SAN DIEGO -  Sixteen people were injured in the East Village area of downtown San Diego on Thursday, August 28^, 2008, when a wooden pedestrian walkway collapsed at a construction site.  Some scaffolding on the building under construction also fell.

Estey & Bomberger, LLP is already representing victims of this San Diego walkway collapse and is thoroughly investigating the cause of the accident.

The East Village walkway collapse happened at an affordable housing project called “Studio Fifteen” during the busy lunch hour.  The location was at 15^th Street and Imperial Avenue, just two blocks east of San Diego’s Petco Park.  The wooden walkway ran between 14^th and 15^th street in San Diego.

Fifteen people were transported in nine ambulances to four local hospitals.  According to a spokesman of the San Diego Fire Rescue Department, three people suffered critical injuries, but are expected to survive. 

If you or a family member was injured in this East Village walkway collapse, please call our office at (619)295-0035, or toll free at (800)672-1036.  We are available to discuss your case 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.

Just before 3 a.m. on Friday, August 29, 2008, a fatal car crash occurred in Chula Vista at the intersection of Third Avenue and L Street.  Police reported that the driver who crashed a 2006 Mercedes was drunk.  Chula Vista resident Adrian Sanchez, 22, a back seat passenger, died at the scene.  Witnesses reported the car rolled several times before hitting a power pole. Another passenger was permanently paralyzed and flown to the hospital in a helicopter, according to authorities.  The driver was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and has been arrested.

A man is dead after being hit by a car on August 23^rd in Chula Vista. A police office witnessed the 22-year-old Navy sailor being struck at the intersection of Broadway and
McIntosh Street. The driver, 22-year-old Claudia Lopez, initially fled the scene; however the officer followed and arrested her shortly after the accident on suspicion of felony hit and run, driving while intoxicated and on a suspended license. The victim was transported to UCSD Medical Center where he died two days later.

Three people were critically injured when a walkway collapsed in downtown San Diego on August 28^th. The incident occurred at a construction site at 15^th Street and Imperial Avenue. A covered wooden walkway, which was meant to protect pedestrians from falling debris, collapsed. Two women and one man suffered critical injuries, and at least a dozen others were transported to area hospitals. The contractor for the site is Allgire General Contractors, who have had at least two accidents in the past four years, one of which occurred at the same site. Both Allgire and OSHA do not yet know what caused the accident.

A Mexican man has won a case against the government after he bought a car filled with marijuana. Francisco Rivera Agredano bought a Nissan Pathfinder at a government auction in San Ysidro in 2001. Approximately four months later, he was pulled over at a military checkpoint near Ensenada and soldiers found 37 pounds of marijuana stashed in the vehicle’s doors, sides, and upholstery. Mr. Rivera and his passenger, his brother-in-law Alfonso Calderon Leon, were held in an Ensenada prison for nearly a year until they could prove their innocence. Mr. Rivera’s lawyer, Carlos Mejia Lopez, eventually convinced an appeals court that the marijuana was old and not only of no value, but therefore had been in the vehicle before his client purchased it. Mr. Rivera sued the government for breach of contract and was awarded $551,000. A district judge will decide how the money will be dispersed. Mr. Rivera’s attorney fees for Mr. Mejia total $350,000, along with $172,000-$285,000 for San Diego-based lawyer Teresa Trucchi.   

Though the case is settled, it is still unknown as to how the drugs were not found by U.S. Customs before they auctioned the vehicle. Judges refused to explain what happened to the Pathfinder from the time it was seized and before it was sold to Mr. Rivera because the government does not want smugglers to learn about their search procedures. Mr. Rivera’s attorneys claimed that Customs officials do not adequately search the seized vehicles because they do not want to take the risk of damaging them and lowering their value. However, Mr. Rivera’s lawyers do feel that the U.S. government has improved its inspection procedures in the years since Mr. Rivera’s ordeal.

A motorcyclist was hurt in an accident in Oceanside on August 24^th. The 25-year-old man was allegedly racing another motorcyclist when he struck a curb while making a left turn on College Boulevard. The motorcycle then hit a tree and the driver was ejected, his body hitting a utility box He was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

One person was killed and another injured in an accident in San Marcos on August 24^th. 19-year-old Salvador Alberto Ventura was the passenger in an SUV when it collided with another vehicle at West San Marcos Boulevard and Acacia Drive. The other vehicle was making a legal left turn when the speeding SUV collided with it. Mr. Ventura was pinned inside the vehicle when it struck a utility pole. He died a short time later.

A motorcyclist was killed in Otay Mesa on August 24^th. 31-year-old Jose Leon Jr. was traveling northbound on Interstate 5 when he lost control of his motorcycle. The vehicle struck the center median just north of Dairy Mart Road and then skidded across the freeway. Mr. Leon died at the scene.

A pedestrian was killed by a hit-and-run driver on August 21^st. The man, approximately 50 years old, was walking northbound on Interstate 15 when he was struck by a car. He was thrown into a concrete barrier on the shoulder of the roadway. A driver noticed the body shortly after the accident and notified authorities. The driver, who fled the scene, is believed to have been driving a gold 2008 or 2009 Mazda3.

Four hospitals in the San Diego area have each been fined $25,000 for mistakes that put patients in danger. Pomerado Hospital in Poway was fined for using an anesthesia machine that was not working properly. Three patients remained partially conscious during surgery and experienced a great deal of pain. A staff member had questioned whether the machine was functioning properly; however, the hospital continued to use it. When the patients complained, the hospital then discontinued the use of the machine. A fine was issued to Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla after a patient fell off an examination table during surgery. The staff had not properly restrained her and had placed a slippery plastic biohazard bag on the mattress. The patient suffered spinal, head, and shoulder injuries. La Mesa’s Sharp Grossmont Hospital was fined for the death of a patient after staff neglected to turn on a ventilator. Lastly, Promise Hospital, formerly Villa View Community Hospital, was fined for allowing a nurse with a revoked license to treat patients and instruct other nurses on administering medication. Pomerado, Scripps, and Sharp officials have reported that they have hired more staff and increased training in order to correct these problems. The CEO of Promise Hospital is appealing the fine because no patients were harmed. Starting in July of 2007, hospitals are required to inform the state of any events that could or did harm patients. Forty hospitals have now received such fines. Other incidences at Scripps Green Hospital, Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, and Sharp Grossmont are being reviewed and may result in fines as well.