Girl Run Over by Own Father Gets $24 Million Personal Injury Award
It was a tragic accident. Simon Loza Mejia, a truck driver, was making a routine haul from Oregon to California and back in November of 2004. Because it was the Thanksgiving weekend, he used the drive as an opportunity to visit relatives, and took his 14 year old daughter, Diana, and other family members along with him on the trip.
They stopped for a rest in the area of Mount Shasta. Then Loza Mejia climbed back into the driver’s seat. Diana, however, had not gotten back into the truck. As her father started to drive away, the girl was caught underneath the big rig’s rear wheels.
Her injuries were horrific. Evidence later presented in court indicated that she would require numerous surgeries on her lower body, and that her “private functions” would be affected for the rest of her life.
The case is of particular interest because of the parties involved. No, the girl did not sue her own father, who was heartbroken over the incident. Rather, veteran Sacramento personal injury attorney Robert A. Buccola went after the firm that had hired Loza Mejia, Freeway Transport, Inc. Buccola believed that the employer was legally responsible for any injury caused in the course of business to a third party, even if the person was related to the driver. And he turned out to be right. [read more]
GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Avandia, may face up to $6 billion (that’s $6,000,000,000.00!) in lawsuit liabilities, according to a recent analysis by UBS.
The drug has been linked with numerous side effects, including heart attack, heart failure, stroke, liver failure, bone fractures, vision loss, and in some cases, death.
If you are currently taking Avandia, you would be wise to consult your doctor regarding the appropriateness and safety of the drug for you. And if you have suffered any side effects, you may, of course, wish to consult a personal injury attorney with experience in pharmaceutical cases.
A Virginia man, retired Army Colonel Harry Williams, has filed a lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corporation, according to Los Angeles personal injury law firm. The suit alleges that Williams suffered serious injuries because of the safety defects in his Toyota automobile. 
In a recent case in New Jersey, a former user of the acne medication Accutane has been awarded over $25 million after the medication was found to cause inflammatory bowel disease. The plaintiff, 38-year-old Andrew McCarell, testified that he had begun using the medication in 1995. His worsening bowel conditions required five surgeries. Finally, his colon had to be removed.