Santa Monica Personal Injury Law Blog

In most every case in which someone dies as a result of someone else's misconduct or negligence, a victim often leaves behind family members that must learn to live without the physical, emotional and financial support that that individual once provided.

Unless criminal negligence resulted in a person's death and a trial can be held, then there is often only one remedy that our legal system here in the United States permits to help families cope with their loss. It's one that allows for monetary damages to be imposed in situations like this. In criminal cases, it's even possible for a defendant to be prosecuted for his or her crimes and then sued civilly for his or her malicious acts.

Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) have increased in popularity during the past few decades. Many consumers have been drawn to them because of their ability to carry both passengers and cargo.

Others have flocked to them because of their towing abilities or because they allow motorists to sit up higher than they otherwise would. Four-wheel-drive models afford motorists an enhanced ability to tackle wet roads and to traverse rugged terrain.

Have you lost a loved one in a vehicle accident, medical malpractice or a workplace accident? If it was another party's reckless, negligent or deliberate actions that led to the fatality, your natural response might be to want to hold that person responsible for your damages -- even though no monetary award can undo your loss. You might have grounds to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

If successful, such a civil lawsuit could lead to compensation for the damages suffered by the surviving family members. Recovery could include both economic and non-economic losses.

On any given school day, some 500,000 school buses will take to the road to carry as many as 25 million kids either to or back from school or to other extra-curricular activities. Although they carry so many kids to and fro, you rarely hear about catastrophic school bus accidents.

One of the main reasons you don't hear about them is because, according to the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB), school buses are one of perhaps the safest vehicles that you'll find riding down the road. In fact, the NTSB contends that children are far safer riding on school buses than in any passenger car, even if it's with their own parents.