Personal Injury Lawyer

The personal injury lawyers at Rahman Law PC are powerful advocates for people who have been injured through no fault of their own.  These personal injury blogs contain articles with information relating to personal injury law, personal injury lawyers, and personal injury cases of interest.

San Francisco: One of the Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Over 800 people are hit by cars in San Francisco each year, according to an article in the SF Chronicle. An average of 2 people are hit everyday, and with the holiday season, this number is on the rise due to shortened daylight hours and “increased alcohol use and winter weather.”

But it’s not just during the holidays that we have to worry about being mowed down by speeding, inattentive drivers. San Francisco ranked higher than larger cities like New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London for traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents. In a city like this, pedestrians might have to wonder how safe it is to walk out their front door on any normal day.
Pedestrian-Car Collision Hot Spots
“The top 10 most dangerous parts of San Francisco for walkers are concentrated in the Financial District and the Tenderloin, South of Market and Bayview neighborhoods” because of a larger than average number of people who “rely on walking and public transit.”
But collisions were also found to be concentrated in residential areas like Glen Park, the Castro, the Mission, Excelsior and the Western Addition.
Among these collisions, the Chronicle singled out three from the past few months that occurred in a crosswalk:
On Nov. 17, 65-year-old Nu Ha Dam was struck and killed by a UCSF shuttle bus at lunchtime while crossing Geary Street at Leavenworth, two blocks from her home.
 
On Sept. 2, a hit-and-run driver who was later arrested, killed 70-year-old Joyce Lau as she was crossing Cole Street at waller shortly before 8 a.m.
 
Later that same day, around 5 p.m., a 79-year-old woman whose identity has not been released sustained life-threatening injuries while trying to cross Bayshore Boulevard at Bacon Street.
A Matter of Health
Considering pedestrian accidents account for at least a quarter of all injury crashes, street safety should not only be one of our highest transit priorities, but a public health one as well, according to Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, the director of occupational and environmental health for the city’s Department of Public Health. Despite the high figures and news reports of accidents, pedestrian safety continues to be a problem and real change is slowly–too slowly–emerging from the offices of our elected officials.
Not helping the issue is the continued accolades boasted by the SFMTA. Just a few months ago, in October, the SFMTA released a report showing that the number of fatalities had, in fact, decreased over recent years. And yet, we are still ranked at a higher percentage than many other major cities.
Baby Steps Towards Improvement
San Francisco’s transportation agency is implementing a pilot program aimed at decreasing the speed limit in targeted residential neighborhoods to 15 mph. Meanwhile, Board of Supervisors David Chau plans to fund a study researching how city agencies are addressing this pedestrian problem.
But are these steps too small and too slow of a start?
According to Michael Bianco, whose 32-year-old daughter sustained major brain trauma from a hit-and-run that rendered her incapable of living independently, “Whatever can be done to prevent something of this kind occurring again is time well spent.” Bianco is currently suing the city for negligence. He “believes San Francisco is far more dangerous to walk in than the numbers suggest.” And the numbers already suggest enough.

If you ever need a pedestrian accident attorney in San Francisco, Paso Robles, or the surrounding Central California Coast area, contact us for a free consultation.

2010’s Rise in On-Highway Safety Issues

Posted on by Shaana A. Rahman

The American Motorcyclist Association recently published a chart of 2010’s national on-highway safety issues. Out of a total of 1074 issues, 439 were for “Distracted/Inattentive Vehicle Operation” which includes:

  • Cellphone usage: Restricting or prohibiting use
  • Bans: Text messaging, internet use, drowsy driving
  • Hands-free:Use of cellphone
  • Distracted/Inattentive driving
  • Restricting video displays
  • After crash: Police reports to include distracted-driver info, enhanced penalties

This is an increase of 135 cases compared to last year’s 304 (source). This jump shows a vast lack of knowledge on motorcycle laws.

If you are one of these motorcyclists who are unfamiliar with the laws, the AMA has a helpful database that could help you ride safely in every state: State-by-state motorcycle laws

Has DriveCam Improved Muni’s Safety?

Posted on by Rahman Law PC
Last January, on the same day the 19-Polk collision hospitalized 9 people, the SFMTA released a self-congratulatory statement regarding their improved safety record.

A few months earlier, in November 2009, Muni spent $1.2 million installing the DriveCam onto all their buses and trolleys “to help improve safety on the transit system.”

About DriveCam
The DriveCam is installed both inside and outside of the vehicle and kicks in seconds before and after incidents involving hard breaking or swerving. The company website advertises a “Seven Steps to Risk Reduction and Savings” plan wherein #5 and #6 are:

5. Driver review, coaching and training

  • Supervisors and drivers review the video, company policy and procedures. The goal is for the driver to understand and improve his or her driving.

6. The driver returns to the field with new insights

  • The employee returns to the field integrating new learning into his or her driving
Muni’s Goals: Savings or Safety?
While the SFMTA claims to have adopted DriveCam’s idealistic steps to improve safety. However, in their press release, the SFMTA said these cameras would “assess liability from collisions and reduce expenses incurred from such incidents that can include vehicle damage, worker’s compensation, and personal injury.”

After the 19-Polk accident, both the SF Appeal and The Examiner were quick to suggest that the installation of DriveCam seemed more like an attempt to improve Muni’s safety record, and not its actual safety.
So now that one year has passed, what are your thoughts on this? Has Muni made your public transportation any safer?

5 Killed in Motorcycle-Car Collision

Posted on by Shaana A. Rahman

On Saturday November 13th, 21 people of the Saddletramps Motorcycle Club were riding 80 miles outside of San Diego on Route 98 when a man in a Dodge Avenger swerved into them. Four of the riders and the driver’s companion in the passenger seat were killed instantly.

Though the driver, Carlos Ramirez, was later arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, Carl Smith, president of the motorcycle club, does not blame him for this tragedy.
What caused Ramirez, who was going 5 miles under the speed limit, to swerve into the motorcyclists was a Honda Civic that sped past him, forcing Ramirez off the road.
According to this article:
Smith doesn’t blame Ramirez, despite the allegation that he was driving under the influence. He considers Ramirez a victim because his companion died.
“It looked like he overreacted, but the guy in the Honda Civic was at fault,” said Smith, who estimated the Civic was going 95 mph when it passed the motorcycles.”
However, California Highway Patrol Officer DeeAnn Goudie remarked that had Ramirez gone off to the right, he would have landed safely in the sand.
It’s unclear whether or not he was under the influence at the time of the accident and whether or not it was a contributing factor to the deaths and injuries of the motorcyclists.
What are your thoughts on this tragedy?

The FDA Acts 32 Years Later

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Last Friday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that the drug propoxyphene (sold under the brand names Darvon and Darvocet) is going to be taken off the market.

Propoxyphene was a generic pain medication with similar effects as Extra Strength Tylenol, but with serious side-effects on the heart that has led to a “staggering” number of deaths during its 53-year use.
A petition to ban propoxyphene first came to the FDA in 1978 from the advocacy group Health Research Group of Public Citizen, led by Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe and again in 2006 after Britain banned the drug in 2005.
In 2009, medical examiners in Florida reported a large amount of deaths linked to propoxyphene, leading the European Union to ban it. And finally, in January 2009, the FDA followed suit. Dr. Wolfe responded to this victory, saying, “I would have praised them if they had done this six years ago, but it’s hard to praise them when there have been 120 million more prescriptions filled since 2005 and conservatively 1,000 to 2,000 more deaths. It’s inexcusable.”
This frightening oversight–one that kept the FDA blinded for 32 years–should come as a shock, but we have seen again and again the FDA’s fallibility when it comes to our health and safety.
Source: The New York Times – Business Day (Saturday, November 20, 2010)

Upcoming Projects and Changes for BART

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

For almost a decade, BART has been planning and funding a transit village in Walnut Creek that would house 596 apartments. This $100 million project took a few steps back after being hit by the recession. Construction is likely to start in 2012 and take 6-8 years to be completed. (Source)

And in West Dublin/Pleasanton, a new BART station is set to start operating in early 2011. BART recently set the fares at: “$4.15 for a trip to Berkeley, $5.05 for a trip to Walnut creek, and $10.40 to travel to SFO.” (Source)

Biking For the Real City Experience

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

In yesterday’s NYtimes, Seth Kugel gave his amusing and illuminating account of Los Angeles from the perspective of a cycling tourist.

Kugel made it his goal to visit a reasonably large stretch of LA county comprising of places like Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Downtown, and Pasadena on a budget of $100/day. Undeterred by lore on the impossibility of getting around LA without a car, Kugel made his ambitious week-long adventure depending only on public transportation and a rented hybrid Trek bike.
You can read his detailed saga in its entirety in “Frugal Los Angeles“. But to sum up the author’s verdict, biking is not only a possible means of sight-seeing, but ultimately gives you a more enriching and more authentic exposure to your vacation site. Even after a lot of sweat and not a lot of bike lanes (things that LA is known for), Seth Kugel came to this conclusion:
“I had expected getting around Los Angeles by bike and public transportation to be a barely tolerable chore–a money-saving second-best way to see the city. Why, then, was I feeling so elated about my trip and smitten by a city I had never particularly liked before? […]

What I had really liked were the moments in between: the strangers who shared secrets on the buses, the dog walkers and Dutch tourists who stopped to chat with me along Rodeo Drive, the aspiring actor I struck up a conversation with on Santa Monica boulevard, as he cycled to an audition and I cycled to pick up my U.C.L.A. football ticket. These were true Los Angeles moments–moments that most visitors, stuck in freeway traffic behind the steering wheel of their rental car, never get to experience.”
Kugel claims that these experiences speak to an authenticity of L.A. And I think this can be found in S.F. too. Not only is our city filled to the brim with an eclectic culture and electric sights, but we can also boast of more bikers who take advantage of this. When we fight for safer streets, we also fight for people to get out of their cars and into the “true” San Francisco.

Electric Bikes for Beginning Cyclists

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Most of us have seen in the city (if not experienced for ourselves) the spectacle of bicyclists sweating their way up a hill (Filbert, anyone?). These vertical terrors might be deterring people from biking, says a recent article in the Chronicle.

So Point Reyes is combining forces with John Granatir (owner of Go Green Electric Bikes) to encourage more people to bike and “[get] people out that normally wouldn’t be”. At Point Reyes, you can now rent an electric bike and take on all the hills you’d like. These bikes have pedals so you can still get an exercise from your outing; and the motor will start as soon as you reach an incline.
The article also mentions the stigma behind electric bikes because “many avid cyclists believe that you should earn every hill on your own”. But for those who are just starting to get in shape or just want a relaxing day outdoors without the epic (and often painstaking) workout, these electric bikes could be a good alternative.

Bay Area Bike Trail Wins Federal Grant

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

Last Tuesday, under a program called TIGER II (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery), the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $600 million total to 70 “innovative transportation projects.”

In February, the SFTMA was awarded $46 million to replace Doyle Drive.
This year, the east bay seems to be the winner, being awarded $10.2 million “to help the East Bay Regional Parks District close gaps in its 200-mile system of paved trails.”
Randy Rentschler of the Municipal Transit Commission attributed the win to the project’s unique goal of encouraging more and more people to choose biking and other alternative, environmentally-friendly modes of commute. (source)
The East Bay Parks General Manager Pat O’Brien echoed these sentiments, saying, “A safe convenient connection means commuters are much more likely to take public transit, walk or bike as a commute alternative to driving, and that benefits everyone including commuters, transit agencies, and our environment.” (source)
This bike path aims to aid over 700,000 east bay residents commuting to work, but will cost a total of $43.3 million. The grant covers 25% and the Parks District is hoping for taxpayers to cover the rest. So commuters might have to wait a while before the full benefits of this project can be achieved.

Safer Streets to Yield More Biking

Posted on by Rahman Law PC

After four long years of waiting for better and safer streets, the Bike Plan injunction was finally lifted in August and cyclists in the city are already beginning to see the changes.

New bike lines are being painted down on Townsend, North Point, and Laguna Honda. But these small victories are just ripples in the waves of change the San Francisco Bike Coalition has in mind for our city. In the latest edition of their quarterly publication, the Tube Times, the SFBC announced their new campaign entitled “Connecting the City” the end goal of which is to increase the range of ridership “from an eight-year-old child to an eighty-year-old grandmother” by designing a city bike network that is resolutely safe and comfortable.
Their method for accomplishing this is heavily inspired by European engineering feats. For example, in Norway, you can step on a foot plate by a steep hill’s curbside and the bike lift will roll you and your bike up at a speed of 4mph.
And according to this article in the SFGate, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu is following the same train of thought after recently spending time in the bike-friendly Netherlands.
The article says that, “Chiu believes that the share of bike trips can and should be dramatically higher, if the city makes the commitment to make two-wheel travel safer and more convenient.”
Both Chiu and the SFBC believe in the bike lifts and support plans to build separated bike pathways with physical barriers on big traffic streets like the Embarcadero, Valencia Street, Fell Street, Oak Street, and San Jose Street.
The SFBC is also pushing for a bike bridge from Marina Green, around Fort Mason, to Fisherman’s Wharf, a bridge which the city might not be able to fund. The city is looking to spend $25 million on these projects for the roads over the next 5 years, but most of this funding will be given to striping lanes and adding bike lanes.
It’s important to remember that nothing is set in stone yet, but the future seems to hold some exciting changes for cyclists.

To read the Tube Times Fall 2010 edition online: http://www.sfbike.org/download/tubetimes/tt_fall2010.pdf