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Arnold Law Firm Blog

Is Lane-Splitting Safe in California?

justice4you December 10, 2014

In California, most motorcycle riders, nearly 40%, use their bikes only on the weekends for recreation. Nearly 38 percent use their bikes for both a daily commute and weekend recreational activities. Lane-splitting or lane-sharing, which occurs when motorcyclists drive in between lanes in order to bypass traffic, is a frequent, though somewhat dangerous, occurrence. In a traffic study commissioned by the California Office of Traffic Safety, more than 70 percent of motorcycle riders drive in between lanes, including on the freeways and multiple-lane roads at all speeds. In California, lane-splitting is neither explicitly permitted nor specifically prohibited. Technically, a motorcyclist who successfully passes using lane-sharing violates no traffic laws. California is the only state in America that allows motorcyclists to

The Future of Wearable Technology in the Courtrooms

justice4you December 8, 2014

New technologies always require different sectors of society to evolve in new ways. This is particularly true in the legal field where new technologies such as smartwatches and Fitbit bands may be at the center of criminal and civil litigation in the near future. In what is surely the first lawsuit of its kind, an attorney in Canada is using data from a Fitbit wristband in support of his clients claims in a personal injury insurance fraud lawsuit. The firm collected the data on the clients Fitbit band and submitted it to an analytics platform owned by Vivametrica. The platform was then able to compare the injured clients activity level with that of the general populations activity level. Wearable technology

Jury Awards $175 Million in Whistleblower Lawsuit

justice4you October 21, 2014

In a landmark case with a record setting award, jurors in Texas found Trinity Industries, Inc., one of the country’s largest guardrail manufacturers, liable for committing fraud in Texas. In 2012, Josh Harman filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act against Dallas-based Trinity Industries Inc. In the whistleblower lawsuit, Harman argued that the company’s design of widely used highway guardrails such as the ET-Plus model, caused serious and sometimes fatal accidents. At the heart of the case was a claim that the design change implemented by Trinity in 2005 to its guardrails caused the system to fail and the company failed to disclose this dangerous defect to federal and state safety regulators for seven years. The jury awarded $175

Safetyville USA

justice4you October 8, 2014

Arnold Law Firm is a proud sponsor of Safetyville USA in Sacramento, California. Providing an opportunity for small businesses and corporations to get involved in the community, Safetyville USA is a phenomenal program geared towards promoting the safety of children in the area. Arnold Law Firm sponsors this program in the hopes to raise awareness of the importance of making safe decisions every day. The Arnold Law Firm mini building below serves as our physical location within Safetyville USA. We hope to see you at the next event!

Settlement - $3,767,000

Truck Accident

A 20-year-old man who had been married for just 12 days left home on his way to work. He was driving on Pleasant Grove Road in Sutter County in the early morning when he came upon a slow-moving truck. As he pulled out to pass the truck, the truck driver turned left in front of him. The young man attempted to steer back into his lane but his vehicle struck an un-flagged piece of metal extending from the back of the truck. He died in the resulting crash.

Expert witnesses brought in by the Arnold Law Firm proved that the truck, owned and operated by a hauling firm, should never have been on the highway that morning. Specifically, the rear and side turn signals did not work and the rear-view mirror was in a poor state of adjustment at the time of the collision. As a result, the driver, who had failed to properly inspect the vehicle before setting out that morning, couldn’t see the young man’s vehicle as it attempted to pass.

The poor condition of the truck, its lack of maintenance and the manner in which it was operated were found to be substantial factors in causing the collision that killed the young man. The testimony also established that the man had been making a lawful pass at the lawful speed limit and acted reasonably when he attempted to avoid the collision.

The man’s 20-year-old widow was awarded $3,767,000.77, his parents were awarded $185,131 and the family was reimbursed $11,899 in funeral expenses. Though money is a poor substitute for a young man’s life, this verdict demonstrates that drivers who endanger the lives of others will be held accountable for their actions.