Archive for November, 2009

Group Fighting Lawsuit Abuse Is Mostly Big Business

Monday, November 30th, 2009

noleneThe Orange County Register has reported that one of the largest anti-lawsuit organizations is actually operated in the interests of stopping civil lawsuits from hurting the bottom line of many America’s largest corporations. While the California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse has a private donor list, the Center for Justice & Democracy claims that some of the organization’s largest donors are tobacco industry conglomerates and other major corporations.

The CCALA tries to back its assertions against lawsuit abuse by painting an image of lawsuit victims as greedy money lovers, who are bankrupting the government with frivolous lawsuits. While they call themselves a “a nonpartisan grassroots movement of concerned citizens and businesses who are fighting against lawsuit abuse in California,” the Center for Justice & Democracy says their real goals are ”to incite public scorn for the civil justice system, juries and judges, and to pave the way for enactment of laws immunizing corporations from liability for actions that harm consumers.”

As American citizens, it is important to realize that civil courts exist to help right non-criminal wrongs. The majority of civil cases are very legitimate and deal with victimized persons trying to get their lives back together. The only way we can continue these practices is by ensuring that lawsuits are continually protected from special interest groups such as the CCALA. If an individual or corporation has hurt you, you have the right to take action by filing a lawsuit and working with an Orange County injury attorney. Don’t let these corporate-backed groups take away your rights.

To read more about the CCALA, see the article in the Orange County Register. Image Via nolene [Flickr].

Poor Contact Lens Solution Results in Class Action Suit

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

nikozzComplete Moistureplus contact lens solution by Advanced Medical Optics is accused of either causing or failing to prevent serious eye infections called acanthamoeba keratitis. The condition is very severe and may result in scaring, vision loss, and require the eventual transplant of the entire cornea.

An outbreak of the infections in 2007 resulted in a voluntary product recall of the lens solution. Now the victims have banded together with the help of Orange County personal injury attorney Ron Labriola Newport Beach-based firm Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson to take action against the company that caused their injuries. Labriola says that some of the contaminated products directly caused the eye infections, while others failed to prevent them.

“The solution doesn’t disinfect against this particular bacteria,” Labriola said. “It also has ancillary ingredients that cause the amoeba to go into a protective state.”

For more information on the suit, see the article in the Orange County Register. Image Via nikozz [Flickr].

Pop Singer Brandy Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Monday, November 16th, 2009

ubrayj02The final lawsuit relating to a 2006 car accident involving pop star Brandy has finally been settled in a Los Angeles court this week. The singer/actress caused the four car pile up on Sepulveda Boulevard when she rear-ended Awatef Aboudihaj while going 65 miles per hour. The crashed caused a domino effect, which resulted in three wrongful death lawsuits and one personal injury case.

This last lawsuit, involving compensation to Aboudihaj’s parents, is the final settlement the pop star will go through after the event. While the terms of this settlement are unknown, Orange County personal injury attorneys report that the final award given to Aboudihaj’s children came out to $300,000 each.

To learn more about the accident see the article in Vibe. Image Via ubrayj02 [Flickr]

Toyota for Sued For Faulty Accelorators

Monday, November 9th, 2009

chris.corwinTwo drivers in California have filed a class action suit against Toyota for a known defect in both Toyota and Lexus vehicles that has resulted in the loss of control of over 2,000 vehicles. So far, at least 16 people have died and over 240 people have been injured as a result of the vehicle acceleration issues. Both parties behind the suit are past Toyota or Lexus owners who have been victimized by the car’s acceleration problems.

Toyota has publicly blamed the problems on floor mats that have trapped the accelerator and prevented its release. The two plaintiffs claim there are other issues behind the acceleration problems besides just the floor mats though. The plaintiffs and their Orange County personal injury attorneys claim that Toyota has a problem with the throttle control system as well, which would have otherwise prevented the sudden acceleration.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for everyone victimized by the defaults and for the company to issue a recall of all affected car models. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously investigated these incidents and claimed the floor mats are the only major defect in the cars. They did discover that the problems rendered the vacuum brake system much less functional and noted an increase in stopping distance from 200 feet to more than 1,000 feet. The amount of force required to fully apply the brake also increased from 30 pounds of pressure to 150 pounds of pressure.

So far Toyota has already recalled more than 3.8 million vehicles related to this defect. Owners have been instructed to remove the driver’s floor mats until a more permanent solution is made available.

To read more, see the article in Canadian Driver. Image Via Chris.Corwin [Flickr]