What You Should Do When Dealing with Dog Attacks

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It is a common sight here in Los Angeles to see people with their pet dogs in parks or walking down the street. These different breeds of dogs are quite difficult to ignore and more often than not, you’d find yourself staring at them or touching them.

Dogs, no matter how gentle they are, could pose a threat to humans. Some dogs, because of their protective nature, can attack individuals whom they think are a threat to them or their masters. A simple gesture could make a dog attack somebody. That is why you should always be careful in dealing with dogs.

Here are some tips on how to prevent dog attacks, or at least, lessen the possible injuries when such event happens:

•    Never agitate them. Dogs can interpret smiling as baring your teeth for a fight. Making eye contact with them makes them think you are about to attack them. Also, dogs that are chained are more likely to be aggressive.
•    See the signs. If a dog approaches you with its head held high or low, are less likely to attack. On the other hand, a dog whose head is leveled means business. A dog that’s loping gait means they are being playful; an even steady run is more likely to attack you.
•    Block them. When a dog attacks you, do something to block them and don’t hesitate. Use your leg, a stick or anything around to block the dog from biting you.
•    Keep calm. Panic makes the dog feel more confident, causing it to either threaten or attack you. Either one of them can aggravate the situation. As such, commanding them is necessary for it to hesitate on attacking you, giving you a chance to back away. However, you cannot run as it may chase and catch you even more.
•    Back away slowly and leave. Once a dog loses interest in you, you can now leave and go.

While dogs’ possible actions are very difficult to predict, keeping these tips in mind will help you avoid getting attacked.  These simple pointers can prevent you from a dog attack and seek the advice of a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles.

Slowing Down: Traffic Crashes as a Result of Weather Conditions

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Most of the time, people often point fingers at driver error as the primary reason for traffic crashes. However, there a lot more reasons as to why accidents happen on the roadways. One of them is the weather condition outside. It is not all the time drivers would operate their respective vehicles only on a bright, clear day.

As it is, weather can sometimes be unpredictable. A sunny day may later on become a cloudy one, which could likely result in a heavy downpour. Having to deal with weather, indeed, comes with certain adjustments on the part of the drivers.

How weather conditions can be a factor in traffic crashes

Rainy conditions can create a mess on highways. It is said that the first half-hour of rainfall can result in a slippery roadway. When this happens, it is expected that isolated incidents of rollovers and collisions may occur over a large area.

Once a big rainstorm comes, motorists won’t be able to make adjustments on the fly, especially if they are used to driving on a clear day. More often than not, they’ll be moving along the highway too fast, which could spell disaster.

As a rule, it is very important for them to drive carefully, with or without rain, whenever the road is slick with mud and other debris. Wet pavement basically causes the tires of cars and other vehicles to lose traction, making it difficult to apply the brakes when potential hazards present themselves on the road.

The same thing happens when the road is covered in patches of snow or ice. Motorists apparently are at risk of skidding, especially when turning a curve or going fast on a highway. Also, there is also the risk of an accident due to reduced visibility brought by fog or heavy rain.

Motorists, therefore, must be able to make quick decisions when driving under these conditions. Expert litigators such as the Los Angeles car accident lawyer advise all motorists to slow down when the road is wet and always on the lookout on some of the hazards that may suddenly appear on the road.

What You Should Do After You Sustained a Spinal Cord Injury?

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The spinal cord is one of the most vital parts of the body. Injury to the spine can cause drastic effects that can impair the motor skills of an individual. Severe trauma brought by falling can cause severe pain and, at worst, disability. When this happens to you or any loved one, you should seriously think about filing for a spinal injury claim.

First of all, you should know the statute of limitations of this disability claim. These factors vary from state to state so you might have to do some research. If you don’t really get all the legalese that goes with this, hire the services of a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles. Nobody, other than an attorney, can help you understand the laws better.

Then, you should know and understand everything about the injury. The type or extent of injury can affect the approval of your claims.

These are the signs and symptoms of spinal injuries in relation to the spine’s three divisions:

•    Cervical. These are injuries in the neck area. An injury in this part of the spine could affect your breathing, as well as the functions of the arms, shoulders, wrists and hands. More than that, you’d also experience problems in your cardiovascular diseases.
•    Thoracic. This can affect your body’s upper torso and your abdominal muscles.
•    Lumboscral. This affects the control of the legs and hips, urinary system, and anus. The bowel and bladder, as well as sexual functions, may be severely affected by such injuries in this spinal area.

If you have been involved in an accident that caused you spinal injuries, you should make sure to file claims as soon as possible. In most states, you only have up to 60 days, from the time of the injury for the government to accept your application. That is why in cases where you get involved in accidents, you have to undergo all of the needed checks. You should also try everything and exhaust all possible means to understand the effect of the injuries that you have sustained.

People suffering from disabilities brought about by accidents need to still have a decent and normal life. That is why you should immediately go and file for that spinal injury claim the soonest possible time.

How the Injured Party Can Also Be Partially at Fault in an Accident

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Probably the most crucial part of any personal injury accident claim is determining fault. Usually, the one at fault for the accident is the one who is considered negligent. In tort law, a negligent person in a personal injury case must compensate the victim for the damages that he or she caused the latter. But then, in many jurisdictions, it is not always the negligent person who is to accept all the blame for a personal injury accident.

In some accident claims, there are situations in which sole liability is indeterminable. As it is, the two parties, the injured party and the defendant, may have shared the fault for a certain accident. In such circumstances, fault will be allocated between the parties involved through the state statutes of comparative and contributory negligence.

About contributory negligence

In this statute, the injured party who is found partially at fault for the accident may not be entitled to receive compensation to recover from the losses he or she incurred. The States of Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, along with the nation’s capital, has this kind of statute.

To illustrate an example, imagine Driver A’s colliding with Driver B’s car after the former made a left turn on a dark part of the intersection. Driver A is automatically at fault because of hitting Driver B. However, the latter was found out to have not been using headlights while driving. With contributory negligence factored in, Driver B won’t be entitled to recover losses because he or she was considered partially at fault for the accident.

About comparative negligence

If contributory negligence seems to be a harsh kind of statute, comparative negligence is deemed a more proportionate one. In this statute, the injured party partially at fault for an accident may be able to recover from the damages that he or she incurred. Pure comparative negligence is one of the negligence theory’s many types.

In pure comparative negligence, the damage recovery of a person partially at fault is reduced by the percentage of his or her fault. Going back to the previous example, if Person B is determined 80 percent at fault and that the total amount of damages is $10,000.00, he or she will only receive $2,000.00. The State of California is one of the 13 states that adopt this negligence theory.

Retaining legal representation

Retaining a Los Angeles personal injury lawyers is the best thing to do if a person is injured because of someone else’s negligence. Apart from that, the expertise of the legal representative would help in determining whether the plaintiff is partially at fault for the accident as stated in the negligence statutes.

Texting while Walking is Hazardous, Says Study

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At this day and age, life is incomplete if people don’t have their smartphones on their hands or pockets. Such gadgets have features that keep people preoccupied. On a certain standpoint, having smartphones shows that people are keeping pace with the times and that they always want to become updated wherever they may be.

Smartphones indeed are boredom killers. People always want to engage themselves in socializing with others through phone calls, text messaging, and through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Yes, our technology has reached far and beyond since the first mobile phone was introduced in the market.

But then, smartphones are not without its disadvantages. In fact, they are often seen as a form of distraction. No, it is not only about distracted driving, as many people often associate smartphones with. Pedestrians, too, are also at risk of getting distracted with their smartphones while they travel on foot within the city.

In a study published in Injury Prevention entitled “The Impact of Social and Technological Distraction on Pedestrian Crossing Behaviour” by the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center at the University of Washington, pedestrians using gadgets are four times more likely to do the following:

•    Ignore pedestrian traffic lights;
•    Cross the middle of the junction; or
•    Fail to look to the left and to the right before crossing the street.

Moreover, the study found out that 18 percent of the 1,000 pedestrians who took part in the study took almost two seconds longer to cross a junction of three to four lanes. Also, the study found that talking to others, as well as dealing with pets or children, increase the pedestrian’s chances of unsafe crossing on the road.

According to the researchers, pedestrian crashes kill about 4,000 people and injure around 60,000 more annually in the U.S. Truly, distracted walking is as potentially dangerous as distracted driving, with those using mobile gadgets more likely to be involved in a serious or fatal accident.

Incidentally, expert lawyers such as the Los Angeles personal injury lawyer advice all regular pedestrians to avoid using smartphones and other related devices while walking.

Aggressive Driving: One of the Main Causes of Vehicle Accidents in Los Angeles

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Vehicle accidents still remain to be one of the depressing problems in U.S. roadways today.  Statistics show that of the 32,367 people killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2011, some 21,253 of them were occupants of passenger cars and light trucks.

Moreover, the total fatalities in the State of California saw a 2.6 percent increase from 2010 to 2011. Some 2,720 were killed in 2010; whereas, a total of 2,791 individuals were killed the year after. The said figures only prove that vehicle accidents still needed to be addressed not only within the state, but also in the whole country as well.

One of the most typical reasons why these mishaps happen almost every day is due to drivers’ aggression while on the road. Basically, aggressive driving is any inappropriate behavior while behind the wheel that can cause an accident.

According to the Foundation for Traffic Safety of the American Automobile Association (AAA), around 56 percent of deadly crashes in the U.S. were caused by certain behaviors that are related to aggressive driving, which are the following:

•    Excessive speeding;
•    Disregard of traffic rules and regulations; and
•    Careless driving.

As it is, driving is a skill that requires two things: patience and safety. One should not be in a hurry to get to a certain destination. Moreover, without proper training and safety, driving could be a dangerous activity that could seriously injure a driver or other motorists using the road.

The lack of patience and safety in driving is what constitutes aggressive driving. Usually, it is linked to moods such as impatience, annoyance, and hostility towards someone or something. These would rub off on his or her driving, which could result in a serious or fatal accident.

Below are some of the driving-related actions that are considered aggressive driving:

•    Frequent changing of lanes
•    Frequently changing the speed of the vehicle
•    Failure to observe the right-of-way
•    Failure to use the car’s signal while making a turn

Meanwhile, a person who gets injured in a vehicle accident because of another person’s aggressive driving can obtain compensation from the damages he or she suffered. To determine the cost of damages and how much he or she is entitled to receive, he or she must seek the help of a Los Angeles personal injury attorney.