Los Angeles Injury Lawyer Blog

San Fernando Valley drivers who have been involved in accidents, who are insured with AIG probably have little need to worry about their coverage. The comfort should also go to all Southern California drivers who were injured when hit by a driver insured with AIG.

With the government bail-out of the troubled insurance company by lending it $85 billion dollars, AIG policyholders, and those entitled to compensation due to the negligence of an AIG insured driver will be protected. At least for now, the company remains solvent. AIG will sell off assets to service this new loan, and it is expected to survive this disaster.

With a 52 week high of $70.13, AIG's stock closed today at $2.05. Surely the company has a lot of rebuilding to do.

The death toll in the Los Angeles Metrolink commuter train crash has risen to 24 with scores hospitalized. Negligence on the part of the Metrolink engineer, who failed to stop the train at a red signal, is the likely cause of the crash in the San Fernando Valley on September 12, 2008. The engineer responsible for the collision died in the accident, but it is clear that the freight train that crashed into the Metrolink train had the right-of-way. The number of dead is expected to rise as rescue personnel continue to sift through the wreakage. It is unlikely that any more victims will be taken out of the wreck alive.

As rescue efforts are completed, the process of carefully investigating the cause and blame for the September 12, 2008, Chatsworth Metrolink crash begin. To ensure that its clients and future clients are protected, Rice & Bloomfield has already joined in the investigation effort. Every member of the investigation team has their own agenda. We do not work for the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, or Metrolink. Our only interest is to protect the rights of those people whose lives were forever changed when they were injured or lost a loved one from this horrible crash.
Getting involved early puts us in the best possible position to make sure our clients are properly compensated as the culprit responsible for this Metrolink train crash is determined.

The Chatsworth crash between a Metrolink commuter train and freight train, which has killed at least eighteen and injured more than 130, is not the first deadly accident to occur since Metrolink began operating in 1992. In 2005, eleven people died when two Metrolink trains and a freight train collided in Glendale. That accident was triggered when Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his Jeep Cherokee on the tracks in what he said was a suicide attempt. He has since been convicted of murder.

Metrolink was faulted for its configuration of the commuter trains, some of which are pushed from the back in a "pusher configuration," leaving passengers in the first car vulnerable in any collision. Lawyers and experts argued that, if the heavier engine was in front, fewer passengers would be at risk. As a result, Metrolink roped off the first car in some of its trains. Today, passengers are permitted in the first car of a "pusher configuration" car, but only in the rear portion.

While it is unclear whether the Metrolink train involved in the Chatsworth crash was a "pusher configuration" type train, it is clear that seating in the rear of Metrolink commuter trains is safer than sitting in front

September 12, 2008, in Chatsworth, in the San Fernando Valley, eighteen people were killed and scores injured because a Metrolink train failed to yield the right-of-way to a freight train in Chatsworth. The commuter train, which had become more popular with the recent rise in gas prices, was traveling from Union Station in Los Angeles to Moorpark with more than 220 people onboard. At this time, it appears that the crash occurred because the either the Metrolink train violated established protocols or a signal malfunctioned. The investigation is continuing.

There are many auto accidents in the San Fernando Valley, and throughout Los Angeles. Every day, unsuspecting people are injured in a car crash. These are people that never thought about hiring a personal injury lawyer and now must quickly find an attorney to assist them.

Finding the right lawyer for you when your injured in an automobile collision can be a challenge. Typically, the auto accident victim is injured and in pain, and may no longer have transportation.

Usually finding the right attorney for you can just add to the challenges you are facing.

This is the first in a series of posts intended to help you in finding the right attorney for you:

Experience: Make sure that the attorney has handled your type of case in the past. Not only should your attorney be experienced with representing people who have been injured in a car crash, but the attorney should be a trial attorney. That is, the attorney should be experienced in trying cases.

While most automobile collision cases settle without litigation, some do not. If your attorney is not experienced with trial work, he may not be ready to try your case. If your attorney cannot try your case, he is going to have to eventually recommend a settlement offer to you, even if that offer is not fair compensation. He will have no choice because he will not be able to take that matter to trial.

Worse, once the insurance companies identify that lawyer as someone who will always accept a settlement, they will offer less and less to his clients. Not every case needs to go to trial, but your attorney needs to be experienced with going to trial.

I will be posting more articles in the coming weeks discussing other things to look for when evaluating an attorney.