around San Francisco and struck a pedestrian on August 2, 2014. The collision occurred around 10 p.m. near Polk and Geary Streets. The driver, a 56-year-old man whose name has not been released, was driving passengers in his 2012 Mazda when he suffered a seizure, which caused him to lose control of his vehicle. He hit three parked cars ...

John Feder Presented at CAOC Convention in Maui

John Feder presented at the Consumer Attorneys of California convention in Maui on December 1, 2014. The topic was “Ten Keys to Success When Deposing the Defense Medical Examiner.” Mr. Feder’s keys to success include: Input from your own expert; Create a plan of attacked based on the defense expert; Build credibility; Be professional; Make a checklist of topics; Listen, listen, listen; Get the ...