Legal Corridor

2009-08-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Barrett said that he was "off duty from the Boston Police Department, at a private home and using a privately owned computer" when he sent "remarks that were interpreted as racist and sexist" to Yvonne Abraham at the Globe. Barrett took issue with what he claimed was Abraham's biased account of what happened when Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley arrived at the Gates residence in response to a report of a suspected burglary. Gates later said that the door was jammed and that he and his driver were trying to open it. A witness saw the apparent break-in and called the police, said Weinberg Law Firm, Texas Labor Lawyer.

Los Angeles Women drinking more, DUI arrests up, experts say

2009-08-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – "Women are picking up some of the dangerously bad habits of men," said Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In New York's Westchester County, where Diane Schuler's crash happened, the number of women arrested for drunken driving is up 2 percent this year, and officers said they are noticing more women with children in the back seat, said Michael Bialys, Los Angeles DUI lawyer.

"We realized for the last two to three years, the pattern of more female drivers, particularly mothers with kids in their cars, getting arrested for drunk driving," said Tom Meier, director of Drug Prevention and Stop DWI for the county.

Inept doctor left deadly trail, brain injury lawsuit says

2009-08-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Lang was later emergency airlifted to Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington. She suffered a stroke and severe respiratory distress and died Dec. 8.

John Q. Kelly, New York brain injury lawyer, notes on Lang's arrival at St. Joseph Hospital say that Gunn noted a "friable carotid artery" — one that had degenerated and was prone to disintegration — and had had to ligate, or tie off, the artery.

Gunn's temporary privileges at Meadowview were suspended on Dec. 7, 2005.

Court clerk claims sexual harassment by Weber County Justice Court judge

2009-08-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Eisenhour said she replaced the poem in Storey's desk and decided not mention it to him. But when the judge returned from a judge's conference, he handed Eisenhour the pad of paper containing the poem and asked her to file it, she said, apparently wanting her to read it.

Then, in January 2008, after Eisenhour's sexual harassment lawyer Orange County called the judge and confided that he and Marcia Eisenhour were getting a divorce, the judge initiated a conversation with Eisenhour about her personal problems and said he felt bad she had not come to him with them.

After finding out Eisenhour was getting a divorce, Storey started acting "differently," she told The Tribune .

She said the judge touched her with his groin in March 2008. He told her about the dream in which she was naked in April 2008.

Chicago Photographer Leibovitz sued for breach of contract

2009-08-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Contract lawyer Chicago initially obtained a $22 million loan from American Photography, which is held by Art Capital Group. Later that amount was increased to $24 million.

The breach of contract lawsuit accuses Leibovitz of "boldly deceptive conduct" and seeks to compel her to grant real estate agents access to homes in Manhattan and in Rhinebeck, New York, so they can be sold and the money used to repay the loan.

Suspected DUI motorist driving wrong way kills one, injures two

2009-08-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 09, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Charges are pending against a driver who state police say was intoxicated early this morning when he drove the wrong way on the Fort Duquesne exit ramp on the North Side, killing a motorist who was exiting and seriously injuring two others.

Killed in the crash was Damien Randolph, 27, of the North Side, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said.

Hire a dwi defense lawyer pittsburgh today!

LA Injury Lawyers Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP

2009-07-31T14:22:00.001-07:00

Los Angeles train accident law firm Ringler Kearney Alavarez LLP have established themselves as a premier law firm by providing clients with consistently excellent service. They pride themselves on their intellect, creativity and tenacity.

These LA personal injury lawyers have achieved victories in over 100 trials with total verdicts in excess of $250 million.

Ringler Kearney Alvarez LLP achieves their verdicts by utilizing their substantial financial resources to obtain the best result possible for each of their clients. This California personal injury specialist law firm fights tirelessly for their clients, no matter the cost and no matter the foe.

Supergraphics or Super Nuisance

2009-01-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

From the Los Angeles Times:

SkyTag, which says that it produces images "so large they can be seen from space," filed court documents last week saying the city should not try to remove the company's supergraphics from high-rises in West Los Angeles, Koreatown and other neighborhoods until the ban litigation is resolved.

If you've ever driven down the west side of Los Angeles you will in no doubt have seen these monstrosities, huge graphic ads on large buildings.

I for one do not like them, and find them very distracting when I am driving down the road. I would not be surprised if there haven't been any serious accidents caused by these things. I'm pretty sure there are enough people that have been injured because these things are there, that they could file a class action lawsuit against the company(ies) that put them up.

I hope the get taken down.

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Los Angeles Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Has History Dealing with Train Wrecks

2008-09-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Metrolink worker sued Burlington Northern Santa Fe, saying his alcoholism returned after the fatal 2002 Placentia collision.

A metrolink conductor who said his drinking problems resumed after the Placentia train crash in 2002 will receive $8.5 million to settle his lawsuit against one of the nations largest railroads.

Patrick Phillips of Riverside agreed Tuesday to settle his suit against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. The case was set to go to trial next week in Orange County Superior Court.

Phillips, now 52, suffered minor head injuries the morning of April 23, 2002 when a Burlington Northern Freight train crashed into a Metrolink commuter train in Placentia. Three people died and more than 260 were injured in the early morning crash.

Though his injuries were slight, the conductor alleged that the trauma was serious enough to trigger a resurgence of his severe alcoholism, which he said he had controlled since rehabilitation in the early 1990's.

"I have never seen a case like this in 30 years, yet it is indeed what happened here," said Jerome L. Ringler, Phillips' attorney.

"We had extensive medical evaluations by a variety of neurological specialists. All were in accord that his injury, although minor, changed his behavior."

After the train crash, Phillips was hospitalized for evaluation but released about two hours later, Ringler said. In the months after the crash, however, Phillips allegedly resumed his alcohol abuse, resulting in at least two other hospitalizations.

Ringler said his client was finally diagnosed with alcohol-related dementia, a sever mental deficiency.

Phillips, who is now disabled after working 12 years for Metrolink, was unavailable for comment. He is living with a sister in Riverside.

Under terms of the settlement, Phillips will receive $8.5 million, including interest, paid out over 20 years. The amount is worth about $4.5 million in today's dollars.
Officials for Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the nations four largest railroads, confirmed the settlement but declined to discuss the case.

Phillips' lawsuit is one of more than 100 Civil cases stemming from the Placentia crash, which federal investigators said was caused by an inattentive Burlington Norther crew that missed a warning signal.

The lawsuits allege the collision could have been prevented by an automatic braking system, long sought by the federal National Transportation Safety Board.
They also contend that the freight train crew was fatigued by overwork and that the Burlington Northern conductor had a history of losing track of signals.

In December, an Orange County jury awarded Pamela Macek, 53, also of Riverside, about $9 million in damages for psychological and physical injuries suffered in the crash. Her case was the first to go to trial.

Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer Comments on Chatsworth Metrolink Wreck

2008-09-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

As a governmental agency, lawyers noted, Metrolink cannot be subjected to punitive damages in any civil action - a situation those lawyers said likely protects it from a bankruptcy situation. A spokesman for Metrolink said the agency would not be making any comments on potential legal issues.

Attorney Jerome Ringler, who served as lead counsel for victims of a Metrolink train derailment in Placentia in 2002, those in a Burbank derailment in 2003, and in the Glendale derailment in 2005, said the Chatsworth crash could expose further fault with Metrolink.

"I suspect the real reason these tragedies occurred is due to either simple inattentivenesss on the part of the engineers or a failure on the part of the railrood industry to allow these engineers adequate rest between shifts so that these kind of tragedies could be avoided," Ringler said.

"This is a horrible tragedy. They are facing hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars of exposure."

Metrolink Attorney Jerome Ringler Interviewed by FOX 11

2008-09-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Injury Lawyer Jerome Ringler and the Metrolink Train Wrech

2008-09-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Special Message for Victims of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

On September 12, 2008, an unprecedented tragedy occurred in Chatsworth, California when Metrolink Train #111 struck a Union Pacific freight train which was traveling on the same tracks. Our hearts go out to the victims. But this tragedy should not have happened. It happened because of human error on the part of Metrolink employees. Unfortunately, as the lawyers of RKA know well, human error by railroad engineers is not at all unique as a cause of commuter rail disasters.

Jerome L. Ringler has greater experience in representing victims of commuter rail and freight train disasters than any other lawyer in the State of California, if not the country. He has served as lead counsel in every one of the largest commuter rail disasters which have occurred in Southern California in the past 10 years.

In the Placentia Commuter Rail Disaster of 2003, Mr. Ringler was appointed by the Court as lead counsel for all of the Plaintiffs. He was requested by all of the lawyers representing individuals injured or killed in that incident to try the first case. That case resulted in the largest verdict for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever rendered by a jury in the United States. That verdict, which was for $9 million, is detailed below in the multimedia section.

In the Burbank Commuter Rail Disaster, which also occurred in 2003, Mr. Ringler was again appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel. In that capacity he was given the responsibility to try the entire liability (i.e., fault) case for all of the victims. In other words, every one of the dozens of lawyers who represented individual victims in that disaster trusted Mr. Ringler to try the liability phase for them, knowing that their clients would only recover if Mr. Ringler was successful. He was. In fact, Mr. Ringler not only obtained a favorable verdict for all of the plaintiffs, he obtained a $12 million verdict for his own client as well. This verdict was the largest in the State of California for a person with the type of injuries Mr. Ringler's client had suffered. This verdict is detailed below in the multimedia section.

Mr. Ringler is currently lead counsel for all plaintiffs in the Glendale Metrolink Derailment Disaster of 2005. This incident was, before September 12, 2008, the largest Metrolink disaster in history. Interestingly, in that case (which involves 11 deaths and dozens of serious injuries), Mr. Ringler has, against all odds, developed testimony proving that, even though a mentally-ill person placed a jeep across the tracks that the Metrolink train was traveling upon, human error on the part of the Metrolink engineer prevented him from stopping the train before hitting the jeep, which caused the train to derail. In other words, while the jeep certainly never should have been on the tracks, the Metrolink engineer would have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Mr. Ringler as lead counsel.

The verdicts detailed on this page all relate to railroad litigation. However, Mr. Ringler has achieved enormous, record-breaking monetary awards across California in a variety of complex areas. Those accomplishments are detailed elsewhere in this website. To see them, click here.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of the horrific Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster, we are available to discuss your rights with you confidentially and at no charge.

Please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Ask for Mr. Ringler,or any of his partners, at (213) 473-1900.

www.rkallp.com

Prominent Los Angeles Based Attorney Defends Alleged Gang Member

2007-10-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

From: Newsweek.com

The federal charges name 61 alleged F13 members in two indictments. The gang-violence charges came in a 53-count RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) indictment against 24 alleged gang leaders, charging them in a conspiracy to sell drugs, possess weapons illegally, and assault and kill black gang members and civilians. In the second indictment prosecutors charged the rest of the men on federal drug-distribution charges. More than 40 of the defendants pleaded not guilty at arraignments Tuesday, according to prosecutors. Michael Khouri, an attorney for Luis Aguilar, 35, says his client left the gang "several years ago" and served recently as a gang negotiator. "Mr. Aguilar will plead not guilty, and he is not guilty," says Khouri. Fifteen of the accused remain fugitives.

The indictments provide a telling snapshot of the changing nature of gangs in south L.A. According to federal prosecutors, F13 has grown into a tightly controlled gang of 2,000 members in 30 cliques led by convicts and parolees who are members of the prison-based Mexican mafia. It's a far cry from the '80s, when the black drug gangs, including the Crips and the Bloods, predominated, mining the crack epidemic with ruthless efficiency. Compared with looser Latino gangs that were seen as turf-conscious fighters, the black gangs were organized and disciplined. "The stereotype was that [the black gangs] were all about the [drug] business," says gang researcher Cheryl Maxson, an associate professor of criminology at University of California, Irvine. With the black gangs, "there was a millionaire in every neighborhood" perched at the top of the crack distribution pyramid, adds gang expert Alex Alonso, who edits streetgangs.com.

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Los Angeles Health Care Defense Attorney Defends Prominent San Diego Plastic Surgeon

2007-05-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

From: 10news.com

SAN DIEGO -- A prominent North County surgeon could be in trouble with the state medical board and learned he could lose his license, 10News reported.

Dr. Dennis Nigro is the subject of a hearing at the state building in which he is accused of having sex with a patient.

Nigro admitted to having a brief affair with a woman in 2003, but said she was no longer in his care during their relationship.

Nigro’s attorney, Michael Khouri, said, “The woman does not believe Dr. Nigro was her doctor when the sex occurred.”

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Medical License Defense Attorney Helps Reinstate Doctors License after False Abuse and Embezzelment Charges are Dropped

2003-05-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

From: San Jose Mercury News

Friday, Walker paid the renewal fee for her medical license, which expired during the suspension, her attorney Mike Khouri said. Khouri said he did not know the status of his client’s discussions with Stanford.

“I would hope that since the criminal charges have been dismissed, and since her license has been reinstated, that Stanford would do the right thing and reinstate her to her position,” he said. Khouri also said Walker was weighing various academic and clinical opportunities elsewhere.

Read Archived article about Doctor Here.