personal injury | Dolan Law Firm

Who Is Liable For Injuries Caused By A Defective Product

Today’s question comes from Robert W. in Pinole who asks “I bought a [name of brand deleted] bike recently and when I was using it the front fork cracked, broke, and sent me over the handlebars where I landed on my head and shoulder. Thank God I was wearing a helmet. My head is OK, but I broke my shoulder. My research shows that the bike frame was probably made in China. I bought the bike at a local store, not a chain, they said they would refund me my money or give me a replacement frame. When I asked if they would pay my medical bills they told me that they are not responsible, and I need to go after the manufacturer in China. How do I do that?”

San Francisco Sidewalk Slip And Fall Lawsuit: Property Owner Or City Responsible?

Daryl from San Francisco writes: “Chris, I recently moved to The City. Last week I exited my apartment building from a side door. It was at night and light above the door was out. I didn’t notice that the sidewalk was broken and uneven. I tripped and fractured my wrist. I spoke to the apartment manager. She said to file a claim with The City because roots from a tree cracked the sidewalk. What should I do?”

Daryl, I hope your wrist fully heals. It appears two dangerous property conditions – the exterior light not functioning and the uneven sidewalk – may have caused your fall.

Bouncer Assaulted/Beat Up Me: Can I Sue?

bar-sign

Jeff T. from the Marina asks: “I was at a bar with friends. We got tipsy, maybe a little more, and the bouncer asked my friend to leave. He left then snuck back in. The bouncer found him and grabbed him by the hair and started pulling him outside. My friend screamed and the bouncer threw him outside on the ground about ten feet from the front door. I stood between the bouncer and my friend and said “stop we are leaving.”

My friend got up and told the bouncer to go*&%$ himself and the bouncer took a swing at him, missed and hit me in the face breaking my nose. I did nothing but tried to calm things down and I got my nose broken. I called the police but said that they wouldn’t make an arrest because the bouncer said we both attacked him. I know some other witnesses who left before the police came. I heard that this has happened before with this bouncer. He still works there. What can I do?”

What You Observed As A Witness At A Crash Scene Is Important

San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney Chris Dolan discusses the importance of serving as a witness when you observe an injury crash.

Johanna from the Mission recently told me: “I saw a lady in a crosswalk get hit by a car recently. There were other people there who helped her get up and out of the street. She seemed hurt, but it did not seem life threatening, so I left. Now I feel bad that I did not give the lady my name and number to be a witness.”

Dangerous Intersection Presents Risk of Injury to Pedestrians

This article was written by Chris Dolan and published by The San Francisco Examiner. Click here to read more of Chris Dolan’s weekly articles at SFExaminer.com.

Usually I respond to questions which are asked by Examiner Readers.

This week I am going to provide readers a warning about what I believe is a dangerous intersection: Fell and Van Ness. Crossing east or west on Fell over Van Ness presents a serious risk of harm or death to pedestrians because of the fact that there is no pedestrian signal which provides pedestrians information as to when it is safe to cross (white pedestrian) unsafe to cross (red pedestrian) or countdown information like that which exists at most major intersections including that just a block down the street at Market and Van Ness. I will be sending a copy of this article to Dennis Herrera, our City Attorney, Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Jane Kim, (Supervisor for District 6), and David Chiu, State Assembly Member for San Francisco. As Van Ness is State Highway 101, I will also send a letter to Bijan Sartipi, CalTrans District 4 Director.

Fault in Recreational Activities Depends on Permissions

This week’s question comes from Jason M. In Pacific who asks: “A friend of mine and I were invited by a group of guys to go to a place in the central valley where you can do motocross on a fairly large piece of land. They have hills which people jump over and other features that make it a challenging course. Generally everyone knows to travel in one direction, counter clockwise. I have ridden there before without a problem. The last time I was nearly killed when someone was going the wrong way and slammed into me crushing my left leg and foot as we both rounded the same corner going in opposite directions. There is usually an arrow pointing the right direction at the entrance to the course from where people park Later I saw that one side had fallen so that it pointed up in the air. I have hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Do I have a case?”

Temporary S-Curve of Bridge Dangerous for Drivers

Forty-two crashes in two months time on a single temporary S-curve on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge has led Caltrans to make a steady stream of improvements directed at improving driver safety through providing adequate advanced warning But, in an interesting anomaly, many commuters aren’t up in arms about the dangerous curve. The Contra Costa Times polled 410 readers, 57 percent of whom blamed driver carelessness rather than road design for the crashes.The danger of the S-curve gained notoriety after a November crash in which a truck carrying pears overturned, plummeting 200 feet and killing the driver.

Suit Charges Student Molested By Employee At School For Developmentally Disabled

One San Jose mother recently experienced a parent’s worst nightmare: Her disabled son told her that he was being molested by a school employee and no one would believe him. The mother pulled her son from the school, but her accusations were ignored by both school administrators and the police until she contacted until she contacted attorneys Christopher Dolan and Heather Sweeney of the Dolan Law Firm.

Chris Dolan, owner of The Dolan Law Firm, and Ms. Sweeney are helping the mother take legal action against Achieve Kids, a school for developmentally disabled students. The mother says that her autistic son was molested by a 33-year-old teacher’s aide at the school named Waking Bailey.