A settlement has been reached regarding the death of man in an accident in 2007. 59-year-old Stephen Haskell was traveling on Highway 113 when a man driving a pickup truck drifted across the center dividing line. The pickup truck driver, Ronald Higgins, struck the driver’s side of Mr. Haskell’s SUV. Mr. Haskell was pinned to the side of his vehicle and died at the scene from internal injuries and blunt force trauma.
Mr. Haskell’s widow sued Mr. Duggins and his employer, Factory I Concepts Inc., for negligence. Mr. Duggins stated that he had taken his eyes from the road to check his radar detector, causing him to cross the dividing line.
A settlement was reached of $1 million. Mr. Duggins was ordered to pay $800,000 in cash and $1,233 every month. Factory I Concepts was foreclosed in January of 2008.
A young boy died in an accident on July 12th in Vista. 8-year-old Daniel Alguera was traveling westbound on Route 78 in a vehicle being driven by his grandmother. When one of the tires blew out, the car veered off the roadway and overturned. It landed near West Vista Way and Emerald Drive. Four people were injured and Daniel was killed.
A man was injured while riding his motorcycle on July 9th. The 24-year-old was entering onto the San Diego-Coronado Bridge from southbound Interstate 5 when he lost control. The vehicle went over the railing of the freeway and the driver fell off the motorcycle. He landed in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, and the bike landed below the freeway in Chicano Park. The driver was transported to the hospital with a fractured femur. The accident is still being investigated, but it appears that speeding was the main cause.
On Friday, a 2-year-old boy was critically injured after falling from a second-story window of his home in Lakeside, California. The accident happened around 6 pm on Gold Bar Way, which is near Route 67. The mother of the child informed officers that the 2 year old climbed up on to an area near the open window, pushed on the screen and fall to the ground (a twelve foot fall). The toddler was taken by ambulence to Rady Children’s Hostpital.
The attorneys at Estey & Bomberger handle children’s injury cases and can help if your child has been injured as a result of negligence by another person, or the liability of a company for making defective or unsafe products.
A former member of the San Diego Chargers has settled a lawsuit against the city of
Coronado and a police officer. In September of 2006, 23-year-old off-duty policeman Aaron Mansker followed athlete Steve Foley’s vehicle because he believed Mr. Foley was driving while intoxicated. The officer trailed Mr. Foley from San Diego to Poway, where he then instructed Mr. Foley to pull over and get out of his vehicle. Mr. Mansker said it appeared that Mr. Foley was taking out a weapon as he exited his vehicle, at which point the off-duty policeman shot Mr. Foley in the back of his knee and his hip. Mr. Foley did not have a weapon. Mr. Mansker, who was dressed in casual clothing and driving his personal vehicle, claimed that he informed Mr. Foley that he was a police officer; however, he never presented his badge.
Mr. Foley injuries required 12 surgeries, and he still suffers painful nerve damage and has trouble walking. He was forced to end his football career. He filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Coronado and Mr. Mansker because he believed procedural violations had been made. The attorneys for Steve Foley argued that Mr. Mansker violated policies by forcing Mr. Foley to pull over, as opposed to merely following him. The lawsuit was settled for $5.5 million.
The city of Coronado is insured for liability claims up to $100,000, and it is also involved in another liability insurance program with other counties and agencies. That program offers extra insurance to cover claims over $2 million. The $5 million settlement with Mr. Foley has now lessened the reserve amounts for the other participating counties and agencies. Furthermore, off-duty policeman Aaron Mansker is covered by the government code, so he is not responsible to pay any of the settlement funds to Mr. Foley.
If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.
A man was seriously injured in an accident on July 8th. 45-year-old Charles Ekiss Jr. was speeding while traveling southbound on Wildcat Canyon Road when his pickup truck drifted across the road’s dividing line. The vehicle then drove along the shoulder before striking at tree north of Featherstone Canyon Road. Mr. Ekiss was trapped in the vehicle and needed rescue workers to free him. He was transported to a San Diego hospital with serious injuries. It is believed that Mr. Ekiss was traveling at a speed of 90 mph in an area where the posted limit is 50 mph.
If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.
A woman from Pacific Beach was killed in an accident in La Jolla on July 8th. 67-year-old Graciella Mejia Martinez was crossing the intersection of La Jolla Mesa Drive and Van Nuys Street when she was struck by a Ford pickup truck. The truck was driving slowly, but the impact caused Ms. Martinez to fall backwards and hit her head. She died on the way to the hospital. The 56-year-old driver had been making a left turn from Van Nuys Street, and claimed he did not see the victim when he looked both ways.
If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.
A former member of the San Diego Chargers was killed in an auto accident on July 4th. 27-year-old Terrence Kiel was speeding in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo when he lost control in the Scripps Ranch area. Mr. Kiel struck a curb and then crashed into a wall, causing him to be thrown from the vehicle. Mr. Kiel played for the Chargers for four seasons, until he was cut in 2007 after it was discovered that he had shipped codeine-based cough syrup to
Texas.
If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.
An accident in Utah killed two adults and injured one child from Carlsbad on July 3rd. Tod and Stephanie McFarland, along with their three children ages 1, 2, and 5, were traveling eastbound on Interstate 70, in the town of Sigurd. Mrs. McFarland lost control of the Ford Expedition and struck a median. The SUV then hit a pole and a fence, causing it to roll and fall off a bridge, landing on a highway. Both adults were not wearing seat belts and died in the crash. The five-year-old son suffered head injuries and is still admitted at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. The two younger children are not hurt. The family had been traveling to Colorado and had driven through the night before the accident occurred.
If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.
A motorcycle accident killed an Indian tribe leader and his daughter-in-law on July 5th. 57-year-old William C. Mesa and 29-year-old Crystal Roberts-Mesa were traveling on Mr. Mesa’s Harley Davidson around 5:00 p.m. Mr. Mesa lost control of the bike on Lyons Valley Road, east of Skyline Trail, and struck a power pole, killing himself and his passenger. Family members told authorities that the victims had several beers before the accident, but they were not intoxicated. The accident is still being investigated and toxicology results are expected in six to eight weeks. Mr. Mesa was a retired police officer with the El Cajon Police Department, and he was currently the chairman of the Jamul Indian Village.
If you reside in the San Diego area and have been seriously injured, contact the law firm of Estey & Bomberger.
