Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney

DECEMBER 14, 2009 - The Long Beach Fire Department has reported two men were killed Saturday night in a crash on Spring Street, near the Long Beach Airport. The accident occurred at about 8 p.m. According to reports in the Long Beach Press Telegram, Ricardo Alcantar, 21, and Matthew Gibbons, 20, both of Long Beach, were travelling east on Spring Street when their small two-door hatchback crashed into the tunnel divider, slicing the vehicle in two and killing both Alcantar and Gibbons. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Authorities reported weather conditions were a factor in the fatal Long Beach crash.

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OCTOBER 19, 2009 – A 62-year-old man was taken to Mission Hospital late Sunday morning after crashing his motorcycle into a tree near the intersection of Newport Ridge Drive West and San Joaquin Hills Road. The Orange County motorcycle accident happened at about 11:30 a.m. The man, who was not identified, was riding a 1994 Honda. Police are investigating whether a malfunction or rider error caused the crash.

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OCTOBER 15, 2009 – A statement made by hospital officials last week regarding the radiation overdoses at Cedars-Sinai has been contradicted, the LA Times reported today. Last week, hospital officials said all patients exposed to 8x normal amounts of radiation had been contacted. But today, The Times reported that four patients informed them that although radiologists had contacted them last month, the radiologists did not acknowledge any hospital error or tell them that they had been exposed to eight times the normal amount of radiation in a CT scan.

Cedars-Sinai has determined the CT scan radiation overdosing began in February 2008 and continued until August when a patient reported hair loss following a CT scan. All of the affected patients had undergone CT brain perfusion scans – a procedure used to diagnose strokes. The greatest danger associated with the overexposure is cancer – specifically a brain tumor. Cancer from radiation exposure can take years to develop. Younger patients and those who were exposed multiple times have the greatest risk of developing cancers.

According to The Times, one patient said he was contacted by a doctor who said he was following up on the scan and wanted to know if he had suffered hair loss, headaches or blurred vision, but was not told of the hospital’s error. In a written statement released yesterday, Dr. Barry D. Pressman, chairman of the imaging department at Cedars-Sinai, said that his goal in speaking with patients was to “to address any side-effects that may occur, without unnecessarily alarming them.” He also said, “I sincerely regret if any patient feels that they did not receive the information they needed.”

Update: Estey & Bomberger is currently representing victims of the Cedars-Sinai radiation overexposure. If you had a CT brain perfusion scan at Cedars-Sinai between February 2008 and August 2009, and would like a free consultation of your legal rights, contact Estey & Bomberger at (800)925-0723.

OCTOBER 14, 2009 – A fiery crash involving 11 vehicles on Interstate 5 near Bakersfield Tuesday evening killed 3 people and injured at least six others, including a small child. The Interstate 5 crash, which was reported at 5:18 p.m. north of Highway 119 on southbound I-5, involved four big rigs and seven passenger vehicles. Six of the vehicles caught fire. Further details were not immediately available; the cause of the fatal October 13 I-5 accident remains under investigation. Authorities reported a dust storm likely played a role in the Kern County accident.

If you or a family member were involved in this accident and would like a free consultation of your legal rights, contact the Interstate 5 accident lawyers at Estey & Bomberger at (800)925-0723.

OCTOBER 13, 2009 – A Los Angeles doctor is facing multiple felony charges following a road-rage incident on July 4, 2008 that seriously injured to cyclists. The incident occurred on Mandeville Canyon Road in Brentwood, a popular choice of Los Angeles area cyclists looking for a climb with reduced vehicle traffic.

According to news reports, Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr were descending Mandeville Canyon Road when Dr. Christopher T. Thompson pulled alongside them, honked and told them to ride single file. He then pulled ahead of Peterson and Stoehr and slammed his brakes. Stoehr struck the back of Thompson’s burgundy Infiniti and was thrown into oncoming traffic lanes. He suffered a grade-three shoulder separation and road rash. Peterson was thrown into the rear windshield of the Infiniti. He broke his nose, which was nearly severed from his face, and shattered several teeth. His injuries required more than 90 stitches.

Thompson was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and was subsequently released on $30,000 bail. Last December, a Los Angeles County Judge ordered Thompson to stand trial following a preliminary hearing in which a police officer testified that Dr. Thompson stated he was tired of cyclists travelling on Mandeville Canyon Road. Two other cyclists also testified, claiming that they had a run-in with the doctor several months earlier in March. Thompson has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him in January. Jury selection is scheduled for Wednesday; opening arguments will start Thursday.

OCTOBER 10, 2009 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning yesterday regarding the risks of overexposure to radiation during CT scan procedures. The warning came after officials determined a CT brain scan machine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was set to an unsafe level– exposing 206 patients to eight times the dose of radiation normally delivered in the CT scan procedure. The overdoses were delivered to patients undergoing CT brain perfusion scans – to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke. According to the FDA, instead of patients receiving 0.5 Gy (gray) to the head, the patients received 3-4 Gy.

In their alert issued on October 9, 2009, the FDA did not specifically identify Cedars-Sinai as the facility where the radiation overdoses occurred, but health officials at the Los Angeles hospital confirmed the situation to local news sources on Friday afternoon. The error at Cedars-Sinai went undetected for 18 months. Health officials became aware of the radiation overdoses in August. According to a hospital spokesman, about 40% of the 206 patients affected – roughly 80 people- lost patches of hair. Hair loss, however, is not the only concerning side effect of radiation overdoses. Very high doses of radiation can cause radiation poisoning and lead to cancer years or even decades later.

A spokeswoman for the FDA said the federal health agency is investigating whether the overdoses were caused by the device or the procedures that were followed. The CT scanner at Cedars-Sinai was manufactured by General Electric. The California Department of Health is also investigating the overdoses at Cedars-Sinai. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Cedars-Sinai could face future restrictions on performing CT scans. The hospital stopped doing brain perfusion scans in August when they became aware of the problem. They have since resumed performing the brain perfusion scans.

In 2007, Cedars-Sinai was ranked as the 17th-best hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. The hospital made headlines when hospital staff gave the newborn twins of actor Dennis Quaid 1,000 times the intended dosage of heparin, a blood thinner. Quaid and his wife sued the hospital and reached a $750,000 settlement. In September 2009, a Los Angeles jury awarded $7.3 million to the parents of a baby whose meningitis was misdiagnosed by a doctor at Cedars-Sinai medical center.

If you or someone you love has suffered a radiation overexposure, you may be entitled to compensation. For a free and confidential consultation of your legal rights, contact Estey & Bomberger, LLP at (800)925-0723. We have offices located in Los Angeles and throughout California.

OCTOBER 5, 2009 – Six people were injured Monday morning in a crash on the Foothill Freeway in Pasadena, authorities reported. The crash occurred on the eastbound 210 Freeway at Lake Avenue, at 5:44 a.m. Two vehicles were reportedly involved in the crash, although full details were not available. At least four people were seriously injured and had to be extricated by firefighters. One of the victims was taken to the hospital by helicopter. The cause of the 210 Freeway accident remains under investigation.

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