Personal Injury
San Jose Students Receive 2,500 Free Bicycle Helmets and Safety Lessons
| January 9th, 2012
January 9, 2012 From the moment a child first peddles their bike down the driveway for the first time, it is vital to begin teaching them the importance of wearing a helmet and following safety rules. Unfortunately, not all children are taught these lessons early on. That is why, according to CBS-San Francisco News, the San Jose Department of Transportation and the Franklin-McKinley school district have partnered in a new campaign. The pair has joined forces to give away approximately 2,500 bicycle helmets to children within the school district. A spokesman for the groups and associate transportation specialist with the City of San Jose, Devin Gianchandani, said the helmets were made possible by a $55,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. He added that the children would receive a helmet along with, “Pedestrian-bicycle safety education through the city’s nationally recognized street smart program.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that every year, approximately 1,000 die in bicycle-related accidents. Of those accident victims, 62 percent suffered from a traumatic head injury. The agency states that the most effective way to prevent such injuries is to wear a helmet. The California brain injury attorneys with Berg Injury Lawyers understand that traumatic brain injuries can have a full spectrum of effects on a victim. Founding Attorney William Berg recently discussed how and why diagnosing brain injuries can be difficult and what steps to take in a recent news interview.Alameda Law Firm Offers Free Cab Rides Home on New Years Eve
| December 27th, 2011
December 26, 2011 In recent years, the holidays have become an increasingly dangerous time of year for driving in California. According to The Los Angeles Times, six people died on California highways over this past holiday weekend, and the California Highway Patrol made 889 suspected drunken driving arrests. The California drunk driving victim attorneys with Berg Injury Lawyers are sponsoring a campaign in order to help combat the growing number of drunk drivers during the holidays. The firm will be offering free cab rides home to those who have been drinking on New Years Eve. This will be the seventh year that the law firm has sponsored the Safe And Sober Cab Ride program, which offers a maximum $35 cab fair home to anyone needing a ride. The rides are provided only to a person’s residence, not to another drinking location. The cabs will be running from 10:00 PM Saturday, December 31 to 4:00 AM Sunday, January 1. Call one of the following cab companies and tell them your ride home is on Berg Injury Lawyers:- Sacramento — Call Yellow Cab Company of Sacramento at (916) 444-2222. Patrons must be picked up at a restaurant, hotel, or bar within downtown Sacramento to qualify for a free ride.
- Alameda, Oakland & Berkeley — Call Veterans Cab at (800) 281‐4488. Any fare exceeding $35 must be paid in cash.
- San Francisco — Call Luxor Cab at (415) 282‐4141.
$73 Million Awarded In California Lawsuit Against Ford
| November 14th, 2011
November 14, 2011 A Sacramento, California, jury awarded $73 million dollars in damages to plaintiffs in a case against Ford Motor Company Thursday. According to The Sacramento Bee, the judgment came after seven years of litigation surrounding a passenger van accident caused by separation of tread from a tire on the van. The accident happened on April 9, 2004, as a group of church members headed home from a concert. During the drive, the van began to shake violently as the tread of a Goodyear tire began to peel off. The driver of the van attempted to pull over, but lost control and the van rolled several times before coming to rest. The 48-year-old driver of the van and the front passenger were killed in the accident, while several other suffered injuries. In court Thursday, the attorney for the plaintiffs told jurors that Ford and Goodyear failed to alert the customers about a $2 billion recall on the tires. The jury agreed, and with a vote of 10-2, the award was given. The jury also gave a small award after they found that the van’s design was partially at fault for the crash. Ford stated they plan to appeal the decision. The California Car Accident Attorneys with Berg Injury Lawyers often handle cases where victims were injured because of faulty auto parts. If you have been injured because of a manufacturer’s negligence contact us immediately.Richmond Teen Killed, Two Others Injured During Illegal Street Race
| November 7th, 2011
November 7, 2011 In Richmond this weekend a local teen died and two others were injured in an illegal street race crash. The Contra Costa Times reported yesterday that the accident happened around 1:15 Sunday morning, along a stretch of Richmond Parkway. The street glistened as the two cars, a Nissan Altima and a BMW, floated down the asphalt that was freshly drenched with rain. The vehicles were locked neck-and-neck, when the 21-year-old driver of the Nissan hit a wet patch, lost control, and hit his friend’s BMW. The impact caused the BMW to spin out of control and flip several times before hitting a pole. The driver of the BMW died at the scene of the crash, while his two passengers were urgently rushed to the John Muir Medical Center by helicopter in critical condition. The driver of the Nissan was unharmed, but investigators arrested him on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence. California issued 800 citations in 2001 for illegal racing-related infractions–a number that has grown significantly every year since. Now, it is estimated that 49 people are hurt and killed for every 1,000 individuals who participate in illegal street races. The California Car Accident Attorneys with Berg Injury Lawyers would like to encourage anyone hurt in an accident at no fault of their own to contact them immediately for a free evaluation of your case.Free Cab Rides Offered In The Bay Area Halloween Night
| October 31st, 2011
October 31, 2011 Tonight, trick-or-treaters will roam the streets in their ghoulish disguises on a quest for candy. Unfortunately, they could possibly have to share those streets with drivers who may have drank too much while celebrating the holiday, which puts everyone in grave danger. In order to help alleviate this problem, free cab rides home are being offered to anyone in the Bay area. The program is called Safe and Sober and is sponsored by California Personal Injury Attorney, William Berg, and his firm, Berg Injury Lawyers. They began the program seven years ago and have offered the rides during major holidays every year since. The rides will be offered between 10:00 PM tonight until 4:00 AM the tomorrow morning. The cab companies will offer the rides to anyone who has been drinking and needs a safe way home from a bar or restaurant. For a Safe and Sober ride this year, contact the following cab company within the your area:- Sacramento – Call Yellow Cab Company of Sacramento at (916) 444-2222.
- Alameda – Call Veterans Cab at (800) 281‐4488.
- San Francisco – Call Luxor Cab at (415) 282‐4141.
Free Health Care At Alameda County Fire Stations In The Works
| October 17th, 2011
October 17, 2011 A pilot program to provide healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured in Alameda County at five fire stations is in the planning stages and could be in place as early as fall of next year. The Oakland Tribune reports that the nearly $10 million dollar project would offer free primary and preventative healthcare to those in need. The project, called the Fire Station Health Care Portal pilot program, which is headed by Alameda County Fire Chief, Sheldon Gilbert, and Alameda County Health Care Services Agency Director, Alex Briscoe, has a list of seven stations in the area that are contenders to host the program. That list will be narrowed to five participants by January. Then, those five stations will be overhauled to accommodate three full-time employees: A firefighter/paramedic, a care coordinator, and a nurse practitioner. They will be responsible for giving non-emergency, primary care to the public as well as responding to non-emergency 911 calls, giving medical advice for 211 calls, and providing follow-up care. Gilbert and Briscoe believe the idea could offer local solutions for a nation-wide health care crisis. Briscoe commented, “We’re proposing a solution to a health care system where costs are running wild.” If enacted, the program would run for three years before assessment of its impact. The California Personal Injury Attorneys at Berg Injury Lawyers would like to applaud local officials for making such great efforts to ensure everyone in our area gets the health care that they deserve.California Bans The Use Of Tanning Beds For Minors
| October 10th, 2011
October 10, 2011 When Governor Jerry Brown signed State Bill 746 into law Sunday, California became the first state to ban the use of tanning beds for children under 18 years of age. The Oakland Tribune reports that the new law will take effect January 1st of next year. Under current law, the state of California says that it is illegal for children 14-years-old and younger to use the beds, while teens between the age of 15 and 17 need only their parent’s permission to tan. The author of the bill, Senator Ted Lieu, remarked after the bill passed that although 30 other states have restrictions on the age in which children can use indoor tanning facilities, the new law gives California the highest age limit in the country. Every year, as many as 2.5 million teens tan indoors in the United States, increasing their risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent. Research by the Skin Cancer Foundation has uncovered that those who use tanning beds are also 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma, and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. The California Defective Product Attorney with Berg Injury Lawyers are happy to see that law makers are taking steps to keep our youth safe and healthy. They would also like to encourage current tanning bed users to consider the health risks involved in tanning.Firework Safety Vital for Alameda County
| July 5th, 2011
July 4, 2011 With today being our country’s Independence Day, many people in Alameda County are scouring out locations that will be suitable for their own personal fireworks display. The heat that has recently dried out the area, combined with the open flames and sparks of fireworks, could prove to be quite a hazardous situation. In fact, the National Council On Firework Safety (NCFS) reported an estimated 7,000 injuries caused by fireworks in 2008 alone. That number was an all-time low, and the council credits consumer education on safety as the main contributing factor to the decrease in injuries. According to ABC News 7, one firework retailer in Dublin, California, offers a safety warning to each customer who comes through the purchase line, “We ask them to please stay where it’s legal, we ask them to go to the parks that are designated for firing the fireworks.” Firing from an open area, like a park, can greatly reduce the risk of house and forest fires as hot ashes from the fireworks descend. The NCFS also suggests that after each firing device has burned out, it should be placed under a watering hose or bucket of water to ensure it is fully extinguished. The California Fire and Burn Injury Attorneys with Berg Injury Lawyers hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July Celebration.California community tested for Alameda environmental injury
| July 29th, 2008
July 29, 2008
According to The Oakland Tribune, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating a possible Alameda environmental injury after dangerous levels of hazardous organic compounds were found at a former metal plating site.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control previously found very high levels of trichloroethylene, cis-dichloroethene, trans dichloroethene and vinyl chloride in the possible Alameda environmental injury location.
One woman who has possibly been affected from the Alameda environmental injury suffers from multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and a rare blindness disease. Another woman in the area suffers from cancer, while her children suffer other ailments from their premature births.
Additional residents in the area also fear an Alameda environmental injury from breathing in the potential hazardous compounds in the air.
The Alameda environmental injury case has been under the investigation of the Department of Toxic Substances Control since June 2007 and is ongoing.
Berg Injury Lawyers Helps Local Residents by Giving Away Hands-Free Headsets
| June 25th, 2008
June 25, 2008 With California’s new hands-free law taking effect July 1, 2008, many Californians are purchasing headsets for their cell phones so they can continue to talk while driving. Any motorists, who are caught chatting on their cell phones without a hands-free device starting July 1, will be fined. To help local residents and alleviate the added costs of purchasing headsets, Berg Injury Lawyers will be distributing 2,000 complimentary hands-free headsets. “With the new law taking effect, many Californians are faced with the added expense of purchasing hands-free headsets,” said attorney William Berg, founder of Berg Injury Lawyers. “By giving these headsets away, I hope to alleviate the extra expense while promoting safe driving. As part of my job, I constantly hear about car accidents that could have been easily avoided if drivers had been paying more attention to the traffic around them. I hope that this new law helps keep all drivers a little safer on the roads.” The law, which takes effect July 1, 2008, is meant to protect everyone on the road by reducing driver distraction. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, an estimated 300 lives will be saved annually in California due to the new law. Additionally, Connecticut, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., currently have laws in place to ban using hand-held mobile devices while driving. To receive a complimentary hands-free headset, visit the firm’s Web site at www.BergInjuryLawyers.com and fill out a simple form. Headsets will be available at Berg Injury Lawyers’ Alameda, Modesto, and Sacramento office locations beginning July 3 while supplies last. About California’s Hands-Free Law- While those 18 and older are allowed to use hands-free headsets, those under 18 aren’t allowed to use mobile devices with or without hands-free accessories (VC §23124).
- Police officers will begin ticketing drivers who use cell phones without hands-free devices on July 1. The first offense results in a $20 fine and the second offense is a $50 fine. Multiple offenses could result in more than triple the base amount.
- Drivers are allowed to use their cell phones without hands-free devices during emergencies to call police, fire, or medical authorities.
