At the Law Office of Harold D. Thompson our thoughts and prayers go out to the Mora family and their friends.  We also hope that all those injured, whether physically or emotionally, make a speedy recovery.

California is one of the few states that has a dog-bite statute. The statute does away with the idea that a dog owner must have knowledge of the dog’s dangerous propensities. In other words, you will will liable for your dog’s action even if you, as the owner were not negligent, and the dog had never attacked anyone before.

The victims of serious dog accidents are often times family members, neighbors or a friend of the dog owner. The California dog-bite statute is designed to quicken the claims process by alleviating the need of proving negligence on anyone’s part.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a dog bite in San Diego please call the Law Office of Harold D. Thompson right away to schedule your free case evaluation. (619) 615-0767

Cal OSHA determined that one of the contractors, Sherwood Mechanical Inc., had been responsible for four serious violations that contributed to the accident.  Further, they found that employees’ installation of natural gas pipe to be below the standard of care in terms of safety for other employees.  As a penalty, Sherwood Mechanical Inc. has been fined $67,500.00

Despite the construction accident, the hotel is still on schedule with more than 400,000 rooms pre-booked through 2013.

If you or someone you know has been in a construction accident in San Diego please call The Law Office of Harold D. Thompson right away to schedule a free case evaluation

1. Make sure you take a educational course on safety

2. Make sure everyone has either secure seating or secure footing.

3. Make sure you know the weather before you go out as well as the forecast

4. Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol. There rules of the road apply to the sea as well.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a San Diego boating accident call the Law Office of Harold D. Thompson today for a free consultation. 619.615.0767

What many people don’t realize is that it only takes a split-second of distraction to cause an accident thereby ruining the lives of others.  A cell phone is just one more distraction that takes a driver’s eyes and ears off the task at hand: driving.

Cell phones present a myriad of issues:  1.  The driver could be placing a call 2.  The driver could be taking a call 3.  The driver could be reading or composing a text message or 4.  Just looking to see who is calling or texting.

Whatever the scenario, people’s lives are put at risk.

If you have suffered from an serious auto accident in San Diego, do not hesitate to contact The Law Office of Harold D. Thompson

The sequence of events, within the first 48 hours of an serious injury, can either make your case extremely valuable to you or it can render it worthless.

Often times, the insurance company will want you to make a statement and, based on that statement, issue you a check that is FAR below what you are entitled.  It is the adjuster’s job to get you to settle the case for as little money as possible to reduce the insurance companies bottom line. Don’r fall for their trap!

Further, we recommended you do not give a recorded statement of any kind without first contacting experienced legal counsel.  These statements may be used against later and may significantly prejudice your case.

Contact our office today if you have been the victim of a serious accident.  Our experienced attorneys can guide you through the insurance process and secure you competent medical care.

The injured pedestrian, possibly a homeless man, was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the automobile was last seen running underneath the Interstate 5 freeway towards 19th street.

If you have any information on this auto accident please contact your local police.

On April 7, 2005, Alexis Sarti and a friend ate at the Salt Creek Grille. They split an appetizer consisting of raw ahi tuna, avocado, cucumbers and soy sauce. Sarti became nauseous and chilled the next day. The day after that she suffered constant diarrhea, fever and chills. The diarrhea continued for the next ten days. By April 19, Sarti was unable to move her legs and having a hard time focusing her eyes. Her mother called the paramedics, who took her to the emergency room. Her admitting physician took a “food history.” She was put into intensive care, where a neurologist diagnosed a variant of quillan-barre syndrome (a disease that damages peripheral nerves). She was tested, and found to have campylobacter bacteria, which was the only pathogen found in the sample. Expert testimony would later indicate that Sarti’s guillain-barre was an idiosyncratic immuno-suppressant reaction to the constant diarrhea brought on from campylobacter.

The jury returned a verdict of $725,000 in economic damages and $2.5 million in non-economic damages (obviously pain and suffering). The trial judge perceived that the jury’s verdict was based on the inference that the practice of using the same wipe down rag (or storing raw meat over raw vegetables, or touching cooked food with chicken tongs that had previously touched raw chicken) had led to cross-contamination from raw chicken to raw tuna.

The trial court dismissed the judgment and Plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeal opined there was substantial evidence to support the juries finding and reinstated the verdict.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 85% of all vehicles will have an Event Data Recorder (or EDR) by 2010.

In the event of a crash, the EDR records information such as speed, seat belt use and braking characteristics.  Law enforcement  officials believe that this information will be used to corroborate or discredit any statements made in connection to the auto accident.

In terms of privacy issued the information is the property of the automobile owner and can only be obtained with the owner’s permission or a court order.

The final decision to settle belongs to the client, who may or may not be in a negotiating frame of mind. In viewing this process, there are several reasons why cases stall during the settlement process. Once the parties determine what the barriers to settlement are, a strategy may be adopted to work around or overcome those barriers.