Breaking News

15:03 PDT SAN DIEGO--On Thursday in San Diego, the covered walkway beside a construction scaffold collapsed. At least sixteen pedestrians were trapped and injured, pelted by a rain of concrete, wood and assorted construction debris. Three were wounded critically. Approximately twenty-five people were on the walkway when its wooden walls and roof and some scaffolding along the adjacent 3-story building fell in. Victims and witnesses were quoted as saying "It was a living nightmare"

16:03 PDT SAN DIEGO — Allgire General Contractors in Carlsbad had no comment when asked about the scaffolding collapse in their construction project in San Diego. People frequently took shelter from the hot sun beneath the now-collapsed walkway. The injries included serous head trauma from being struck by flying debris. According to U.S. Department of Labor records. Allgire General was fined three times over the last decade for safety violations including a $15,750 penalty issued in December 2004 for not installing guardrails on an elevated platform. Although the shelter alongside the accident site had just served lunch to about 1,000 people, only three people suffered life-threatening injuries, including head trauma. Many of the injured had just eaten lunch or were living at the homeless shelter, St. Vincent de Paul Village, across the street.

Personal Injury Lawyers

For several decades, Masry & Vititoe has represented those who have been seriously injured. Through experience and education, our firm is able to expertly evaluate medical injuries and pursue personal injury claims on behalf of the injured plaintiff. Masry & Vititoe provides sophisticated legal services for almost any type of medical injury. We have represented all personal injury matters including workers who have been injured in the course and scope of their employment, wrongful death, auto accident injuries, construction site injuries, product liability claims, and injuries from exposure to environmental contamination. Much of our tort litigation consists of injuries such as traumatic brain injury, paralysis, catastrophic burn injuries and devastating diseases such as cancers and autoimmune disorders.

Personal injury law is also known as tort law. A tort is described as "a civil wrong or wrongful act, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury occurs to another. Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs which result in harm." Torts fall under three categories:

  • Intentional torts - purposely inflicting injury.
  • Negligent torts - causing an accident that results in injury.
  • Strict liability torts - manufacturing, marketing or selling defective products that result in injury.

The most common grounds for a civil lawsuit involve negligence. These include motor vehicle accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, swimming and diving accidents, boating accidents and premises liability (slip and fall) accidents. When an accident occurs due to negligence, the injured party may file a claim against the negligent party to recover all their damages. Damages generally include current and future medical expenses, property damage, pain and suffering, current and future loss of income, loss of enjoyment and in certain cases, punitive damages.

In order to prove negligence, you must support your claim with the following 3 facts:

  • Negligence - The other party was negligent.
  • Causation - Their negligence caused the accident.
  • Damages - You suffered damages as a result of the accident.

It is also imperative that you file your claim within the time allotted by the State of California. The California statute of limitations for negligent tort cases has generally been one year, however, new legislation effective January 1, 2003 has now extended the statute of limitations to 2 years. California's statute of limitations in negligent tort cases starts on the date of the injury (for example a motor vehicle accident) or on the date that you determine an injury has occurred (for example a pharmaceutical side effect). Since it is unclear whether or not the revised law extends to injuries sustained prior to January 1, 2003, we strongly recommend that you contact our office immediately following the incident.

Masry & Vititoe provides sophisticated and innovative legal services for almost any type of injury. We not only handle claims for plaintiffs with obvious injuries, but also pursue the more challenging and less obvious injuries such as a traumatic brain injury.

Masry & Vititoe believes that in order to represent our clients in the best possible manner, our firm must have an understanding of the human anatomy and how it responds to an injury. Therefore, through experience and education, our firm is able to expertly evaluate medical injuries and pursue personal injury claims on behalf of the injured plaintiff.

While proving a physical, emotional, or cognitive injury can be difficult, our experienced and knowledgeable attorneys and staff are able to undertake difficult cases and prevail, convincing skeptics of the merits of a claim via credible, trustworthy evidence and objective test findings. Our law firm is committed to protecting our client's rights and has repeatedly demonstrated our ability to succeed in the most challenging and complex medical injury cases.

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Law Offices of Masry and Vititoe