Legal Watch Dog

2009-08-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Barrett, in his e-mail to Abraham, wrote (with the bracketed comments in the original): "Your defense [4th paragraph] of Gates while he is on the phone while being confronted [INDEED] with a police officer is assuming he has rights when considered a suspect.... His first priority of effort should be to get off the phone and comply with police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance." Barrett concluded his email by telling Abraham that her column should have run under the headline, "CONDUCT UNBECOMING A JUNGLE MONKEY - BACK TO ONE'S ROOTS. JB"

Barrett's lawsuit claims his civil rights have been violated. According to his lawyer his words were misinterpreted, said Weinberg Law Firm, Texas Labor Lawyer.

Los Angeles Women drinking more, DUI arrests up, experts say

2009-08-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – Men still drink more than women and are responsible for more drunken-driving cases. But the gap is narrowing, and among the reasons cited are that women are feeling greater pressures at work and home, they are driving more, and they are behaving more recklessly, said Michael Bialys, Los Angeles DUI lawyer.

"Younger women feel more empowered, more equal to men, and have been beginning to exhibit the same uninhibited behaviors as men," said Chris Cochran of the California Office of Traffic Safety.

Inept doctor left deadly trail, brain injury lawsuit says

2009-08-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

In 2007 the Kentucky medical licensure board asked Gunn to submit to a clinical skills assessment. It concluded that Gunn's "medical knowledge in the surgical areas discussed ranged from marginally adequate to poor." Overall, his knowledge was "marginally adequate to poor." It recommended that he retrain with "full supervision while updating his knowledge base."

John Q. Kelly, New York brain injury lawyer told the board that he intended to enroll in a one-year fellowship program in cardiothoracic transplantation and mechanical assistance devices at the Miami Transplant Institute at the University of Miami. Florida state records show that Gunn was granted a clear and active residency status there on Feb. 5, 2008.

Court clerk claims sexual harassment by Weber County Justice Court judge

2009-08-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

Instead, Eisenhour was placed on paid administrative leave from August to December 2008, when county officials told her to return to work and that they had a "plan" to make her feel comfortable.

Storey's office was moved from the first floor to the third floor, the judge was told to stay away from Eisenhour and an sexual harassment lawyer Orange County was designated as a liaison to relay Eisenhour's communication to the judge.

But meanwhile, Eisenhour claims, the judge had "cried on the shoulders" of most of the other court employees and turned many of them against Eisenhour.

"I went from the frying pan into the fire," Eisenhour said. "I was in a bad situation trying to hold this in. Now, there is a hostile work environment with the other clerks, and the judge is very angry."

Chicago Photographer Leibovitz sued for breach of contract

2009-08-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - An art finance company that lent celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz $24 million against the value of her entire collection and her properties has sued her for violating the terms of the agreement.

In a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday, contract lawyer Chicago asked a judge to compel Leibovitz to cooperate with the person assigned to sell her copyrights and organize the sale of her properties, so Leibovitz can pay back the loan.

Suspected DUI motorist driving wrong way kills one, injures two

2009-08-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 09, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mr. Randolph was taken to Mercy Hospital where he was prounced dead at 4:15 a.m. His passenger,whose name was not released and who was not wearing a seatbelt, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition.

Mr. Ritz, who likewise was not been wearing a seatbelt, was taken to AGH in serious condition. Mr. Schell, who was wearing a seatbelt, was taken to AGH with a minor injury, state police reported.

Hire a dwi defense lawyer pittsburgh today!

Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP

2009-07-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles injury law firm Ringler Kearney Alavarez LLP have established themselves as a premier law firm by providing clients with consistently excellent service. They pride themselves on their intellect, creativity and tenacity.

These LA injury lawyers have achieved victories in over 100 trials with total verdicts in excess of $250 million.

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP achieves their verdicts by utilizing their substantial financial resources to obtain the best result possible for each of their clients. This California personal injury specialist law firm fights tirelessly for their clients, no matter the cost and no matter the foe.

New York Based Wrongful Death Attorney Launches Re-vamped Website

2009-01-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

New York Construction Injury Attorney John Q. Kelly is pleased to announce the launch of his new website for The Kelly Group P.C.

The website can be viewed at www.kellygrouppc.com and features notable cases and clients of Mr. Kelly.

About John Q. Kelly
One of the most renowned litigators in the country, Mr. Kelly has a proven track record in complex civil and corporate litigation nationwide.

His clients include some of the most widely publicized victims in recent times, including:

- Estate of Nicole Brown Simpson
- Parents of Natalee Holloway
- Estate of Kathleen Savio, ex-wife of Drew Peterson
- Estate of Heiress Anne Scripps Douglas
- Former Yankee great Joe Pepitone

Supergraphics a Super Nuisance

2009-01-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

From the Los Angeles Times:

SkyTag, which says that it produces images "so large they can be seen from space," filed court documents last week saying the city should not try to remove the company's supergraphics from high-rises in West Los Angeles, Koreatown and other neighborhoods until the ban litigation is resolved.

If you've ever driven down the west side of Los Angeles you will in no doubt have seen these monstrosities, huge graphic ads on large buildings.

I for one do not like them, and find them very distracting when I am driving down the road. I would not be surprised if there haven't been any serious accidents caused by these things. I'm pretty sure there are enough people that have been injured because these things are there, that they could file a class action lawsuit against the company(ies) that put them up.

I hope the get taken down.

Read the rest.

Obama to Halt Legal Proceedings at Gitmo

2009-01-22T14:54:00.001-08:00

In its first day the Obama administration told military prosecutors to suspend all legal proceedings in Gitmo for the next 120-days. The justification for this was that they wanted to look into all of the cases.

I wonder if there are enough ex-prisoners and soon to be ex-prisoners that they would be able to file a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Military or Government.

According to the Washington Post:
"...[this] is a first step toward closing a detention facility and system of military trials that became a worldwide symbol of the Bush administration's war on terrorism and its unyielding attitude toward foreign and domestic critics."

Read the Full Article Here.

Church and State

2009-01-22T12:40:00.000-08:00

A federal judge has ruled unconstitutional a law passed by the Illinois Legislature requiring the state's schools to require a moment of prayer or reflection on the day's activities.

Read More.

I wonder that if enough parents feel that this decision is wrong, that they will try to file a class action lawsuit against Illinois schools.

Jerome Ringler, Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer has Experience Dealing with Train Disasters

2008-10-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Metrolink worker sued Burlington Northern Santa Fe, saying his alcoholism returned after the fatal 2002 Placentia collision.

A metrolink conductor who said his drinking problems resumed after the Placentia train crash in 2002 will receive $8.5 million to settle his lawsuit against one of the nations largest railroads.

Patrick Phillips of Riverside agreed Tuesday to settle his suit against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. The case was set to go to trial next week in Orange County Superior Court.

Phillips, now 52, suffered minor head injuries the morning of April 23, 2002 when a Burlington Northern Freight train crashed into a Metrolink commuter train in Placentia. Three people died and more than 260 were injured in the early morning crash.

Though his injuries were slight, the conductor alleged that the trauma was serious enough to trigger a resurgence of his severe alcoholism, which he said he had controlled since rehabilitation in the early 1990's.

"I have never seen a case like this in 30 years, yet it is indeed what happened here," said Jerome L. Ringler, Phillips' attorney.

"We had extensive medical evaluations by a variety of neurological specialists. All were in accord that his injury, although minor, changed his behavior."

After the train crash, Phillips was hospitalized for evaluation but released about two hours later, Ringler said. In the months after the crash, however, Phillips allegedly resumed his alcohol abuse, resulting in at least two other hospitalizations.

Ringler said his client was finally diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia, a sever mental deficiency.

Phillips, who is now disabled after working 12 years for Metrolink, was unavailable for comment. He is living with a sister in Riverside.

Under terms of the settlement, Phillips will receive $8.5 million, including interest, paid out over 20 years. The amount is worth about $4.5 million in today's dollars.
Officials for Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the nations four largest railroads, confirmed the settlement but declined to discuss the case.

Phillips' lawsuit is one of more than 100 Civil cases stemming from the Placentia crash, which federal investigators said was caused by an inattentive Burlington Norther crew that missed a warning signal.

The lawsuits allege the collision could have been prevented by an automatic braking system, long sought by the federal National Transportation Safety Board.
They also contend that the freight train crew was fatigued by overwork and that the Burlington Northern conductor had a history of losing track of signals.

In December, an Orange County jury awarded Pamela Macek, 53, also of Riverside, about $9 million in damages for psychological and physical injuries suffered in the crash. Her case was the first to go to trial.

Metrolink Train Crash Lawyer Jerome Ringler Interviewed by FOX 11

2008-09-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

LA Personal Injury Lawyer offers Message to Survivors and Victims' Families of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

2008-09-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Special Message for Victims of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

On September 12, 2008, an unprecedented tragedy occurred in Chatsworth, California when Metrolink Train #111 struck a Union Pacific freight train which was traveling on the same tracks. Our hearts go out to the victims. But this tragedy should not have happened. It happened because of human error on the part of Metrolink employees. Unfortunately, as the lawyers of RKA know well, human error by railroad engineers is not at all unique as a cause of commuter rail disasters.

Jerome L. Ringler has greater experience in representing victims of commuter rail and freight train disasters than any other lawyer in the State of California, if not the country. He has served as lead counsel in every one of the largest commuter rail disasters which have occurred in Southern California in the past 10 years.

In the Placentia Commuter Rail Disaster of 2003, Mr. Ringler was appointed by the Court as lead counsel for all of the Plaintiffs. He was requested by all of the lawyers representing individuals injured or killed in that incident to try the first case. That case resulted in the largest verdict for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever rendered by a jury in the United States. That verdict, which was for $9 million, is detailed below in the multimedia section.

In the Burbank Commuter Rail Disaster, which also occurred in 2003, Mr. Ringler was again appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel. In that capacity he was given the responsibility to try the entire liability (i.e., fault) case for all of the victims. In other words, every one of the dozens of lawyers who represented individual victims in that disaster trusted Mr. Ringler to try the liability phase for them, knowing that their clients would only recover if Mr. Ringler was successful. He was. In fact, Mr. Ringler not only obtained a favorable verdict for all of the plaintiffs, he obtained a $12 million verdict for his own client as well. This verdict was the largest in the State of California for a person with the type of injuries Mr. Ringler's client had suffered. This verdict is detailed below in the multimedia section.

Mr. Ringler is currently lead counsel for all plaintiffs in the Glendale Metrolink Derailment Disaster of 2005. This incident was, before September 12, 2008, the largest Metrolink disaster in history. Interestingly, in that case (which involves 11 deaths and dozens of serious injuries), Mr. Ringler has, against all odds, developed testimony proving that, even though a mentally-ill person placed a jeep across the tracks that the Metrolink train was traveling upon, human error on the part of the Metrolink engineer prevented him from stopping the train before hitting the jeep, which caused the train to derail. In other words, while the jeep certainly never should have been on the tracks, the Metrolink engineer would have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Mr. Ringler as lead counsel.

The verdicts detailed on this page all relate to railroad litigation. However, Mr. Ringler has achieved enormous, record-breaking monetary awards across California in a variety of complex areas. Those accomplishments are detailed elsewhere in this website. To see them, click here.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of the horrific Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster, we are available to discuss your rights with you confidentially and at no charge.

Please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Ask for Mr. Ringler,or any of his partners, at (213) 473-1900.

www.rkallp.com

Personal Injury Lawyer Jerome Ringler Comments on Metrolink Wreck

2008-09-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

As a governmental agency, lawyers noted, Metrolink cannot be subjected to punitive damages in any civil action - a situation those lawyers said likely protects it from a bankruptcy situation. A spokesman for Metrolink said the agency would not be making any comments on potential legal issues.

Attorney Jerome Ringler, who served as lead counsel for victims of a Metrolink train derailment in Placentia in 2002, those in a Burbank derailment in 2003, and in the Glendale derailment in 2005, said the Chatsworth crash could expose further fault with Metrolink.

"I suspect the real reason these tragedies occurred is due to either simple inattentivenesss on the part of the engineers or a failure on the part of the railrood industry to allow these engineers adequate rest between shifts so that these kind of tragedies could be avoided," Ringler said.

"This is a horrible tragedy. They are facing hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars of exposure."

DEA Lawyer Defends Alleged Gang Member

2007-10-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

From: Newsweek.com

The federal charges name 61 alleged F13 members in two indictments. The gang-violence charges came in a 53-count RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) indictment against 24 alleged gang leaders, charging them in a conspiracy to sell drugs, possess weapons illegally, and assault and kill black gang members and civilians. In the second indictment prosecutors charged the rest of the men on federal drug-distribution charges. More than 40 of the defendants pleaded not guilty at arraignments Tuesday, according to prosecutors. Michael Khouri, an attorney for Luis Aguilar, 35, says his client left the gang "several years ago" and served recently as a gang negotiator. "Mr. Aguilar will plead not guilty, and he is not guilty," says Khouri. Fifteen of the accused remain fugitives.

The indictments provide a telling snapshot of the changing nature of gangs in south L.A. According to federal prosecutors, F13 has grown into a tightly controlled gang of 2,000 members in 30 cliques led by convicts and parolees who are members of the prison-based Mexican mafia. It's a far cry from the '80s, when the black drug gangs, including the Crips and the Bloods, predominated, mining the crack epidemic with ruthless efficiency. Compared with looser Latino gangs that were seen as turf-conscious fighters, the black gangs were organized and disciplined. "The stereotype was that [the black gangs] were all about the [drug] business," says gang researcher Cheryl Maxson, an associate professor of criminology at University of California, Irvine. With the black gangs, "there was a millionaire in every neighborhood" perched at the top of the crack distribution pyramid, adds gang expert Alex Alonso, who edits streetgangs.com.

Read the Rest of the Article.

Los Angeles Health Care Defense Attorney Defends Prominent San Diego Plastic Surgeon

2007-05-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

From: 10news.com

SAN DIEGO -- A prominent North County surgeon could be in trouble with the state medical board and learned he could lose his license, 10News reported.

Dr. Dennis Nigro is the subject of a hearing at the state building in which he is accused of having sex with a patient.

Nigro admitted to having a brief affair with a woman in 2003, but said she was no longer in his care during their relationship.

Nigro’s attorney, Michael Khouri, said, “The woman does not believe Dr. Nigro was her doctor when the sex occurred.”

Read the rest of the article.