Law Offices of Howard Kitay
Many activities in California require participants to sign waivers. Waivers of liability are legal documents that can shield the individual or company from liability if a participant gets injured. From sports stadiums to local gyms, many establishments rely on waivers to avoid paying the bills after an accident. You may still have the right to…
We have all felt the impact of COVID-19 here in San Diego. However, one of the positives here is that motor vehicle collisions are substantially down. This means less people injured and less people who have been killed in accidents. However, there are still collisions occurring. The map below shows all motor vehicle collisions in…
Every year, thousands of car accidents occur in the State of California. The victims of these accidents often suffer injuries that take them out of work. A crash victim may need a temporary or permanent hiatus. During your car accident insurance claim or lawsuit, you can seek recovery for lost wages from the defendant. Correctly…
The aftermath of a car accident can be expensive. You may have to pay out of pocket for medical care deductibles, vehicle repairs and a rental car, on top of dealing with lost wages from taking days off work. The last thing you may want is to add another expense by hiring a San Diego…
You have the right to pursue compensation for your damages after an auto accident in the State of California. Your first attempt will usually be through the insurance system. If an insurance company offers you a settlement, you may either accept it or go to court in San Diego instead. Both routes have pros and…
Traffic laws are constantly evolving. As cities and states try to improve the safety of their roads and motorists, they update and add new laws drivers must follow. Obeying these laws can help drivers prevent vehicle collisions. Keeping up with the latest rules in your state can help you stay out of legal trouble as…
A successful personal injury case can end in financial compensation to make up for the victim’s damages. Damages is a broad term that can refer to any financial, physical and emotional harm the victim suffered. This includes physical pain and emotional suffering. While not all civil cases will result in pain and suffering damages, it…
The car accident claim process is something you may have to go through if a crash injured you, took the life of a loved one or damaged your vehicle. Your case may involve insurance settlement negotiations alone or it may need to proceed to court for you to obtain fair compensation from the at-fault party.…
Home to more than 700,000 residents, East County San Diego may seem like a quieter alternative to the bustling urban San Diego lifestyle. However, the region has its share of heavy traffic and serious accidents, especially in the busier areas. We wanted to determine streets with the highest amount of car crashes, so we worked…
Most injured accident victims have the goal of avoiding injury trials. Trials can be lengthy and expensive processes with no guarantees of winning a monetary award. Most people instead settle their claims with insurance companies before filing lawsuits and taking their cases to court. Settlement values are often smaller than awards during injury trials, but…
An injury claim in California seeks to hold the at-fault party financially responsible for accident-related damages such as medical care and lost wages. A successful claim could end in a compensatory award that covers all past and future economic and noneconomic damages. Whether it will cover chiropractic treatment, however, depends on the circumstances. Most insurance…
You may be aware of the dangers of distracted driving, but not distracted walking. Distracted walking is behind thousands of pedestrian accidents, injuries and deaths each year. In 2016, 867 pedestrians died in traffic incidents in California alone. Over 14,000 others suffered injuries. If every pedestrian watched where he or she was walking, these numbers…
Rear-end collisions are common types of car accidents in California. They can cause injuries to the back and neck, such as whiplash, as well as other parts of the body. A rear-end accident can also cause expensive damage to both vehicles. In California, it is necessary to identify fault for a car accident before filing…
You do not have to live in a city that regularly sees snow to face increased winter weather driving risks. As a resident of sunny San Diego, you could still be at risk of serious accidents even if it does not snow. Paying special attention to winter-related roadway hazards could help you prevent a car…
Vaping is a phenomenon that quickly took off on a global scale. Using electronic devices to inhale nicotine vapors is something millions of people currently do – including tens of thousands of teenagers. According to a 2018 survey of more than 44,000 high school students, 37% of seniors admitted to vaping. While dishonest marketing tactics…
Enrolling your child in a sport can be a great way to teach him or her sportsmanship, teamwork and discipline. You might never expect your child to suffer a serious injury while on the field, track or court. Sadly, thousands of children and youth each year end up in hospitals throughout the U.S. with sports-related…
A good Samaritan helps others purely for the sake of helping others, not for rewards or praise. After witnessing a car accident, for example, a good Samaritan may pull over to assist injured victims. California, like many states, has a law that protects good Samaritans from liability if they accidentally injure someone while making a…
Taking a cruise out of California should be the start of a relaxing vacation – not a nightmare in which you or a loved one suffers a serious personal injury. Unfortunately, not all cruise lines take the safety of passengers seriously. Many different oversights, acts of negligence and attempts to save money could cause passenger…
Dealing with an insurance company can be the most difficult part of your personal injury claim. You might think that as a policyholder who has always made your payments on time, or the party that did not cause the accident, an insurance company will be on your side. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.…
Auto accidents are a significant cause of death in California and throughout the U.S., with hundreds of traffic crash fatalities daily. In 2016, 3,623 people died in traffic accidents in California alone. Understanding what causes car accidents can ultimately help drivers prevent them. One factor that can cause auto accidents is stress. Driving while stressed…
Few industries are more heavily regulated than health care. With patients’ lives on the line, the health care industry is stringent in terms of procedures, guidelines, protocols and safety regulations. Unfortunately, medical errors still occur. Surgical mistakes can cause serious personal injuries, health complications and patient deaths. While industry standards do not ask that surgeons…
Product recalls occur daily, warning consumers away from items with known or potential defects. Product manufacturers may initiate recalls after recognizing an error or receiving consumer complaints, or a safety organization such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will step in to order a recall. Either way, recalls help keep customers safe from defective…
A burn is an injury from contact between the skin and sources of thermal, electrical, chemical or radiation energies. Exposure to hazardous energy can damage or permanently destroy the skin, as well as affect underlying tissues such as muscles and tendons. The more serious the burn injury, the greater its impact on the victim. A…
Boating in fall in California can mean some of the state’s rainiest and foggiest days on the water. The weather plays a key role in boating safety. Understanding how the weather can change your day on the water, and how to compensate for those changes, can help you prevent an accident. In 2016, the California…
Losing a loved one through suspicious, wrongful or criminal means is a terrible tragedy. Your family may already feel overwhelmed with grief and turmoil over the loss without the added pressure of trying to pay for a funeral. The average cost of a funeral is $8,000 to $10,000. If you believe someone else negligently or…
Jaywalking is the practice of a pedestrian crossing the street at a place with no crosswalk or intersection. Jaywalking is often dangerous since drivers may not be expecting to see pedestrians in the road at these locations. While most drivers know to stop and yield to pedestrians at crosswalks and marked intersections, pedestrians jaywalking can…
Speeding is one of the most common causes of serious and fatal accidents. Speeding can increase the seriousness of a motor vehicle collision and related injuries. With these facts in mind, it is easy to conclude higher speed limits would result in more fatal crashes. Find out if research supports this conclusion, and whether California…
A vehicle recall means something is wrong with the car that could put consumers in danger. Issues often come to the vehicle manufacturer’s attention when consumers begin to report incidents and accidents involving defective vehicle parts, such as airbags that fail to deploy or bad brakes. Once the manufacturer hears of the problem, it must…
A jog around your neighborhood in California should not end in tragedy. Unfortunately, drivers engage in dangerous habits such as texting and driving all too often. Distracted and negligent drivers can easily cause deadly pedestrian collisions. In 2016, 867 pedestrians in California lost their lives in traffic accidents. This was about a 6% increase from…
Pool maintenance is no small matter. It is incredibly important to the overall safety of the pool and its swimmers. Proper pool maintenance could reduce the risk of serious drowning incidents. Drowning is one of the most common causes of unintentional injury deaths in the U.S., taking about 10 lives daily. Two of these deaths…