As more bodies are pulled from the wreckage, the investigation into the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident continues with more company executives coming under investigation for possible negligent conduct. News reports that just last week an additional 8 more bodies were found and 7 remain unaccounted for.

The cruise ship accident occurred off the Italian Coast a little over a month ago. More that 4200 passengers had to be evacuated after a rock tore a hole in the shop and capsized the boat. At least 25 people have died. As the result of the accident, several civil negligence lawsuits have been filed including a Florida class action lawsuit alleging fraud and gross negligence.

Accidents happen when you least expect them. When accidents happen while on vacation or in a foreign country, those harmed are often confused about where to turn, what help exists and question their legal rights. Consulting with a knowledgeable Stockton personal injury lawyer is an important first step to provide personal injury answers and resources.

Several important issues are raised when boating accidents and cruise ship accident occur, including: Where can I file a boat accident lawsuit? What laws govern my cruise ship claim? Who is responsible for my cruise ship injuries? These are complex questions and require the assistance of a top boating injury attorney. The good news is that in many situations, those injured may be able to recover compensation for the harmed caused.

In the months to come, families and passengers will continue to seek information about just what happened on the Costa Concordia.

For more information about cruise ship accident or boating injuries, contact the knowledgeable Stockton accident lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for a free, immediate consultation.

A California nursing home has been fined $80,000 based on its failure to prevent the nursing home wrongful death of a patient at one of its facilities. The Los Angeles Times reports that the state regulators have concluded that the Motion Picture & Television Fund “failed to ensure an environment free of accident hazards with adequate supervision, leading to the death of a patient.”

Unfortunately, dangerous conditions and a lack of adequate supervision are prevalent concerns facing nursing homes throughout California and the United States. Although many nursing homes provide quality care, too often our elders are victims of nursing home neglect. If you believe a loved one has suffered an injury at a nursing home due to neglect or abuse, it is important to speak to a Stockton personal injury lawyer immediately to answer your nursing home neglect questions and determine your next steps.

Here, a 90-year-old California woman who was a resident at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s nursing home suffer a fatal fall at the Fund’s Woodland Hills facility. A wrongful death lawsuit alleged that the nursing home staff “failed to properly monitor Delay, a wheelchair-bound patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”

After an investigation into the accident, regulators assessed the fine against the home based on its findings.

If you believe a loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect or elder abuse, contact an experienced nursing home negligence attorney at once. A skilled Stockton elder abuse lawyer can help ensure your loved one is protected. Where an injury or wrongful death occurs, a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer can help you obtain the compensation you and your loved one deserves. For more information, contact a dedicated Stockton personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of Frederick J. Sette for a free, confidential consultation.

A recent article out of San Diego details the tragic circumstances surrounding the deadly off-road trucking accident that occurred a little over and year and a half ago. The Mojave Desert off-road racing accident killed 8 spectators and seriously injured many more. After the accident, several lawsuits have been filed alleging negligence on the part of the U.S. government, race organizers and the driver, Brett Sloppy.

Sloppy, a San Marcos man, hit a rock at the bottom of a jump, which then caused his truck’s steering to fail. The truck overturned and plowed into a crowd of spectators.

If you have been injured in a serious accident – or lost a loved one as the result of wrongful or negligent conduct – consulting with an experienced Stockton personal injury attorney is important to answer your personal injury questions and protect your rights.

Here, several avenues of fault may exist. First, an internal investigation has shown that the Bureau of Land Management did not adequately monitor the race and failed to follow all the necessary procedures. Further, only one ranger was on patrol. Spectators crowded the course.

Nearly all of the families of individuals killed have filed wrongful death suits, while many of those injured have filed personal injury lawsuits.

A representative stated that because the United States owned the land, it will bear the bulk of the responsibility. “It [the federal government] was supposed to be supervising the race, but it didn’t.” Many observers also note that responsibility for the accident will not likely be placed on Sloppy. Participants in a race like the California 200 are not responsible for the safety of spectators, he said. “It’s similar to the batter who hits a foul ball that hits somebody in the head and kills them … the batter is not responsible.

Hopefully with all the attention garnered from this event, safety measures will be put in place to avoid future accidents.

For more information about this truck accident or any other personal injury accident, contact a dedicated Stockton personal injury attorney for a free, confidential consultation.

A recent study by the “Leapfrog Group,” a group that evaluates how well hospitals perform, has determined that 41% of California hospitals receive a grade of C or lower. The Leapfrog Group looks at hospitals with the hopes of encouraging hospitals to take action to reduce preventable medical injuries and deaths.

The reality is that although the United States spends more per person than any other nation, the quality of our health care at many hospitals falls short. Statistics place the number of preventable injuries and deaths at a staggering 98,000 per year in the United States. A “preventable injury or death” is considered an adverse event that is caused as the result of deficient medical care and management, rather than as the result of an underlying health condition.

If you believe you or a loved one has suffered a serious preventable injury while in the hospital, it is important to consult with a Stockton personal injury attorney right away to review your matter and determine your next steps. Where a hospital, physician or other medical staff is found responsible for causing you harm, it may be possible to recover compensation for your damages. This may include such items as your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost past and future wages and emotional distress.

The Leapfrog preventable medical error study provided these first-ever scores in an effort that consumers and employers become aware of hospital that provide poor patient quality of care. A listing of the ratings of all of the California hospital can be found at http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Nationwide, 47% of the 2,652 hospitals that were graded received a C or below, including some big-name institutions such as Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Despite recent efforts by many hospitals to improve the number of medical mistakes, including patient-safety initiatives such as implementing electronic medical record keeping, hand-washing protocols, checklists and other strategies, little real progress has been made in protecting patients from harm.

A representative of Leapfrog analogizes the number of patient deaths per day from medical errors to that of daily airplane crashes noting, “If an airline was crashing and killing 400 people every day, we would have made a lot of progress in the last decade … Without public pressure this won’t become a top priority for hospital leaders.”

In an effort to mimic the success of restaurant rating systems, Leapfrog embarked on its hospital rankings, working with leading patient safety experts to analyze 26 different hospital measures evaluating infection rates, medication errors and other relevant data.

In California, Leapfrog graded 264 hospitals and gave a C or lower to 41% of them. It handed out A’s to 97 facilities, Bs to 58 and Cs to 83. An additional 26 hospitals ranked even lower. Leapfrog didn’t issue a letter grade for them and said it will give those lowest performers until November to show improvement before issuing them a D or F.

Observers note, this is a huge breakthrough for consumers, explaining that while hospital advertising may tout the latest medical wing or other marketing feat, the reality is that they may have good hospital safety scores.

For more information about California hospital safety, or if you believe a loved one may have been injured as the result of a medical error, contact the dedicated Stockton personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate consultation.

News reports that “eating while driving” has been blamed for causing a roll-over car crash near Sacramento. Sources indicate that a man was eating a taco while driving down a street in the town of Antelope. Witnesses state that the man took his eyes of the road to brush some crumbs of his lap when he crashed into two parked cars. The impact of the collision then caused his car to flip onto its roof. Officers also note that the man was driving a “whole lot faster” than the stated speed limit of 20 mph.

Car accidents can happen for a myriad of reasons. Regardless of the cause, if you are injured in an accident it is important to seek the advice of a top Stockton accident attorney right away. Many times, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries including medical expenses, back pay, pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Here – “eating while driving” falls into the category of distracted driving – one of the most common factors behind California car accidents. Distracted driving includes more than just texting while driving, it includes any actions where a driver loses focus on the road and diverts a person’s attention away from the task at hand – safe driving. As stated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways. In 2010 alone, over 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.

NHTSA comments that all distractions endanger safety, including that of the driver, passenger and bystander. Types of distractions include:

• Eating and drinking

• Texting

• Using a cell phone or smartphone

• Talking to passengers

• Grooming

• Reading, including maps

• Using a navigation system

• Watching a video

• Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player

Texting if often considered the most dangerous because it distracts a driver visually, manually and cognitively. Some additional driver distraction statistics provided by NHTSA include:

• 18% of injury crashes in 2010 were reported as distraction-affected crashes.

• In the month of June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the US, up nearly 50% from June 2009.

• 11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.

• 40% of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger.

• Drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.

• Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted.

• Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.

• Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use.

• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%.

In an effort to end distracted driving, several organizations have attempted to raise awareness about the dangers posed – especially targeting teens who as a group are the most frequent to text and drive.

However, as this accident shows – eating and driving can also lead to significant injury accidents.

For more information, or if you have suffered personal injuries as the result of a car accident, contact a top Stockton personal injury attorney at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate consultation.

California news reports that a negligence lawsuit has been filed by a group of consumers against the Skechers company based on its “Shape Up Shoes.” The negligence lawsuit alleges that both fraud and negligence stemming from claims by the shoemakers that wearing the shoes serves as a workout. In addition to claims of fraud, the lawsuit also alleges that the several individuals were seriously injured as the result of wearing the shoes.

If you have suffered any personal injuries, it is important to consult with an experienced Stockton personal injury attorney to discuss your case and determined your next steps. In many situations it may be possible to recover compensation for your injuries.

Here Skechers ads claim, “With Shape-ups, you can finally get in shape without going to the gym.” The advertisments also assert that Skechers’ patented design changes the way a person walks, utilizing different muscles and firming them up. According to the lawsuit rather than helping people get in shape, shoe owners suffered serious injuries such as torn tendons and ligaments, torn cartilage and hip fractures. Wearing the shoes also caused people to fall and injure themselves.

Additionally it is unknown whether any safety tests were performed before this dangerous product was placed on the market. As noted by representatives of the injured parties “the public, when they purchase the product, has the right to assume the product is safe.”

Liability for a dangerous product can be established in many ways, such as through a fraud, negligence or product liability lawsuit. For example, in a product liability lawsuit where a defect causes your injury or damages, you may be able to recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages.

In a similar lawsuit, Reebok was fined $25 million by the Federal Trade Commission for false claims that its shoes could strengthen legs and backsides.

For more information about this lawsuit or if you been injured in a personal injury lawsuit, contact a dedicated Stockton injury attorney at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for a free, confidential consultation.

In what is being reported as the largest medical malpractice verdict in Wyoming state history, a jury has just awarded a man and his wife $9 million as the result of emergency room negligence. The medical malpractice case arose out of the actions taken by ER physicians and staff after a 51-year-old oil field worker suffered injuries in a truck accident. The man was driving down an icy road when his truck slid off the pavement, rolled over several times and landed upside down. He was immobilized by emergency medical workers who placed him on a backboard and fit him with a neck brace to prevent further damage.

If you have suffered injuries in any type of accident, after you’ve obtained the medical assistance necessary, it is important to speak with an experienced Stockton personal injury lawyer to protect your rights and determine your next steps. In many circumstances, it may be possible to obtain compensation for your harm.

In this situation, the treatment the accident victim received – or failed to receive – led to further injuries. Once the truck driver arrived at the hospital, the ER physician ordered X-rays and CT scans of the patient’s head, spine and facial bones but not of his neck – despite his complaining of neck pain and was released without a cervical collar. Four days later he returned to the hospital with extreme shoulder and neck pain, along with weakness in his arm. Tests revealed he had a broken neck requiring emergency surgery. As the result of the failed diagnosis, the man is in extreme pain, unable to work and primarily confined to home due to his disability. Based on evidence introduced at trial, the jury determined the hospital had been negligent in failing to take neck x-rays.

If you believe you have been injured as the result of another’s negligence, consulting with an experienced accident attorney can help. In situations where you believe you may have been harmed as the result of medical negligence, a top medical malpractice attorney can begin an investigation the circumstances surrounding an injury. Where medical personnel including nurses, physicians and other health care workers fail to meet the requisite standard of care, they may be found liable for medical malpractice and be held responsible to pay damages.

For more information or if you believe you or a loved one has been injured as the result of another’s wrongful conduct, contact a top Stockton personal injury lawyer at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate consultation.

Nearly 200,000 California car accidents involving injuries occur each year, and the number continues to rise. The causes of car accidents vary, from driver error, to roadway negligence and automobile defects. However, driver distraction remains one of the leading causes of roadway accidents. While many accidents can’t be prevented, following safety tips can go a long way in avoiding injuries.

Recently, a California Highway Patrol was interviewed concerning the CHP’s approach to ticketing drivers in an effort to improve safety. As provided in the article, many Californians have the misconception that CHP officers ticket drivers in order to raise revenue. However, the reality is they are trying to save peoples lives and prevent serious personal injuries.

By ticketing those who violate California hands free laws, CHP officers hope to decrease the number of car accidents that occur. Statistics show that drivers are four times as likely to get into injury accidents as those who avoid cell phone usage. Further, the group with the greatest proportion of distracted drivers is those under 20 years old. In fact, 16% of fatalities for California’s youngest drivers are the result of distracted driving.

Further, despite the push for hands-free cell phone usage, studies show that the risks of hands-free v. hand-held usage is minimal. The danger comes from the distraction having a conversation provides, not from the type of device you use.

The best policy is to avoid cell-phone usage whatsoever while you’re driving, and to pull over if you absolutely must make a call or text. In the meantime, the CHP will be out there doing their best to enforce California rules of the road.

For more information about California distracted driving or if you have been injured in any California car accident contact a top Stockton personal injury lawyer at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate consultation.

A long running case recent case has determined that a general contractor may be held liable for personal injuries suffered by an independent contractor if the general contractor actively engaged in conduct that contributed to the independent contractor’s injuries.

In Tverberg v. Fillner Construction, Inc. an independent contractor was injured on a worksite after falling into a four-foot deep hole. The contractor had recognized the danger and requested that the condition be fixed. However, before the dangerous condition could be remedied, the contractor was injured.

If you have been injured in a workplace accident it is important to contact an experienced Stockton work place accident attorney to discuss your case and determine your next steps.

This case went through several court hearings, looking at the responsibility of different people on a job site, including the owner, the general contractor, supervisors and several lower level subcontractors when a party suffers an injury.

Here, the court determined that although an independent contractor on the job may retain some responsibility for his or her injuries, a general contractor on a jobsite could be held directly liable for injuries suffered by an independent contractor where the general contractor actively engaged in conduct that contributed to those injuries.

Further, it’s not enough to establish liability if the general contractor simply allows a dangerous condition to exist (is passive about an unsafe condition). The general contractor must be actively involved in some way in creating the dangerous condition. In this situation, because the general contractor asked for the holes to be dug, directed another contractor to dig the holes and failed to cover up the holes after requested to do so, the court determined that any one of these actions could constitute an “affirmative contribution” to the accident.

As a result, the appellate court sent the case back to the trial court for a determination of liability.

If you have been injured on a work site, many complicated laws concerning your right to recover compensation exist. For more information, or to discuss your work accident case, please contact a top Stockton work place accident lawyer at the Law Office of Frederick J. Sette for an immediate consultation.