The Law in California was changed several years ago to protect restaurants and bars who furnished alcoholic beverages to adults if their patrons subsequently became so intoxicated that they injured an innocent third party while on their way home or more typically while driving to their next bar.
In 2011 the legislature amended the law to reinstate liability of social hosts (i.e. parents or adults) who knowingly furnished alcohol beverages at their home to persons they knew or should have known to be under age 21 years old.
Graduation parties, birthday celebrations or other events held at a person’s home, would provide a basis for liability under this law if the parent or adult in charge knew or should have known that alcohol would be served to under aged drinks.
Each year, high school graduates and other under aged drinkers, are involved in catastrophic automobile accidents that involve not only the under aged driver and their passengers but innocent third parties who are on the roadway are at the wrong place and the wrong time.
It is important for parents hosting these parties to understand the legal risks involved and their responsibility to their guests and the innocent third parties who may be injured when the party is over.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a serious injury involving a minor who was served alcohol at a party or at a social gathering, held at an individual’s home, please contact attorney Gary Sernaker to discuss your legal rights that either you or your family member may have as a consequence of the adults hosting the social gathering in violation of California law.
The misuse of social media, available to minors, has become an unfortunate source of abuse and harassment usually directed against kids who are unprepared to deal with the emotional barrage unleashed against them.
No one is immune; we take it for granted in today’s world that dangers are everywhere. Serious accidents and fatal injuries happen, somewhere, every day. What happens if an accident that causes your family member’s death is due to someone else’s negligence? Experiencing any family member’s death is devastating, but a sudden, accidental death is even more tragic. In the immediate aftermath of such a death, going to court is difficult to think about, but you probably need to contact an experienced personal injury attorney and file a wrongful death suit as soon as possible. Dealing with a sudden death and a lawsuit too is doubly difficult, but you’ll need to do it. If your deceased loved one was the primary wage-earner, you need to think about supporting your family. No two cases are identical, but you should be able to find an experienced personal injury attorney who has worked with clients in similar circumstances on wrongful death cases.
What’s unique about product liability cases is the legal concept of “strict liability,” which holds a product’s manufacturer or distributor “strictly” liable for injuries caused by a defective product, without any legal need for direct proof of negligence or irresponsibility. In other words, a plaintiff may recover damages even if manufacturers and distributors have exercised all reasonable care in the creation, transport, and sale of a product. Product liability is thus unique because in most other personal injury cases – slip-and-fall cases, for example – a defendant must be found negligent to at least some extent before damages will be awarded.
Many know that the National Football League (NFL) this year reached a $765 million settlement with former players over the league’s handling of brain trauma cases. The settlement will not include the families of players who died prior to 2006; the former players felt pressured into a settlement that many wanted to refuse. Families of many players who died or killed themselves for reasons related to brain trauma will collect no compensation.
If you slip, fall, and suffer an injury on another person’s property, speak at once to an experienced personal injury attorney. You may be able to recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, and more. If you’re a property owner or a property manager, protecting the safety of others on your property – as well as protecting yourself against slip-and-fall suits – has to be a paramount priority. Falls are a common cause of injury, especially among those over age 65, and a common cause of outdoor falls in southern California is uneven pavement. Broken or uneven sidewalks and driveways are almost always caused by tree roots pushing up concrete.
More people are riding bicycles, but they aren’t necessarily riding for leisure or health. Beginning with the economic recession that began in 2007-2008, more of us are using bicycles as our primary method of transportation. And with more bikes on city streets, more accidents now involve bikes. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 677 people in the U.S. lost their lives in bicycle-involved accidents in 2011, and another 38,000 were injured in those accidents.