Orange County CA Wrongful Death Law Blog

There are many bicyclists on the road in California. With the agreeable climate and the benefits to being a biker, this is no surprise. What is also unsurprising is the number of bicyclists who are losing their lives in a crash with a motor vehicle. Given the number of drivers who are not paying strict attention to the road, this is a growing problem. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of riders who died in a crash rose by 10 percent in the last year. The final numbers are expected to be the worst in more than three decades. Those who were injured or lost a loved one in a fatal bike accident should be cognizant of these statistics as it can be important when considering a legal filing for compensation.

Researchers and bike safety advocates say that as vehicles become safer for those inside the compartment, it becomes riskier for those outside the vehicle - specifically bicyclists and pedestrians. Safety regulations have seen to the vehicle improvements, but this has not done much for those outside vehicles. Some automakers are implementing technology that stops the vehicle automatically to protect bicyclists and pedestrians, but not all vehicles have this. The rising popularity of SUVs has been shown to be linked to fatalities of those outside vehicles.

The medical device industry faces some competing priorities that may be nearly impossible to resolve. These devices can make an important difference in patients' lives, and so everyone wants them to be available quickly. However, medical devices can cause terrible problems if they are defective, and so everyone wants them to be safe. For that reason, the medical device industry is heavily regulated.

Unfortunately, sometimes the pressure to get a product to market overcomes the pressure to make sure the product is safe, and regulators are not able to discover problems until after the devices are already on the market, leading to patients getting hurt by defective products.

As we have noted many times before on this blog, when a negligent driver injures another person, the injured can make a claim to recover their damages through a personal injury lawsuit. The damages in these cases can include the injured party's medical expenses and lost wages from the time her or she was unable to return to work, as well as less tangible damages such as pain and suffering.

In cases involving a fatal car accident, these issues are somewhat different. Family members of the victim my file a wrongful death lawsuit against the negligent driver who caused their loved one's death.

When patients agree to have a medical device surgically implanted in their bodies, they trust that the surgeons know what they're doing, and that the device is safe and will be effective. Indeed, when the only way to remove the device is through a second surgical operation, a patient must place a lot of faith in the people who created it. Unfortunately, sometimes medical device companies rush their products to market before they are ready, and patients are badly injured as a result.

This issue of trust is at the heart of long-running product liability litigation involving transvaginal mesh devices. Used primarily as a treatment for pelvic prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, the mesh products have been implanted in thousands of women. Unfortunately, medical professionals and government regulators have reported widespread problems with the devices.