AUGUST 29, 2009 – Four people were killed Friday evening in a crash in Santee, the California Highway Patrol has reported. The crash occurred on State Route 125 near Mission Gorge Road, north of La Mesa. According to the CHP, a person called 911 at 6:36 p.m. and reported having a stuck accelerator and was unable to stop at an approaching intersection near Mission Gorge Road. The car was estimated to be travelling at more than 100 mph when the crash occurred. The vehicle caught fire and all four occupants died at the scene. The cause of the fatal Santee crash is under investigation.

AUGUST 17, 2009 - A 65-year-old man died when his motorcycle collided with a vehicle that was stalled in lanes of Interstate 15, authorities said. Laurence Irving Fullerton III of Poway was driving a Honda CBR north on I-15 just north of Via Rancho Parkway when he collided with the back of a stalled Volkswagen Jetta about 9:15 a.m., according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. Fullerton was transported to Palomar Medical Center where he died at 11:23 a.m., officials said. The CHP is investigating the fatal I-15 motorcycle crash.

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AUGUST 11, 2009 – A woman died in a Ford Explorer rollover accident Monday afternoon in eastern San Diego County, authorities have reported. The fatal Ford Explorer rollover crash occurred just before 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, on SR-79, just north of Wolahi Road, near Lake Cuyamaca. According to reports, the driver lost control of the 2001 Ford Explorer, which rolled several times before it crashed into a large pine tree west of the road. The driver, identified as Charlotte Lorraine Winn, 73, of Julian, was flown to Escondido’s Palomar Medical Center with critical injuries. She died a short time after arrival. Her 68-year-old husband suffered moderate injuries in the crash, and was taken by ambulance to Sharp Memorial Hospital. The CHP is investigating the Highway 79 rollover accident.

This tragic crash is just one example of the many Ford Explorer rollover crashes that have occurred since Ford Explorers were first introduced in 1990. Hundreds have died and many more have been very seriously hurt in Explorer rollovers such as this one in the United States. Although Ford insists their vehicles are safe, the Washington Post and other research analysts have found that Ford Explorers have a higher rollover propensity than any other sport utility vehicle (SUV), due to an allegedly defective design. Victims of Ford Explorer rollover crashes may be entitled to compensation for their injuries or the wrongful death of a family member. Ford has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to victims in Ford Explorer lawsuit verdicts and settlements.

The biggest Ford Explorer rollover verdict awarded from Ford Motor Company for such a rollover accident was awarded to a San Diego woman, in the amount of $369 million. The San Diego woman, who was paralyzed in a January 2002 accident near Alpine in eastern San Diego County, offered to knock $100 million off the damages if Ford would recall the allegedly defectively designed Explorers, but Ford insisted that the vehicles were safe.

For more information about lawsuits, product liability issues and victims’ rights involving Ford Explorer rollover accidents, contact attorneys Stephen Estey or Mike Bomberger at Estey & Bomberger, LLP at (619)295-0035.

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AUGUST 3, 2009 - A 14-year-old boy was knocked unconscious when he was struck by a personal watercraft while being pulled on an inner tube off San Diego, authorities said. The unidentified boy was hospitalized with neck and back injuries and a possible broken leg, according to a San Diego lifeguard. The collision occurred about 4:15 p.m. in an area reserved for skiing near De Anza Cove, authorities said. The accident left the boy floating face down in the water before he was rescued and regained consciousness. It was one of 11 boat rescues by San Diego lifeguards on Sunday. They also performed 55 water rescues and 133 medical aids. The San Diego Police Department is investigating the Mission Bay collision.

JULY 28, 2009 - A jury awarded nearly $2 million to a woman whose husband was killed when his golf cart plunged down a steep rocky hillside at a San Diego County golf resort, authorities said. Edwin Payne, 65, was halfway through a round of golf when he lost control of the golf cart in May 2007 and plummeted down an 80-foot cliff, according to the attorney for the plaintiff. Payne was ejected onto the southbound lane of Old Highway 395. Pala Mesa Resort was found negligent by a North San Diego County jury last week, and the Payne’s widow was awarded $483,426 in economic damages and $1.5 million for non-economic damages. The jury found that Payne was 30 percent to blame for the golf cart accident and the resort 70 percent liable.

JULY 28, 2009 - A shop foreman suffered serious burns when a radiator hose burst at a North San Diego County garage, authorities said. The accident happened shortly before 11 a.m. in the 2041 block of Mission Avenue, according to the Oceanside Fire Department. The employee, estimated to be in his 30s, was inspecting the car when the hose burst, spraying hot coolant from his abdomen to his knees, authorities said. The victim was estimated to have second-degree burns over 10-percent of his body. The man was airlifted to UCSD Medical Center’s burn unit and listed in stable condition, authorities said. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the scalding injury.

JULY 15, 2009 - A repairman was hospitalized with a severe laceration caused by a power saw, authorities said. The unidentified man called 911 on a cell phone about 1:20 p.m. and reported that he had accidently cut his right groin area while working at a home on Levante Street near Sacada Circle, according to a captain with the Carlsbad Fire Department. When emergency personnel arrived at the house, the victim was unconscious and bleeding heavily from a cut to his femoral artery and vein, authorities said. He was flown to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit, authorities said.

JULY 1, 2009 - A woman was hospitalized with smoke inhalation after a fire started as a result of a malfunctioning air conditioner, authorities said. The fire was reported at 4:50 p.m. and firefighters responded to a three-story building at 3435 Camino del Rio S., according to a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The fire apparently started in a vacant office, and firefighters were able to knock down the blaze within five minutes. A woman working on the second floor suffered smoke inhalation as she evacuated the building, authorities said. Her condition was not considered life-threatening. Fire officials are continuing their investigation.

JUNE 18, 2009 - A man was hospitalized with serious injuries after his hand was caught in a street sweeper, authorities said. The accident occurred about 6:15 a.m. at Cottonwood and Buena Vista avenues, near Mission Gorge Road, according to a Heartland fire dispatcher. After he was freed by firefighters, the unidentified man was transported to Sharp Grossmont Hospital, officials said.

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FEBRUARY 19, 2009 - A case has been settled regarding a 2005 injury resulting from a child’s toy. In 2005, 3-year-old Brooke Silcox was playing with a toy phone called the Expressions Sonic Cellular Phone Hair Set. The toy was powered by watch batteries, two of which were stored in the toy for a replacement. Brooke inserted one of the batteries in her nose, where it remained for several days. Her parents were unaware until the child began crying and shuddering, with a waxy black liquid leaking out of her nose. They took Brooke to urgent care for x-rays, and she was immediately referred to the Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Doctors were able to remove the battery with a catheter. It was discovered that the battery had been leaking and shocking the inside of the girl’s nose, which burned a hole in her septum. The hole cannot be repaired until Brooke is finished growing.Brooke’s family stated that the toy was defective and dangerous, and the manufacturer was negligent in its design, assembly, and distribution. They believed the toy did not meet the requirements of the Child Safety Protection Act. The toy manufacturer argued that the packaging was sufficient, and the child’s parents were negligent in not adequately monitoring their daughter with the toy.The case was settled for $75,000.