Fatal Landfill Accident: Negligence vs. Defective Vehicle

Drivers have the responsibility of maintaining the good condition of their vehicle. When a part of it malfunctions, the issue of negligence and vehicle defect will be closely looked at.

A 38-year-old male driver, from Escondido, died at the Miramar Landfill after being trapped below the bin of the dump truck he was driving.

According to Jose Ysea, a public information officer of the Environmental Services of San Diego, the man had just finished discarding a stack of garbage and was apparently driving away when he saw the bin of the Dodge 3500 was still in an upward position.

Authorities believed the truck’s bin fell and crushed the driver to the chassis after he crawled in the area between the bin and cab to repair the problem.

Landfill workers performed CPR and paramedics unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate the driver, said Ysea.

In situations like this, the driver may have committed an error while he was trying to fix the truck or the truck itself was defective that caused its bin to fall down.

Although determining what caused the incident will not bring back the life of the driver, his loved ones may receive monetary help if it happened due to a defect in the truck’s design or manufacturing.

Santa Ana man falls onto concrete pit

One of the common construction accidents is falling. Falling from a great height often results to broken limbs, brain damage, paralysis, and even death.

In Huntington Beach, a 48-year-old Santa Ana contractor was killed when he fell off a scissor lift. The victim was identified as Angel Celaya who was working in a building 45 at the Boeing campus at 5301 Bolsa Avenue when the incident happened.

Jeff Lopez of the Huntington Beach Fire Department said Celaya fell from 21 feet head-first into a hard concrete pit that was under construction.

Construction falls are a major health and safety issue if not taken seriously.  Consequently, employers are required to protect their workers at height and must acquire necessary insurance. Any neglect in their duty to provide safety can result to an employer having to pay work accident compensation.

Moreover, construction equipment used on construction sites often contributes to the dangers that workers face everyday. In this particular case, the scissor lift may have been defective.

Personal injury cases are common in construction sites. When negligence attended a fall or accident, the worker-victim has the right to file a case against the employer. A construction accident attorney may be engaged to pursue an industrial accident claim.

New Ruling on Vehicle search

Right to privacy is a fundamental right. But for greater public interest, this right may be limited.

Searches on vehicles during a traffic stop are allowed. Previously, police officers making an arrest could check the vehicle. Any evidence found during the search could be used against the driver. For instance, an unlicensed gun could be used as evidence even if taken during a search for traffic violation.

However, in the case of Arizona vs. Rodney Gant, the U.S. Supreme Court limited police searches. The court pronounced in this case that vehicle search would be valid only if:

• the driver or passenger was in a position to grab a weapon or

• the vehicle contains evidence used in a crime for which such person was arrested.

Otherwise, police officers should ask for a search warrant. However, the above rule admits exceptions. Searches could be made if driver consented to the search or if any of the occupants was on probation or parole.

Police officers though were not alarmed with the court’s pronouncement. Officers Jorge Gomez and Sgt. Javier Campos of Clovis Police said that this decision would not make a difference because most drivers give their consent to search their vehicles.

But for those who are stopped for a traffic violation and searched for possible evidence, be reminded of the new ruling. Bear in mind that you can always resist a police’s search.

Disturbing biases on two hit and run cases

Regardless of the identity of the victim, hit and run accidents are always tragic and devastating. Sustaining an injury is already a major ordeal let alone having no one to be responsible for it because the assailant is at large.

While some incidents of hit and run cases obtain huge media coverage, some cases are given less attention. Thus, when two hit and run cases happened in one day, one involving an 18 year old USC student and another involving a Guatamela native, a manifestation of bias was exhibited.

Adrianna Bachan’s death attained huge media coverage. In fact, it was all over the news for weeks. On the other hand, Agapito Gaspar Nicolas’ death was unheard of until a newspaper reported on how authorities display a little interest over his case.

Inequality was also obvious on how the police handled the two cases.  Bachan’s death caused the Los Angeles Police Department to assign 20 detectives and officers to the case. Officials also acted aggressively by having press conferences and approving a $75,000 reward which grew to $235,000. Subsequently, the suspected assailant was apprehended in one week time.

In contrast, only one detective was assigned to Nicolas’ case and the paperwork for the reward sat on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s table for a week.

But due to the newspapers report on unbiased treatment of the two cases, Mayor Villaraigosa signed the paper giving a $50,000 reward to any information leading to the arrest and conviction of Nicolas’ assailant.

Bachan was young, full of life and promising but those were not enough reasons to neglect an equally important and devastating case of Nicolas.
Justice is for all. It transcends color, age, gender and race. Both cases were equally hurtful to the victim’s loved ones. Authorities have responsibility to deal with the incidents with the same vigor and aggressiveness.

While it is true that Nicolas’s family may resort to the aid of the best personal injury lawyer, the chance of solving the case is great when the public and the authorities are involved on it.

Driver’s Negligence Contributed to His Own Death

Drivers are required by law to follow traffic rules. These rules are created for the safety of the drivers, their passengers, and the other motorists on the road as well. Failure to obey these rules may have serious and tragic consequences, such as injuries or death.

Being negligent while driving may result in an accident that could cost anyone his life. The same incident occurred last April 25 along northbound of Feather Boulevard where a 29-year old man died due to his own fault.

According to police, the vehicle was traveling at a high speed, went into the east shoulder after leaving the road when the driver over-corrected to his left, causing the vehicle to skid and run off west side of the road. The impact of the crash was so strong that the 29-year-old driver was ejected from his vehicle which landed on top of him, killing him instantly.

Investigations revealed that prescription drugs and alcohol may have been a factor in the vehicle accident. Added to this, it was found that the driver failed to fasten his seatbelt , a grave miscalculation  which cost him his life.

This accident should serve as a lesson to all drivers that following traffic rules can prevent accidents. Drivers should also be reminded that failure to follow traffic rules may lead to their injuries or death.