Blog Posts in January, 2017

Paralegals in California Must Take More Ethics Courses Than Attorneys

In addition to other MCLE (mandatory continued legal education) courses, attorneys complying with California State Bar standards must complete four hours’ worth of legal ethics courses every three years. A paralegal, on the other hand, must meet this same four hour requirement every two years. When a California attorney’s professional education throughout a lifetime is compared side-by-side to ...

Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn Recently Settled Two Significant Cases

Our team of San Francisco personal injury attorneys at Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn have recently settled two cases, each in excess of $1,000,000, for two different premises liability case clients. Defendant Encourages Unsafe Behavior of Patrons In the first case, our client was unloading cardboard at a facility when a large concrete block rolled onto his leg, crushing his leg and trapping him in ...

Reasons Traffic Fatalities are On the Rise Again

The National Safety Council (NSC) tracks a myriad of car accident statistics year over year. The NSC reported an 8% increase in deaths in 2015 than in 2014. In addition, there was an increase of 9% of car accident related deaths in the first 6-months of 2016 than those same months in 2015. The last time car accident fatalities increased so dramatically and consistently was decades ago, when the ...

Apps Likely to Blame for Increase in Traffic Deaths

According to safety experts, the increase in fatal traffic collisions over the past several years may be due to increased numbers of drivers distracted by smartphone apps. With smartphones in the hands of more Americans than ever before, the temptation to drive while distracted is at an all-time high. While texting has long been seen as the main culprit behind distracted driving accidents, safety ...

Traffic Injuries Cost Patients $35M Annually at San Francisco General

An article published in the Examiner stated a report released by the Department of Public Health shows victims of traffic accidents are responsible for an annual average of $35 million in medical bills at San Francisco General Hospital. The article states medical data was collected between 2012 and 2014 showing that $105.5 million in medical bills were charged to individuals injured in traffic ...

National Research Group States Bay Area Infrastructure is Worst in Country

The national transportation research group TRIP collects data from the Federal Highway Administration to analyze roads and infrastructure in cities and counties in the United States. For the second year in a row, TRIP has rated San Francisco, Oakland, and the greater Bay Area region as some of the worst roads and infrastructure in the country. The Bay Area has also consistently placed in the ...

Car Accidents are the Leading Cause of Death for Teens and Distractions are to Blame

Using 2014 data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 in America. The total number of deaths was 2,270, which is about six teenage driver death every day. Another 220,000+ teens in the same age group were seriously injured in car accidents. It is believed that driver ...